Have you ever said to yourself that you would like to just go live on an island somewhere away from the rest of society? Well, you may be in luck because there is a job opening where you can do just that. How does living in an old historic home by yourself manning a lighthouse and a bed and breakfast sound to you?
East Brother Light Station stands on its own island, just off the coast of Richmond in San Francisco Bay. The lighthouse offers a unique view that is unparalleled—you can spot sea lions, ducks, geese and gulls that inhabit the pier. Furthermore, its Victorian-era architecture lends itself to a charming historic atmosphere steeped in natural beauty and tranquility.
Visitors from across the globe have been known to flock to East Brother Light Station for unforgettable experiences. As an innkeeper, you’ll set sail at 8 a.m., and spend the day transporting passengers back and forth between shore and the lighthouse. Then you’ll have from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to tidy up after them before getting ready for the next round of visitors! You’ll typically run this routine four days over, with Mondays through Thursday mornings being your off days where you can take some time to restock provisions for another week on the job, definitely not something to complain about!
The pay and perks of keeping a lighthouse is pretty great too, if you’re certified with all necessary skillsets and stamina required, then you could be looking at an annual salary of $140,000 plus health coverage and insurance thrown in too! On top of that it also covers food and rent bills – which can be quite costly considering rent around these parts can come up to two or three thousand dollars each month. And when you’re so busy taking care of all your responsibilities at East Brother Light Station there’s not much chance (or time!) for going out anywhere else making it perfect for those who are looking to save up some money – enough maybe even to make a downpayment for their own house one day!
The post has traditionally always been filled by couples or larger families; however in 2018 they received thousands of applications from across the world – Mongolia, China, Russia included, whittling it down eventually to only sixty qualified candidates. After the pandemic hit though, no applications came through so former lighthouse keepers Stephanie and Bryon Wesolek were brought back on board until April 2023 when they would pass down their duty torch onto another couple/family who would take charge thereafter.
East Brother Light Station was originally built way back in 1874 by the United States Lighthouse Service but was almost demolished by The Coast Guard in late 1960s until it was added instead into The National Register of Historic Places 1971 when California passed the Property Tax Reform Act consequently cutting off its funding source until activists stepped up (headed by Tom Butt who was then a corporate executive) raising funds needed enough that by 1980 they’d managed rebuild it as a bed & breakfast hoping tourism would help support financially, which thankfully worked.
And lastly just this 2021 additional funding had been raised replacing a damaged undersea electrical cable keeping East Brother Light Station still standing proud after 149 years since its founding providing refuge from temporal storms especially now when times are especially uncertain amidst all other changes happening around San Francisco Bay, yet here still remains an oasis where one could travel back in time experiencing how life would have been like living centuries ago!
