Yep, Christmas was the first real sunny day, hard to forget that!
I think it matters a tremendous amount what stage of life you're in and what you want in your future. I don't mean that it is good for one age and not another, but different stages of life face different rewards and challenges.
Even coming here to go to school -- perfect for Carey, because of the field she has chosen, but for me in English it would have been a second or even third tier school to go to UHH.
As a retiree, medical is going to be important. As a working parent, if you have small kids who have to go to Oahu for appointments, it will be a hassle. If you are 25 and rarely see a doctor, you won't be too concerned. I sure never thought about medical care any time I ever moved, never factored it in -- but when I got here, it became an issue because there was a doctor shortage.
Although I didn't come to Puna as a young person, I did move to a very rural lifestyle from age 20-30. I did the live in the country and raise kids thing, taking classes at the local CC and lived in an area without a four year college.
At some point, I changed. I was no longer happy doing the rural thing and not getting a real education. I moved to go to school in the city ... (and this would be relevant to a Puna young person who wanted to do the same) ... it was really tough going and competing with urban folks who talked faster and did everything faster.
Point being, it is always possible that your values and interests will change, even though you are sure when you're young that they won't. You will open some doors coming here and you will close others. You can opt out of the rat race while you're young, like I did, but you'll opt out of other things, like possible careers, when you do.
It's a big decision. Too many people come here to escape bad weather, grow your own food, thinking it will have all the same opportunities only without ever getting cold. That's not true. There are opportunities here for certain paths, but not for others.
As for family, it's been hard in that I haven't seen my parents in over a decade. I really love my folks and I don't know what will happen if one dies, and needs me, because I know my dad would never come to this climate, and I doubt my mom would like it either ... and ... it's going to be tough choices one of these days.
Think it all through.
I admit I am not that enthusiastic about encouraging people to follow the live off the land dream as the primary road to fulfillment. Mostly because I have already done that, and life is more complex than that. All the couples I knew split up, all the families ended up broken, a lot of the kids never went to college or found a career, and I've seen more dystopia than utopia.
Growing food is a very good thing, but it's not the only thing. So many people start out with "I just want to have a bit of land with fruit trees and a garden" -- great if you are already a gardener, and know what it's about, but beware if you're a city person and you have a fantasy about living in the country, and think that merely by living rural you will be happy. I encourage people to fill in the picture with what else you are going to do to be happy.
That said -- if I lived in Houston, I don't see how it couldn't be an improvement!
When I fantasize about going somewhere else, it sure isn't to Houston. Or LA. [
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