Yesterday, I think I hit the peak of my Hawaii frenzy. I applied for three more positions on the island of Maui. The other positions I've been looking at were on the Big Island of Hawaii. I have a friend who lives on Maui and absolutely loves it. I have another one who lived there for several years and recently moved back to the mainland. They have never had a single negative word to say about making the decision to move to Maui. They have said that it's different than the mainland. We know. We've lived on a more remote island in the Pacific Ocean than Maui.
Island living is DIFFERENT. That is for sure!
This morning, I had a good talk with my children about the possibility of moving to Maui. Lord willing, if the door opens, we will be going soon.
We know that we will be moving away from New Mexico, one way or another. My husband will be discharged from the military and we will be moving. New Mexico has been nice. The Hatch green chilies are amazing. I will miss some things about New Mexico. I've missed parts of every place we've lived before.
This move is different. We don't plan to be moving anymore after we land in our final resting spot. We are looking for our "forever home," a place to raise our kids, enjoy our family life, seek God and give back to others. We want to live in a place where we feel that we are "at home."
Island living is for us. It may not be for you.
Despite the charm of the Aloha spirit, things move at a slower pace than on the mainland. I remember waiting and waiting in Guam for appointments to actually start, and a few times, the person we were meant to see didn't show up at all. We had to just say "Hafa Adai"--the saying in Guam for everything that just kinda meant "oh well, life is good."
Yes, the gas is expensive. However, yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see that a Costco exists on the island of Maui and is selling gas for $2.35/gallon! That would be have a dream for us when we lived on Guam. I love Costco and with a large family such as ours, this will save us a lot of money. I have researched the prices, and although slightly higher than mainland, we may not have a heart attack EVERY time we visit the grocery store. I remember in Guam that commissary was closed for one day per week and we HAD to go "off base" to get groceries if needed. Even "on base" the groceries were HIGH. Off base meant we just had to suck-it-up buttercup and pay the price of being ill-prepared.
We quickly learned through a couple of these trips that planning is KEY to survival while island living. As I noticed also in the news yesterday, a tropical storm Darby was about to hit Maui and Big Island. We know about this too. My husband is from the deep south (New Orleans--Katrina, anyone?) and he knows a thing or two about these "tropical storms." When we moved to Guam, I was 6 1/2 months pregnant and when I was 39 weeks pregnant, we had a typhoon rolling into our back door. I had to leave my children with the neighbors next door while my husband bravely went out into the storm and secured generators. I had to go spend the night at the hospital because the typhoon might prevent me from getting there in the event that the baby made his arrival during the storm.
We have done island living, at its best and worst. All in all, it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!
I think living on Guam really has prepared us to move to Hawaii, Maui, Kauai or Oahu. At this point, I think we'd definitely prefer Maui or Big Island, with Kauai being next and then Oahu. I LOVE Kauai and went there as a teenager (where I caught the bug to move back), but I don't know if moving there is for us right now. I haven't applied for a single job in Kauai yet, but I do love it there and want to visit once we live in the Hawaiian islands. Maui seems to have the hometown country feel that we desire (we would want to live Upcountry) and Big Island has diversity in geography that are not found anywhere else. You can visit the beach and a volcano with snow in a single day. We think that's pretty amazing. There are some really good schools for the kids on Maui (and we know people there), so those are major positive points for moving to Maui. Plus, the three new jobs I applied for are on the island of Maui.
I think Maui would definitely become my #1 choice, at this point.
I have been reading, and reading, and reading about culture on the different islands...doing my due diligence, as my previous interviewer told me.
I think when we look at cost of living, education, geography, culture, "the feel" of the island, job opportunities and overall lifestyle, Maui is the ticket.
Now, I just need a job. My husband is skilled and has 6 months to a year to find a job there, while I live on the island with the kids (if necessary). I'm going out ahead, adventuring forward, and it's an amazing feeling.
Now, if only the first door will open. We will go.
Living there becomes more about who you're with and what you do in your off-time than what you can do to buy more stuff, or achieve more success. The success we seek is simply being there with our family, enjoying our lives together and having enough money to pay the bills. Money and success in mainland way are something of the past. That's EXACTLY why we want to move there forever.
Island living is DIFFERENT. That is for sure!
This morning, I had a good talk with my children about the possibility of moving to Maui. Lord willing, if the door opens, we will be going soon.
We know that we will be moving away from New Mexico, one way or another. My husband will be discharged from the military and we will be moving. New Mexico has been nice. The Hatch green chilies are amazing. I will miss some things about New Mexico. I've missed parts of every place we've lived before.
This move is different. We don't plan to be moving anymore after we land in our final resting spot. We are looking for our "forever home," a place to raise our kids, enjoy our family life, seek God and give back to others. We want to live in a place where we feel that we are "at home."
Island living is for us. It may not be for you.
Despite the charm of the Aloha spirit, things move at a slower pace than on the mainland. I remember waiting and waiting in Guam for appointments to actually start, and a few times, the person we were meant to see didn't show up at all. We had to just say "Hafa Adai"--the saying in Guam for everything that just kinda meant "oh well, life is good."
Yes, the gas is expensive. However, yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see that a Costco exists on the island of Maui and is selling gas for $2.35/gallon! That would be have a dream for us when we lived on Guam. I love Costco and with a large family such as ours, this will save us a lot of money. I have researched the prices, and although slightly higher than mainland, we may not have a heart attack EVERY time we visit the grocery store. I remember in Guam that commissary was closed for one day per week and we HAD to go "off base" to get groceries if needed. Even "on base" the groceries were HIGH. Off base meant we just had to suck-it-up buttercup and pay the price of being ill-prepared.
We quickly learned through a couple of these trips that planning is KEY to survival while island living. As I noticed also in the news yesterday, a tropical storm Darby was about to hit Maui and Big Island. We know about this too. My husband is from the deep south (New Orleans--Katrina, anyone?) and he knows a thing or two about these "tropical storms." When we moved to Guam, I was 6 1/2 months pregnant and when I was 39 weeks pregnant, we had a typhoon rolling into our back door. I had to leave my children with the neighbors next door while my husband bravely went out into the storm and secured generators. I had to go spend the night at the hospital because the typhoon might prevent me from getting there in the event that the baby made his arrival during the storm.
We have done island living, at its best and worst. All in all, it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!
I think living on Guam really has prepared us to move to Hawaii, Maui, Kauai or Oahu. At this point, I think we'd definitely prefer Maui or Big Island, with Kauai being next and then Oahu. I LOVE Kauai and went there as a teenager (where I caught the bug to move back), but I don't know if moving there is for us right now. I haven't applied for a single job in Kauai yet, but I do love it there and want to visit once we live in the Hawaiian islands. Maui seems to have the hometown country feel that we desire (we would want to live Upcountry) and Big Island has diversity in geography that are not found anywhere else. You can visit the beach and a volcano with snow in a single day. We think that's pretty amazing. There are some really good schools for the kids on Maui (and we know people there), so those are major positive points for moving to Maui. Plus, the three new jobs I applied for are on the island of Maui.
I think Maui would definitely become my #1 choice, at this point.
I have been reading, and reading, and reading about culture on the different islands...doing my due diligence, as my previous interviewer told me.
I think when we look at cost of living, education, geography, culture, "the feel" of the island, job opportunities and overall lifestyle, Maui is the ticket.
Now, I just need a job. My husband is skilled and has 6 months to a year to find a job there, while I live on the island with the kids (if necessary). I'm going out ahead, adventuring forward, and it's an amazing feeling.
Now, if only the first door will open. We will go.
Living there becomes more about who you're with and what you do in your off-time than what you can do to buy more stuff, or achieve more success. The success we seek is simply being there with our family, enjoying our lives together and having enough money to pay the bills. Money and success in mainland way are something of the past. That's EXACTLY why we want to move there forever.
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