During my preteen and teenage years growing up on a chore-filled small farm in rural Colorado I longed to be anywhere else. The world was full of sophisticated lifestyles and exotic locations and I was sure that I was missing out on all of it As an avid reader of all kinds of books I knew that the world was turning fast everywhere else except in my little farming town. The commonness of my hometown was suffocating my soul and my greatest promise to myself was to find a way out as soon as I could.
When I was 22 I managed to save enough to go to graduate school, and as luck would have it, there were only two or three schools with accredited programs in my field. The cheapest one was in Hawaii. I could afford the plane ticket, but not the place to live. As my faithful readers know, I became an au pair to a nice middle class Jewish family on the island of Oahu and was able to attend graduate school at the same time. Poor though my life was as a grad student, living in Hawaii was a phenomenal experience and fulfilled my earliest expectations on the rewards of seeing a 'distant' part of the world. If you must be poor then the Pacific Islands are most accommodating to such a frugal lifestyle. My story continued with even more distant travel upon graduation, lucky soul that I was, and my regular readers have heard tales on this.
I sit here this afternoon and listen to music from the Beamer Brothers. Music is wonderful for taking us away and this one puts me on a slow moving outrigger canoe within sight of a beach. The music is like soft waves on a distant shore.
My winter has been mild but still cool and while I love my woods, nothing is big-leaved green and exotically fragrant and the ocean is not in view filled with lovely colorful fish and exotic shellfish. Fresh ripened fruit does not grow on nearby trees year round. People who live on the Pacific Islands this morning wake up to a very different lifestyle. Warmer air, sweeter smells, perhaps a slower pace for some islanders, and I am envious and I would live there in an instant during the cold winter days except for my loves that live nearby and hold me fast with a chord that is stronger than anything I can imagine.
Is there another place on this great earth that sometimes calls to you and that you would live if you could?
(This was written before the news of the recent earthquake in the South Pacific, and I would still live there.)
When I was 22 I managed to save enough to go to graduate school, and as luck would have it, there were only two or three schools with accredited programs in my field. The cheapest one was in Hawaii. I could afford the plane ticket, but not the place to live. As my faithful readers know, I became an au pair to a nice middle class Jewish family on the island of Oahu and was able to attend graduate school at the same time. Poor though my life was as a grad student, living in Hawaii was a phenomenal experience and fulfilled my earliest expectations on the rewards of seeing a 'distant' part of the world. If you must be poor then the Pacific Islands are most accommodating to such a frugal lifestyle. My story continued with even more distant travel upon graduation, lucky soul that I was, and my regular readers have heard tales on this.
I sit here this afternoon and listen to music from the Beamer Brothers. Music is wonderful for taking us away and this one puts me on a slow moving outrigger canoe within sight of a beach. The music is like soft waves on a distant shore.
My winter has been mild but still cool and while I love my woods, nothing is big-leaved green and exotically fragrant and the ocean is not in view filled with lovely colorful fish and exotic shellfish. Fresh ripened fruit does not grow on nearby trees year round. People who live on the Pacific Islands this morning wake up to a very different lifestyle. Warmer air, sweeter smells, perhaps a slower pace for some islanders, and I am envious and I would live there in an instant during the cold winter days except for my loves that live nearby and hold me fast with a chord that is stronger than anything I can imagine.
Is there another place on this great earth that sometimes calls to you and that you would live if you could?
(This was written before the news of the recent earthquake in the South Pacific, and I would still live there.)
Nope. I'm there. Just hope we can continue living on this acreage well into our old age.
ReplyDeleteI've lived all over the place, but never anywhere as nice as Hawaii. So I'd go there in my daydreams, just based on what I've read. Or maybe not Hawaii specifically, but some place warm where the sand isn't a nagging mess when you decide to come in. :)
ReplyDeleteI had a 2 week long visit with a friend who lives on the big island, and I enjoyed every minute. I'd go back to visit any time I could. I enjoyed the abundance of soft perfumed air, lovely people and fresh produce.
ReplyDeleteAs for living there, I have to say it just isn't my cup of tea. Humidity, even that fresh ocean humidity, bothers me greatly. And the cost was scary to me. Retired, and on a fixed and limited income as my friend is, every day was a struggle for him financially. He loves it there, and I would hope he can continue to do so, but prices were almost double on many staples of life, even locally grown produce.
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ReplyDeleteI've never lived anywhere but my native Montreal and here in Ontario but often thought there were places I could easily settle.
ReplyDeleteHawaii does sound lovely.. but far. :)
I'm there and feel very fortunate to be here. I was born in Texas and lived most of my life there knowing there had to be a better fit for me if I could just find it. When I visited Oregon I knew I'd found it. We moved here 8 years ago and every day I feel like I've died & gone to heaven.
ReplyDeleteI was born and raised in Hawaii. After graduating from UH, I traveled around the world and returned to Hawaii 7 years later. I have been here since 1975, with brief stints abroad for vacation. I love Hawaii, but am also glad I have air conditioning when the temperatures get into the 80s. If you ever get back to Hawaii, email me and David and I will treat you to lunch.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's time to go have lunch with Gigi. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm living there. I live in San Diego on a point of land out into the ocean. Most of the year there's low humidity, comfortable temperatures, and sunshine. I wish I lived one mile closer to the beach, but I am glad I had many years to hear the sound of the surf every day.
I like where I am but do think sometimes of moving to Montana. The drawback would be its distance from grandchildren; so I am better off to stay put.
ReplyDeleteI've always dreamed of living in a cute little cottage beside an ocean....I'm sure if I was there; there would be drawbacks but living in my dreams is a great place to be.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in so many places, including Germany, Switzerland, and Oregon. But Hawaii is the place for me. We have a house overlooking Hilo Bay. Every day is a treat and an adventure for us.
ReplyDeleteExcept for big cities, my thing has been "Bloom where your planted".
ReplyDeleteI have returned to my dream of a cottage by the woods.
ReplyDeleteBut a small part of me yearns for the ocean.
Not to live there
just to visit....
I've lived numerous places on the mainland and am content where I am now in Southern California. Where I would choose to live has varied with my age, family status and comfort needs at any given time in my life.
ReplyDeleteFamily live in Hawaii that I've enjoyed visiting on Oahu, most recently on the Big Island. I could like living there under certain circumstances.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to go to Hawaii, and some day we will; it's an easy trip from the west coast. I didn't know that you had these ties to such a place with its mild climate and fantastic flora and fauna.
ReplyDeleteI am transplanted to the Northwest & love this place. Could I move back to the midwest sometime, or the south? Maybe, because both of those places have a draw. There are people there with whom I have ties, and that is the main thing after all is said and done.
But the northwest is magnificent, even without friends and family, really magnificent.
I have had the fortunate opportunity to travel, and there are so many lovely places in the world--so many of them in our own country. I always think about what it would be like to live here or there, but I think people are pretty much the same so I might as well live the ones I truly love.
ReplyDeleteI spent a couple of weeks on Oahu - heaven on earth it is. I'd go there in a heartbeat. I'd happily settle in the midlands of England, or tarry in Wales. I love the Oregon coast and the redwood forests of northern CA. Like you, though, I am tethered here in my beautiful hometown in the Berkshires, near enough to a good many of my family to see them often. With two sisters and a son on the west coast, it's no wonder that calls, too.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to have a better place in this same area, with more land area n privacy. A farm would be fun for me- I want Mini-horses... n crops.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see Hawaii I think, some places in the Pacific adn Caribbean. Somewhere with a tract of land to leave intact too.
ReplyDeleteRYN: I think they are hiding their thoughts by talking golf or shopping. I can use that, thanks.
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