Posted by Reluctant on 6/27/2005, 1:31 pm, in reply to "Buy some good wetsuits." --Previous Message--
Great points you bring up. As it stands, I barely have time for the kids to begin with. I work 50 -60 hr weeks. Yes, it's unhealthy, but it allowed me to buy a nice home in Mililani. As far as the cold, I kinda enjoy that. I'd probably feel different after living thru a California winter or five, but it's not a real concern. I've surfed in 50 degree water as well. My biggest concerns are housing and my wife and kid's ability to assimilate into the culture there. Boy this is tough!
: I think that the best way to
: appreciate Hawaii is to try to build
: the same quality of life somewhere
: else. (There's gotta be a reason
: for all those expat clubs.) We
: lived in SD in the mid-90s and if I
: couldn't live in Hawaii then I'd
: live in San Diego too, but it's a
: pretty significant change.
:
: I know a guy in each town who posts
: to this discussion board--
: http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php
: . You could ask
: "Laurence" in SD or
: "Ronin" in the LA area for
: more details.
:
: Let's start with the important
: stuff-- are you familiar with
: surfer's ear?
: http://www.surfline.com/surfaz/surfers_ear.cfm
:
: I haven't been to SD since 1999 and
: to LA since our 2001 Disney trip,
: but I wonder how much of that pay
: raise would be chewed up by living
: expenses. Gas in SD may still be
: cheaper by the gallon but we drove a
: heckuva lot more (and in more
: traffic jams) so our total fuel
: expenses were actually higher than
: Hawaii. Our car maintenance &
: repairs were a lot more because we
: were driving 10K-15K miles a year.
: Traffic in both towns, especially
: SD's I-8/I-15 area, makes Hawaii's
: H-1/H-2 merge look pretty speedy.
: Home utility costs have gone through
: the roof and $200/month electric
: bills aren't hard to do. Water is
: getting expensive and LA is facing
: shortages & resentment over
: draining the rest of CA to support
: their lifestyle. El Nino droughts
: have been severe enough to limit
: yard sprinklers & car washing.
: Tijuana had such bad sewage spills
: that the U.S. was actually paying to
: build a sewage plant there to treat
: their effluent and keep it off San
: Diego's southern beaches. Mainland
: food is cheaper but the shipping
: costs on Zippy's chili will be a lot
: more expensive. Papaya & mango
: are hard to come by. And your kids
: might have a little trouble finding
: good li hing mui snacks.
:
: I grew up in Pittsburgh (no expat
: clubs for that town!) and I'm way
: too familiar with winter, but when
: we moved from Oahu to SD it was just
: plain darn COLD. Your body's
: thermal resistance takes a couple
: years to adapt, and those Jan/Feb
: nights in the 40s are no fun. I was
: not amused by having to wear jeans,
: socks, shoes, & sweatshirts for
: most of the year. SD is much drier
: than Hawaii, too, so you'll feel it
: in your skin and your breathing.
: The pollen count in our neighborhood
: was through the roof and people used
: to sweep the pinetree pollen off
: their cars in the morning-- it
: looked like a fine coat of yellow
: dust.
:
: There must be a reason that the SD
: & LA jobs are paying so much
: more. Can you tell if you'd have as
: much time for family & surfing
: among the demands of the new job,
: the new boss, and the time-consuming
: new commute?
:
: Having said all that, we enjoyed
: living in Kensington (because we
: couldn't live in Hawaii). Normal
: Heights is also a good area. Both
: had decent elementary schools and
: many magnet/charter school options.
: Both areas have seen explosive
: growth in real estate values but I
: don't know if the rents have been
: correspondingly crazy. Most
: landlords have found that rents
: aren't rising as fast as the prices,
: so they've been selling and putting
: their profits into higher-yielding
: investments like CDs or bonds. You
: may do OK on rent but home ownership
: seems even more difficult there than
: it would be to buy in Mililani
: today.
:
: While SD life had its advantages
: (walking to the library &
: playground with a small kid,
: SeaWorld, the
: WorldFamousSanDiegoZoo) we missed
: Hawwaii very badly and we got our
: butts back here as quickly as we
: could. When I looked out the
: airplane window at the Ko'olau it
: felt more like home than any place
: I've ever lived. When you're living
: on the Mainland, songs like
: "Honolulu City Lights" and
: just about anything by Na Leo
: Pilimehana can really hit you hard.
:
: I guess your decision will depend on
: whether or not the extra money can
: really buy the equivalent quality of
: life that you have here. If we
: tried to move to our SD neighborhood
: today our kid would mutiny and move
: in with Grandma & Grandpa.
:
:
:
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