A woman living on the Isle of Wight has taken to TikTok to reveal her biggest complaints about life on the island.
Jodie Emma, 20 years old, who posts under the handle @x_jodiemma_x, He spoke to his followers about the most inconvenient aspects of living away from the mainland, and the clip has already been viewed by more than 1.6 million people.
She captioned the video: ‘By the way, I don’t hate the island in any way! It’s an extremely beautiful place and can get very hot in the summer months.’
The student wanted to give her followers an idea of what it’s “really like to live on the Isle of Wight”.
From nowhere to shop to the high price of getting away for a day, read on for your list of cons.
Jodie Emma, 20, who posts under the name @x_jodiemma_x, spoke to her followers about the most inconvenient aspects of living away from the mainland, and the clip has already been viewed by more than 1.6 million people.
The cost of leaving the island
The 20-year-old revealed that one of the biggest hassles of island life is how much it costs to go anywhere else, even if it’s just for a day.
She said: ‘I mean the biggest first surprise people have is how expensive it is to get on and off.
‘We have two paths. We have a hovercraft and a ferry; Only walking passengers can travel on a hovercraft, and cars can travel on a ferry.
“The hovercraft costs about £40 for the return trip and the ferry costs about £100 for a one-way trip.”
She exclaimed: “There’s just nothing to do, you can’t just escape to Portsmouth and Southampton for a day because it costs a few wages.”
There are no ‘shops’
Secondly, if you are someone who loves shopping and is into fashion, you might want to reconsider moving there.
Jodie explains that “there’s no store,” which she finds “ridiculous.”
The 20-year-old revealed that one of the biggest hassles of island life is how much it costs to go anywhere else, even for a day.
He added: “If you’re young and need clothes, the only places you go are Peacocks, but realistically, who really shops at Peacocks? – a New Look, a TK Maxx or a Sports Direct.
“We used to have an H&M store, but it disappeared for no reason. To be fair, we don’t even have many places to eat.
‘We don’t have a Nando’s or a Greggs. Oh my God. The biggest surprise I had when I moved to the island, since I’m not originally from there, was the fact that we don’t have a Greggs. It was horrible”.
She admitted: “We don’t have Primark either, which really sucks.” A lot of people go for the day to Portsmouth or Southampton, the mainland as we call it, and come back with so many bags of stuff from Primark because we just don’t have it.
‘We have a bowling alley, but that’s it. We used to have a skating rink and we have Blackgang Chine, which is like a traditional theme park.’
“It’s not really about rides, but more about rides, if that makes sense.” It’s more like things to look at with basic, minimal walks. Nothing like Blackpool Pleasure Beach or Thorpe Park, or anything like that.
The student added that ‘she doesn’t hate the island in any way!’ It is an extremely beautiful place and can be very hot in the summer months (stock image)
You always see people you know
Moving on to her last topic, the student warned that many of the young people on the island know each other and there are not many newcomers, despite being one herself.
She said: ‘When you go out, you’re bound to see someone you know.
‘It’s really ridiculous. Much of the island’s population are older people, people who have moved there from London to retire.
“So there aren’t many people your age that you don’t know, and no one really changes or moves away. A lot of people live there forever.
Commenters were quick to ask the TikToker more questions and give their opinions, with one writing: “Locals really shouldn’t have to pay for the ferry.” They should at least have a huge discount card.’
‘How does Amazon Prime work?’ and ‘How is Vinted or Depop similar to shipping there?’ others asked.
A third joked: ‘I wonder why people choose to live here. There are many other places by the sea. Honestly, living there seems pretty bad with the few opportunities on offer.”
Someone else wrote: ‘Looks like a bargain. Try living on the Isle of Man!’
Meanwhile, another island resident added: “I grew up on the Isle of Wight, when I say this to people they think I’m lucky, but the best thing there is is the big Tesco.”
‘What do you mean you don’t have Greggs?!?!’ exclaimed one spectator.
Another chimed in: “Being from Newcastle and living on the Isle of Wight and finding out there was no Gregg broke my heart.”
Someone else joked: “Everyone on the Isle of Man is so excited to get out of there.”
Commenters were quick to ask the TikToker more questions and give their opinions.
The video comes hot on the heels of news that a “shameful” £3.5m floating bridge on the island, which has failed to make 40 per cent of the crossings it was designed for, will be dismantled after only seven years.
When it first opened on the Isle of Wight in 2017, Floating Bridge 6 was greeted with enthusiastic applause from delighted, flag-waving locals.
However, the ship, which charges £1 per foot passenger, £3 per car and £9 per lorry, has been plagued with problems since the first cars scraped the road as they disembarked from the vessel.
First established between East Cowes and Cowes in 1859, the 460ft journey is designed to prevent users from having to make the ten mile journey through Newport.
However, the current chain ferry, Floating Bridge 6, which requires a push boat to overcome the strong current of the Medina River and runs at a “snail’s pace” compared to its predecessor, has had constant problems.
The council has been red-faced by delays and breakdowns, including one that forced passengers to travel to the mainland in 2017.