FOUR IF BY SEA

Work It

Holding multiple jobs is more than just a way of life on the Outer Banks.

BY AMANDA MCDANEL

BAR & GRILL BEACH BAR & GRILL BEACH

HELLO HELLO

WHILE THE LANDSCAPE OF THE OUTER BANKS HAS CHANGED QUITE A BIT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS – increased visitation, new bridges, second homes turned permanent residences, the anticipated grand opening of a Target – a key principle of living here still largely remains the same: Most locals simply don’t have just ONE job.

As with many “transplant” residents, my love affair with the Outer Banks started one summer while I was employed at a retail store by day and as a waitress by night. I was immediately fascinated with the whole beach vibe, and I, too, wondered what it would be like to live here permanently – which ultimately came down to one question: “Where would you work?”

Nowadays, with increased opportunities to work remotely, the question has morphed somewhat into: “What would you do for work?”

The answer is A LOT.

While my initial reasoning for working two jobs that first long-ago summer was to stock up a nest egg for returning to college in September, unconsciously, it was also influenced by the well-established local work culture. I waited tables alongside both cute 20-something surfer boys and 50-some-year-old town planners who clocked in after clocking out of their nine-to-fives. School teachers traded kids in the classroom for kids in the dance studio. Librarians went from shelving books to slinging beers all summer long. Everyone was always coming or going to some type of employment in a revolving door of summer tourism.

The key components of employment on the Outer Banks of yore were cheekily known as the “Three Rs” – namely, restaurant, retail and real estate, with nearly 80% of residents employed by one of those tourism-driven economies. The big three idea still holds true to some extent, but with the influx of people who have continued to make either a primary, secondary or temporary home here, the opportunities have expanded quite a bit.

Take it from me. From scheduling skydiving and hanggliding trips to learning how to craft a Rusty Nail, teaching the dynamics of a male speedo and providing personal style consultations, I’ve bobbed and weaved through all of the channels of opportunity on this sandbar over the years.

As a potential poster person for a jack-of-all-trades, master of merely a few, I’ve definitely been on all ends of the food spectrum (from small-event catering to dessert making to fine-dining service). Undaunted, I also taught middle school summer cooking classes for seven years with the understanding that if no one cut themselves I’d get a bonus. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t.) I did, however, develop and co-write a cooking curriculum that’s now used on the national level, and over the past few years I even taught private cooking lessons that were spurred by the popularity of the Instant Pot and everyone’s fear they would blow up their house if they used it. (More than 30 classes later, no one has…that I know of.)

My professional background’s taken me down many other roads as well. I did a lot of work writing a state curriculum on teaching health and safety to young children, and also taught childcare providers how to enhance their science curriculum by making fake scabs and boogers (always a favorite). I’ve been a keynote conference speaker at large conferences a handful of times, worked with school nurses to provide continuing education on social emotional development in the school system, revamped cafeteria food programs, and worked alongside school counselors at all levels to deliver grief support groups.

And sometimes things come up a bit more by chance. When the current publishers of this magazine purchased it in 2012, they casually asked me if I was a writer while we were picking up our two-year-old daughters from the same daycare – and I replied with: “Does a master’s thesis on the development of a quantitative measure to capture the social emotional growth of children with heart defects after attending a specialized camp count?” Ten years later, I’ve now published more than 50 articles in the Sun, ranging on a wide variety of local topics that are enjoyed by MANY more people than my thesis was, and are also way more fun.

As is often the case, one thing almost always leads to another, so I’ve also written pieces for real estate agents, tourism companies and social media, including a selfpublished bi-monthly e-magazine under the Four if by Sea moniker…and the list just continues to grow.

The best part about our community is that I’m clearly not the only one doing these things. Our island is simply filled with people with fascinating pasts and incredible talents. Superficially, you may see a retail store worker counting the hours in a shift, but if you scratch the surface, you’ll likely realize that the tapestry of this community is much richer and intricately woven. One way or another, we all find avenues to use our given talents, or acquire new ones, because the price of living in paradise is paid in many different ways. So next time you see your local lawyer singing in a band at the school carnival, your surf instructor strumming a guitar at a brewery or your barista selling tapestries at an annual craft fair, take a minute to dive deeper. Ask about their day, and listen to their stories. Maybe even buy them a beer. All of the moving pieces they represent help craft the Outer Banks you know and love – plus, you might just learn a thing or two about a secret shell bed, a spectacular sunset location or the locally favorite menu item. (P.S., that’s the Rip Coyles – trust me.)

And above all, please tip generously, and remember to be kind. Your happy hour waitress may very well be on her third shift of the day.

One way or another, we all find avenues to use our given talents, or acquire new ones, because the price of living in paradise is paid in many different ways.