I was watching Survivorman on the Discovery Channel the other day, and the guy was trying to survive being lost at sea in an inflatable life raft.  Eventually, he washed up on a little tiny island in the Caribbean, and he was able to keep dry, start a fire, set up camp, and eat some extremely fresh seafood.  The guy on the show is pretty tough, but he complained about being stuck in this predicament, away from family and friends, and with no one around to help him.  I saw it from a different angle.  Basically, what we have here is: 
  1. An uninhabited, remote island
  2. In the Caribbean
  3. Containing trees, coconuts, and various things that wash ashore
  4. Inhabited by birds, reptiles, and a few other small game
  5. All the fresh seafood in the world
  6. Did I mention it's a remote island?
  7. In the Caribbean
For all practical purposes, this is exactly what I spend thousands of vacation dollars on.  The best part of last year's cruise in the Caribbean was visiting the tiny island of CocoCay.  It was a bit more "cushy", but it was the same idea.  I don't know about this Survivorman guy, but I think I'd be willing to pay money to be stranded on that island. 

Some downsides: 
  1. Cockroaches.  They were all over the place.  That would be enough to pretty much change my mind about this whole thing.  But it's such a small island, you could probably just kill them one by one and be done with it in a few days.  Or you could get used to eating a tasty little fried treat.
  2. Rustic-ness.  There's literally nothing around for hundreds of miles.  No electricity, running water, plumbing, shelter, or cell phone towers.  Technically, the ocean would cover the whole running water and plumbing aspect of it, but that's about it.  None of these things are really downsides in my mind.
  3. Size and vulnerability.  It was an incredibly tiny island, so I wouldn't imagine it would survive a hurricane too well.  Plus, the guy said some of the debris on the shore suggested the island was used by poachers in the past.  Poachers usually carry guns, so you'd be pretty screwed if they decided to come back.
  4. I hope you like seafood, because that's all you're gonna eat, except for the occasional lizard or seagull.  And I'd eat a lizard before I ate a seagull.
For me, the negatives don't outweigh the positives.  As part of my survival desire, I'd totally be ok with being stranded on an island.  I'd definitely want to learn how to start a fire and build a shelter first.  But other than that, I think I could handle the rest.  I'd be ok with the lack of human interaction (I'd bring Wendy, but she's more scared of bugs than I am).  I'd be ok with the seafood.  I'd be ok with the year-round warm, sunny weather.  I'd definitely be much more willing to be stranded on an island than stranded in the middle of the woods.  Maybe I'd get sick of it after a few months.  I'm not sure.  But I'd definitely like to try it for a few weeks.  Maybe there's something wrong with me, but this sounds like one of the most appealing lifestyles I've ever heard of. #nature