Woman reveals what it is like residing on the remotest island on earth after falling in love with a neighborhood and having two kids

A woman who relocated to the most remote island on earth, where she fell in love with a local and started her family, has revealed what it’s really like living there.

Kelly Green, 34, of Eastbourne, England, decided to move to Tristan Da Cunha – a remote group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean – after spending six weeks there to visit her family back in 2012. 

The mother-of-two, who frequently travelled around the world because her father was a diplomat, first heard of the isolated island in 2010 after her dad got word of a new posting at the Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. 

Despite thinking he was going to move to Scotland, Kelly quickly realized that the posting was for a settlement on the tiny island, which only has a population of about 236 residents. 

Two years later she decided to go on vacation there to see her family, but never expected to fall in love. 

‘When I arrived, a man on the island came to help with my luggage. His name was Shane, and I ended up meeting him again later in the island’s only pub,’ Kelly told Business Insider. 

After she headed back home, she and Shane kept in touch, and after two years together she knew it was time to leave her job as a flight attendant for EasyJet and move in with him on the desolate island. 

‘I wanted to live in Tristan Da Cunha. It helped that it wasn’t completely abnormal to just pick up and move somewhere because I’ve been doing it all my life,’ she explained. 

Kelly, the head of tourism on the island, detailed the extraordinary amount of time it takes to even make it to Tristan Da Cunha. 

Travellers have to first catch a flight to Cape Town, South Africa, before embarking on a seven to 10 day, 1,700 mile journey across the South Atlantic Ocean on a boat, according to Kelly. 

‘Three different ships operate about 10 scheduled trips a year. Two of the ships carry up to 12 passengers, and one ship can carry 40,’ she added.

In 2013, Kelly officially packed her bags and settled into the island, where her husband built a two-bedroom home and outhouse for her and their family. 

She shares a 10-year-old daughter and three-year-old son with Shane, who she enjoys raising in Tristan Da Cunha. 

‘I would never dream of letting a young kid walk alone in England. But here, I don’t have to worry. 

‘There’s always someone looking out for them or telling them off if they’re being naughty. My son can just be out in the garden while I’m in the house,’ she said. 

Kelly said there is only one post office, school, tourism center, hospital, bank, café and pub on the island. ‘There are no restaurants,’ she added. 

She truly enjoys how ‘self-sufficient’ the land is and how the small community constantly looks out for each other. 

‘Lobster is exported worldwide and provides the island’s biggest source of income. The islanders also grow their own produce and raise cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks,’ she detailed. 

Every afternoon Kelly said she enjoys a three to four mile walk where she doesn’t ‘bump into anyone’. 

‘It’s so peaceful and quiet — completely different from my life in England,’ she said, adding that her previous routine saw her waking up at 2am, commuting an hour to Gatwick Airport, and working grueling 16-hour shifts. 

Now, it only takes her a matter of minutes to get to work, adding, ‘We don’t get many tourists, but the population can quadruple during the cruise season. There are about 900 tourists a year — though this can vary substantially.’

Despite thoroughly enjoying her life on the island, Kelly admitted that at times she misses ‘some aspects of England.’ 

‘There [England], you can just go to the shop and get a premade meal. You can’t do that here. If you want a burger, you have to grind the meat up and make the rolls. It’s just a completely different lifestyle,’ she shared. 

Kelly said that the cost of living on the remote island is a lot more than in England because imported goods are more expensive. 

‘Goods from South Africa are marked up about 75%, and items from the UK are marked up about 95 per cent. I just ordered a fridge, which normally costs about $650, but I had to pay $1,100 for it because of freight charges,’ she revealed. 

All of that aside, Kelly said she still feels that living on Tristan da Cunha is the best fit for her and her family. 

‘Still, I feel more at home here than I ever did in England. But then again, it might be because I’ve been brought up all over the world,’ she said. 

She hopes that her children will one day follow in her footsteps and decide to travel across the globe when they’re older. 

‘There’s a lot of world out there for them to see. I’ve been lucky to explore it, and I want them to have that experience, too,’ Kelly said.