[jobim]

Balderdash. My wife and I are retired in Hawaii and I wouldn't trade it for any place else.

Here on the Big Island property taxes are low, farmers markets provide year-round produce, an affordable house with a plot to easily grow food is quite affordable on the east side (windward), crime is low, a sense of Hawaiian ohana (family) does in fact permeate to create an atmosphere of friendliness.

And the weather, beaches, hiking... I guess you know about that, but in retirement, these become even more important components in enjoyment of God's bounteous beauty.

And each island offers quite different variations, but all are unified in that unique sense of Hawaiian ohana.

[smokingfrog]

You can buy some cheap land there too, and it's brand new.

[ExpatGator]

Yeah, I got a lot of that Hawaaiian ohana when I paddled my haole self out at Makaha.

[sheana]

We own some property in Hawaiian Paradise Park and planned on building on it and retiring there. We did all the calculations and would have saved quite a bit of money moving from California to Hawaii.
Unfortunately family stuff happens and that window closed.