Blog 2 Why the Big Island

The economy was just starting to get squishy in early 2008.  However, very few people expected the severe economic downturn that followed.  Initially, I was quite optimistic that I could find another position with an established company in short order.  We decided to give the job search five months, not so much to have obtained a position by then, but at least to have a good reading of the lay of the land.  Meanwhile we were going to work on our “Plan B.”  California was simply too expensive for us if I couldn’t locate a good paying job.

We had only been to Hawaii once before.  Our seashore/island destinations had tended to be in the Caribbean, Central America (Belize) and Mexico before moving to California.  Yet my wife (Devany) immediately thought “Hawaii!” if the job search floundered. 

I did not want us to make a decision prematurely, so after some research about best beach retirement communities, I met my son who lives on the New Jersey Shore over Easter vacation (he is a high school teacher) and we drove down to Rehoboth Beach, Maryland.  We checked out the community and looked at some real estate.  It definitely merited consideration, but after living in California it seemed awfully cold and dreary.

Meanwhile, Devany had the Hawaii mantra thing going, so we came for our second visit to the Big Island in late April, 2008 – but this time not as tourists, but to view it as possibly home.  Immediately you see things a lot differently when you think about living somewhere – as opposed to just having a great time visiting.