Aloha!
A reader wrote to ask (after reading this blog’s FAQ’s on Moving to Maui), “So why do you still live there?” Obviously, Hawaii is not for everybody (where would we PUT them all?) But here are my top ten reasons. It was difficult to narrow it down to ten…so I’ll be sharing more, later. Stay tuned!
1) Blazing sunshine (free vitamin D)
2) Flip-Flops Forever (slippahs, in Hawaii)
3) Outdoors every single day
4) Brilliant blue skies and puffy white clouds, almost every day
5) The very best rainbows, on the days it does rain
6) The ocean is always there, waiting….
7) The rain forest is always there, waiting
8) It’s a society built on love for the aina (land)
9) It’s a society built on pono (do what is right)
10) I feel safe, safe, safe here.
Please weigh in on what you love the absolute most about Maui…especially those of you who live here…and I will post the answers.
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Aloha, Jamaica
Your Daily Dose of Paradise with Jamaica Michaels--A Maui Blog 
I love the aloha spirit on Maui! I also love never having to shovel snow off my car 🙂
Ah yes…the Aloha spirit. Thank you for sharing!
You must have grown up someplace where there was a lot of snow?
Aloha, Jamaica
Yep, I’m from CT. I do actually miss the snow, just not shoveling it!
Thanks so much for your great response. Those are terrific answers 🙂
How can you feel safe on an island where people have ‘gone missing’ and are yet to be found?
Aloha Terry,
I feel deeply for the families of those who have gone missing on Maui.
And while I am aware and cautious as a woman, I was referring to the safety I feel here in comparison to the area of California where I just spent much of the last two years, caring for my ailing/dying parents. There, I was on high alert at all times…walking to my car in broad daylight at the grocery store, or at the mall. Not feeling safe walking in my parent’s neighborhood, during the day. Checking and rechecking to make sure the doors were locked while I was at home, even during the day.
Those are the differences I feel here. It is my personal experience.
Thank you for raising the question.
Aloha, Jamaica
Bad things happen everywhere, Terry, and they tend to overshadow the positive (see “negativity bias”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias).
Where I live, people go missing fairly often, and usually there’s just a small blip on the news about it for a short period. Maui being paradise, it’s just emphasized. I felt much safer touring the island a few weeks ago than I did walking to a store a few blocks away from my house the other day in a large midwest city–definitely not paradaise.
Have been travelling, and just saw this. I came in ’94 on a 2 week vacation, and have never left. I will add to the list that, although Hawai`i is beautiful, there are many places with even more beautiful greenery and waters than HI (would you believe it!?). However, Hawai`i has a special spiritualness (pili ‘uhane), a feeling ( ka ʻike maka o) that ust isn’t found anywhere else. One can be in the business of a city (such as they are here), or at a cliff overlooking the ocean and feel this. It doesn’t come ‘from’ the people; it comes from the ‘aina, and will come through the people who connect with the ‘aina. No matter where nor when, all it takes is one moment of noʻonoʻo (silent reflection). Aloha, Jamaica. Mahalo nui loa for your blog.
Well said! Mind if I quote you on this? My family and I are only 88 days away from our relocation to Maui and I’ve had a co-worker asking why I don’t move to Costa Rica, Belize or any other Tropical location with a lower cost of living. I didn’t have a good way of explaining that those places just didn’t appeal to me in the slightest. There is just something about Hawaii. Your explanation is perfect. Thank you
Aloha Ken,
Glad I could be of service. I think the answer to “Why not Costa Rica? Why not Belize?” is they are not America. After 9/11, when tourists finally dipped their toes back in the traveling pool, they weren’t going to Mexico, Belize, etc. They came to Hawaii, because it was America, and they felt safe.
Best of luck on your move. “Lucky you”ll live Hawaii!” (Variation on a local expression). Keep me posted as the time nears!
Aloha, Jamaica