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

Making up your mind on where to stay in Lagos can be quite daunting. We’ve gotten reviews from people who live on the island and the mainland to ease your decision-making process.

Last week we shared the reviews of some mainlanders about life on the island in Lagos. If you missed it, you can catch up here. 

Here are some of the opinions of island dwellers about living in Lagos mainland. 

Oreva

Living on the island helps me maintain steeze, I’m telling you! There’s this sense of wealth and belonging that living on the island gives you. You feel like an elite even if you don’t have shishi. You just have this mindset of, “make I no loose guard, my helper fit dey the next street” 😂 You go just dey composed. 

Honestly though, there’s a consciousness that living on the island gives you. You’re constantly seeing the dream life and looking at people you want to be like from a distance that’s not too far. 

Rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty just because you live in the same neighborhood. Forget o, it’s only a matter of time, and you’ll become what you see. 

Plus, I might get lucky and Otedola’s daughter will fall in love with me. It’s just about positioning yourself rightly where opportunities can easily find you. 

Nadia

If you enjoy your peace and quiet, then I won’t advise you to live on the mainland. The constant cacophony would literally have you asking questions.

An average mainlander might not fully understand the meaning of peace and quiet, especially those who live in busy neighborhoods and I don’t blame them. 

What with the neighbours constantly yelling and bickering at each other, the “I better pass my neighbor” gen in the background providing unsolicited soundtrack, the sound of commercial buses and their uncouth drivers and conductors doing what they know how to do best (if you live by the road), just to mention a few….

To be fair though, it’s not like there’s no noise here on the island o but it’s a far cry from what you’ll experience on the mainland. The few times you’ll experience so much noise here on the island, trust me, it’ll be a welcome distraction. 

Twyla

All work and no play they say makes Twyla a dull girl. I love to flex and enjoy my life and that’s why I live on the island. After a baby girl has worked hard, she needs to relax, let her hair down and play harder. 

All the major happening places; from bars, to clubs, to parties, to restaurants and other exotic chill spots are on the island. So what business would I have on the mainland? My business and pleasure are here on the island, even my friends, all of them are here. 

I really don’t have any issues with living on the mainland. I just prefer to be able to switch between business and pleasure without going through so much drama. That’s it for me.  

Michael

Everybody already knows that living in Lagos is not for the faint-hearted but there’s no need to stretch yourself thin. See, the country is already hard and there’s no award for who suffer pass. It’s just what it is, no hard feelings. 

If you can afford to live on the island, then why live on the mainland? Protect your packaging at all costs braa. 

Olaide

I’ve always lived on the island. I was born there, grew up and was schooled there before my tertiary education took me to UNILAG (mainland). In my own opinion, there isn’t much difference between the island and the mainland. 

Just like on the mainland; we have the high end areas of the island as well as the trenches (at least, the recent discovery of apartments under the Ikoyi bridge can confirm that), we have our fun spots just like they do, worship centres, even markets where you can shop at affordable prices or the exorbitant prices in the name of class, the choice is yours. 

Some mainlanders even live better than the so-called islanders abeg.  

I think the only difference is that we have water bodies here and there which they don’t have on the mainland. I believe they’re better off without it. At the risk of being called an “unpatriotic” islander, there’s almost no difference between both parts of Lagos and I don’t have an issue living in any of the areas. 

So tell me, having heard from both sides, where would you rather live as a Lagos resident, the mainland or the island? 

The choice of where to live in Lagos or anywhere else for that matter, is purely personal. However, anyone who is house hunting needs to include some basic necessities in their house hunting list. Necessities like; availability of clean water, security, conducive environment, good roads (if possible), etc, should be non-negotiable. 

For more tips on living and surviving in Lagos, you should join our “Living In Lagos” community on Fusion.