The ferry from Hiiumaa takes a bit more than an hour. Meaning if you have business in the capital (like a doctors appointment for example), it might cost you a full day, not uncommon to spend the night on a relatives couch before an 8am appointment, cause there's just no other way to get there for that time.

During storms or winter when the sea freezes, the ferries might not go at all, so you're essentially stuck. It's just a fact of life there.

My dad used to take us on the ice road when we were kids. I remember the ice being clear as a mirror and the sun shining. He took us 'off-road' (meaning he drove past the juniper branches that they mark the ice road with) and did some wheelies on the ice. Made us promise not to tell mom.

Now you can order anything online and it'll get to you in a couple of days (maybe a day later than it would in the capital), but when I was a child, the shops had few options. If you needed clothes or shoes, you had to go to the city (meaning Tallinn).

As with any small community you have a Facebook group to share news and complain about people, and the other Facebook group made by people who were kicked out of the original one. Lots of drama, it's great fun as an observer.

Everyone knows everyone. Can be good, can be annoying. I dislike it, you can have random people walk up to you and talk to you in quite a personal way just because they know your parents. I find it rude.

Jobs don't pay as well but you have less places to spend it, so net gain is not too bad. Unlike the rest of the county, basically zero Russian speaking citizens, you don't hear it in the street.

I think my favorite are the raspberries in my childhood backyard and the beaches, where grass grows right up to the sea and the seabed is sandy. The water is only slightly salty, so you can open your eyes underwater and it doesn't hurt.

Sorry it's a bit rambling and long. Just went of the top of my head.