A year and a half ago, I signed closing papers that resulted in the sale of our six bedroom farmhouse in pastoral Greenback, Tennessee. My husband and I had spent four years there, making the mini-farm into a welcoming place with a completely refreshed interior and manicured landscape. We spent three years before that saving, planning, and dreaming about living on a farm, complete with miniature donkeys and fancy-free dogs. It was very bittersweet leaving that place; stewards we were there, and good stewards I think.
The downside of having a farm is that you spend most of your time off caring for it. We knew this before we signed up. During warmer months, we routinely used 3 to 4 gallons of fuel for lawn equipment every week. This translated into countless hours of mowing, trimming fence lines, and managing nutritious pastures for our happy equines. And then there were the horror stories as we gutted the house and slowly put it all back together. We uncovered too many surprises during our remodeling, usually forcing us to remove original building materials down to studs in most spaces. We never had time or energy to do anything except for home improvement or lawn care. Sometimes I would go for months without an opportunity to be with my closest friends. We were slaves to the property and had to find a way to move on. But I wouldn't have guessed at the time just how far we would be moving.
The author's miniature donkeys grazing on her farm in Greenback, Tennessee.
It was not difficult at all to accept a job transfer to Honolulu given that the four years leading up to that decision had been physically-, financially-, and emotionally-draining at the farm. To say that we understand why some couples become broken after a kitchen remodel or building a home is an understatement. Contemplations of mai tais, palm trees, and crystal clear waters caused us to jump at the chance to live in Hawaii. Slightly irrational people should never be tempted with an opportunity to live somewhere exotic.
My career has been mostly about doing a great job for clients but partly about saving and planning for a big vacation. I love to travel, especially if it means experiencing life in a totally different way for a week and a half. Wanderlust is sometimes a painful affliction -- the constant desire to travel and explore is distracting. My vacation balance has suffered and I've spent untold amounts on expensive airfares and new gear. Vacationing was on hold while we lived on the farm. But maybe I was missing something all along: Instead of spending two weeks a year in an amazing place, maybe I should live somewhere I would vacation. Oahu is that place, with accessible and free recreation in every direction.
Some friends asked, "Why would you move somewhere you haven't even visited?" Yes, it was a risk. Making a major lifestyle change in the name of adventure was something I knew I would do when the time was right. I was very sure that I would love Oahu. And I do. In fact, I love it so much that I think my wanderlust has been attenuated, if not extinguished, at least for the time-being. I haven't spent the typical amount of time in the past year dreaming and prioritizing the next big vacation. I think it is because I have never felt the kind of peace that comes when you finally connect with a place. When you live somewhere that makes you belong, it makes you happy in your core.
Living in Hawaii offers endless opportunities for exploring so many places I haven't been yet. I know I'm lucky to live on an island, but I'm luckier to live in a place that makes me never want to leave. My future self would be proud of my present self for reaching this place in my life already because I know she would tell me to be living here. Every day feels like a vacation when you love where you live.
The author snorkeling off of the Leeward side of Oahu, Hawaii.