Current values related to the average inhabitant of Texel

Normal people are defined as the average Texelaars. They are an active part of the community of the island and have mostly, already defined their values, behaviors, perspectives of future possibilities for Texel and its relation with sustainability. The values that we define for them are based on how the Texelaar currently values each category.

 

Family

Family is very important to the average inhabitant of Texel. Except for large amounts of tourists, Texelaars are pretty much isolated from other people and therefore do not have a lot of contact with people from different communities. This makes family one of the most important values for the Texelaar.

 

Financial Resources

Financial Resources are not very important to the Texelaar. Career-wise, moving to the mainland would probably be much wiser. The inhabitants of Texel care about their island and their community more than they value financial resources.

 

Friends

In some sence, friends are not necessarily of much value to the Texelaar. Due to what islanders call: "island feeling", Texelaars are exposed to a form of isolation, where they cannot rely on others, but are dependent on their own capabilities. However, due to the fact that the inhabitants of Texel live in small towns and communities scattered over the island, they do have a strong sense of being connected to other islanders. 

 

Health and Fitness

Health and fitness is a very personal value, which can vary a lot from one person to another. From 1997 to 2007, there has been a large increase in 60-80 year old inhabitants of Texel. On average, the normal inhabitant of Texel is of higher age than an average inhabitant in a city on the mainland. Therefore health might be of greater importance to the average Texelaar than to a mainlander.

 

Home and Place

Home and Place are very important to the regular Texelaar. Due to small communities scattered over Texel, and the isolation of the island, things such as identity and culture are of utmost importance to the Texelaar. Whilst young people tend to leave the island to experience life on the mainland, older people have often already experienced it, or have another reason to consciously chose to live on Texel.

 

Leadership

Leadership can be linked to the strong cultural identity of the Texelaar. Since their cultural identity is very strong within their small community, the average Texelaar puts in effort to maintain this identity. This is done by contributing to their community by E.G. becoming involved in matters such as politics, where they have the possibility to make the municipality reflect the needs of the Texelaar.

 

Leisure pursuits

The island has a lot to offer this group of Texelaars when we look at leisure activities. Even though many attractions and activities are focused more on tourists than on the inhabitants themselves, Texel is an island where one could spend hours hiking, cycling or enjoying a lot of different activities. 

 

Personal Growth

 

Due to the relatively small amount of youngsters, and the higher average age of the inhabitant of Texel, on average, most of the Texelaars have already developed themselves. Therefore, personal growth is not of much value for this group of inhabitants.

 

Public Service

Due to the small communities on Texel, people are quite involved with their community. This means that the inhabitants, generally speaking, want to contribute to their valued communities. They do this by getting involved with politics or other initiatives that benefit their communities.

 

Spirituality

Texelaars are very liberal on average. Even a village such as Oosterend, where there are five churches and religion used to have a strong influence, is now very liberal. (TexelNU, 2013)

 

Work Satisfaction

Most of the Texelaars are financially dependent on tourism. Many get their satisfaction from working for tourists, but since tourism also has a negative side for Texel (E.G. littering, nuisance), this is far from optimal.

 

 

 

TexelNU. (2013). Texelaars lijken verdacht veel op Nederlanders  Retrieved 6-12, 2014, from https://www.texelnu.nl/ontdek-texelnu/eilanders/andere-eilanders/342-texelaars-lijken-verdacht-veel-op-nederlanders

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