Won’t You Be Our Neighbour?

Before Tom and I bought Fish Hooks, our home-away-from-home on Green Turtle Cay was Roberts Cottages in Black Sound. Having stayed in all three cottages at one time or another, we love them all. Though they’re conveniently located a two-minute walk from “town”, they’re incredibly private and quiet, nestled within the trees at the water’s edge.

I must admit, when the time came to move into our own place, I felt some last-minute pangs.

Would we miss the peace and privacy of Black Sound? Living across from the ferry dock, would it feel as if we were in a fish bowl?

The short answers? No and no. The truth is we’ve gotten to know many more local folks than we did before. And we have a delightful front-row seat to island life.

We see excited visitors arrive for holidays and greet our neighbours as they arrive home by ferry at the end of the day. We watch kids sculling dinghies in the harbour, locals engaged in lively domino matches and impromptu basketball games against tourists. We enjoy the seagulls swirling above fishermen cleaning the day’s catch, and the sweet voices from the Tiny Turtles preschool. Occasionally, we observe quietly as a visiting artist captures the cay’s beauty on canvas.

Practically speaking, we’re within easy walking distance of three grocery stores, a half-dozen restaurants and cafes, two liquor stores and a couple of hardware stores.

For a while, the conventional wisdom was that people, particularly visitors and second homeowners, preferred accommodations outside of town. However, in recent years, there seems to be a renewed appreciation of, and interest in, the quaint New Plymouth settlement.

Beyond our own Fish Hooks and Salty Dog around the corner, Tom and I are thrilled to see a number of other heritage homes within the New Plymouth settlement being restored, including Shorty’s Cottage, Ma Mazie’s, Captain Sam’s and Sea Heart.

We watched recently as this old cottage on the shore of Settlement Creek…

… was transformed into this cheerful island jewel.

Several properties within the New Plymouth settlement are currently searching for new owners to love them and bring them back to life, including:

Green Turtle Gem (right) This little waterfront house might be my favourite property on the market at the moment. There’s no denying it needs a lot of TLC, but it has amazing potential! (And the price is right.)

I envision a picket fence, colourful shutters and a lovely porch surrounded by flowering plants, from which to watch boats come and go, and the sunsets over the Sea of Abaco. If Tom and I didn’t already have Fish Hooks, I’d really consider buying this. With some love and work, it could be a real gem.

Though the traditional island home below isn’t officially on the market, I have it on good authority that it’s for sale. It’s located right in the heart of town, diagonally opposite Sid’s Grocery and steps from the Sea of Abaco. If you’re interested, drop me a note and I’ll put you in touch with the owners.

New Plymouth Inn (below) One of the few buildings to withstand the devastating 1932 hurricane, the New Plymouth Inn has nine guest rooms, a restaurant, a swimming pool and lovely gardens. The existing owner is retiring and this historic property needs a new innkeeper to breathe new life into it.

Golden Reef (below) This commercial/residential property has two apartments upstairs (with some of the best views in town) and an open space on the first floor that would make a terrific gift shop or restaurant, or, I suppose, could be converted into living space(s) as well…

Prices are lower than they’ve been in years. (And just between us, some owners may be wiling to negotiate…) Who knows? Maybe we’ll be neighbours!

For more information on these and other Green Turtle Cay property listings, contact Chris Farrington at Green Turtle Real Estate.

Two quick administrative notes… nothing I’ve said above should be construed as any sort of warranty as to the state of the properties. Interested parties should do all due diligence. It should also be noted that I received no compensation of any sort for this post.