Huffington Post Travel: Saipan: The Most Beautiful Place In America You've Never Heard Of (PHOTOS)

[Douglas Carpenter]

since I have lived here for the past two and a half years - I thought I would do a little promotion

Indeed, Saipan is part of America -- it's the most populated of the Northern Mariana Islands, an insular chain with a complicated history that became administered by the U.S. after World War II, and has been a U.S. commonwealth since 1978. People born there are U.S. citizens. The official currency is the U.S. dollar. As of 2009, the Northern Mariana Islands has had a representative -- non-voting, like all the territories' representatives, but still there -- in the U.S. Congress.

Indeed again, as everyone who's lived there can tell you, most mainland Americans don't know any of that. Regrettably, the ones who do are probably aware of the island -- which is in Micronesia, just north of Guam, south of Japan, east of the Philippines and west of Hawaii -- due to its tainted reputation stemming from a political scandal involving a certain Texan who later appeared on Dancing With The Stars.

Certainly, life on a tropical islandhas problems, as does life anywhere. Sometimes, like with that dancing Texan, it's just that the problems are a little more unusual.

But know this: at least in Saipan, you'll experience those unusual problems in a setting that is quite spectacularly beautiful, with beaches, scuba diving, golf, festivals, hiking, history, wildlife (some of which has been eaten into near-extinction, much of which hasn't), still more beaches, a charmingly weird mascot and year-round temperatures in the 80s












read and see more:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/18/saipan_n_4603094.html?utm_hp_ref=travel

[anasv]

1. who knew

Astonishing. I thought the only place outside the states that we had was Puerto Rico.

[Douglas Carpenter]

9. the other U.S. Commonwealth territories are - Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa

[Art_from_Ark]

12. And those Commonwealth territories have all been depicted on recent quarters

(DC is not a territory, of course, but it's included in this group because it's not a state, either)

[Douglas Carpenter]

13. thanks - those are so cool

[Locut0s]

2. Wow it would be a dream to live there. If you don't mind me asking...

How did you end up there these past 2 years? What do you do for a living?

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. actually I am a Respiratory Therapist and I work at the only hospital on the Island

I would say that the salary is about 15% to 20% lower than an average U.S. mainland salary and that salaries in general on the island are below the U.S. mainland average -- except for some exceptions, of course. The cost of housing however is also lower than average for the U.S. mainland while imported consumer products tend to be a bit higher than average. It is a very low stress place to live and work. But except for a few exceptions - one does not usually come here for the money - unless you are a multimillionaire taking advantage of the tax loopholes.

[LeftofObama]

3. Beautiful!

Another place to add to my bucket list.

[davidpdx]

5. Looks beautiful

Looks like there are direct flights from here in Korea. I wouldn't mind seeing Tinian either as there is a special connection to my family.

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. yes there are direct nonstop flights from Korea as well as Japan, China and more recently

Vladivostok, Siberia, Russia - and of course Guam. There are flights between Saipan and Tinian about once an hour on small aircraft - takes less than 10 minutes and is quite a spectacular flight across. There is a large Chinese owned Casino/Beach Resort on Tinian called the Dynasty Inn as well as a one or two small three star Japanese owned establishments. Of course the old airfield where the Enola Gay took off to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki is there - largely abandoned and able to view at will.

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. I lived on Saipan as a wee lad.

My father was stationed there in the early 60's. My very first memories are on Saipan. I remember some details as clear as a bell, but I couldn't tell you where we lived if my life depended on it! I guess one of these days I'll have to sit down with my mom and Google maps and find the house.

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. until 86 when the Commonwealth covenant fully kicked in there were very few paved

roads on Saipan and very little other development - then during the 90's Saipan went through a massive boom and bust - it is now in the state of recovery from the post garment industry bust which totally ended between 2004 and 2007. The tourism industry is growing again though - primarily from Japan, China, Korea and Russia

[Scuba]

10. Saipan is on this diver's bucket list.

Pipe dream, I know, but still ...

http://www.scubadviser.com/Scuba-diving-destinations/-Destinations/South-Pacific/Mariana-Islands

[Douglas Carpenter]

11. I'm not a diver but I have hiked down into the Grotto a few times - one of the two

best cave dives in the world - so they say - just hiking down into there was spectacular

[WinkyDink]

14. Until the tsunami arrives.

[Douglas Carpenter]

15. a combination of the Marianas Trench (the deepest ocean spot on earth) and a very large coral reef

Last edited Wed Jan 22, 2014, 12:46 PM - Edit history (1)

establish a significant protective barrier against a tsunami. No one knows for sure if it offers a complete protection - it is only known that there are no cases in history of any tsunami ever causing any damage to Saipan. Also, Saipan just happens to sit at a very peculiar location just north and east of the typhoon belt. Whereas the Philippines only 900 miles west gets half a dozen major typhoons every year and Guam gets maybe one every five years - Saipan gets a typhoon about once every ten or fifteen years.

[WinkyDink]

16. Well, then, I envy those there, because it truly is beautiful!

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. one more to spead the word