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Thank you for your replies. I know a little bit about Texas, but everyone I've talked with has said that summers are unbelievably hot on average. I'm somewhat familiar with Corpus Christi area, but it didn't look like someplace we would want to live year round. I know I would love the food in Texas, but that's probably not a very good reason to move there! Can you tell me what else you know about central and southeastern Texas?
This is just coming second hand from my dad's experience. He has lived in Texas my whole life (long story ) and loves it there. He was born and raised here (in NW Georgia) and has said categorically and emphatically that he would never want to leave Texas.
As far as the heat, (again, this is from what he says, not MY personal experience - so your mileage on this may vary!), it DOES get very hot - but it is so much less humid than Georgia that he says he doesn't even notice. BUT...remember that Georgia is SWELTERING and HUMID in the summer (which goes on FOREVER!) and (besides his stay in Vietnam ), that's his only real basis of comparison.
I know he and my mom and brothers lived in Corpus Christi for a while before I was born and my mother says she really liked it there (but I couldn't tell you what she liked about it ). My dad has lived almost exclusively in Houston besides that stay in CC.
A few months ago he lost his job when his company went under - but he was out of work for just ONE day as he found another job the very next day (he's a salesman for carpets/rugs).
Do you have any specific questions about the area? I could ask him more specific questions if you like.
Location: Was in Western New York but now in Hilo Hawaii
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Originally Posted by kitty-mau
Thank you for your replies. I know a little bit about Texas, but everyone I've talked with has said that summers are unbelievably hot on average. I'm somewhat familiar with Corpus Christi area, but it didn't look like someplace we would want to live year round. I know I would love the food in Texas, but that's probably not a very good reason to move there! Can you tell me what else you know about central and southeastern Texas?
Aloha Kitty,
I only have one concern towards and one suggestion . My concern is with your Husbands condition and health care and available service on Maui. Not knowing how much care he will need in the next few years and what will be needed. Example : I live on the Bigger Island and my next door neighbors are elderly and they have to fly to Honolulu for medical care . So if your Husband will need specific care that you probably wont get on Maui then its a flight to HNL.
That brings me to my suggestion. If you like warm no cold low humidity close to water great weather look in to San Diego California. its a great county. It comes with a price of high Prop tax and Values and lots more people but with better medical.
In my very humble opinion, you really have to visit Maui before you even begin to consider moving there.
This theme has been echoed many times on this forum...and probably for good reason -- the move to Hawaii can be exhausting, expensive, and regretful...especially if you have never visited before.
Yes, I would definitely be concerned about the level of medical care on Maui given your husband's already-known disability. Though I wish it were not true, the medical care is nowhere close to the level of the mainland. It really has to do with the number/availability of healthcare professionals on the island. To that end, I hope to add a little more quality when I move this summer.
Thank you for your replies. I know a little bit about Texas, but everyone I've talked with has said that summers are unbelievably hot on average. I'm somewhat familiar with Corpus Christi area, but it didn't look like someplace we would want to live year round. I know I would love the food in Texas, but that's probably not a very good reason to move there! Can you tell me what else you know about central and southeastern Texas?
My parents have some old friends who used to live on South Padre island. It seemed like a nice place. One thing I like about the Texas coast is that you can live in a beach neighborhood with canals. You're on the water without having to be oceanfront, so it's cheaper. A lot of folks dock boats at their houses on the canals too.
Texas beaches aren't nearly as nice as Hawaii's, although on the plus side the sea is warmer in the summer-- mid to high 80s.
Central Texas, especially Austin is where Texas transitions between the South and the Southwest. Austin is a "progressive" city like San Francisco, Seattle, etc. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.
The hill country, even within an hour of Austin, has a lot of secluded communities and individual lots. These places are truly beautiful. We're talking waterfalls, swimming holes, ferns growing out of rock outcrops, etc. I'll try to find some pics of these places but here's the best I can turn up now
http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/astro/gallery/pedernales_gallery/images/pedernales%20falls.jpg (broken link)
Thank you everyone for your input. Should we decide to make a move, I would definitely be traveling to that specific area first to see what it's like and get a general "feel" for the area. Obviously, I would be traveling on my own, but my husband is confident in my opinion and choices. We've been married for 33 years so we know each others likes and dislikes pretty well by now.
Thank you very much for posting the photo. That was very thoughtful and I appreciate it. I love nature and spend a lot of time outdoors even in our cold winter months. This is going to sound kind of stupid, but one of the reasons I want to move is to have a new "adventure". I know ALL of Minnesota. It is absolutely beautiful here, but I've seen it all and it would be fun to have new scenery and new areas to explore.
My husband has mentioned Texas because he loves the homes down there and you get more house for your money, so maybe we could actually move to another house and not give up anything. All my extended family (cousins, etc.) are on the west coast from San Diego all the way up to northern California, Portland and Seattle, so we have given Calilfornia thought. Our biggest concern in California is the housing costs and the congestion. I have visited southern California many times and I love the climate but for some reason I just don't feel comfortable there. Too fast paced. Maybe it's because I'm from Minnesota. My extended family is from Minnesota as well, but they moved to California back in 1970, so they've pretty much grown up there and fit right in. I'm also very concerned with the crime rate. I pretty much do everything on my own. I'm very careful and aware of my surroundings, but sometimes I do feel a bit vulnerable. I know we have plenty of crime here in the Twin Cities, but it tends to always be in specific areas within the city which I avoid.
As far as medical goes, we're not sure if my husband will have more surgeries. At this point there isn't much more the surgeons can do for him. He has a progressive degenerative disease of the spine and there is no cure. He's had five surgeries over the past 20 years to relieve pressure on his spinal cord but as he ages, it's just progressively getting worse. He started to have problems when he was in his twenties and he's only 53 so he's missed out on a lot in life. I think as far as medical care goes, we just need to have access to a good pain clinic. If he did require another surgery I would bring him back to the Twin Cities if we don't feel comfortable with the surgeons nearby.
It is a big decision for us - especially me, since I would end up doing everything for the move. I'm glad I found this site so I could chat with others regarding this. I like to have as much info as possible when I'm making big decisions, and for us moving is a huge decision.
I think I'm going to give Texas some more thought!
Well tonight has ended up being a really late night.
I've been reading this very interesting, relevant and LONG thread as my wife and I are in a similar situation.
Myself and my wife are currently living in Houston, Texas and in two years are considering the move to either Maui or Florida. I am from Northern Europe but have spent at least the last 15 years in warmer climates without winters and have no plans on getting cold again any time soon. My wife is from Brazil, and much like me is happy to be warm and miserable when she is cold. Now Houston is warm, REALLY warm in the summer and we both love it, but we get so bored here. We are outside people, we like beaches, biking, boating, walking and I've been windsurfing for some 25 years and Texas isn't really doing it for us. The beach in Galveston is nice and uncrowded but it's not a nice beach really!!
So the argument goes:
Maui or Florida (probably northern Florida)
House prices - Although Texas is WAY cheaper than either Maui or Florida, the price gap between Florida and Maui is not so great. Maui is a little higher, but property tax is a killer in Florida.
Tax - No State income tax here in Texas, neither in Florida. Yes in Maui
Gas prices - (on last visit 6 weeks ago) $4.11 in Maui and $3.67 in Florida. Seriously not that big a difference when you consider that Florida is normally about 60c a gallon more that Texas and the gas doesn't have to cross 2,500 miles of Pacific to get to the pumps. Then of course in Florida you will drive more... Road trips, living in a sub and commuting 45 minutes to work. How far can you drive on Maui?
Food - I've developed a bit of what I call Texas (everything is bigger in Texas, including my belly) and we are both tired of eating as a form of entertainment. Being European I obviously like my food and wine, but you can beat the fresh fruit of Maui. In Florida that would be a trip to the Whole Foods Market which I'm sure is probably comparible prices to Maui Markets????
Bills - Florida, the electric to heat the pool, cool the house, cook, heat the water etc..... Maui seems to have an abundance of Solar panels and I for one am excited at the idea of a self sustained (or at least helped) house. When I'm there I can also turn the a/c off at night, which in Florida would kill you, especially in Parts of Miami and Fort Lauderdale where an open window would be a really bad idea. I do still believe that Maui will have higher bills but not so much that it will be an issue.
Cars - In Florida we will have three cars, the wifes Convertible, the SUV and my Fun car. In Maui it'll be a convertible, the suv and maybe a scooter or 2 which are way cheaper than 3 cars.
Medical care - My wife, like a couple of people in this thread, is a Doctor (Med-Ped) and will be practicing, hopefully in her own clinic which we would like to be seriously well geared up to be able to cope with most situations, be it adult or child. This will be the case in either Florida or Maui.
Work - The wife (see above). Myself... I am a Super Yacht Captain, which would work great in Florida, but definately not so great in Maui. I do have a number of money making schemes up my sleeve that could work in both Maui and Florida.
So: WE still need to talk through this further before WE come to a conclusion of where WE would like to live. One major downer for me is the fact that my family will then be half way around the world, but at least I have this side of the globe to explore now!!!! The big downer for my Wife is the natural disasters and getting away from them. Florida you get in your car and drive.
Lets see how things go, wish me luck.
Hope all is well for the Sex in the City Lady and for 2dogs.
I would second (and third) all the suggestions to do an extended visit prior to making the move over. I lived in Hilo as a child and spent 20+ years vacationing here, usually twice per year.
However, living in Hawaii is VERY different than vacationing here and I know I still find myself shaking my head over the prices of most things. We spend around $600 per month on groceries for 2. We don't dine out nearly as often as we use to.
Because there are not the variety nor quantity of retail stores, you can't just cruise around, price shopping. If its a good price, buy it, because it will be gone tomorrow.
Just had a cut & highlight & tip, it was $185.
Our rent is similar to what our house payment on the mainland is...however we have a 2b/2b condo with 1 car garage, whereas on the mainland we had 4b, 3b, 3 cg with a pool & spa.
We help our daughter with rent on an apartment in Honolulu. She and her roommates pay $1600 for a 3b, 1b . No air, no dishwasher etc...while they are students and hence deserve to suffer..(j/K) I know few working adults who would want to live in the hole that they are renting.
We live on Oahu and have Kaiser and have been very pleased with the medical care here, both the care & the availability of Dr's. I actually was able to walk- in for my mamogram!
We love the beach, the weather and being closer to family...but there are certainly costs involved and each persons has to decide for themselves.
Good luck to all and hope everyone makes the decision that best suits them!
Hawaiibound, i am not being negative. I had all my life in New York-i lived in Manhattan, had a great job, which i loved, great friends, i was doing something every day, and i loved it there, every day i loved my life. i am a very outgoing person. i love getting dressed and going to places with my friends. I love my cat, i loved paying $20 for a mani/pedi, not $45 like it is here.
whats positive over here? i am a housewife, i clean, i cook, i do laundry, thats it--no life of my own, no career, nowhere to go.
It depends on what kind of person you are-if you love nature and beach, and being alone-this life is for you. if you are outgoing and career orinented, like me-not really.
my husband is happy here, he dives, he kyte surfs, he socializes at work. As for me-there is really nothing.
it is not about being negative-it is just i dont have a life of my own here, and never will. Going to Costco and walmart-thats all i have
I know how hard it is to start over in a new place and you can get overwhelmed and sucked into the bad thoughts. Perhaps what you need is a good friend to hang out with, someone to show you the beauty that you can't see right now because of the bad things that have happened to you, someone who can help you get adjusted to your new life? It takes time to adjust to changes and you have made a huge change--sometimes a distraction from your everday life can make a huge difference.
Well, I posted my response to miss.Julia before reading the ENTIRE forum which I shouldn't have done. It sounds like perhaps there might be some underlining depression kicking in-perhaps as a doctor your husband should notice that? Not that depression is a bad thing, I went through it when I had my mis-carriage, but it can be a powerful thing when you have so much change in your life. It doesn't seem like Julia WANTS to see any good from her situation, she is only focused on the negative which will only make things worse and worse for her. That is quite sad, we have hard times but being hard and negative to everyone who is trying to encourage just seems like more than movers remorse.
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) and loves it there. He was born and raised here (in NW Georgia) and has said categorically and emphatically that he would never want to leave Texas. 
Wow what a thread
