It's SO expensive...

Part of my keeping a chronicle of our lives is actually posting about our lives.  Now that I actually have some time to do something that I truly enjoy, writing, I can actually keep up with the chronicle.  So now, on to answering questions.

I have already answered the "why" on moving to Hawaii so on to almost everyone's very first comment/thought.  It's SO expensive to live in Hawaii.  My response to that...well, that depends on how you define "live".  

Live...how do you personally define that word?  How do you practice the art of living in your daily life?  Living has taken on a whole new meaning for me, for my family.  It doesn't involve the newest shiny tech gadget or a massive house or even expensive nights out.  Living is this...

The joy that comes for these girls from the warm nuzzle of a furry friend.

LOVE these girls!

Birthday dinner for our amazing daughter-in-law

Enjoying a walk/jog early in the morning to watch the sun rise over the ocean

Enjoying the beautiful weather with my babies

Dinner out becomes a treat vs. a 3 or 4 night a week habit.  

The views, the air, the sound...(I'm frowning because it's so bright!)

Mama time...so necessary.

But milk...it's $8 a gallon!  Yes it is if you buy it at the gas station.  Buy it on sale or in bulk at one of our fav stores and you pay about $5 a gallon.  Sure still expensive but it evens out when I pay $2 less a pack for gluten free tortillas and numerous other groceries that were actually cheaper.  Strawberries run about $5/lb.  Yikes!  However, hit the farmers market or a roadside stand.  Our future property will provide bananas, avocados, mountain apples and whatever else we decide to grow (or that is already growing), strawberries of course, all for the low price of our labor.  It more than evens out.  Gas is about $.20 more a gallon than we pay here in Idaho.  We drove a massive Ford Expedition for 7 days.  We drove constantly.  We saw the sights.  The airport was an hour and a half from our house.  We never even used one single tank of gas.  In my hamster car, a tank of gas is going to last forever!  Property...if you want ocean front by the resorts and want to be in the center of the tourists, you will pay dearly.  If you are looking for a small farm (2 or more acres according to Hawaii thinking), want to be self-sufficient, be 15 minutes from the ocean and want to truly live Hawaii, you're gonna spend under $300K for a really nice place (on Big Island).  Oh, and alcohol (sorry mom), it is cheaper.  On average...about $4-6 a bottle cheaper.  

So yes, it is expensive to live in Hawaii if you move there, continue living (or attempt) as you do on the mainland and try desperately to keep up with your neighbors.  But...that isn't why we are moving to Hawaii.  That isn't how we define "live" anymore.  We choose aloha.  

Mahlo!