if you’ve been living under a rock like I have, you had no idea how freaking gorgeous this quaint little island off the coast of southern california is.

if you have ever thought of visiting, you’re going to want to go ahead + just book the damn trip already. you will be blown away.

the breath-taking little island is home to around 4k people year-round. the majority of those people are in the city of avalon, which is home to lots of the shops, restaurants + sort of the mecca of the whole place. there are three other city-like population centers and some people just live more remotely.

visiting in February is towards the end of the winter season here, which means you can expect less people, quieter streets, earlier nights + more of a home-away-from-home vacation.

the island doesn’t have many cars – most ride bikes or drive golf carts. the climate doesn’t generally dip much below or above 50º to 90º fahrenheit with average temps between 55-70º. honestly, the weather is dreamy.

fox, squirrel, moose, deer and shrew are the common animals here. bison were brought here in the 1920s for a filming of a movie, and the costs was so high to get them back so they stayed. rattlesnakes are another little creature you might see should you go wandering around the less-inhabited spaces.

like with every fucking location I visit, I am already planning my move here. I’m going to need to figure out a way to buy a house with an average cost of over a million bucks, but give me some time + I’ll make it happen.

here’s a listing of one of the least expensive houses I found: the cheapest house sold in 2018 was $195k and it needed a complete rehab, easily costing double what you paid, perhaps more. the cheapest LIVABLE home was sold for around $340k, and had just under 800 square feet of livable space.

…and here’s a listing of the highest price home I could find.

the most expensive home sold on Catalina in 2018 got you 3,500 square feet with 3 bedrooms + 4 bathrooms. 1.89 million was the cost of that oasis.

from a little research, I think the little community homes we’re staying in cost around $675-$800k+. monthly dues would be around the $1k mark for the community living.

whether you want to make the island of catalina your home for a while, or your home for just a few days, you will enjoy every second of the process.

enjoy the pics.

xoxo
a