If one thinks of searching for the smallest inhabited island in the world, the first glance will fall on the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. Among thousands, if not tens of thousands of islands and islets there are, of course, very small ones. So what would you think if you learned that the smallest inhabited island in the world is only a 5-hour drive(!) from the busiest road in the world, New York’s 5th Avenue? And is it even in the same state as the Big Apple?

Just Room Enough Island, “Just Room Enough Island,” as its owners have dubbed it, is enough and enough for them, but… for no one else. This island is just 310 square meters in area and is home to a house, a tree, some bushes, and, of course, a beach. Does one need anything more to find tranquility? Although the house is a cottage (i.e. it has no permanent residents), it is officially considered the smallest inhabited island in the world. And its history is anything but short.

As long as a tennis court

JREI (from its initials in English) is part of an island archipelago of 1,864 small islands and islets collectively called the Thousand Islands. It is located in New York State, at its northeastern tip, very close to the US-Canada border, between the mouth of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, which connects the lake’s body of water to the Atlantic Ocean. The islands of this archipelago, although small in area (in total they do not exceed 100 square kilometres) are one of the most popular places for the rest and tranquillity of visitors. That is why, after all, the islands are full of holiday homes, and most of them have been bought by families so that they are their personal property.