After nine years working as a naturopathic physician on Vashon, Nicole Maxwell is leaving the island with her family for Boise, Idaho, where the cost of living is more affordable than in this area of the Pacific Northwest.

Maxwell, of Maxwell Family Medicine in downtown Vashon, said she has about 600 patients and will have a telemedicine program to maintain contact with patients during the transition time. She has also arranged with a soon-to-be announced naturopath to take over her lease.

“It was a really hard decision, and I am going to miss all of my clients,” she said.

Maxwell and her husband Daniel Macca are parents of two children, ages 8 and 11. The family has outgrown their home, and they hoped to sell it and purchase something slightly larger, she said, but everything was out or reach financially. She shared that information both in a recent conversation with The Beachcomber and in an email to her patients.

“After an extensive process, we simply arrived at the conclusion that the island is becoming too expensive for our family to live and work,” she wrote.

In the midst of that process, she said that she read that Boise is “the new Portland.” They like Portland, she said, and decided to check it out. They liked what the found: friendly people, some places with more bikes than cars and a city that is small and easily accessible.

She noted that her husband, who coaches and teaches for a coaching organization, can work anywhere.

Maxwell’s last day in the clinic was Tuesday. Next month she will begin her new position at Boise Natural Health Clinic. Information regarding the naturopath taking over her lease is expected to be available soon.