I think you would need to be a special kind of person to live on a tiny island with a population of 20
Not special, just a particular kind of person.
Me and the OH lived on an island with a winter population of 4 for four years (in our final winter we had a small baby and there were just the three of us!). You do have to able to do stuff without calling on others all the time - you get good at problem solving, but when there is a big job to do, very small communities are very good at pulling together as you need each other to get by. You learn to look out for each other eg in the winter, we always made sure we had seen the other inhabitants, even if it was only on the skyline, to be sure they were ok, and I know they did the same for us.
On the other hand, unless you are careful not to live in each other's pockets, they will drive you nuts, so a careful balancing act is needed. Summer visitors are good at asking dumb questions, but everyone will know who you are because as a year round resident, you become something of a summer celebrity - we hardly ever ate at home over the summer months as we were constantly being asked to dinner by holiday visitors.
I was only 21 when we moved there - it taught us a huge amount and it was a brilliant thing to have done while we were young, fit and had few responsibilities. I am eternally thankful to have had such a brilliant oportunity at the start of my adult life!
