So, CM and I had an “animated discussion” yesterday about moving to Hawaii. I asked him if given the choice to buy a house in Hawaii or buy a house in New York, which would he choose. Believe it or not, the cost of living in Hawaii is slightly higher than it is in New York, so the housing markets are somewhat comparable.
So he tells me he’d rather retire in Hawaii. He says it has great weather, the flowers are always blooming, it beautiful, blah, blah, blah. I, on the other hand, chose NY because I “want more for our kids”. CM asked what’s better than beauty all around them. I tried to explain to him that “beauty” isn’t realistic. (Even now I have a hard time putting into words my thoughts on Hawaii.)
I’m not a NY native, but I just feel like there’s more opportunity there. The beach and laid-back atmosphere of Hawaii is great and all, but it just doesn’t seem like greatness can be achieved here.
What do you think? Which location would you choose and why?
July 28th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
NYC—As much as I love Hawaii, I see it more as a vacation. I love the upbeat NYC but I would appreciate living somewhere wehre everyone is not always in a rush.
If I could leave NY I would go to Australia. A true city that is more laid back then NYC.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Long time reader, first time commenter
I think what you’re doing is incredibly cool. Seems like part of what you’re doing is trying to teach the kids that opportunity and greatness aren’t all that matter, that sometimes just relaxing and enjoying the sites are the best things to do! (I’ve never been, but from what I’ve heard Hawaii might not be a bad place to do that.) Besides, by the time you’re ready to retire, where exactly you live probably won’t have much impact on where your kids go to achieve greatness.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Lol! You seem like you’re on the fence yourself. You seemed to start of firm with New York, but somewhere you wavered and leaned toward Hawaii. Where would you go in Australia? What is the cost of living like there? I’ve never been, but I’d like to go.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Erik — Welcome, welcome, welcome! I think the best thing would be to teach them how to achieve balance between greatness and enjoyment. You’ve just inspired me, I think I’m going to write a post about balance.
It’s funny that you should say where I live won’t impact where they go. When they were babies, a large part of me was anxious for them to grow up and move out so that I could have some personal time again. But as they’ve gotten older and more personality, I definitely can’t imagine them “going” anywhere.
So please comment again, I’m loving being able to outsource important personal decisions *smile*.
July 29th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
One word answer…
Hawaii
What is the crime rate over there? Weather? People like?
How many people want to move from Hawaii to NYC?
August 4th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I think the crime rate is pretty low. The people are definitely friendly. And I can definitely say that I’ve never heard a person say they wanted to leave Hawaii for NYC.
Now that we’re back I already miss Hawaii. Maybe we’ll hit the lotto and we can buy houses in NYC and Hawaii…. but I guess that’s unlikely because I don’t play.