Your Story

[lotus]

Well, I thought it would be cool to hear how everyone decided to live on the BI. What's your story? What brought you here

[Carey]

We moved here without ever going to Hawaii (would not recommend it, but it worked)
We had lived in north east Illinois for 50 years when hubby was offered a severance/ early retirement (company reorganization - downsizing). The retirement was based on him staying 6 more months, based on the reorganization.
In our 'What now" discussions, I looked into going back to college to get the degree I wanted throughout High School, & that was so impractical at the time, to study environmental science with an emphasis in marine sciences. Started to look at schools, and the Univ. of Hawaii schools had good programs along with a few other schools. Then we started researching the area around the schools & the Hilo campus kept coming up near the top of our choices. Within 2 months I applied at the University & started to ready our house of 20 years for sale.
He was given the OK to retire & we put our house on the market - 4 offers in 24hours later, we were packing up & buying our ticket to Hilo. I think we fell in love with the magic of the island within weeks. It is now over 2 years & this still is a place that just amazes me. Has it been constant paradise? No! But is sure is close.
I should note that my cousins are from Hawaii, and every winter they would visit us & talk about how wonderful it was in the Chicago area in the winter & how boring & all it was in Hawaii. So as a kid, I had the idea that Hawaii was worse than Chicago in the winter, so this was a BIG move for us.

[David M]

My first venture to Hawaii was not by choice. I was in the Army, stationed at Ft Campbell, KY. One day in 1977 I was called into first sergeant's office on a ruse that I was in deep trouble. After keeping up the pretense for a couple of minutes he then informed me I was being reassigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. A big deal was made of this was it was usual to be reassigned to Germany or Korea, but not Hawaii. As said, I had no choice and would be moving in 3 or 4 months. Ended up staying 4 years on Oahu before being reassigned. Vowed I'd return someday. As the plane rolled down the runway, then rotated, tears rolled down my cheeks. I really didn't want to leave.

Life has a way of happening and as the years passed so did the hope of returning. Sophie and I were able to return for a short visit in 1989, but again, no prospect for permanent return.

In 1999/2000 as Sophie recovered from her accident, we debated where to move for retirement. On a trip returning from Florida where we looked at possible acreage, Sophie remarked "I don't understand why we are looking at property in Florida when you always wanted to go back to Hi" Well, slap me side the head to wake up!!!!
I only really knew Oahu, but it was too congested, way too much traffic and not apparently affordable (we're owners, not renters). A survey of the other islands had con's out listing pro's. My only experience of BI was training on PTA, a summer of training National Guard troops from BI, and my former Ewa Beach neighbor who was born and raised Ookala. My research began in earnest. Our first trip to BI felt like coming home. We were fortunate to find the perfect place for us in 2003, moved in 2005, and hope to move into our new home in a few more weeks. Take me to new home Plenty challenges getting here, more a different ones once here, but we marvel almost daily how blessed we are to be here. Perhaps not paradise, but will surely do until we do make that final move.

David

Ninole Resident

[Beachboy]

for me it was obvious. I grew up on Maui(Lahaina),but ended up in Honolulu because of work. Seems like for ever I have been working as a Waikiki Beachboy, and paying rent on a small home in Kapahulu(less than 700 sq.ft. over 60 yrs old + paying $1500.00 + utilities). I felt like a Hamster in a cage with this life. Only jumping on my wheel to run sometimes. So I told my wife we needed a change in our lives. Buying a home on Oahu wasn't even an issue. Houses there were totally priced out of our league....same with returning to Maui. Homes there were just as bad as Oahu.
So last Nov. I packed up the family and we went to Volcano for a few days. During this time I checked out the subdivisions, and found an agent too. She turned out to be the best thing to happen to us(my family) while on the BI. This agent sticked by me the entire time,and never blinked once while all the contract(prime lending debacle caused my contract to be re-written three times before lender was satisfied) nonsense was happening.

Been living here for over six months now. Plenty of $$$ problems, but refuse to move back to Oahu. I just love the lifestyle here as opposed to Honolulu.
If there is one beef I have about BI, it's the lack of jobs available to the local work force. I'm seriously thinking about returning to Oahu to work! It's not what I want, but it might be my only option? I keep getting turned down for employment here? Seems to be who you know, not what you know?!?!

[Hotzcatz]

Yeah, it was the same for me, Oahu was too full to live in anymore. Except that was back in the mid-eighties that it was too full! It has completely overflowed since then. Had to move back to Oahu to work, though, when sugar closed but found my DH there so it was all good. When he had a chance to transfer his job over here in '01 we were able to come back again. Big Island is much more comfortable than Oahu although Oahu is tons of fun if one is younger and looking for excitement. I guess one can outgrow Oahu and grow into Hawaii.

[Ed Smay]

RB and I have been to the islands many times over the past 20 years and we knew that the islands would be a place that we would want to retire at. In 2004, we were looking at property in Kehei, Maui but thought that the prices there were more than what we were budgeting for. We were referred to a wonderful RE Agent in Hilo and after a day of touring, decided that we could put some roots down in the Hilo area.
We almost bought a HPM style home in HPP, but the deal was really shady. We backed out of that and our RE Agent, found the property in Orchidland for us and we bought it in 2005. We have been working on it ever since and have permits for a bamboo house. RB is going to retire next year and spend a year transitioning us from CA to there. Then in 2009, we should be ready to settle permanently.

"From knowledge comes understanding"

[jdirgo]

David and I moved to the Big Island in 2000, after spending a grand total of 4 hours here while on vacation. While vacationing on O'ahu, we flew over to Hilo one afternoon to take a helicopter ride over the Kilauea Volcano (which was incredible, by the way, you should try it). We flew back to O'ahu later that day, never having seen anything other than the airport, and were already planning the move to the Big Island. Three months later, David arrived on the Big Island and I followed a couple of months later after selling off most of the things we owned.

John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com

[John S. Rabi]

When I was eight years old I was leaning against the hot furnace during the winter and my pants got on fire. My Mom grabbed me away and I started crying, "Why don't we live somewhere where it's always summer!" (Like I knew there was such a place!) Twenty years later I defected from Hungary and while living in NYC I started exploring the "always summer" places. After checking out Florida and the Caribbean and not particularly liking them, there was nothing else left but Hawaii. It was love at first sight, as soon as I stepped off the plane. I visited all the islands the next four years and I was convinced the Big Island was my new home. I quit my job and moved here three months later. (That was almost 20 years ago.)

(I still remember when I told the President of the Fortune 500 company I worked for that I was moving to Hawaii, he said "You are moving back to your office!" I told him I was serious and he said "Nobody quits a job like this." I just handed him my resignation letter.)

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"


Edited by - John S. Rabi on 09/05/2007 14:04:00

[robguz]

I first went to the BI in 1997 at age 26 and began to dream about living there. I visited again in 01 and 03 and bought my lot in Seaview when things came together with a vacation payout and a big tax refund. At that point I was thinking I was buying it for retirement in 20-30 years. After visiting and seeing the lot in 05, meeting people in the nieghborhood and other Puna residents, my then partner and I began to seriously consider moving there last year. With my relationship ending a year ago, suddenly I had to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. Moving to the BI seemed further away, but as my job became more boring, and my need to be where my heart was telling me to go grew, I began pursuing the move in earnest earlier this year. Since my ex bought me out of our home we owned together, I had the means to try to build a home and will be able to get by earning much less than I do now.

So many things draw me there. I think the biggest is just how happy I am spending time in nature. Even driving there is a joy compared to the Bay Area. The slower pace of life, the lack of concrete, filth, and having to fear getting mugged all the time, not having allergies 6 months a year like I do in Oakland, never having to be cold, being able to see the ocean all the time, fresh air, Pele, a'a fields and their smell, primarily hearing sounds of nature instead of engines, sirens, and other sounds of the city---all these things have drawn me there. There is also a greater openness in people I meet there, and a friendliness from strangers and people working in stores that it unheard of in the Bay Area. So I'm packing my bags and making the move in January and cannot wait for my new life!