Sunset over palm trees in Hawaii

With a Love for the Outdoors We Moved to Hawaii

Yep, you read that headline right. We decided to move to Hawaii! This is our story about one of many family adventures and why we moved to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii in November 2020.

moving to hawaii announcement
Downtown Kailua-Kona at night

Why Move Again?

Long story short, we were ready for another change.

Todd and I get restless a lot. We’re not sure if we’re naturally wired that way or if the Air Force turned us into nomads or what. I guess it’s obvious by now that we like to move, explore new locations, and experience other cultures and lifestyles.

Let me give those of you who are new around here, the Cliff’s notes version of our backstory:

full time rv family
  • In May of 2017, we sold our house, most of our belongings, bought a travel trailer and a truck, and hit the road full-time. We did all this in 100 days. You can read about that madness here.
  • After 17 months, 36 states, 15 National Parks and 5 Canadian provinces, we moved back to Texas to settle down for a bit. You can read why we made that decision here.
  • We spent two years living a stationary lifestyle. During that time, two of our kids flew the proverbial nest. That’s right! They got jobs, an address of their own, and we watched them turn into wonderful young adults.

One moved to Alaska and the other to Illinois. Both are so incredibly happy. That made me and Todd quite happy. It’s a beautiful feeling to realize we raised two little humans who became functioning adults. Yay us!

why we're moving to hawaii
Our apartment in Cedar Park, Texas

So Why Move to Hawaii?

Another major change that shifted our opportunity to reassess our stationary lifestyle was that our youngest enrolled in high school, got his driver’s license and a job, then decided public school wasn’t his thing. He shifted over to an online private school program.

Although we had been willing to hang up our nomadic hats and provide the stability we provided his older brother and sister, he didn’t want it. No, he wasn’t ungrateful – it just turns that out our son is as nomadic as his parents.

We knew full-time RVing with him wasn’t in the cards for a number of reasons. But we continued to discuss the when, where and how of a new adventure. We started throwing out other possibilities. Then one day our son said, “I’ll move anywhere it’s warm and there’s a beach.” That clinched it.

With a bit more research and a huge leap of faith, we chose Hawaii.

moving to kailua-kona hawaii
Aerial shot of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Our Love of the Outdoors

We landed on the decision to move to Hawaii mainly because of the outdoor lifestyle that is lived there. We love living a life outdoors, connecting to nature, the ocean, and hiking as many trails as we can find.

Our son was excited to enjoy the beach. He wanted to surf and skim board as least as many, if not more, hours as he spent studying to finish high school.

When we were full-time RVing, being outdoors was just a part of everyday life. You didn’t have to think about it or plan it because it is simply a part of the experience.

After we moved back to a stationary life, the time spent outside drastically diminished. That doesn’t work well for us.

campervan rental in hawaii
Campervan rental in Hawaii

Campervan Travel in Hawaii

Imaging the excitement we had when considering the possibility of renting campervans and exploring Maui, Kauai, Oahu, and the Big Island! No surprise we wanted to become immersed in an outdoor Hawaii camping lifestyle.

After we did some research on campervan rentals, we narrowed it down to a short wish list.

Had We Visited Hawaii Before? No

Well, I (Julie) had never been to Hawaii.

Todd spent a two-week deployment with the military in Oahu many years ago. He was working and living in a tent when he lived in Hawaii. During that short time, he rented a jeep and did a little bit of sightseeing for a day. It was just as you imagine Hawaii to be. Of course, he also has a great memory of enjoying the a delicious steak cooked up in the military kitchen. 

Was it Crazy to Move (Again) to a New Place?

Were we crazy to move to a place we had never been? Yes, yes we were.

But we’ve moved to a lot of places we’ve never been to before (including Alaska!) and have done a lot of crazy things we’ve never done before. You know, like selling our house, most of our belongings and moving into an RV to travel full-time. (Fun fact: we had never RV’d before. Do you see a theme here?)

From house to full-time RV living

Needless to say, we like taking chances and seeing where those “leaps of faith” take us. 

Our full-time RVing leap of faith took us to some of the most incredible destinations in the U.S. and Canada, gave us the opportunity to meet some amazing people we still keep in touch with, and gifted us memories with our kids we will hold on to forever.

We Love a Good Adventure

A big life change always brings a mix of both amazing and frustrating times. We approached our move to Hawaii prepared to face the inevitable inconveniences.

For example, at the time we had sold much of our furniture. Our living room was furnished with nothing more than an IKEA chair and an outdoor zero gravity chair (which we loved while RVing and continue to enjoy).

We expected to have to deal with a lot more than simply booking a flight from Texas to Hawaii. We were ready to put our efforts into:

  • Maintaining an income through our small business that allows us to work remotely
  • Finding a place to live
  • Packing our belongings for long term storage
  • Shipping our car to an island
  • Setting up a workplace for our son to finish school
  • Meeting new friends

And we we’re ready for whatever would be thrown in our path. Because we love a good adventure!

moving to hawaii tips
Sunset in Kailua-Kona

Why We Are Sharing This

Our reason behind starting TREKKN in the first place was to help others who wanted to make full-time RV living a reality. We want to be as open and transparent as possible so that the information we provide is practical and helpful to our readers.

Moving from a house to an RV wasn’t easy! It was a real life daily roller coaster ride. And we are so thankful for that experience.

So we’re sharing another family journey for two reasons:

1) in case you want to make a move – whether to Hawaii, another state, or down the block – and could use some inspiration, ideas, or basic information; and

2) to encourage you to go for it and to live life in a way that makes your dreams a reality.

We also want to take a moment to say THANK YOU! So many of you have sent us emails or provided comments and feedback to share how TREKKN has helped your full-time RVing, camping and hiking adventures. We love hearing from you!

We expect full-time RVing to be in our future again and we hope to see you out there on the open road!

Mahalo! 

moving to hawaii

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4 Comments

  1. Great story…enjoyed it very much! Happy beginnings on the Big Island! Also, I am closer to 80 y/o and take my gravity chair with me on our travels. I had the Foot Rest Cushion in my Amazon basket yesterday and it went away saying it is no longer available. Could you help me find one? Thanks much, Ron Birtch

    1. Hi Ron,

      I’m sure you already saw my email response to you, but just wanted to respond here as well to be sure you know this situation is only temporary. For some reason, Amazon decided that our Foot Rest Cushion needed to go through a “Dangerous Goods Review”, which can take several business days and requires the product to not be listed for sale. We are confident the product will be available again in the next few days…and we will be just as grateful as you will be for that!

      Sorry for this unavoidable mess, but I hope you get that Foot Rest Cushion in your hands soon! Take care and happy travels!

    1. Hi Lee,
      We are not in Hawaii any longer. We ended up leaving in June 2021 for a variety of reasons, some related to family needs.
      We loved our time on the Big Island, but it was not a “forever home” for us. We will always treasure those experiences…especially the amazing ones with the majestic humpbacks!
      Peace…

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