Why do you want to move to Hawaii?

Why do you want to move to Hawaii?

For years I operated under the impression that this was just one of those questions that didn’t really need to be answered. In fact nowadays when people ask me, I assume they are doing it tongue-in-cheek.  For example, as the Polar Vortex ripped its way across the country, someone asked me why I was moving to Hawaii...and they were serious.  There is a guy that I work with that on multiple occasions has asked “Why Hawaii?”

It got me thinking. What are people really asking me? Don’t they already know why someone would want to 1) leave the Midwest and 2) move to Hawaii? The answers is both yes and no. I started to realize that real question people were asking isn’t ‘Why do you want to move to Hawaii?’ but ‘Don’t you know [blank] about Hawaii?’ Every question is tainted by the asker’s personal experiences and goals. Every time we ask a question it’s bound to be based on our own point of view. Kind a “Duh” moment if you ask me, but hey I never claimed to be some great thinker.

So the guy at work for example, he asks from his point of view. He is nearing his retirement years and so everything he does is based on the fact that he would like to retire in the next 10 to 15 years. In his opinion the cost of living in Hawaii is a hindrance to a healthy retirement portfolio. You see his plan is to invest and save millions so that he can someday have enough money to move to some tropical paradise. In his opinion I’d be better off picking a place like Costa Rica. It’s tropical, its lush and the cost of living is significantly cheaper. I have no doubt that I could live like a king there. But I have absolutely no interest in living in Costa Rica (no offense to the Costa Rican bureau of travel). I’ll spare you all the other examples but the majority of people that ask ‘Why Hawaii?’ are really asking isn’t it too expensive to live there? Isn’t it too hot to live there? Won’t you get claustrophobic? Are you really going to abandon your friends and family? Will I ever see you again?  All good questions actually. Questions I had to ask myself before I could be sure that moving to Hawaii was the right move for me and my family.

So why do I want to move to Hawaii? Well there are a number of reasons starting with the culture. To live in a place that has been achieved this perfect blend of Asian and Polynesian cultures is kind of a dream come true. Having tried learning Japanese in the past and succeeding in learning Chinese I feel perfectly at home in a place like this. Can’t wait until I can say ridiculously long street names like it’s no big deal. As for the cost of living? In my opinion it will force us to maintain a simple life-style. Like the locals, we will focus of enjoying and appreciating the land. Knowing that soon I’ll be able to see both the mountains and the ocean everyday as I go about my normal routine brightens my day. Will I miss my family? Of course I will, I miss them now. It will just be my job to make sure I keep up with them and stay in regular contact. But people have been striking out on their own since the beginning of time. No reason to stop now.  Who knows, maybe once I’ve reached a place that truly feels like home I’ll “get” it. I’ll want to put down roots, and be content never leaving my bubble. Then it’ll be me asking ‘Why do you want to move to the mainland?’

I'm going to be working on a page that documents and reviews "Moving to Hawaii" blogs. There are several that I used to kind of help motivate me and answer questions for me. No one blog will answer all of your questions about moving to Hawaii but depending on your reasons for wanting to move, some may be better than others. I'll attempt to provide an unbiased review. If you have a suggestion I'll take a look at it.