Aloha!
You may have noticed I've been absent. That's because everyone in my household has been sick with the coughing crud that's going around. I sound like a cross between a squeaking door that needs oiling and a bullfrog that got slammed in that door. (And yes, Virginia, they do get sick in Paradise.)
It's that time of year when people think about new beginnings. On a recent episode of "The Mentalist," characters Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon were discussing their future and how maybe they needed a change.
Lisbon said: One of us could get run over by a bus tomorrow.
Jane said: Not if we were on a beach in Polynesia. Buses can't go in sand." (Note how "starting over" seems to always involve Hawaii, Polynesia, or any place with white sandy beaches.)
Lisbon: But we could get eaten by a shark.
Jane: Not if we don't go in the water.
Lisbon: That sounds pretty boring, don't you think?
Jane: They have palm trees and hammocks and cocktails and pineapples…
Lisbon: And endless boredom, sunburn, and bugs the size of helicopters… Hey, I've been on vacation!
Jane: Then we could buy a boat and sail around the world.
Lisbon: Fine. Other than pirates and storms and scurvy. Besides, I get seasick….
Talked herself right out of a new life, didn't she?
So many people write to me every week saying they want to live on Maui or are makings plans to move. So tell me, what is the one thing that makes you feel you would want to live in Hawaii? (The weather doesn't count, perfect weather is a no-brainer.) Or you can share more than one, of course…
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!) Pronounced Hau’oli — “how-oh-lee” Makahiki — “mah-kah-hee-kee” Hou — “ho”
A hui hou, and Mahalo for reading along. If you'd like to stay in the loop, please click the "Follow" button on the Homepage, or to the right.
Aloha, Jamaica
Your Daily Dose of Paradise with Jamaica Michaels--A Maui Blog 
The only way I could afford to live in Maui is to win the lottery, then I could retire and just go to the beach every day instead of working & sitting in traffic on the freeway, OH and it is the weather
which is a lot better than the pacific northwest.
Aloha John,
Yes, winning the lottery could certainly solve that problem! I wonder how many people would have “move to Maui” at the top of their list if they won the lottery…
Aloha, Jamaica
We are leaving for Maui in two days! We can’t wait but we don’t want to live there, we love our life in indiana, just not in the dead of winter. Thanks you so much for your blog, I really enjoy reading about life there and I’ve learned a lot!
Aloha Maureen,
I hope you’re enjoying your Maui vacation. Where in Indiana do you live? Have a great time here!
Aloha, Jamaica
We are here now at Noelani Condominiums. It’s wonderful except for the vog. Tonight there wasn’t really a sunset. But – we are having a wonderful time! We live in the most northeastern point of Indiana, a few miles from Ohio and Michigan. There are lots of lakes so it is a beautiful area but not so much in the winter. I love reading your blog. Thank you for all the information and also it’s fun to read while I’m at home and dreaming of being in Maui again!
Aloha Maureen,
Glad you had a good time on Maui. So did the vog curtail any of your activites? Did you get out on the water? Mike always knows how thick the vog is by whether he can see the Big Island or even Lanai…
Mahalo for writing and for being a reader!
Aloha, Jamaica
Jamaica,
We’ve been planning a move to Maui for almost three years. Next year is finally in our vocabulary. 2016 is our year. To discount the weather would be a lie. We currently live in Texas so our winters are fairly moderate, but 70 to 80+ degrees all years round is a draw. We’re looking for the laid back lifestyle that Maui offers. We don’t need to live in a McMansion so if we end up in an apartment, that’s fine. When we made the decision to start looking at moving to Maui, it was scary. We both said, what happens in ten years if we don’t try. We’ll look at each other and say, why didn’t we at least make the effort. If it doesn’t work out, I guess it will be like an extended vacation. I know a lot of our friends who were planning to visit, will be disappointed.
I am from Northern Indiana (like you!) and it does have its charm, but Hawaii just feels otherworldly to me. I love how the ocean and flowers perfume the air. How beautiful the landscape is. The taste of the locally grown food. The islands really incorporat all of your senses. My dream was to visit Hawaii so when I graduated undergrad, I gifted myself a trip. It exceeded my expectations and then some. So much, I returned to get married 2 years later. I’ve dreamed of moving there for over 7 years. After reading your blog (excellent by the way) my husband and I still want to move but may need to find somewhere more affordable until our children are grown. Granted, if we could easily find work, we’d make it happen. Is it difficult to find work on the island with an MBA (which is what my hubby has)? I have a masters in social work and I saw that there were quite a few openings but knowing the cost of living, we both would need to work. Thanks for your wonderful blog with great insight into what it’s really like to make Maui your home.
Aloha Mikki,
Thanks for sharing. Where in Northern Indiana do you live? My sister is coming to Maui from there on her school break in March, and cannot wait to get out of winter! As far as jobs for both of you, there was an ad just this Sunday in the Maui News for a social worker. But I have watched the classifieds here for years, and I can honestly say I have never seen “Requires MBA.” So your husband would have to juxtaposition his skills into the Maui lifestyle. For instance, director of The MACC (Maui Arts and Cultural Center) was a job opening in the last couple of years.
I know the feeling of wanting to make it happen, but wondering how. There is also the public school system in Hawaii to consider…
I wish you both the best!
Aloha, Jamaica
Aloha Jamaica,
My ‘one thing’ that makes me want to live on Maui…. My job travels me all over most of the world which makes staying there difficult. It forced me to leave my island Maui. But, now, I am actively seeking a change of employment so that I may return to my adopted home. My ‘one thing’… I have never been happier in my life as when I was there. Even through tough times, Hawai`i has a ‘special feeling’ that you cannot see, but can feel –like a hug from God and nature (if there is a difference) that fills you so full of Aloha that you feel as if you can burst into a million pieces that will just dissipate into the air, ground, and sea, until you become an eternal part of Hawai`i ne. my ‘one thing’… the true meaning of A lo ha. Malama pono, Pua. A hui hou.
Aloha Anela,
I really hope you get your chance to return to Maui.
Thank you for sharing your experiences here….
Aloha, Jamaica
In the early nineties we were taking long scuba vacations on Roatan and Utila, Honduras, and thought the Bay Islands would be the perfect place to retire. That was before cruise ships and zip lines and all that. We rented houses and learned all the ins and outs of island living, the shortages, the bugs, the electricity that was often turned off at 9 pm (the whole island goes dark!) We always scheduled a few extra days on the mainland to enjoy the mountains, white water rafting and Lake Yojoa.
Then Hurricane Mitch hit about 1998 and while the islands recovered and are big tourist spots, Honduras is no longer a safe place to visit. You sure don’t want to have investments there. Now that I’m older, American style amenities mean a lot more to me that I ever thought they would, including banking and insurance that makes sense to me, not to mention medical care, dentists, eye doctors and yes, a postal system that still works.
We crave island living, but we also want a choice of restaurants, a movie theater, and believe it or not, I find myself judging whether I would live somewhere based on the nearest Costco (should be no more than 45 minute drive!) St. Croix loses out on that count. In fact, just about all the Caribbean doesn’t make the cut, and Florida has too many people.
Aloha Charles,
Thank you for writing. It sounds like you have looked at a lot of places as potentials to live. How does Maui stack up on your list of desires? I’m always interested in what people’s experience is of Maui.
Aloha, Jamaica
I have wanted to live on Maui for 12 years, BECAUSE I feel like a different person from the second I depart the plane in Kahului. And I love that new person I become while visiting Maui. Reasons for not moving are unfortunately money, and fortunately three precious grandchildren. Aloha, Betty
Aloha Betty,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I know what you mean about those precious grandchildren…my sister wants badly to be out of Indiana where we grew up, but her daughter just had her second baby. Changes everything!
Aloha, Jamaica
Aloha Jamaica,
Sorry to hear you got the creepin’ crud too! I’ve had it for a month now, it’s a WICKED one this year that nobody seems immune to. We are “suffering” through another Idaho winter, as our plans to list the house for sale were delayed by a broken water pipe in August which took 3 months to repair the damages from. Then came the holidays, and now we’re in the thick of wintertime with inversions, ice fog, below-freezing temps and haven’t seen the sun for nearly 2 weeks now. So do you think weather plays a little part in our motivation to move there? You BET it does!
Aside from the obvious though, we are seeking a change of lifestyle. While we understand one must still work and “make a living” to live in Hawaii, we have also seen and felt the overall happier attitudes of the residents of Maui. Not just the tourists, but of the workers and everyday lifers, so to speak. Everyone there seems a few shades lighter and brighter, with easier smiles and relaxed shoulders and neck muscles! We know not every day for everyone is all sunshine and rainbows — life always contains ups and downs, good news and bad news, and it takes some rain to make those rainbows. But something about Maui….. perhaps the quality really is undefinable, or the words don’t exist yet. Is it really as simple as geography and meteorology? I’m sure it isn’t. For me, the image keeps returning of placing my hands on the ground, at the base of or part-way up the mountain of Haleakala. There must be something energetically or spiritually drawing me there, I wish I could articulate it with more detail and definition, but I don’t think I will be able to until we are actually living there and experiencing it — whatever “it” is!
Take care of that flu, and soak up some sunshine in proxy for us vitamin D-deprived Idahoans!
Mahalo,
Shauna
My hubs and I are planning to move to Maui to live simply and enjoy the beautiful fruit I am sensitive to chemicals and southern Cali is not a healthy environment for me but now I am a bit concerned about the vog how often dies it reach Maui?