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IrelandPeter Santenello explores why Orcas Island residents choose isolation
Community music, a reuse center and affordable-housing efforts help explain the appeal, while residents describe the practical costs of island life.
Peter Santenello
Story of Why this story? 890,408 views so far, and here is what is inside it.
Why Americans Choose to Live on this Isolated Island
Next story: Peter Santenello climbs into Washington's working timber country
Things we can learn from the video
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- 4:52The Exchange gives discarded goods another use; staff also turn glass bottles into landscaping material.
- 9:41Stephen describes leaving doors unlocked, while Edee Kulper explains the close-knit community and dark winters.
- 13:53A local EMT explains why serious medical emergencies require air transport to mainland hospitals.
- 23:55Kulper explains how the OPAL community land trust helps keep island housing affordable.
- 37:20Jimmy Mudd shows his handcrafted wagon and describes the Trainwreck community music jams.
- 56:00Bruce shows a hand-built wooden dinghy made from driftwood collected on the beach.
Stephen doesn't lock his door. At a Lions Club booth on Orcas Island, he tells Peter Santenello he has lived there for almost two decades without regretting a day. His explanation for feeling secure is practical, too: an island isn't an easy place for a thief to make an exit.
That encounter helps answer the question in Santenello's "Why Americans Choose to Live on this Isolated Island". Beyond the ferry ride and Washington scenery, the nearly hour-long visit finds people making a community out of things they share, repair, grow and play together.
At The Exchange, a community reuse center, glass bottles are crushed into material for landscaping and decoration. Near the public school, author Edee Kulper shows him a teaching garden and explains how the OPAL community land trust helps keep housing affordable. These are concrete pieces of the island's appeal, rather than simply a promise of getting away from everything.
The people give the trip its less predictable turns. Mike Barton takes Santenello riding in a street-legal amphibious boat car built on a Volkswagen chassis. Musician and folk artist Jimmy Mudd shows off a handcrafted wagon and describes the community jams known as the Trainwreck. Later, boatbuilder Bruce presents a wooden dinghy made from driftwood gathered on the beach.
Santenello also leaves room for the compromises behind the escape. Kulper describes dark, overcast winters. A local EMT says the island has no emergency room or urgent-care clinic, and explains that serious patients need an airlift to mainland hospitals. Distance is part of the attraction, but residents still have to work around it.
Following his Washington timber-country and Olympic Peninsula visits, this stop brings Santenello into a different kind of island workshop: Jimmy's garage, where he, his daughter Pearl and musician Rafael perform together.
Published on Trari
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What viewers say
A teaching garden! I wish this was more common.
@michaelborza734See it on YouTubeI used to read books for my escape, as I age I love your videos for it. I’ve never been anywhere but the small town I’ve been raised in but feel like I’ve been everywhere✨
@JasonWatcher-o2lSee it on YouTubeWaited 3 weeks for this as a Washingtonian, thank you for highlighting this beautiful state!
@Seahawks99See it on YouTube
6 more comments
Well ain't this a treat another part of the world I've never heard of and it's as beautiful as a place could be.
@TaraRyan-dy1wmSee it on YouTubePeter I have been waiting years for you to come to Orcas island. Knew you would eventually make it there, it’s such special place. Thank you for showcasing!
@djfowl90See it on YouTubeOrcas island is beautiful. The San Juan islands in general are so chill and peaceful
@CatgeSee it on YouTubeThis episode could have been 2 hours and would have passed quickly....another great video Peter.
@krisztidekker1814See it on YouTubeThanks Pete! Your journalism IS my Saturday morning 👍🏻
@PJC405See it on YouTubeJust watching this calmed my nerves. Miraculous spot.
@oopsecSee it on YouTube
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- Channel
- Peter Santenello
- Subscribers
- 4,320,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 1,937,953
- Channel views, pace per day
- 215,582 (on a normal day: 242,066)
- Video published
- November 7, 2026
- Video views so far
- 890,408 (6 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 47,352 (on a normal day: 229,876)
The numbers
The Orcas Island visit has drawn about 890,000 views in six days. Its subject, rather than an unusual surge in views, is the story here.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which automaker supplied the chassis for Mike Barton's amphibious boat car?
Santenello rides in Mike Barton's street-legal amphibious boat car, which was built on a Volkswagen chassis.