OffIsland acknowledges TK Cassidy for introducing this series while she lived on Guam. She currently resides in Swansboro, North Carolina and is currently employed full time at Sand Ridge Elementary School, Swansboro, NC - Onslow County's newest and finest - now online at: http://sandridge.swansboro.k12.nc.us/.  TK writes in her spare time and tutors 10 kids after school.  Moreover, for her contributions to the people of Guam, the acclaimed Storylady of Guam, librarian, storylady and writer was the recipient of the 1997 Maga'Lahi, the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Humanities, which was presented by First Lady of Guam Geri Gutierrez. 

Furthermore, OffIsland is delighted to inform you that the esteemed Storylady has her own column within OffIsland.com.  We encourage you to view the TK Cassidy -  Storylady column and to read her wonderful adaptations of Guam's Legends.  For more information about her books,visit her web site at http://www.storylady.com and write to the Storylady at tkc@storylady.com. 

Quite often, people who are considering moving to Guam have many questions regarding the island: What's Guam like?  How to get a job? What's the weather like? How expensive is it to live in the Pacific Paradise? The same practice applies to expatriates living abroad who must acclimate to their new environment and make the best of it. In this column, OffIsland will address the most often asked questions.  OffIsland is a coalition of expatriates, and therefore, we will be open-minded with our presentation. Guam, our beautiful island, has its share of problems but; what country or city or town in the world doesn't? 

The opinions of people who come to Guam fall into two basic categories:  those who really love Guam and those who really hate it.  Very few people are ambivalent about the Guam experience. 

The first group is usually the adventurous type looking for a new place to see, something different to talk about when they go back home, or a new place to live out their lives.  The second group is usually made up of  people who never really wanted to come here in the first place: military spouses who have been ordered here and who've listened to the horror stories from other spouses who never wanted to be here, young teachers who took a job here as larks and then found out they didn't like being so far from home and, finally, people who would never be happy anywhere they lived. 

Guam is not flat, and it is much larger than only *210 square miles*  seems to the imagination. On the north end of the island, there is a high plateau with beautiful outlooks to the sea. The southern end, a favorite to everyone, is the real tropical paradise. It's the place which has been little touched by business and tourism.  It's what Guam may have been like years ago. 

So, if you still want to come to Guam — power outages, typhoons, brown tree snakes, political intrigue and all notwithstanding — kick off your shoes, get yourself a cup of coffee, tea or soda pop and let us introduce you to Guam: