Hawaii vs Western U.S. (public school, universities, tornadoes)

[HawaiiKaiMom]

I've been living on Oahu for the past ten years and basically loving life, but there are times when I get that feeling that I need more space to roam. I'm an art director, but open to changing careers. My husband is a boat captain and loves being out on the water for work and play. We have two young children. They enjoy horseback riding, hiking, swimming and camping.

Any ideas on places with a quality of life comparable to Hawaii that are far less expensive with better public school systems, lots of outdoor activities, beautiful scenery, decent weather (cold is okay as long as there is an abundance of sun), prefer areas less prone to fires, flooding, hurricanes, etc., safe, good music, great universities nearby, not too far from job scene, friendly and down-to-earth communities....

I have thought about Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Texas, but am open to more ideas.

[sav858]

The #1 mainland county people from Honolulu County move to is San Diego County. It's not Hawaii but shares a fair amount of similarities and fits most of your needs. It's cheaper the HNL but more expensive that all those states you considered.

[HawaiiKaiMom]

Thanks. I've thought about San Diego a lot, but have always been scared that it would put us in the same position that we are here which is B-R-O-K-E. The one benefit we would have is being closer to family.

[sav858]

True, if cost of issue is a living then SD is not the best place to escape that issue. Best of luck.....

[Katarina Witt]

There are not many boat captain jobs in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Wyo and MT are not big water sport states. I guess there are some water activities along the Snake River in Idaho. I think Texas or Oregon would be your best bets.

[indigoblues]

May as well toss Eastern Washington into the consideration pool too.

[eskercurve]

You may wish to consider areas around Seattle, but not Seattle or King County in general. If you are broke then basically Tacoma, Everett, Marysville, anywhere north of there up to the Canadian border are affordable.

Unfortunately none of the San Juan islands are very affordable.

You may also want to consider the Colombia river valley towns. THere's one in particular that I thought was charming - Stevenson, WA. It's very close to Portland, which is considered more affordable than Seattle, still very safe, great place to raise a family. TONS of natural beauty around.

Texas is definitely cheaper, though, you'd have to put up with nasty heat and humidity, and weather the occassional hurricane.

Down US-101 there's lots of affordable towns to consider as well. I would think about taking a road trip and seeing what you thought, for a week, if you can afford it.

Good luck!

[northstar22]

Would you be interested in the Midwest? We have a much lower cost of living than the Western U.S., and lots of water along the Great Lakes. You might want to look into Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Minnesota. If you're more of the "wide open spaces" type, then Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, or the Dakotas would fit the bill.

It honestly sounds like you'd love Michigan. We have more coastline than any other state in the U.S. except one (and it's not Hawaii), and 12,000 inland lakes to enjoy. Michigan is also an outdoor paradise, with skiing, hiking, biking, water-sports, rock-climbing, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and anything else you can imagine doing outside. The scenery is breathtaking, especially along the lakeshore. No hurricanes, earthquakes, or fires here. We rarely get tornadoes, mostly in the extreme southern part of the state. Unfortunately, Michigan is also the cloudiest state in the country. We have big cities and small towns here, so which one are you looking for? From your post, it sounds like Traverse City would be a good fit for you.