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Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,162,989 times
Reputation: 1652
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluemind21
I wonder if the difference was that HI is just seen by a lot of people as a vacation destination? I am not sure where you lived in NorCal though. I suppose parts here are also a vacation destination. I know the area we live in has become part of the whole "wine county" thing so we definitely have a lot of tourism around that. When people visit us here they want to go wine tasting, which is something I have never done...I guess because it seems so touristy. lol What about you Grassyknoll, do you play the tour guide when friends visit you in HI?
And to whtviper1's point about not having to pay for a hotel. Our offer of a place to stay would depend on which friends/family were visiting, and if we had space for them (we plan to have a smaller house). There would be definite instances where I would just suggest a hotel (for sanity's sake).
I lived North is Sacramento in Auburn California. Nice town, gold country tourism and all that. But yeah, moving to Hawai'i, family, friends even coworkers, many said they would want to come visit (potential for free accommodations a big plus). We have had a pretty steady steam of people who made good on that commitment. We of course only accommodate those we want to, and actually enjoy having mainland visitors as it allows/forces us to play tour guide and do all those activities we wouldn't otherwise.
You may be pleasantly surprised at how many people that say they will visit and then actually do.
You may be pleasantly surprised at how many people that say they will visit and then actually do.
My opinion, you are very much an outlier on letting people stay your home, therefore, you are getting all these visitors. Shoot, I built a guest house for my wife's parents to stay the night(s) from Mililani because I just find it creepy for others to stay in the house and lose our privacy.
If you can't be bothered to live a minimalistic lifestyle before you move to Hawaii - then your chances of succeeding are probably low if all us a sudden you had a flash of minimalism once you get to Hawaii.....
Then there is what I'm doing:
I'm building up passive income and will still take a job when I decide to move. The downside is I have a long time until I can afford something like that, so I might go somewhere similar climate-wise but cheaper, such as some places on the South American Continent.
I lived North is Sacramento in Auburn California. Nice town, gold country tourism and all that. But yeah, moving to Hawai'i, family, friends even coworkers, many said they would want to come visit (potential for free accommodations a big plus). We have had a pretty steady steam of people who made good on that commitment. We of course only accommodate those we want to, and actually enjoy having mainland visitors as it allows/forces us to play tour guide and do all those activities we wouldn't otherwise.
You may be pleasantly surprised at how many people that say they will visit and then actually do.
Auburn is a beautiful area. You're very gracious to open your home, and play tour guide as well. I can see us doing the same, but as you said only accommodating those we want to.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,162,989 times
Reputation: 1652
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluemind21
Auburn is a beautiful area. You're very gracious to open your home, and play tour guide as well. I can see us doing the same, but as you said only accommodating those we want to.
Yes, I really like Auburn, but it is on the cusp of substantial growth and not the same place it was 10-20 years ago.
We actually enjoy having visitors as it gives us an opportunity to do all that "touristy" stuff that we don't normally do. Actually just got back from picking up my wife's sisters who flew in today from Northern California. So this makes our third round of visitors staying with us in the last 12 months.
I don't think the statisticians take everything into account when they do their figuring.
It's a common misconception that Hawaii is more expensive than anywhere in the country. I think Honolulu is number 7 of 11 big cities ranked by Huffington Post; and Honolulu is the most expensive in Hawaii. The Big Island isn't that bad. Gas is more expensive here than anywhere, that I do know, but you don't have to drive as far as you do on the mainland and no stop & go traffic for hours on the freeway; there is no freeway!! Also, there are benefits of living in paradise that many people overlook. You don't need to buy new winter clothes every year for your growing kids. You don't have to own a coat here. Coats can get pretty expensive. And on the Mainland don't you have to buy new winter outfits every year because the old ones go out of style? Here you can wear the same outfits all year long year after year (shorts and aloha shirt). You don't need to buy heating oil or spend money on any kind of heating because homes don't have heaters. Most people don't have air-conditioners either because of the gentle ocean breezes and mild temperatures; saves on summer electric bills. Building a house is cheaper because you don't need insulation, multiple pane windows, heating ducts, etc. Building permits are way cheaper, and building restrictions are far less than most places on the mainland. And what about winterizing your car and switching to studded snow tires and then back again every year? And even in the summer, don't you have to buy expensive suits, several of them, to look stylish? And shoes!! Boy are they expensive. Here you can go to work in shorts and aloha shirt and wear the same pair of "sleepahs" (sandals, flip flops) until they wear out.
I didn't add homeowner's insurance to my article because I didn't have any experience with it. Then I bought a house for my daughter in North Carolina. I was shocked that the insurance for the house there was three times more than the insurance for my own home in Kona.
Back in the old days things were more expensive because there was no competition and venders were all mom & pop stores. It's this out-of-date information that keeps people thinking Hawaii is an expensive place to live. Now we have Lowe's, Home Depot, Office Max, Ross's,Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Costco, Macy's and the largest Safeway in the state. More stuff, especially lumber, is being shipped over in such large quantities that the retail prices are about the same as anywhere on the Mainland. Costco gas is cheaper than most mainland cities.
Hawaii Property taxes are lower than most places on the Mainland except probably Arkansas and Mississippi. But much lower than anywhere in Washington State or California, New York, Main, Vermont Massachusetts, etc. I had a client from Main who was paying around $10,000/year for a regular house. Here it's about $2,500. Food is more expensive here, especially milk, but the four or five thousand dollars the average person will save on property taxes will certainly buy a lot of milk!! And now CostCo has organic milk really cheap. In fact, Costco has everything cheap.
Now you tell me what this is worth: Summer temperatures average between 80 & 90 with humidity between 30 & 60. Winter temps are between 75 & 85 with about the same humidity. You can swim in the ocean 365 days a year; the water temp is perfect, not cold but never tepid like in the Caribbean. We have an 8,600 foot high mountain that rises up from the ocean right behind town. It rains about 10 to 25 inches a year in town and maybe 30 to 50 inches the higher you move up slope. The sun evaporates moisture off the ocean and convection currents carry the moist warm air up slope starting about 9AM. Every morning around 9AM I have to shut my dormer windows to keep papers from blowing off my desk. When this warm moist air mass gets up around the 4000' to 5,000' elevation on Mt. Hualalai clouds begin to form. Starting around 11AM the cloud layer begins to fan out over an inversion layer and by 2PM it's shading my house. By 4PM it's shading town. Also around 4PM I'll have a light rain lasting about an hour up at my place (1,167' elevation). Around 6PM everything gets really still for about an hour as the sun sets brilliantly over the beautiful blue Pacific. Then the cold air from 8000' begins to slide down the mountain and cools things off all night long. Around 7AM it gets calm for about an hour and then it starts all over again. ALL YEAR LONG!! Oh sure, sometimes we have droughts and it doesn't rain at night for months at time. Sometimes we have storms and it will rain every day for a week. But even when it's raining it's between 70 & 80 degrees outside, so who cares??!! If I want to work outside when it's raining I put on a bathing suit!:-) Ask yourself what THAT'S worth?
It really depends on where you are.
Kailua Kona has been pretty hot this week, then when I drive to my office in Captain Cook it is usually cloudy, cooler and with a bit of a breeze (yesterday was really nice). Then when I drive home to Oceanview, it has been rainy and cool.
If you don't like the weather, drive 15 miles
Yes, I really like Auburn, but it is on the cusp of substantial growth and not the same place it was 10-20 years ago.
We actually enjoy having visitors as it gives us an opportunity to do all that "touristy" stuff that we don't normally do. Actually just got back from picking up my wife's sisters who flew in today from Northern California. So this makes our third round of visitors staying with us in the last 12 months.
We've seen that same growth (urban sprawl) in our area in the last 10-20 years. It is not surprising with such a mild climate, and open spaces that are truly stunning.
Our desire to relocate really has to do with our 40+ year dream to live in a tropical location. I hope we will also get a good stream of visitors when we make it to the BI. Husband will need fishing buddies.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,162,989 times
Reputation: 1652
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluemind21
We've seen that same growth (urban sprawl) in our area in the last 10-20 years. It is not surprising with such a mild climate, and open spaces that are truly stunning.
Our desire to relocate really has to do with our 40+ year dream to live in a tropical location. I hope we will also get a good stream of visitors when we make it to the BI. Husband will need fishing buddies.
Well, if you're moving to the BI he should have no issues finding local fishing buddies.
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