Decisions, Decisions

It was three years in the making, but we finally came to the decision of the Big Island, Hawaii.  In those three years we thought about and researched many many places, from North Carolina to Texas to Wisconsin to Florida.  It's kinda funny too, but each place we started to research and think seriously about moving to, they would suddenly get a very strong dose of winter weather.  I guess if you live in these places it's not very funny, but I do sincerely apologize for sending a dose of "Clarctic" weather your way.  The good news is, so far nothing major has happened on the Big Island since our decision, and I will point out that we made our decision after the tsunami came from the Japan quake. 

The real reason we decided on Hawaii: 
Because it's paradise.

Yes that's one reason, but there is more.

 We figured since the summers in Florida consisted of 100 degrees plus 100% humidity, there would be no way we could put up with that much extreme heat coming from somewhere that has the opposite in extreme cold.  I mean, when it gets to 85 degrees here, with hardly any humidity, we are HOT!!  And the way the weather patterns are going this year, we'll be lucky if we see any days over 70 this summer.  Wisconsin's out because the winters there can just as nasty as here.  Texas is too hot and muggy, plus there's tornadoes.  North Carolina, well, that's on the east coast.  If you need more explanation than that, let me know, and I'll be happy to oblige. 

Hawaii has a nice temperate climate, it's 85 degrees in the summers, and 70 degrees in the winters, and on the Big Island, if you want to cool down even more, you just have to start climbing up one of the volcanoes, we could even see snow again if we wanted to (not).

So now the decision has been made.  The next phase involves tons of research, and the beginning of saving a whole lot of money.  Our journey continues.....

A Little Background

Path to the wood shed

 This blog is an active journal as my family and I embark on a journey to move to paradise.  Some people might say that we already live in paradise, but they love lots of snow and ski everyday.  We don't.  Don't get me wrong; we used to.  We live in a little dot on the map called Clark, Colorado, about 20 miles north of Steamboat Springs, CO, an area we affectionately call the "Clarctic Circle".  My wife, Jackie, has been here about 30 years, I have been here about 20, and our son, Keegan, who was born here.  Now a teenager. After so many years of 9 months (yes, NINE) out of the year of winter, we have all agreed it is time for a change.

 

Yes, that says 40 below.



The pictures on the left and below represent the two main reasons why we are ready for a change: snow and cold. 



No, we can't see out our windows.



  



I will be using this blog to document why we chose Hawaii, why we didn't choose somewhere else, and to basically try to keep track of the huge task that is ahead of us.  I welcome any comments that may be helpful or useful.