Introduce yourself

[mella l]

HAHAHA Susan and Phil from the red green show? No the rust/green show! Yes living and vacationing are two different animals. So rent a vacation rental and do the grocery shopping and tripping around. You'll get a better idea than staying in a resort I think at least I know we did.

Leif and Joy or is that joy de vie? You could do like so many of our emigrants here in California, come on over and enjoy the stay, or is that over stay, many just forget to go home, really people aren't hunted down! How about the infamous student visa! Want to go to Australia, get a visa and never come back!

I know it is best to follow the rules but some rules are made to be broken, as long as the intent is innocent enough like loving your community, home and land. Hey good neighbors make all the difference in the world! Say hey welcome to the punaweb eh! Aloha Mella

mella l

Edited by - mella l on 09/08/2006 13:25:22

[Howard]

Aloha Leif,

Welcome to Punaweb. I can certainly understand your disappointment with our immigration laws, and I hope that they will change for the benefit of you and other Canadians some time soon.

If you can't live in the U.S. full-time yet, six months on the Big Island and six in Vancouver doesn't sound too bad. Vancouver is our favorite Canadian city; we have been there twice already and are planning a third visit now.

Howard

[Kelena]

I am Glen. I am a lawyer who works primarily in the family law area but I do not practice per se. I work for the court itself. My partner, Edward, is a nurse as of a few weeks ago. He received the employee of the year award at the hospital where he works while still a medical assistant. I am about 14 years older than Edward. We have a dalmatian named Ben who we love to spoil. He is a very charming pest who will rip your heart out with his big brown eyes.

I am hoping to retire in about three years. Right now I live in Southern California about a mile from the coast, where so many people want to be. I know I do not want to live here though. Can't put my finger on why, but I think it is the "lifestyle" -- the disconnectd, disinterested, rude, insular way that we live. I have been advised that it is better to seek your retirement home before you retire. We have searched far and wide, making trips to Santa Fe, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia. I like all of these places, but did feel propelled to any of them. I never considered Hawaii (I have a beach here, and great weather, and Hawaii is touristy, I said). Then a friend of mine with a condo in Kauai INSISTED I go. And so we went for vacation, not for the purpose of looking for a great place to live. Kauai got rained out two days before we left and we went to Molokai instead.

Life changing. I knew instantaneously that this was the place for me. Since that trip I have become completely obsessed with Hawaii and its culture. I would like to find a place there that I can afford (while hanging on to my place here because I have to have a place to live, yikes!), but it is hard to look from here.

Puna pulls me because it is slightly off center and the real estate is generally less expensive. I have lived in San Francisco, New Orleans, Santa Barbara and Paris (all before I became a lawyer, which was later in life). I love great places. I like what I have seen of Hawaii so far -- I tell friends that some of the views that I saw in Molokai were so beautiful they made me slightly nauseous (which is called the Stendhal Syndrome they tell me, after the swooning that this French author did when he first saw the Vatican).

I have recovered now, and I am ready to see more. Comin' in October.

[leifgn]

Aloha Howard

Yes, Vancouver is an amazing city. We do a lot of skiing in the winter on our local mountains and at Whistler mountain which is about 70 miles from our home. Nice to see that some local Hawaiians have discovered our beautiful place here in the Pacific North West. As beautiful as Hawaii is, it might be hard to leave Vancouver fulltime. But I think we could fit in there quite nicely given the chance. But for now we are fine with the rules. Seeing that there probably isn't a whole lot that could be done to change things. Maybe not. Everyone, call you Congress Man. That might work. You never can tell.

Leif

[G. Leis]

Hi, Cocoa Moe (love the handle!)

Sure is a small world. I was raised in Portland and stationed with the US Navy in Key West back in '68 (Naval Station Annex at the end of Caroline St.). I think you'll find the atmosphere of Puna to be similar to the way the Conch Republic was when you first moved down there.

Nice too to see another Harley rider. Mella and I did a Fly & Ride to south Florida and the Keys thru the Orlando Harley store 4 years ago. Bikes are everywhere on the BI, so ship or buy when you get here is up to you. If you choose to ship your hog you can either simply strap it to a pallet and put it in a shipping container with other household goods, or Kona H-D can arrange to have your bike transported by air; just have your local dealer - Peterson's in Miami maybe? - call Barry in Kona and he'll take care of the whole deal (should be around $2k, ballpark).

aloha,
Gene

_______________________

So what's the speed of dark?

[JaniSan222]

Hi, I'm brand new here on this forum, but I've been lurking around reading up as much as I can...

A little about who we are:
My husband Tim and I live in SoCal right now. My husbands' parents were born and raised in Oahu but moved to mainland to find jobs and raise their family. Tim used to travel almost every year to Oahu during summer breaks to spend the summers there with his grandparents and go fishing off of the shores. I have a sister who lives on Oahu now, and Tim's uncles and aunties are scattered all over Oahu. I hate it there in Waikiki area, it's too much like LA, with congestion, pollution and stress, people laying inches from eachother in the beach...yeck!

Tim & I honeymooned in Kauai, and absolutely loved how lush and green and layed back it was... from then, we've had a desire to at least retire in Hawaii, but as we got busier and we had our son, life became so hectic, that the dream was in the waaay back burner.

I am an artist, and currently work for Cartoon Network. But, I've always felt something very lacking in LA...perhaps it's being surrounded by materialism, consumerism, highly irrate/arrogant people who would trample you to get to the top... I may have done some of it myself without realizing... Perhaps it's also the climate here, parched and dry that also dries out the spirit... I was born in Japan, and raised there partially, so I know how it is to have lush, sparkling green surrounding me during the warmer months. (They have fall and winter there though, and that wasn't all that great with bitter cold that cracks your skin, to the Tyfoon season)

We are looking at land in the Hawaiian Acres area. I long for toiling in the soil, but with my current work schedule (I'm gone for 12 hours out of the day with the commute), I hardly see my husband and son, let alone time to tend to any gardening. I am tired of this rat-race and I think I am one who is ready to live somewhat off of the grid. (Although not completely off...I need my Internet!)

We have sooo much learning to do, my dream is to do organic farming with the land we purchase and for my husband it is to build a small decent home on our own (with maybe a lot of insightful help from our neighbors.) I have a decently green thumb, and have been successful in the past at growing tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, eggplants, Chinese chives, pumpkins, potatoes, strawberries, blackberries, and some blueberries. (and no artificial fertilizer, just compost and some manure) Not to brag, but no easy feat here in our area, we had to ammend the soil with compost, peat moss and manure, many times over because the soil here is pure clay. During the summer months, if it goes dry it can crack and become sooo hard that you need a sledghammer to break it apart. We have an avo tree, persimmon tree, valencia orange, grapefruit and tangerine tree here also, and when we take care of them and give them plenty of compost and a little manure, and they are generous in giving us lots to eat and give away.

I apologize for the long post, and thank you for taking time to read this!

Glenn Wolf, I really liked your music!

Here's my kinda lame blogsite, I really need to update! http://asayojanicekubo.blogspot.com/

Mahalo!
Janice



Edited by - JaniSan222 on 10/02/2006 22:21:23

[Gloria E]

Aloha,

I have posted one or two times, but am constantly lurking and reading, and thought this would be a good time to actually introduce ourselves to the forum, as my husband just accepted a position with Alert Alarm and will be moving the Big Island on Nov. 1st (I will follow much later and am really jealous!)My husband Ron has been the security/alarm industry for many years, so this job offer was made for him.

Our son Nathan has lived on the island for almost 8 years and is a tattoo artist who recently opened a beautiful new studio on the Bayfront (Indelible Ink Tattoo) upstairs by the Tsunami Museum.

We have owned a small home in Hawaiian Shores for over 5 years and we are really excited about Ron's new job and are looking forward to meeting all the Punaweb members.

Mahalo,
Ron & Gloria

[Rob L]

Welcome Glen,

I am also a gay lawyer who fell in love with Puna. I think you will find it relaxed and freindly, very comfortable. My beloved is 13 years younger, and that has delayed my plans to semi-retier in Puna. Good luck.


Aloha,
Rob L

[mella l]

Just a neighborly welcome to Janisan and her other half Tim and also to Gloria and Ron. Don't be shy you are welcome here to post a comment, question, or suggestion.

We love hearing from one day neighbors, or even just lovers of this fine Puna. The welcome wagon is a little rusty, had a computer failure, so I'm filling in and think I speak for all when I say welcome. Aloha Mella

mella l

[Carolann R]

Hi Mella! Janice, Tim, Gloria and Ron - You have been officially welcomed to Punaweb! So much going on personally these last few months...glad to have you aboard! Sorry for such a long delay in saying "Aloha!" I'm sure by now you have the knack of the search feature above and you will be happy with the volumes of information on Puna District and Hawai'i in general. The water is fine - just jump on in! )

P.S. Mella and hubby Gene are amazing and have so much to offer as Landowners in gorgeous Eden Roc and hopefully very soon to be residents! My husband Tony and I are newbies to Puna after dreaming and planning for a couple of years - we are in the Hawaiian Shores Rec Estates area...lovin' it! The folks on this forum have been more than helpful and key to our move here for sure.

Carrie

"To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater." Bono
http://www.hellophoenix.com/art/dreamhawaii.Cfm


Edited by - Carolann R on 10/23/2006 19:06:13