Mainland vs Island: Where is the best place to live in Lagos? A Mainlander’s Opinion

Are you new in Lagos? Or house hunting and unsure where to live, whether on the mainland or on the island. Here’s a little help. 

Lagos has a lot of neighbourhoods but if you’ve spent one week in Lagos, you already know that there seems to be a dichotomy separating the Islanders from the Mainlanders. The Islanders call themselves the “elite” and view the Mainlanders as the “other Lagosians.” 

We’ve had all sorts of banter on social media and everywhere else about the supremacy of the island or the mainland when it comes to the choicest neighbourhood to live in, in Lagos. Some of them have even crafted some interesting lines like, “I don’t do third mainland bridge,” “I can’t date people who live on the mainland,” etc.

The truth is that we can spend the whole day arguing or I could save you all that stress by sharing some of the opinions of people who live in these places. Let’s explore the reservations of a few mainlanders about living on the island

Alex

The thing I find most appalling about the island is the flood whenever it rains. I thought the building of this place was planned with proper drainage systems and all.

You would expect that the amount of money they pay to live on the island (whether as a tenant or landlord), would make them immune to some of the shege mainlanders go through. 

On the contrary my sister, it looks like theirs was pro-maxed and packaged in a fancy gift bag. I cannot wrap my head around the rationale; I’ll spend so much money to buy a piece of land, build and furnish the place to satisfaction and still keep paying to maintain my stay there and in one fell swoop, the rain comes and makes a mess of it all. 

Or even as a tenant, I pay a huge portion of my monthly earning to live in a place and wherever I am, once it starts raining, I lose my peace of mind and my heart starts going kikum because I know I might meet my mattress outside due to flooding after small rain o….God abeg!

There’s nothing on the island. It’s just people trying to feel more important than their reality. 

Akpan

I know islanders will argue that traffic is a general problem in Lagos but you see that one on the island ehn, I always tell my friends that the spirits of traffic have built their mansions in specific areas of Lagos and no matter what time of day or day of the week, there’ll always be traffic in those places. 

Guess what? Majority of those spots are on the island. There’s nothing you can tell me, you see areas like Bonny camp, Admiralty Way, Third Mainland Bridge, etc..

If you pass those places and there’s no traffic, you need to ask serious questions or better still, go to church for thanksgiving because God did a huge one for you. I’ve seen people jump down from their cars and start trekking so they don’t miss their church weddings because of traffic on the island. 

Some people will now start saying island is all that. I’m a mainland person o, no matter how much money I make. I’ll probably own properties there and lease it out to big spenders but for me to go and live on the mainland, kuku kee me..

Mayowa

There’s no way to talk about the cost of living on the island without sounding like a hater because I sincerely feel that just living (existing) on the island is synonymous with constant debit alerts. 

From service charge that’s competing with dollar rates, to unreasonably exorbitant rents, to having to pay for basic necessities that mainlanders enjoy at little or no cost like running water (clean one o that will not damage those gorgeous faucets you spent so much money to equip your house with). 

Have you guys seen the pure water sold on the island and how much it costs? It’s a joke! 

Let’s not even get started on the issue of exaggerated prices of things on the island. You’ll see something that is sold on the mainland for #500 get sold at #5,000 on the island. 

Abeg, let them keep their island while I hold on to my healthy account balance and peace of mind on the mainland.

Tyler

The ease of access to the airport whenever I need to travel is one thing I’ll always be thankful for about living on the mainland.

Even the FG knew what they were doing when they put our airports, both local and international on the mainland. I’m not saying the roads are free o or that the roads are good but have you tried going to the airport from the island before? 

That stuff will mess you up bro! You either miss your flight (and it’s no thanks to traffic on the island) or you get there when the boarding gate has closed and you’ll have to spend more money with a lot of abeg (that’s if you meet sane people there o) to jump on the flight or schedule for the next flight if it’s urgent travel (and you don’t have strength to beg or show crazy) or just one thing or the other. This is especially true for Nigerians who love African timing.

Let me not talk too much. I’d just advice anyone staying on the island and wants to travel by air on a budget to relocate to the mainland like a day before (if you know you can’t keep to time), and spend some time with your buddy/relatives that stay on the mainland or lodge in a hotel and then go to the airport from there and thank me later. 

Honestly, at this point, I have no words. The mainlanders said a lot about living on the island and none of them were exactly pleasant stuff . Are all these true about living on the Island in Lagos? 

We’ve engaged the Islanders too and they definitely had a lot to say. Be the first to find out what the Islanders have to say about living on the mainland in Lagos by joining our “Living In Lagos” community on Fusion. Till I come your way next week with more gist…..ciao!