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I was in Ohau for 6 months, and visited Kaui, Maui and the Big Island for 2 weeks each. It was 10 years ago.
Of course, it is a narrow statement, and it was mostly in Ohau. But I mimic the other kind of narrow statements about FL or TX I hear, to make a point.
Unfortumately, there are such dilapidated houses in HI. I do not remember where I was. I think close to Pearl Harbor. In the farm mainland too.
I had this naive idea that poor homes, or huts, would be made from localy available materials, like lava rocks, thatched roofs, with luxuriant vegetation and palms around. But what I saw was very disheartning.
Most beautiful homes try to be very "private" and hide behind foliage and gates. It is not like the ostentatious homes you find in Beverly Hills or La Jolla (San Diego). They do not exploit their "curb appeal".
From Waikiki, when you take the road toward Diamond Head, there are "nice" homes perched in the hills, or along the beach. But once more, nothing extraordinary to see from the road. You can guess they are expensive due to their location, not from their "look"
On the Big Island, same. There are supposed to be some million dollar estates, like in Captain Cook, but I have not seen even one "fabulous" home there, even though I know they exist.
Or maybe my idea of a "fabulous" million $ home is not the same as yours.???
Head down to Portlock in the Hawaii Kai area next time - plenty of beautiful homes from the road or as you walk on the beach.
This is like the 3rd time this thread gets beaten to death, and somebody has to jump in to rebalance it. I hate to play armchair psychologist (but what else are these forums for :-), but SurferCocoa has some unresolved issues with Hawaii, wanting others to live out the Hawaiian dream she couldn't have, to justify its worth.
SurferCocoa wrote: "HI Universities have a poor reputation when it comes to Science." I won't say they are world renowned, but the earth and ocean sciences seem very well developed (SOEST | School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology).
Dilapidated homes in Hawaii, no way! Right next to a house with putting green grass and thousands of carefully tended orchids blooming all year? How can that be, can we hold these contrasts in our minds? Oh, and please tell me again what ostentatious homes mean?
And finally about consumerism: whether you like it or not, whether you partake in it or not, it pervades, nay, it oozes from (almost) every town in America. If you can't send your kids to public school because they make them watch TV with advertising and pop culture, is it still a free country (hyperbole alert)?
So NO, you cannot have a simple, normal, non-materialistic life in America. You have to go live in the boonies, home-school your kids, and even then, if you care about anything, you have to get involved in politics and deal with our free-for-all market mentality. Wouldn't it be nice to raise kids in a regular town, with regular neighbors who don't watch an average of 4hrs of TV per day? Wouldn't it be nice to raise a family in a place where kids don't have to sell gross cheese logs to raise money for their school (and the gift catalog industry). Wouldn't it be nice to raise kids among other healthy kids who all have medical coverage and neighbors don't get forclosed on if one of them gets horribly sick?
SurferCocoa wrote: "This variety of fresh [out-of-season 10K mile] produce do not exist in places like N.Z." and I add: they are so much better for it.
SurferCocoa wrote: "It reminds me of those super morbid obese 1 ton patients..." A psychologist who blames the patient, well, well.
SurferCocoa wrote: "Nobody obliges me to be matrialistic. It is my choice. And I will be werever I reside." Right, nobody said you couldn't be materialistic, or that your kids shouldn't be materialistic (though you should probably think about it), and nobody said you shouldn't live in the consumerist mecca of Florida. So why don't you let the OP or whoever wants to be non-consumerist seek out the country or community that fits best with their vision of how they want to live and raise their kids? On what grounds do you say your vision, your dream, is better than theirs?
Or maybe my idea of a "fabulous" million $ home is not the same as yours.???
You are probably right. For me it is always about location, location, location and not about having a big fancy house. My wife and I live in a cute yet small 2 bedroom house and we don't even use all of that. Kind of reminds me of the little houses down towards Diamond Head coming from Waikiki(around Coconut Ave, Kiele Ave, etc..). If I had a million dollars to spend on a house, I would rather have a very small house in a great location, then a HUGE house in an ok location. Also, what the difference is between and ok area and a great area is different for each person. I love snorkeling. Doesn't have to be the best in the world, but I do like just walking right in from the beach and having fun. From what I have heard, you can't do that it Florida. You have to be down in the Keys and have to have a boat to get to any good snorkeling spots. So for me, Florida is just an ok area at best.
You are probably right. For me it is always about location, location, location and not about having a big fancy house. My wife and I live in a cute yet small 2 bedroom house and we don't even use all of that. Kind of reminds me of the little houses down towards Diamond Head coming from Waikiki(around Coconut Ave, Kiele Ave, etc..). If I had a million dollars to spend on a house, I would rather have a very small house in a great location, then a HUGE house in an ok location. Also, what the difference is between and ok area and a great area is different for each person. I love snorkeling. Doesn't have to be the best in the world, but I do like just walking right in from the beach and having fun. From what I have heard, you can't do that it Florida. You have to be down in the Keys and have to have a boat to get to any good snorkeling spots. So for me, Florida is just an ok area at best.
Very same with me. When I was in HI, I was renting a small room for $400 in a cute little house. I was mostly taking the bus to Waikiki, which I really love. There is a bus that goes all around the Island too.
Once a month I would rent a little economy car for one week to go around and explore. I travel a lot, but not like a tourist. I typically stay quite a while in each place, get to know people, stay in very elementary quarters, sometimes sleeping on a thin mat on the floor, and without even hot water, when I am far out in small villages. I can be very frugal.
But with a family, it's different. I cannot impose my lifestyle on my kids. And I cannot afford HI, which originally was my place of choice.
I also chose to live walking distance to the beach, in a 1700sf home. I do not think it is small, but I could get much bigger and better if I was 1/4 miles away....
Frankly, I do not miss HI at all. Besides the Ocean, there are those intercoastal body of water that allows all kind of water sport. Or kayaking down a river in the Ocala forest.... so much to do.
As far as snorkeling, it can be done from shore at Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. But usually the most colorful fishes are among coral reefs, and coral reefs are extremely fragile. Walking on them would destroy them. So the real nice LIVE ones are seen offshore. I have to say that I am a diver, so I am not impressed by what I saw at Hanauma Bay. In HI also, if you want to see some real nice underwater sea life, you need to get on a boat.
What's special in FL, is the diving. The gulf Stream creates a very unique situation. From West Palm Beach, with a boat, you can dive in the Gulf Stream. The boat drops you, with a master diver of course, in one spot. The warm stream current takes you in a panoramic ride, with very little effort on your part. You cross your arms, and barely beat your fins.... The view is absolutely spectacular. The diversity of fishes. The colorful corals themselves... I won't attempt to describe. You can look it up. My favorite place is called "Flower Gardens".
Then at the end, when you surface, you find the boat ready to pick you up!
Very different than when you take a boat and is obliged to circle around the boat in a single spot.
I do not go diving so much for now, since the kids are too young to come with me. But we will go diving as a family when they are teens. Yes, it is expensive. But I surely rather go diving than go to DisneyLand. Same price as a ski trip in you live in CA. It is worth it to me.
This is like the 3rd time this thread gets beaten to death, and somebody has to jump in to rebalance it. I hate to play armchair psychologist (but what else are these forums for :-), but SurferCocoa has some unresolved issues with Hawaii, wanting others to live out the Hawaiian dream she couldn't have, to justify its worth.
SurferCocoa wrote: "HI Universities have a poor reputation when it comes to Science." I won't say they are world renowned, but the earth and ocean sciences seem very well developed (SOEST | School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology).
Dilapidated homes in Hawaii, no way! Right next to a house with putting green grass and thousands of carefully tended orchids blooming all year? How can that be, can we hold these contrasts in our minds? Oh, and please tell me again what ostentatious homes mean?
And finally about consumerism: whether you like it or not, whether you partake in it or not, it pervades, nay, it oozes from (almost) every town in America. If you can't send your kids to public school because they make them watch TV with advertising and pop culture, is it still a free country (hyperbole alert)?
So NO, you cannot have a simple, normal, non-materialistic life in America. You have to go live in the boonies, home-school your kids, and even then, if you care about anything, you have to get involved in politics and deal with our free-for-all market mentality. Wouldn't it be nice to raise kids in a regular town, with regular neighbors who don't watch an average of 4hrs of TV per day? Wouldn't it be nice to raise a family in a place where kids don't have to sell gross cheese logs to raise money for their school (and the gift catalog industry). Wouldn't it be nice to raise kids among other healthy kids who all have medical coverage and neighbors don't get forclosed on if one of them gets horribly sick?
SurferCocoa wrote: "This variety of fresh [out-of-season 10K mile] produce do not exist in places like N.Z." and I add: they are so much better for it.
SurferCocoa wrote: "It reminds me of those super morbid obese 1 ton patients..." A psychologist who blames the patient, well, well.
SurferCocoa wrote: "Nobody obliges me to be matrialistic. It is my choice. And I will be werever I reside." Right, nobody said you couldn't be materialistic, or that your kids shouldn't be materialistic (though you should probably think about it), and nobody said you shouldn't live in the consumerist mecca of Florida. So why don't you let the OP or whoever wants to be non-consumerist seek out the country or community that fits best with their vision of how they want to live and raise their kids? On what grounds do you say your vision, your dream, is better than theirs?
Wouldn't it be nice to raise kids in a regular town, with regular neighbors who don't watch an average of 4hrs of TV per day? Wouldn't it be nice to raise a family in a place where kids don't have to sell gross cheese logs to raise money for their school (and the gift catalog industry). Wouldn't it be nice to raise kids among other healthy kids who all have medical coverage and neighbors don't get forclosed on if one of them gets horribly sick?
Sure it would be nice. Where is this place? Is it in N.Z. or HI? Actually, it might be in Russia, or Iran. If you travel in very poor countries, you will see big TV antennas, or even satellite dishes on the thatch roofs of tiny little mud huts without running water. Very strange.
Did you hear about this teen in China who sold one of his kidney for an ipod?
Last edited by SurferCocoa; 01-20-2012 at 04:08 PM..
SurferCocoa, I am curious about something. Since you love Florida so much and "do not miss HI at all" why do you have 40 posts in the Hawaii section, 1 in the San Diego section and 0 in the Florida section of these forums?
You are probably right. For me it is always about location, location, location and not about having a big fancy house. My wife and I live in a cute yet small 2 bedroom house and we don't even use all of that. Kind of reminds me of the little houses down towards Diamond Head coming from Waikiki(around Coconut Ave, Kiele Ave, etc..). If I had a million dollars to spend on a house, I would rather have a very small house in a great location, then a HUGE house in an ok location. Also, what the difference is between and ok area and a great area is different for each person. I love snorkeling. Doesn't have to be the best in the world, but I do like just walking right in from the beach and having fun. From what I have heard, you can't do that it Florida. You have to be down in the Keys and have to have a boat to get to any good snorkeling spots. So for me, Florida is just an ok area at best.
Even houses in bad locations an hour from the ocean, surrounded by broken down cars and old washing machines, cost a lot of money in Hawaii! House values are overinflated relative to actual incomes.
Even houses in bad locations an hour from the ocean, surrounded by broken down cars and old washing machines, cost a lot of money in Hawaii! House values are overinflated relative to actual incomes.
The price of living in Hawai'i. To some it may be worth it, to others not. One thing to think about is IF it wasn't as expensive to live in Hawai'i, there would be a LOT more people there!
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