I was blown away with how awesome Maui was... This island seemed way more relaxed than Oahu. It was definitely more beautiful. There were lots of great beaches all relatively nearby... this place seemed like it was all of the good parts of Oahu and none of the bad! So once again my fervor for moving to Hawaii was awakened. I attended a high tech job fair while on the island and passed out a number of resumes. I was never contacted by any of the companies, but now I at least had a list of companies to contact.
We returned to Seattle after our vacation, and I continued looking for jobs on Maui with no success. Shortly after our return, Kara and I both got job offers in Portland so we moved back home in February of 2005. Being back in Portland after almost five years away was so much fun. We spent practically every spare minute hanging out with old friends just… playing! I periodically checked those Maui company websites for jobs, but usually found nothing that matched up with my skills. The discouraging results eventually caused my job search to taper off…
One year later, a new Hawaii scheme dawned on me. I was working at a very small company of three employees and I realized how integral I was to the company. I wondered if I might be able to use that leverage to talk them into letting me work remotely from Hawaii. So one night in February 2006 I sent an email to the owner suggesting the idea. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I received a favorable response the next day! Within three months of that night I took my one-way flight to Maui, and here I’ve been for the past nine months.
And? I absolutely love it. Yet I’m still unable to give a specific answer to Dave’s question of “Why?” This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The weather is almost always perfect. There is so much to do outdoors. People seem happier and friendlier here. Every weekend is literally a vacation in paradise. So I guess my answer is: Why not?
