this is sort of a thought for thursday. although may not be as thought provoking for you as it obviously is for me... but maybe you've got some big plans or thoughts of your own...
so it's no secret that i am, and hubs is, in love with hawaii. and being home, the thicker and stickier and hotter the minnesota gnat-and-mosquito-filled air is, the more i want to hop back on a plane. and come winter, the colder and more miserable the incresingly-less-snowy the winter, i know i will feel the same. i feel like we have a kinship, my kauai and i. ha ha. seriously, the serenity is unbelievable. it's completely relaxing. the people who live there are so laid back, life just has a slower pace. and everyone is family - "bra" or "cousin". that's so beyond awesome. i crave it completely. when i am there i am happy to the core.
now, you may ask... is it just because we were on vacation and our sole purpose was to get some r&r? and that we were sans children without a care in the world except where to get our next mai tai and something yummy to eat? ( and maybe what gorgeous piece of scenery to go look at next) i (and we) have thought about it quite extensively. yes, we'd miss our families. but i have a hunch... i think there might be even more of a draw for them to visit.
hubs and i have seriously looked at real estate. we wouldn't be able to relocate until the older kids are graduated, but 8-9 years isn't a long time. to begin with, in a few years we would really consider being somewhat snowbirds. meaning maybe december and january we could spend there. to try it out. i've always been a minnesota girl, and well, while i love it mostly because i have roots and family here... i could give up minnesota itself. i fact, on our tour of the kauai chocolate farm, the girl who was running the tour said that she came herself on a tour and loved it so much she stayed. she wasn't the first person with that story, either. now how many places can name that would have that effect on people?
well, i just happened to go look at her blog WHILE writing my post. if i were kailani at an island life, would i feel the same? she lives in paradise. i mean, would i feel the same if i were not on vacation, if we lived there and had work and kids and the whole ball of wax? i would have to emphatically say yes. yes, yes yes. she happened to post this list today. and the list just gives me another reason to want to go live there. honolulu, hawaii is listed as #1 on the list of best places to raise a family. now, i wouldn't live in honolulu, and i was not impressed with waikiki. i kind of felt like it was going to just any other city on the beach somewhere. but the non-city parts of hawaii - really any island, from what i've seen... (especially "my kauai") - they are fabulous. and while the cost of living is a bit higher, i'm confident i could save on clothes and shoes right away. i could live in my bikini and flip flops as the weather varies so little year-round. yes. we'd still have to make a living. duh! wireless laptops on the beach. do i think that all of my problems will go away if i move there? i'm not dilusional here! we have mentioned this to people and they just look at us like we are crazy. but they then admit they've never been there.
our discussions have turned into quasi-plans. it could happen. i love to think it can, and will. it might, who knows. we'll see where the next five years takes us. it's good to have a plan, right?
obviously everyone has some sort of plan for their future. what's yours? share even if it doesn't involve a move halfway around the world.
other tfts: kim and heather and jenny and michelle,and kristi
ahh hawaii, it is a very magical place. a place that me and my hubby have also thought about moving too. i love it there! maybe someday!
Posted by: stacy | July 17, 2008 at 08:59 PM
Quasi plans can always turn into something. That would be really neat if you got to move there, if that's what you really want. I dream of north carolina for some reason. We talked about it being a retirement place, but who knows if it will be the same in 20 years.
Posted by: Robyn | July 17, 2008 at 09:56 PM
Shoot, I forgot to add LOVE the header. Monkey Girl is precious. The fish lips gets me.
Posted by: Robyn | July 17, 2008 at 09:57 PM
Well I love Hawaii too. It's one of my favorite places. But, I am a homebody and I definitely couldn't move that far. I've considered CA for the future, but like I said, I like to be near family and while I hate the weather here 90% of the time, I guess I'll just have to deal with it. I'd totally be jealous if you took off for Hawaii though. It is the most perfect place!
Posted by: Michelle | July 18, 2008 at 06:58 AM
We live as cheap as we can right now so that we can retire early and spend the winters some place warm. I do love MN summers and spending time at my parent's house on Rainy Lake so I could never give MN up completely, but from January to April...HELL YES. Hawaii is our next vacation for sure...I've never been there so maybe I would fall in love as you clearly have but for now we talk a lot about California or North Carolina for our winter living. Dreams are worth dreaming - it totally COULD happen! :)
Posted by: gina | July 18, 2008 at 07:35 AM
If you move to hawaii...I'm coming to visit, k??? :)
Posted by: Mel | July 18, 2008 at 08:01 AM
My Aunt and Uncle live in Hawaii on the big Island. The first time I went there about 8 years ago with my family my Dad loved it so much he bought timeshare there. I've been about 4 times and I love it. It's so peaceful and relaxing. I would live there in a heart beat.
Posted by: Kim | July 18, 2008 at 08:35 AM
I always seem to want to move to the location where we are vacationing . . . I even felt that way about Wisconsin when we were there last fall! I suppose it is the fact that I am in someplace new (or familiar, as was the case with WI) and it is all so different from 'home'.
I can't wait to visit Hawaii! My parents lived there for 3 years prior to having children, and have lots of fond memories - though they did say that after that time, they had a bit of 'rock fever' and were anxious to move back to the mainland.
Posted by: Nicole | July 21, 2008 at 04:09 PM
Love love love Hawaii! We have friends that just moved back from Maui after many years...he's still a realtor there so if you need to talk to him, let me know! ;)
Posted by: Leah | July 27, 2008 at 08:38 PM