In the midst of the beauty of Washington as Alex struggles through poverty in Maid, she gets a job cleaning on the wealthy Fisher Island – but where is Fisher Island? Maid follows young mother Alex Russell as she leaves her abusive boyfriend and fights to survive while raising her 3-year-old daughter Maddy. The Netflix limited series is based on the best-selling 2019 memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land, illuminating the realities of poverty and abuse. Maid is set in Washington State in the modern day, with Alex and her family living in the poverty-stricken areas of Port Hampstead.
The series is true-to-life in depicting the wealth disparities in Washington coastal areas, with many beautiful port towns seeing gaps between the McMansions and the poverty-stricken communities just struggling to survive. The beauty of the Pacific Northwest is one that tends to capture viewers’ attention, and Maid articulately uses the locations like Port Hampstead and Fisher Island as a way to geographically highlight the economic struggles of Margaret Qualley’s (Death Note) character Alex Russell. Episode 1 of Maid sees Alex get a job for Value Maids, with her first job being a ferry ride away on Washington’s nearby wealthy Fisher Island. But, where is Fisher Island?
Does Fisher Island Exist?
Audiences won’t find a definitive answer to “Where is Fisher Island?” because, in reality, Fisher Island and Port Hampstead don’t actually exist. Fisher Island is technically a real island in Washington State, but it’s located much further south in the state on the Columbia River, while Maid’s Fisher Island is located near Seattle in the Puget Sound. With Maid’s Port Hampstead clearly being based on Washington’s real-life port city of Port Townsend where author Stephanie Land lived in her late 20s, the most logical Washington location that Fisher Island is based on is Whidbey Island, which is the closest island commute from Port Townsend.
Since Whidbey Island is technically the answer to “where is Fisher Island?”, it’s worth looking further into the real-life location and how it translates into author Stephanie Land’s true story. Whidbey Island is the largest of all the islands in Island County, Washington, and in the entire state. Similar to what is depicted in Maid’s true story, Whidbey Island is divided economically. The northern half of the island has strong ties to the Naval Station that operates there and is a predominately service-industry-funded area with several national chain stores. The Southern half of the island relies on tourism, the arts, and small-scale agriculture.
Where Was Maid Filmed?
While the entire Netflix TV Show is set in Washington State, Maid was entirely filmed in Canada, only complicating the “where is Fisher Island?” question. All of Maid was filmed in Greater Victoria on Vancouver Island with most of the Port Hampstead scenes being shot in the city of Colwood. Maid‘s Fisher Island location is filmed in Victoria’s wealthy waterside Ten Mile Point neighborhood, which is situated in the District of Saanich. The area features homes owned by notable celebrities like the NBA’s Steve Nash and singer Nelly Furtado, so its beauty has clearly attracted well-to-do residents before Maid.
A lot of real-life locations went into filming Maid, rather than pre-made sets. For example, the gas station Alex and Maddy go to in episode 1 is actually Oldfield’s Save-On Gas on W Saanich Road in the outskirts of Victoria, and the Port Hampstead Ferry terminal scenes were filmed at the Swartz Bay Terminal near Sidney in North Saanich. The dock on Fisher Island is the real-life Terminal Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring Island and the Value Maids headquarters was filmed at the oldest laundromat in Victoria, Tillicum Laundry. Regina’s luxurious home can be found in the Ten Mile Point neighborhood in Victoria.
While Maid not being filmed in Washington is upsetting for true accuracy, it’s not uncommon for Pacific Northwest-set shows and movies to film in their neighbor to the north, with a major example being the Forks-set Twilight. Vancouver and Victoria’s filming costs are far cheaper than would be in the actual Washington locations, so Netflix’s productions can be more financially feasible while still achieving the same scenery. Maid still does an incredible job capturing the spirit of Washington life, with its fictional setting still being an accessible story for those living in areas like Port Townshend where ferry rides to Seattle and nearby islands are the reality for job commutes.
