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Terri and I struggled for a long time to decide where to move after she graduated as a PA. She has always wanted to work in a small clinic where she would be able to use all of her medical knowledge and talents (rather than confine herself to a specialty). We also wanted to go somewhere different, even exotic. We considered inner city, Indian reservations, prisons (several years ago we volunteered for a year to teach english and other skills in a medium security prison in Utah), Alaska, etc. At first we were attracted to Alaska, specifically the Aleutian islands. We liked the seclusion and my father served during WWII in Adak with the Navy. However, after further investigation we decided that the clinic we were looking at was just a little too isolated, even for us. We are simple people and don't need much to enjoy life, but we do like to attend religious services and do like occasional distractions. So we began to look around again.

It was on our second 'search' that we discovered the small island of Tinian. The size, seclusion, and of course the medical clinic, seemed to fit our needs perfectly. For at least six months we searched the internet for information, blogs, visitor reports, newspaper articles, etc., about Tinian and about the CNMI in general. We began to read the Saipan Tribune daily and occasionally read the other local papers out of Guam. Even though we thought we had a good handle on what would be in store for us, we decided it would be prudent to visit the island before we made a commitment to move there. After all, not everything we read painted the CNMI as a paradise! In fact, we found that the islands were struggling with many difficult problems.
So last May we made our first trip to Saipan and Tinian. I can say that there were very few surprises during our visit. We had done our homework pretty well, and the 'picture' of the islands was about what we thought.

This is what we found: All of the negative things that people had said about the islands had a basis of truth--but were no where near as bad as painted by the nay-sayers. The islands are struggling with economic conditions and there are other problems (many of which seem to follow any downturn in the economy), but we did not find any of these problems as negatives to our moving to Tinian. Every place we have ever lived has gone through ups and downs in the economy! To try to judge a city or community purely on the basis of the current downturn would be foolish.

All of the positive things that people had said about the islands also had a basis of truth--but we found the positive assets of CNMI and specifically of Tinian far better than we had expected! In fact, we had braced ourselves to be dissappointed and found that instead we were delighted and thrilled by what we found! The people living on Tinian were friendly and honest and the island itself was indeed a paradise! We fully expected the 'picture-postcard' photos we had seen of Tinian and its beaches to have been set-up to show an unrealistic view of the island. What we found was that the pictures we had seen did not do the island justice. It was much more beautiful than we had imagined.

So, once we weighed the pluses and the minuses of our trip to CNMI, our decision to move to Tinian was really quite easy. We loved the people, we loved the island, and we loved the simple lifestyle we would be able to find there. During our visit there were a few who tried to persuade us not to move to the islands--and then spent some time describing some set of problems they had been made to face when they moved there themselves. It was easy to see that these same people would have found the same problems no matter where they moved! It is one thing to complain about unusual circumstances and problems that might arise as a result of moving to a unique and/or difficult place. It is another thing to complain about problems that would arise no matter where you live! The CNMI is having some problems--so what? What community doesn't go through ups and downs? We lived in Connecticut in the late '80s when the government began to cut military spending. In a state that builds plane engines, helicopters, nuclear submarines, guns, etc., this was simply devastating! But they survived just fine. I remember when oil prices plunged for a time and Texas and other oil producing states were devastated. You could buy a home for a song for a long time, as everyone moved out. Every section of the mainland has felt ups and downs of some kind, and they always survive, they always come back, and with work, things always get better.

I believe the same is true for the CNMI. Many people and businesses are struggling. Sometimes this is a good thing--it forces people, businesses, and the government to go back to the basics. Everyone simplifies and removes the dross from their lives. In almost every case, the person or community that has gone through this type of crucible has come out the other side better for it. Businesses learn to be more competetive, governments learn to be more responsive to their constituents, and people in general begin to remember that true joy comes from friends and family, not from wealth or material things.


We are looking forward to our move to Tinian with great excitment. We expect to have our share of problems, but no more than we would moving anywhere else in the world. We are looking forward to getting to know the people of Tinian and enjoying a simple island life. Terri and I intend to do our best to fit into the Tinian community. For now, we are just filled with excitment and anticipation to start this wonderful stage of our lives!