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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,550 posts, read 81,103,317 times
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I have only been to Oahu and Maui, but as much as I enjoy vacations there I would never want to live there. I'm not a surfer or beach lover, for me the best part was exploring the islands to see the natural beauty of the waterfalls, tropical forests, and the birds we don't have here. The problem for me is the climate. Christmas is just not the same when it's sunny and 80F, and many of the trees/plants that I like need a cold winter dormancy. Temperatures always between 60-90 all year would be horribly boring for me. I love the range, even days here when we can be 35F in the morning and 75F in the afternoon in the fall. Then there is the higher cost of everything since it has to come from the mainland except for maybe pineapple, and having to fly 6+ hours to visit family.
I have only been to Oahu and Maui, but as much as I enjoy vacations there I would never want to live there. I'm not a surfer or beach lover, for me the best part was exploring the islands to see the natural beauty of the waterfalls, tropical forests, and the birds we don't have here. The problem for me is the climate. Christmas is just not the same when it's sunny and 80F, and many of the trees/plants that I like need a cold winter dormancy. Temperatures always between 60-90 all year would be horribly boring for me. I love the range, even days here when we can be 35F in the morning and 75F in the afternoon in the fall. Then there is the higher cost of everything since it has to come from the mainland except for maybe pineapple, and having to fly 6+ hours to visit family.
I loved boring weather. I never had to factor in the weather as I planned my life.
I have only been to Oahu and Maui, but as much as I enjoy vacations there I would never want to live there. I'm not a surfer or beach lover, for me the best part was exploring the islands to see the natural beauty of the waterfalls, tropical forests, and the birds we don't have here. The problem for me is the climate. Christmas is just not the same when it's sunny and 80F, and many of the trees/plants that I like need a cold winter dormancy. Temperatures always between 60-90 all year would be horribly boring for me. I love the range, even days here when we can be 35F in the morning and 75F in the afternoon in the fall. Then there is the higher cost of everything since it has to come from the mainland except for maybe pineapple, and having to fly 6+ hours to visit family.
I've lived in Maui almost 10 years. The only thing I miss is "winterkill" when the cold kills many of the insects. Aside from that, I love the year-round mild climate, and don't ever get "island fever".
My first year or two in Hawaii during the winter I missed snowy weather over the holidays. Went back to JNU and discovered that two weeks of the cold and snow was plenty for me, I was ready to return after that. Now I don't miss those conditions in the least.
A friend who's been a resident for several decades still enjoys skiing, so he books an extended winter ski trip to British Columbia or one of the top notch resorts in the US West. Skiing is about the only compelling reason I can see for seeking out snow.
Most of the plants I enjoy require tropical conditions.
I do miss the mountains, towering conifer forests and glaciers of Alaska, so must go back for them. The lack of crowds on the roads and in stores there is also appealing.
So that's one negative I can think of for the OP regarding Hawaii: It's a bit crowded. I recently witnessed the daily kid pickup at Mt. View elementary school. It's insane! A never ending line of parents in cars slowly crawling along, waiting for their turn to collect Junior. How about letting them ride the bus?
Other than Prague I don't imagine that the Czech Republic is crowded. BTW, I have a neighbor from there. He defected way back in the early 80s while the country was still communist.
There's other places to get the climate and beach stuff.
To me, the appeal of Hawaii (sans Oahu) is that it's American and the Hawaiian vibe ... laidback vibe. Lazy days.
Well, it's kind of hard to keep a laidback, lazy vibe when the median HHI required to live there is 200K a year.
I would say the same thing for NYC, etc. Kind of hard keep a gritty vibe, when you have to literally be a millionaire to live in Manhattan.
While I take your point, the median HHI is nowhere close to $200k in Hawaii. And it can vary significantly by island, though even on the most expensive islands it's not that high.
No need to be a millionaire to live in Manhattan either, which you can do for far below such a wealth level even if you're not on government assistance.
I've found that people often look at the averages or the median for certain locations and forget that they are just that. You can live for well under or above both the average or median HHI, COL, etc.
While I take your point, the median HHI is nowhere close to $200k in Hawaii. And it can vary significantly by island, though even on the most expensive islands it's not that high.
No need to be a millionaire to live in Manhattan either, which you can do for far below such a wealth level even if you're not on government assistance.
I've found that people often look at the averages or the median for certain locations and forget that they are just that. You can live for well under or above both the average or median HHI, COL, etc.
Most average people in Hawaii live a much simpler life than most average people on the Mainland. Fewer frivolities, even fewer necessities (such as little or nothing for home heating and cooling costs).
That's possible if you adapt your concept of pleasure to the mild climate lifestyle. Once I made the purchase of a decent road bicycle and some accessories, I was good for 10-15 hours a week of a past time with little further expense. For others, that might be something as simple as a surfboard or running shoes. Or just a backyard (that is, lanai) grill.
While I take your point, the median HHI is nowhere close to $200k in Hawaii. And it can vary significantly by island, though even on the most expensive islands it's not that high.
No need to be a millionaire to live in Manhattan either, which you can do for far below such a wealth level even if you're not on government assistance.
I've found that people often look at the averages or the median for certain locations and forget that they are just that. You can live for well under or above both the average or median HHI, COL, etc.
Numbers aside, we KNOW how much it costs to live in Maui and Manhattan.
I know you know, and you know I know.
The other thing about Maui is the live music is not great.
That's a small argument. But every place has a trade off obviously.
We've been here on the Big Island since we retired 13 years ago, going back to Colorado for the summers to visit kids and grandkids and take some road trips.
I love the fact that I can grow fruit and vegetables and flowers year-round in my yard here in Hawaii. We went back to Colorado last Christmas and while I enjoyed being with family, I DID NOT like the freezing temperatures and 8" of snow :-(. Yes, it was beautiful for about five minutes.
We live in a rural area, and it takes us an hour and a half to get to either Kona or Hilo for shopping and medical care. We try to not make that drive any more frequently than a couple of times a month, and we consider the hassle to be "paradise tax". Downside is that seeing a medical specialist means a flight over to Oahu, and it's really really hard to get a new dentist anywhere on the island.
We don't get rock fever, for most of the same reasons that prospectheightsresident gave. The Big Island is big enough that we hardly get to the other side of the island unless there's a very special reason or unless we are taking a visitor sightseeing. Sometimes we'll even take a staycation to the north side for a change of scenery, but we have plenty to do at home that keeps us busy.
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