10-24-2005, 04:54 PM
Ok, it's my turn - Hi! I'm Emily!
Tomorrow will be exactly one year since my Husband, Greg, and I landed here in Hilo and started our new life here. We moved from the suburbs of Chicago and we're not looking back! We got onto the idea of moving to Hawaii when a guy that Greg worked with told him of a conversation he had with an elderly lady. He asked her what she might have done differently in her life and she simply said "I would have been a beach bum!". That got us thinking about a more simple life and a warmer climate. Nowhere on the mainland seemed very interesting, the Virgin Islands were too expensive and not enough job prospects. Then we started researching Hawaii on the internet and found out about the East side of the Big Island. We couldn't believe the prices that land was going for. Who would have imagined that one could buy land for so cheap - and in Hawaii! We had been to Kona for our honeymoon in Sept 2002 so we knew a little about the Big Island. We came for the month of March 2004 and bought 8 acres in Mountain View. If we had waited a few years like we were thinking originally, there is no way we would be able to afford it now - good timing. When we were back home packing up and telling everyone what we were up to, some were sad, others were very supportive and said they were jealous for us actually going for our dream. They said they had similar dreams but never made them happen and they wished they could do it too. To all of you out there thinking and dreaming about Hawaii - go for it! It's really not that hard. We're only 26 and 29 - if we can do it, you can too!
We didn't have any trouble finding jobs. I got a job within a month working for a general contractor - I do the office and accounting work. Greg took some time off and then got a job here also since he already had construction experience. Our boss is the best and we are lucky to have found such a great guy to work for. So everything fell right into place.
We have really enjoyed living in Hawaii. The weather is so mild, the people are so nice and there is always somewhere to go hike or just see the beauty of the Island. We just got back from an unexpected trip home - Greg's dad passed away unexpectedly. So although it was nice that we could make the trip back for that, and it was nice to see everyone - it was even nicer to come back "home" to our simple land in Hawaii. We were reminded of all of the reasons we wanted to come here in the first place, so many people, so much traffic, no "Aloha Spirit". I love the fact that people here actually wave to you, and say hello, and talk with you for hours "just because".
I've posted on here a few times, and some of you know that we live in a container! People back home can't believe it! When people start going on and on about how they just couldn't imagine living like this, I simply say "how did your great-grandparents live?". It's really not that bad. We're seasoned campers anyhow, and we were actually living in a camper before we moved here. We'll build a house eventually, but for now, we're content with the simple life. I'd rather live in a container in Hawaii than in a mansion in Illinois anyday
We bought our container in Illinois, packed it all up and had it delivered to our land. I wrote a detailed post about buying the container and shipping it over on this forum - here's the link:
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=145&FORUM_ID=2&CAT_ID=1&Topic_Title=Emily%2Dmore+details+on+container%3F&Forum_Title=punaweb+forum
We are actually going to be building a vacation rental on our land first. We have enough property in the front of our lot to make a separate secluded clearing. So we have a drafter working on the plans now. We'll see how the rental works out - if it doesn't go well we can always just live in it ourselves. It would be nice if it would rent well so that we could generate enough income to at least cover the mortgage and start to build some equity.
One last note - we have chickens that started laying eggs about a month ago - we are getting 18-20 eggs per day! I need to find some more customers, so let me know if any of you want some fresh eggs - we have brown and green/blue eggs! Anyone want to trade eggs for something you grow in your garden?
Aloha,
Emily
Edited by - emily on 10/24/2005 21:00:12
Tomorrow will be exactly one year since my Husband, Greg, and I landed here in Hilo and started our new life here. We moved from the suburbs of Chicago and we're not looking back! We got onto the idea of moving to Hawaii when a guy that Greg worked with told him of a conversation he had with an elderly lady. He asked her what she might have done differently in her life and she simply said "I would have been a beach bum!". That got us thinking about a more simple life and a warmer climate. Nowhere on the mainland seemed very interesting, the Virgin Islands were too expensive and not enough job prospects. Then we started researching Hawaii on the internet and found out about the East side of the Big Island. We couldn't believe the prices that land was going for. Who would have imagined that one could buy land for so cheap - and in Hawaii! We had been to Kona for our honeymoon in Sept 2002 so we knew a little about the Big Island. We came for the month of March 2004 and bought 8 acres in Mountain View. If we had waited a few years like we were thinking originally, there is no way we would be able to afford it now - good timing. When we were back home packing up and telling everyone what we were up to, some were sad, others were very supportive and said they were jealous for us actually going for our dream. They said they had similar dreams but never made them happen and they wished they could do it too. To all of you out there thinking and dreaming about Hawaii - go for it! It's really not that hard. We're only 26 and 29 - if we can do it, you can too!
We didn't have any trouble finding jobs. I got a job within a month working for a general contractor - I do the office and accounting work. Greg took some time off and then got a job here also since he already had construction experience. Our boss is the best and we are lucky to have found such a great guy to work for. So everything fell right into place.
We have really enjoyed living in Hawaii. The weather is so mild, the people are so nice and there is always somewhere to go hike or just see the beauty of the Island. We just got back from an unexpected trip home - Greg's dad passed away unexpectedly. So although it was nice that we could make the trip back for that, and it was nice to see everyone - it was even nicer to come back "home" to our simple land in Hawaii. We were reminded of all of the reasons we wanted to come here in the first place, so many people, so much traffic, no "Aloha Spirit". I love the fact that people here actually wave to you, and say hello, and talk with you for hours "just because".
I've posted on here a few times, and some of you know that we live in a container! People back home can't believe it! When people start going on and on about how they just couldn't imagine living like this, I simply say "how did your great-grandparents live?". It's really not that bad. We're seasoned campers anyhow, and we were actually living in a camper before we moved here. We'll build a house eventually, but for now, we're content with the simple life. I'd rather live in a container in Hawaii than in a mansion in Illinois anyday
We bought our container in Illinois, packed it all up and had it delivered to our land. I wrote a detailed post about buying the container and shipping it over on this forum - here's the link: http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=145&FORUM_ID=2&CAT_ID=1&Topic_Title=Emily%2Dmore+details+on+container%3F&Forum_Title=punaweb+forum
We are actually going to be building a vacation rental on our land first. We have enough property in the front of our lot to make a separate secluded clearing. So we have a drafter working on the plans now. We'll see how the rental works out - if it doesn't go well we can always just live in it ourselves. It would be nice if it would rent well so that we could generate enough income to at least cover the mortgage and start to build some equity.
One last note - we have chickens that started laying eggs about a month ago - we are getting 18-20 eggs per day! I need to find some more customers, so let me know if any of you want some fresh eggs - we have brown and green/blue eggs! Anyone want to trade eggs for something you grow in your garden?
Aloha,
Emily
Edited by - emily on 10/24/2005 21:00:12