KJ wrote:
I'm actually envious of Marin, growing up in Hawaii.*
Don't be. You would be amazed at how many people from the mainland move to Hawaii thinking it will be this utopia with wonderful weather, and within a few years they move back to the mainland.* The never-changing weather gets to them, and the fact you can't go anywhere gets to them.* While I will probably never do it I love the fact I can drive a few miles from my house, get on I-90 and can drive on I-90 all the way to Boston.
There is a MAJOR difference between visiting a place like Hawaii for a week or two and living there full-time.* For example, nobdody I knew in shcool or when I was working in television went to the beach much other than the guys in high school who were into surfing.* Nobody marveled at the palm trees or the sunsets.* We bitched about the traffic and the tourists and like people everywhere else concentrated on our school or work and just dealing with life.* We could have been in LA or Denver in that respect.* Paradise is only paradise to people who don't live there.* For the people who do, it's as much a hassle as anywhere else.
True, we didn't have to deal with snow and ice storms.* But we had to deal with termites, rats, and cockroaches.* Billions of them.* When we'd hear people talk about their Hawaiian vacations and how wonderful it was and how beautiful everything is we'd say to each other "Where the hell were they?* They sure weren't in
this Hawaii."
Which is why when I hear people at work today talking about taking a vactaction to Hawaii I always wonder, "Why go there when there are so many other FAR more fascinating and intriguing places on the planet to go?"* I've been very lucky in that my employer has sent us to many of these places.* I'm not a fan of the tropics at all, but I've been to the Seychelles and Reunion Island and they make Hawaii look pretty pathetic in comparison.
I know a number of people here in the Seattle area who lived for a long time in Hawaii or were born and grew up there.* Almost all of them feel the same way about the place as I do.* Which is probably pretty typical of people no matter where they're from.* The grass is always greener someplace else until you get there.
I must say though that, not counting Seattle itself, I have never regretted moving to the Pacific Northwest at all.* It has totally lived up to my expectations and surpassed them, and continues to do so today. I include BC in my definition of the PNW, by the way--- BC is fabulous, even better than Washington.* All of BC, not just the coastal waters.
-- Edited by Marin on Saturday 8th of January 2011 04:16:49 PM