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Maybe I'm totally wrong, and I guess it depends where you live in Hawaii, but all that nearly perfect weather all year long. Sun, warm, ocean, nature. Is it nearly a 'perfect'/ideal life living there?
Maybe I'm totally wrong, and I guess it depends where you live in Hawaii, but all that nearly perfect weather all year long. Sun, warm, ocean, nature. Is it nearly a 'perfect'/ideal life living there?
It's pretty awesome living here, but like everywhere, there are some negatives. For example:
The trade winds carry red dust that coats everything, even when you keep your house and car closed up and use air-conditioning.
There is always a shipping charge for items that normally include "free shipping". Hawaii is excluded. Sometimes the charge is ridiculously high. Perhaps twice the price of the item. Stores are regularly out of goods, and it often takes weeks/months for them to arrive. Many online stores simply refuse to ship to Hawaii.
Winter weather is outstanding, but summers are getting hotter/drier. Lahaina just burned to the ground after existing for more than a century.
For many people the cost of living here is the biggest impediment. Housing is in short supply as well. I dreamed about living here for most of my life and finally moved here 10 years ago.
There are many more downsides, but I would not move away from here for anything. The good things definitely outweigh the bad.
It's pretty awesome living here, but like everywhere, there are some negatives. For example:
The trade winds carry red dust that coats everything, even when you keep your house and car closed up and use air-conditioning.
There is always a shipping charge for items that normally include "free shipping". Hawaii is excluded. Sometimes the charge is ridiculously high. Perhaps twice the price of the item. Stores are regularly out of goods, and it often takes weeks/months for them to arrive. Many online stores simply refuse to ship to Hawaii.
Winter weather is outstanding, but summers are getting hotter/drier. Lahaina just burned to the ground after existing for more than a century.
For many people the cost of living here is the biggest impediment. Housing is in short supply as well. I dreamed about living here for most of my life and finally moved here 10 years ago.
There are many more downsides, but I would not move away from here for anything. The good things definitely outweigh the bad.
Some friends of mine moved to Maui (from the SF Bay Area) for about a year in the 90s with their daughter. The husband was in construction and his father owned a fair amount of property on Maui. They moved there so he could do some renovations that the father wanted done to the properties. The bolded was one of the things that they didn't like.
Totally depends on your personal situation and what you value. Weather that barely varies throughout the year. Sky high prices for most things. Lot of opportunities for outdoor activities. Diverse population. 2,500 miles from the nearest large land mass. Some people like those things, others don't. There is no place in the world that's perfect for everyone. I read a few years ago that more people are moving out of Hawaii to other states than the other way around, so that tells you something right there.
[quote=WannabeCPA;66183157.. Weather that barely varies throughout the year. [/QUOTE]
Not true for Windward locations. It's frequently cloudy, can be quite rainy, thunder and lightning aren't uncommon. It's noticeably cooler in winter than summer, although wind direction can vary temperature conditions any time of year. The daylight variations are minimal. I'd guess it's 13 hours in summer, 11 in winter. The Big Island has several microclimates too.
No snow to be found though! (except summit of Mauna Kea).
Maybe I'm totally wrong, and I guess it depends where you live in Hawaii, but all that nearly perfect weather all year long. Sun, warm, ocean, nature. Is it nearly a 'perfect'/ideal life living there?
I moved to Oahu for work in 2015 and absolutely loved it. Then in early 2022 I got a remote job and later that year in October my wife was itching to get back to the mainland to be closer to family. My oldest had graduated from UH, moved to Florida, and was getting married. So be made the trek back to the mainland settling in North Carolina.
Worst decision ever...lol. Being closer to my daughter is obviously a bonus but we miss Hawaii every day. To be fair, we rented the entire time we were there, so I didn't have a ton of household chores and we had lots of free time. We literally went to a beach every weekend we could whether it was for a family beach day, snorkeling, spearfishing, shore fishing, kayaking, or scuba. It was a great run.
I'm still remote so after my last kid graduates High School, we may make a move back. Its not for everyone but for us, it really was an ideal life.
Not true for Windward locations. It's frequently cloudy, can be quite rainy, thunder and lightning aren't uncommon. It's noticeably cooler in winter than summer, although wind direction can vary temperature conditions any time of year. The daylight variations are minimal. I'd guess it's 13 hours in summer, 11 in winter. The Big Island has several microclimates too.
No snow to be found though! (except summit of Mauna Kea).
Maybe compared to Leeward locations, but compared to just about everywhere else in America, Hawaii's climate probably has the least variation, at least in terms of temperature, maybe not precipitation. Even the the all time high and low temperatures for Hawaii as a state are much closer than most other states. Whether you're talking about the state as a whole, or a particular location (eg. Honolulu), I still say Hawaii has the least temperature variation of any state.
I could probably be happy there indefinitely. That being said years ago there was a local gas station near my house where there was a cashier who grew up and lived in Hawaii. The first time she mentioned that fact I asked why the heck would you move here? She said she spent her whole life trying to get off that island and onto the mainland. That was a perspective change for me.
Carmine / OP there is a saying, the grass always looks greener on the other side (of the hill). Meaning, from a distance you might think that a place other than your own home might be a bit of paradise. Just listen to "Over the Rainbow" for example.
There is always a "flip side" or downside to almost any place that people imagine as a dream destination.
There are a lot of people here in the USA who see your location in Prague and would love to go live there for a few years in the heart of Europe, and have a chance to visit all the places in Europe they wondered about. I just returned to the USA after living most of the past 3 years in Chemnitz, Germany which is just 100 kilometers or so from you. I did a lot of traveling in Czechia and strongly considered moving there from Germany! There is a lot I like about Czechia!
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The good things definitely outweigh the bad.
