Nicest Place in America - South Whidbey

From the Editors: If you see two cars stopped on a road in South Whidbey, the drivers are probably arguing. But don’t call it road rage. In this small community of 15,000 on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound, discussing local issues like zoning, taxation, hunting, or something as minute as the policies of the teen shelter is a way of life. “Don’t bother to honk your horn,” said Susan Knickerbocker, the local resident who nominated South Whidbey. “When they’re done, they’ll be done. So you just wait it out.”

It’s what happens next, though, that makes South South Whidbey special. The area’s residents are a mix of farmers, artists, commuters, and retirees, of Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Christians, atheists and people of other faiths. Initiative and opinions are not in short supply. But when the dust on the debate of the moment settles, and the island has come to a collective decision about what to do, people go back to being friends, neighbors and fellow islanders. “We argue passionately of where we want our community to go, but at the end of the day we’ll all say hi and shake hands at the farmer’s market on the weekend,” said Josh Burnett, who writes for the South Whidbey Record.

On an island, you can’t escape your issues, but people in South Whidbey don’t let the issues come between them. “There’s a lot of forgiveness,” said Knickerbocker. “People move on.” These days, that’s something all Americans can learn from.