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Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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If there is any spot to get the aala karanging, Makapu'u or Sandys, with a south swell, will get the job done in a hurry. Nasty shore break with any south swell, like we had most of last week. That is a great pic..Maybe I'll try and find a spot on here to post a Makapu'u story, think everyone would enjoy it. Features the keyboard player from Pearl Jam, and old friend of mine..
Makapu'u is much better than Sandy's for surviving a karanging. It's over the falls and into the grindz, not over the falls and kersplat into the sand like Sandies. I really like Makapu'u.
For the OP, how about taking a bit of a "vacation" and checking out several of the islands and locations to see where you'd feel the most comfortable. When you live in Hawaii, you can always vacation in Hawaii so you could choose a less expensive island to live on and still vacation on Maui.
What sort of entertainments are you looking for? Opera? Theater? Rodeos? Surfing? What sort of amenities other than fast & reliable internet are you looking for?
Hotzcatz, when it comes to entertainment, we're pretty laid back. We love just hanging out on the beach, and I definitely want to take up paddle boarding, maybe other water sports as well. We both fell in love with snorkeling when we were in Maui, so we'd like to do a lot of that as well. We also really like watching sports. We do love opera and the theater, but don't go regularly. Since we're pretty frugal, we always enjoy activities that are free or won't break the bank, like various festivals. I'm also a huge history buff, and like visiting places with historical significance.
Hotzcatz, when it comes to entertainment, we're pretty laid back. We love just hanging out on the beach, and I definitely want to take up paddle boarding, maybe other water sports as well. We both fell in love with snorkeling when we were in Maui, so we'd like to do a lot of that as well. We also really like watching sports. We do love opera and the theater, but don't go regularly. Since we're pretty frugal, we always enjoy activities that are free or won't break the bank, like various festivals. I'm also a huge history buff, and like visiting places with historical significance.
Well, then I think our island would suit you pretty well! There are more festivals here than you can possibly attend, paddle boarding is very popular not to mention the snorkeling and diving. We also have the Aloha Theatre which puts on some mighty fine productions for a little community theatre group. We never have any big name acts here but we fly to Honolulu occasionally when something there really attracts us such as Wicked last winter. That's not to say we don't have great talent tho - Some local venues have wonderful headliners for jazz, small classical groups, dance, local choral group does 2 or 3 concerts per year of classical music.
I would always recommend Big Island - not because the other islands are less or bad, but because the size, the breadth of climate and the type of people. I've skied down from our Mauna (though bumpy it was), right towards some beautiful hot springs. Fresh fruits and veggies (big island white pineapple!) and some amazing grass-fed beef. I love how you can be in any weather regime (seriously) in a short drive and Hilo is a great town. It's easy to get to other islands and some amazing beaches. Love the volcanos and earthquakes and tsunamis, but if you don't there are places that a relatively safer from at least some of those
There's cultural stuff year round, and lots of great food. Small little theatres and great cultural traditions dominate the scenery here, not the huge mainstream rock concerts or broadway shows. Sleepy little Hawaiian villages tucked away up the Hamakua coast, and the Puna district has to be seen to be believed. Waimea highlands and the Kohala coast are breathtaking, and Kailua-Kona south to Ka'u is pretty unreal. Enough infrastructure to keep you busy but not enough to overload you.
HNL is great and I lived there for a bit. But I'm a bit more settled back and need my long(ish) drives through unspoiled scenery to keep my living. You have to visit and see all the islands because you may fall in love with Lana'i (or wherever). It all depends on you both! You'll find an opposite view for anything, so the reality is that YOU have seen and visited and researched and that YOU like it!
Like many others before us, my long-term girlfriend and I have fallen in love with Hawaii and are now considering it for our next move. I've read over many of the "I want to move to Hawaii" threads here on CD, but since our situation is slightly different than many others, I'd appreciate any additional input I can get.
A little about us: we are 27 and 30 and own a small business that allows us to work from anywhere with reliable phone/internet, so neither of us will need to find local employment. We currently make around 80k/year, but by the time we are ready to make the move in 1.5-2 years, that number will most likely be closer to 120-140k. We also have three (small) dogs, which from what I've read, will be one of our biggest obstacles when trying to find housing.
Given our location flexibility, does anyone have suggestions for which islands/areas would be best for our situation? Are there certain areas to avoid due to frequent internet outages? Honolulu seems like it would be a logical choice due to its size and diversity, but I've been a bit put off by people's complaints regarding traffic and overall congestion. One of the reasons that we are keen to move is to embrace a slower pace of life. My girlfriend is set on Maui, and we really liked the pace there, but living and vacationing are two very different things. I think ideally that we'd like to find a place that is fairly laid back but still offers enough amenities and activities so we don't get bored. We'd also like to be in an area where there are other people around our age for socialization purposes.
Also, are car prices generally higher or lower than on the mainland, taking into account the cost to ship a vehicle? We plan to sell our current vehicle prior to moving, but should we try to find a replacement vehicle here (Seattle) and have it shipped or would we be better off purchasing once we arrive?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Hi finngriffin, we're in a similar situation, having been thinking over and doing some research for the last year and a half. Reading A LOT on the CD forums and feel like we have a fairly reasonable idea for cost of living, economic climate, etc. It's myself, the hubs, and one dog (although he is large - about 80 pounds).
I work in a professional (non-IT) field, and do have the possibility of taking my job with me to work remotely - my husband, not so much. We will end up in or near Honolulu, for many reasons, but namely because of an educational opportunity that I may seize on and we'd need to be close. I've also done a lot of reading over on the Maui boards and it does sound like it has it's appeal! We've never been.
While I was reading your post, I was really curious if you would mind sharing what kind of work your small business is? I know it's a personal question and you have no idea who I am, and if you had wanted to share on a public forum you would have...but was wondering if maybe you'd be willing to share by PM? I have been looking at capitalizing on some of my skills by doing some online based freelancing in order to supplement the income a bit while the hubs gets more established, because I think we'd both be more comfortable with that. I don't know how feasible that is, though, and have thought about starting it now in a mock, "let's pretend we've already moved" scenario, to see what kind of additional income we might be able to count on. We should have a nice savings cushion by the time we land, by hey - let's make that last as long as possible, right? If you'd rather not share, nbd.
As fellow Pacific Northwesterners, we feel your climate pain. We feel it every day. Ha! Good luck to you, looking forward to hearing about your experience as you go forward.
A lot of people read the posts here without commenting. I get messages of appreciation and rep points from them all the time.
I myself have been reading them for over a year without comment or even bothering with a profile.
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