Hawaii fire/land grab

[JaneV2.0]

I doubt I would enjoy a one-note climate, and our seasons are all pretty mild. I get tired of summer after about a month; I'm so ready for Fall.

[bae]

Missoula! It’s hard to imagine Californians wanting to move there with that weather.

Montana was one of the finalists in my "where to move" contest ~25 years ago.

It's ruined now, all the Californians moved there :-)

[iris lilies]

Montana was one of the finalists in my "where to move" contest ~25 years ago.

It's ruined now, all the Californians moved there :-)

“Not moving north of interstate 80” Iris chants to herself even though I am mightily attracted to Yankee land, the northeast.

Is there any place the Californians haven’t ruined? In my city neighborhood the highest price paid per sq ft was from a San Francisco buyer. She’s at the head of NPR here. All that money and still she got formica countertops in the kitchen.

[bae]

All that money and still she got formica countertops in the kitchen.

I moved into this house in 1999. It was built in 1987. I still have the amazing original wacky melamine(?) laminate countertops and oak cabinetry. I believe Home Depot was having a sale on this stuff in 1987, several of the other homes in my neighborhood have identical kitchen features.

I'm particularly proud of the original vintage flooring, which is some sort of demented polka-dotted indoor-outdoor carpet.

I was going to redo the kitchen "very soon" when I first moved in, but, well, you know how life is.

Last summer I got a market study done by my Realtor(R) for the property, and the value was north of $2 million for this "palace". It's gone up ~8% over the past year. The house is ~4500 sq. ft., not including garage, current construction costs for mid-level quality here is running > $1000/sq. ft. Not including the land and various insane permitting requirements and utility connection fees and septic. Which is why any existing structure sells almost as soon as it hits the market.

I can't imagine how much it will cost those folks in Hawaii to rebuild, it's even more expensive there to build, as I hear.

[iris lilies]

I prefer my (former) 1941 kitchen, even though the cabinets were cheap even for that time, to yours, bae. But neither sparks joy.

Now I have two new kitchens that do indeed spark joy, and every day I marvel about the beautiful materials and nice workmanship.

[bae]

I prefer my (former) 1941 kitchen, even though the cabinets were cheap even for that time, to yours, bae. But it is not spark joy.

Ya, this stuff is horrible. My boat has far nicer materials in the galley.

But, those counters were great for the kids to do art and school stuff on, and the materials have held up. I keep meaning to gut it "any day now", but there's always something more useful/timely to waste my efforts on.

My grandfather, when he reached a certain age, developed a saying, concerning upgrades to his home: "that's the next guy's problem", and I'm coming to realize his wisdom.

To be fair, I had just totally restored the kitchen in my 1910 Sears Craftsman cottage I was living in in California, right before I moved up here. I was living in the cottage during the several years of complete restoration of the entire home. Never again! The fuss and stress was insane.

I'll likely end up doing something about the kitchen, flooring, and bathrooms here, and repaint the interior, once my mother passes away, as I can move into that house for the duration of the remodeling. Of course, her place needs a similar renovation.

You just can't win.

[catherine]

We lived in our Brady Bunch house in NJ complete with shag rugs and metallic wallpaper well past its prime. Then, over the course of the 90s and early 2000s we proudly did some cosmetic updates. Now my kids lust for mid-century modern, including the "ugly" avocado and harvest gold decor. So you might as well keep what you have--it's bound to come back in style.

[bae]

So you might as well keep what you have--it's bound to come back in style.

Right?!?

I mean, it all still functions. And, would I rather drop $81k (average US mid-range kitchen remodel, probably 50% more here on the island, so $120k!) on something "nice and new", or be able to travel freely and rent homes in Europe for years at a time, all of which would likely have nicer kitchens too?

[sweetana3]

I absolutely love winter with long nights and snow. I do not like slush but just have to deal with it. I had snow in Paris in January and it was blissful.

I was raised in Anchorage, Alaska and if economics and medical availability allowed it, I would go back and live there. Anchorage was perfect because the snow was relatively dry.

I hibernate in the summer behind blinds.

[jp1]

I doubt I would enjoy a one-note climate, and our seasons are all pretty mild. I get tired of summer after about a month; I'm so ready for Fall.

I’d be fine with Sam Diego’s climate. But the point, if we move for retirement, is a lower cost of housing so that’s out. As much as I love summer I admit that I enjoy the two season climate here. I like the change of mindset they happens when winter arrives. It also makes it easier to remember how long ago things happened. When we lived in the city, especially in the drought years, the years just kind of all blurred together since there was no frame of reference to be able to say ‘that was two winters ago’ or whatever.