Would you purposely destroy paradise? Does your conscience bother you if you do something wrong unintentionally, or intentionally? I was driving home from Chicago today lamenting about how to write part 2 of my article about moving to Hawaii. The motorist in front of me gave me inspiration, and evidence that paradise will always be short-lived.
There are several reasons why a move to Hawaii is fantasy more than reality. The most important being money. There are anecdotes of how new residents to Hawaii have caused hyperinflation to home prices. Many of the new homeowners in Hawaii are not full-time residents of the state. They are paying exorbitant prices for a second/vacation home, which has made real estate prices soar for the locals. Let me give you an example.
We found a 5-bedroom, 3.5 bath home built in 1933 for the “low-low” price of 8.3 million. With 20% down your mortgage would “only” be $46,800 per month. That price is way more than this farmer could afford, even as a marijuana farmer. In case you were wondering, that is over $1500/day. The 20% down payment on this house could pay for 13 consecutive years of lodging in a hotel at $350/ night. Using this math, it makes great economic sense to take many more vacations to Hawaii, in lieu of purchasing. I still want to see a volcano, paddle in an outrigger canoe, and visit all the islands.
This home in Kailua, about 3 blocks from the ocean, is close to the popular Lanikai Beach. I suspect it will eventually be sold to an “outsider” with a net worth of millions, thus causing more inflation of homes in Hawaii. The cost of housing is one of the main reasons that the locals in Hawaii experience a very high cost of living. I think my conscience would consume me knowing that moving to Hawaii would be a contributing factor to a housing shortage on Hawaii and possibly destroy their paradise.
You might be able to draw some parallels between Hawaii and the rural areas of southern Will County. Some people consider the rural landscape around them as their own little paradise. When land becomes available it may sell at a very high price, thus driving up overall prices and bringing unwanted change for the locals. Do the buyers have a guilty conscience about changing someone’s paradise? Is it possible that many care only about their own immediate wants and gratification?
Which brings me back to my trip home to my farm from a downtown Chicago hospital today during a snowstorm. During bumper-to-bumper traffic while on the ramp to I-55 from 31st Street, I witnessed the driver in front of me throw a Mountain Dew bottle onto the road. It enraged me that there was nothing I could do, that motorists had no qualms doing something that I have never done in my life. I am not saying that area of Chicago is truly paradise, but obviously they didn’t care about the consequences of their action.
Perhaps the best reason to not move to Hawaii is my belief that doing so would contribute to destroying the island paradise. Maybe I shouldn’t care anymore; if paradise is fleeting and someone will destroy it anyway, should I get my share first? If sometime in the future I start throwing garbage out of my vehicle while driving through town that would be a tell-tale sign for my wife to contact realtors in Hawaii.
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