My husband, (who was born and raised in Santa Barbara) and I, like to joke, "Living in SB is like being in the Mafia, once you're here, you can never leave". That's true for several reasons, the most pressing being, once you're 'grandfathered' in, you really can't afford to leave and come back at will, and even though our home is worth an absurd amount of $ relative to the rest of the U.S. there aren't many places that are as beautiful physically, or weather-wise as the 'American Riviera'. We spend the largest part of every single day outdoors, comfortable, dry and cool. When we remodeled our home 30 years ago, no one put AC in their homes, so neither did we. We are seriously considering AC now, but went with a ceiling fan in the meantime.... reminds of us all the summers we spent on Kauai! We'd love to downsize and move to a smaller place in CA, but even that feels like an impossible stretch in this obscene housing market. So, in many ways, we feel stuck, stuck in paradise, but still stuck. And now we must consider aging in place, and what does that look like? Lots of stuff to think about as we live out our final ⅓ of life... and it's that finite amount of time that makes landing in a spot that you will love, are comfortable, secure and happy in, pretty damn important.
This response resonates with me. I am the oddity, the person who decided to stick it out in Hawaiʻi, "stuck in paradise" as you put it. My main consideration was aging in place, oddly enough...and the related consideration that I have 18 years invested in a small community that takes care of its own, a set of relationships that if I needed 18 years to develop elsewhere would put me at 85 years old!
As a former resident of SB (if you read Freckled you know my grandma Stella had a home in Montecito in the teacher housing area for Westmont) I know SB is particularly vulnerable to fire, mudslides, and more. I get your quandary. It's a beautiful place with great history...but it's environmentally vulnerable. Most places in Cali are; that's why we left. It's sooooo sad I can hardly stand it...
Yes, of course I read Freckled, that book introduced me to you! My love of Kauai and a memoir about same was a must read. I have to admit that I've only read Freckled, I'm a huge fan of autobiographies/memoirs, because I'm endlessly curious about people and their life experiences! Hey, I have a question....as a Substack writer, do you have free access to all other Substack writers' newsletters/blogs etc.!!? I know, as a subscriber I can read other offerings (free). I initially became interested in Substack because of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (yes, THAT Kareem!). I really love what he's doing with his newsletter and of course I'm a huge fan. My conundrum... I want to support Substack writers, but if I subscribed to every single one I love, I'd go broke....it's a real dilemma. And now Connie Schultz is here. And more are coming....sigh! lol
Hi Susan! I also subscribed to Kareem's newsletter, and no, I don't get anything free! I sent him my five bucks a month too. I subscribe to a whole bunch of newsletters on here, because I really respect the platform and what the writers are doing; I think @substack is taking the place of formal journalism in a lot of ways. I do get to write off as a business expense, but I spend about 200 a month on subscriptions. Just FYI my bookkeeper was a bit boggled. 😆
Toby - I have known you for a long time and your climate refugee hit home for us too! That is why Larry and I are leaving Maui after 20 years and are taking residence on Victoria Cruises Majestic vessel. Its a big risk / living on a residential cruise ship / but after taking 26 cruises in the past 25 years we are ready to see the world from our suite. We are booked for at least 3 years. Might just stay forever!!
My concern with all of this, is what is the South West going to do when the water levels are so low in Lake Mead and Lake Powell that there isn't enough water pressure to turn the turbines???!!! And they're still building like crazy .....
I feel the same way about my home town Banff - you can't buy a house there for less than 1/2 a mill (and you do NOT own the land - use to be a 99 year lease, then it went to 25 and now it's a year to year lease from the government. Even if i could afford to live there i wouldn't as it's just changed way too much.
Thanks for writing this. We moved to Michigan for work about 25 years ago, from Alaska, where I had lived for almost 25 years. We’ve learned to love Michigan in spite of the winter gloom and grey skies. We have water. People ask us about moving south or west and we say , “we have water”. Interesting what the important things are now.
Mike and I lived in St. Joe, MI while going to college in the 1990's, so I know and love that state! If I wasn't opposed to lots of snow, I'd go back... but not to our area near the nuclear power plant.There was a RIDICULOUS amount of cancer that wasn't tracked back to that source but literally every friend we knew who lived there any length of time, had cancer or has it now. Watch out for that dang power plant in SW MI!
I wrote something on that previous post, then erased it. Something about readying to move somewhere else and fate, in the form of a job offer, stepping in to keep me here. Looking back over the 10+ years since, it's been one of the best decades of my life! Now, again retired (for the umpteenth time), I'm settled in place. Yes, Las Vegas is HOT. We're going into about the tenth day of temps above 110°. But it happens every year, this 8-9 weeks of being uncomfortable. I grew up in the desert. To me, the heat is more tolerable than the snow up North! Yes, we have MANY folks moving here (Hawaii's 9th island) because the cost of living is really pretty good. Yes, we gripe about traffic. But I'm pretty sure I'm staying here.
Bonny, I had another private correspondence exchange from a woman who kept ending up back in Las Vegas! She had a very good list of all the things she loved about it. Valid!
Need to write a whole new comment today as all of our sense of security is shattered. Lahaina town gone. Resort and gated community properties here on the Big Island, the places that filled with pandemic and then climate change refugees, are battling fire and structures lost as I type. My reasons for staying here remain exactly the same. My perspective however has changed dramatically in the past 24 hours and I suspect we may see the first wave of exodus from Hawaiʻi.
My husband, (who was born and raised in Santa Barbara) and I, like to joke, "Living in SB is like being in the Mafia, once you're here, you can never leave". That's true for several reasons, the most pressing being, once you're 'grandfathered' in, you really can't afford to leave and come back at will, and even though our home is worth an absurd amount of $ relative to the rest of the U.S. there aren't many places that are as beautiful physically, or weather-wise as the 'American Riviera'. We spend the largest part of every single day outdoors, comfortable, dry and cool. When we remodeled our home 30 years ago, no one put AC in their homes, so neither did we. We are seriously considering AC now, but went with a ceiling fan in the meantime.... reminds of us all the summers we spent on Kauai! We'd love to downsize and move to a smaller place in CA, but even that feels like an impossible stretch in this obscene housing market. So, in many ways, we feel stuck, stuck in paradise, but still stuck. And now we must consider aging in place, and what does that look like? Lots of stuff to think about as we live out our final ⅓ of life... and it's that finite amount of time that makes landing in a spot that you will love, are comfortable, secure and happy in, pretty damn important.
This response resonates with me. I am the oddity, the person who decided to stick it out in Hawaiʻi, "stuck in paradise" as you put it. My main consideration was aging in place, oddly enough...and the related consideration that I have 18 years invested in a small community that takes care of its own, a set of relationships that if I needed 18 years to develop elsewhere would put me at 85 years old!
As a former resident of SB (if you read Freckled you know my grandma Stella had a home in Montecito in the teacher housing area for Westmont) I know SB is particularly vulnerable to fire, mudslides, and more. I get your quandary. It's a beautiful place with great history...but it's environmentally vulnerable. Most places in Cali are; that's why we left. It's sooooo sad I can hardly stand it...
Yes, of course I read Freckled, that book introduced me to you! My love of Kauai and a memoir about same was a must read. I have to admit that I've only read Freckled, I'm a huge fan of autobiographies/memoirs, because I'm endlessly curious about people and their life experiences! Hey, I have a question....as a Substack writer, do you have free access to all other Substack writers' newsletters/blogs etc.!!? I know, as a subscriber I can read other offerings (free). I initially became interested in Substack because of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (yes, THAT Kareem!). I really love what he's doing with his newsletter and of course I'm a huge fan. My conundrum... I want to support Substack writers, but if I subscribed to every single one I love, I'd go broke....it's a real dilemma. And now Connie Schultz is here. And more are coming....sigh! lol
Hi Susan! I also subscribed to Kareem's newsletter, and no, I don't get anything free! I sent him my five bucks a month too. I subscribe to a whole bunch of newsletters on here, because I really respect the platform and what the writers are doing; I think @substack is taking the place of formal journalism in a lot of ways. I do get to write off as a business expense, but I spend about 200 a month on subscriptions. Just FYI my bookkeeper was a bit boggled. 😆
Bookkeeper: "Wait, what?" LoL
I'd be lost without her as an authorpreneur!
Toby - I have known you for a long time and your climate refugee hit home for us too! That is why Larry and I are leaving Maui after 20 years and are taking residence on Victoria Cruises Majestic vessel. Its a big risk / living on a residential cruise ship / but after taking 26 cruises in the past 25 years we are ready to see the world from our suite. We are booked for at least 3 years. Might just stay forever!!
Dear Joanne I'm so happy for you! And I salute your courage and intent to live fully. Yay you!
My concern with all of this, is what is the South West going to do when the water levels are so low in Lake Mead and Lake Powell that there isn't enough water pressure to turn the turbines???!!! And they're still building like crazy .....
I’d be worried too! 😱
I feel the same way about my home town Banff - you can't buy a house there for less than 1/2 a mill (and you do NOT own the land - use to be a 99 year lease, then it went to 25 and now it's a year to year lease from the government. Even if i could afford to live there i wouldn't as it's just changed way too much.
Heartbreaking isn’t it. 🖤🖤🖤
Thanks for writing this. We moved to Michigan for work about 25 years ago, from Alaska, where I had lived for almost 25 years. We’ve learned to love Michigan in spite of the winter gloom and grey skies. We have water. People ask us about moving south or west and we say , “we have water”. Interesting what the important things are now.
Mike and I lived in St. Joe, MI while going to college in the 1990's, so I know and love that state! If I wasn't opposed to lots of snow, I'd go back... but not to our area near the nuclear power plant.There was a RIDICULOUS amount of cancer that wasn't tracked back to that source but literally every friend we knew who lived there any length of time, had cancer or has it now. Watch out for that dang power plant in SW MI!
We live in Kalamazoo and have a cottage on a small no wake lake near Baldwin. We really like it here
Thanks for all you do, love your books, look forward to new ones!
Yes a lovely area! Just stay out of Stevensville as far as moving!
I will say that people we knew came down with cancer and lived there most of their lives. So it's a long-term exposure thing.
I wrote something on that previous post, then erased it. Something about readying to move somewhere else and fate, in the form of a job offer, stepping in to keep me here. Looking back over the 10+ years since, it's been one of the best decades of my life! Now, again retired (for the umpteenth time), I'm settled in place. Yes, Las Vegas is HOT. We're going into about the tenth day of temps above 110°. But it happens every year, this 8-9 weeks of being uncomfortable. I grew up in the desert. To me, the heat is more tolerable than the snow up North! Yes, we have MANY folks moving here (Hawaii's 9th island) because the cost of living is really pretty good. Yes, we gripe about traffic. But I'm pretty sure I'm staying here.
Bonny, I had another private correspondence exchange from a woman who kept ending up back in Las Vegas! She had a very good list of all the things she loved about it. Valid!
Need to write a whole new comment today as all of our sense of security is shattered. Lahaina town gone. Resort and gated community properties here on the Big Island, the places that filled with pandemic and then climate change refugees, are battling fire and structures lost as I type. My reasons for staying here remain exactly the same. My perspective however has changed dramatically in the past 24 hours and I suspect we may see the first wave of exodus from Hawaiʻi.