Anyone tried Hawaii?

[gnarledwolf]

So far I'm dissappointed with Quartzsite.  Anyone tried wintering in Hawaii? Thinking about next winter.
Matt

 

[Almost There]

So far I'm dissappointed with Quartzsite.  Anyone tried wintering in Hawaii? Thinking about next winter.
Matt

Hawaii is out of the question for me in terms of air fare etc.

BUT, I have been keeping a daily watch on the national weather map and finding a bunch of places that are a whole lot warmer and more scenic than this area of AZ.

I needed to see the desert at least once but I'm finding I am very much a tree/rock/water type of person. After the RTR and I have all the work I need help with done and a bunch of stuff ordered/received I'll be making tracks for more scenic places...there's a lot of land to cover. I'll do what sightseeing I can where it's warm and then do more as the spring weather approaches at higher elevations/further north.

There's several of us camped down by the river in Ehrenberg and we're all much happier with the river at our doorstep, a couple of trees for afternoon shade and even in yesterdays' wind storm, a whole lot less flying sand. We'll be here until NY eve when we come back to where Bob is.

 

[GotSmart]

Hawaii has a whole different classification of problems.  The locals do not appreciate mainlanders without money.  Homeless are treated extremely badly there.  The surfers "own" the beach area, and dwellers are not welcome.  

That information came from locals I am in contact with.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

So far I'm dissappointed with Quartzsite.  Anyone tried wintering in Hawaii? Thinking about next winter.
Matt

Tried driving there but my engine kept flooding 

-- Spiff

 

[TMG51]

So far I'm dissappointed with Quartzsite.  Anyone tried wintering in Hawaii? Thinking about next winter.
Matt

Are you disappointed due to the cold?

This year weather patterns have shifted slightly. The southwest is colder than normal, and the southeast is warmer than normal. It's 70+ degrees in much of the east.

If not for the RTR I'd be in the southeast.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

The desert isn't for everyone.
I'm from the southwest and love it here.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature has chosen to offer up El Nino this year.

 

[rvpopeye]

G Wolf
The best part of living on wheels is if you don't like the weather where you are , move where the weather is what you like.
There are a few other advantages ,,,, too many to list !

Spiff you must have missed the ramp for the bridge........

 

[GotSmart]

I bought a bridge to Hawaii just the other day~~~ :huh:  Now it's gone?

 

[highdesertranger]

embrace the desert for what it is, don't expect it do be the Garden of Eden. I find beauty in the desert, the vistas are unmatched, the starkness makes you humble. sure a mountain lake is beautiful but so is a playa. pine trees are stately and the aroma is awesome, but have you ever seen snow on a cholla or yucca, or Joshua tree. have you ever seen the desert in bloom, acres of orange poppies or purple lupine or red indian paint brush. open your mind and you can find beauty everywhere in nature. highdesertranger

 

[Patrick46]

I've definitely considered Hawaii for my winter spot. I LOVE the place!!

I'd like to tour the great 48 during the summer months, working the National motorcycle rally circuit. (I'm a traveling pinstriper.)
After spending the holidays with the grandkids, I'd go to Hawaii and live on a sailboat for acouple months, go surfing and scuba diving in nice warm waters until March, when I'd need to be back to start the next year's circuit at Daytona Bike Week.

A lot of people tell me that Hawaii is too expensive, but with what I do, I can drum up work just about anywhere.

 

[Goshawk]

Sailboat living is definitely the way to handle many crowded nice areas. Have been thinking about that more and more. Beach-ocean weather just seems nicer.

 

[Belinda2]

I went there and as long as you have a fishing pole with you---the beach is at your access without the police bothering you 24/7!!!!
People sleep on the beach, Class C's parked there, etc.

 

[BradKW]

Sailboat living is definitely the way to handle many crowded nice areas. Have been thinking about that more and more. Beach-ocean weather just seems nicer.

I've lived around boat dwellers for over 15 years now. It used to be a fantasy of mine. I can tell you that for every 1 person I know that loves boat living and wouldn't do it any other way, I can point to 10 people who spent lots of money just to discover that the difficulties of that life aren't for them...

 

[Man In A Box]

You can work on farms picking flowers and get a free place to stay possibly and a place to park your van more than likely. There are very bad areas in Hawaii you do not want to be around. I have a friend that was ganged up on for just playing music on the beach.

 

[USExplorer]

I did see a Hawaii license plate on the rear of a small SUV in a Phoenix metro park, so someone must have made the reverse journey.

Hawaii is Expensive, with a capital E. According to the cost of living index, housing is 3 times more expensive than the US median (compared to 2.5 times more expensive for Key West FL).

These are destinations all over the world I would choose before I chose Hawaii.

 

[Patrick46]

These are destinations all over the world I would choose before I chose Hawaii.

So...have you ever been there??

 

[Phantom Blooper]

Back in the 70's I was stationed at Kaneohe,HI.

Due to rank I was allowed my vehicle to be shipped at government expense....took about a month after I arrived.

The same vehicle I used mainland CONUS was a 67 Pontiac Bonneville.

I had taken out the complete back seat  and modified it with a torch and tools at the auto body shop to allow a plywood  box to extend to the trunk to where
I position the front seat.....hinged back part about 2 foot in to allow for storage.

Put a twin size blow up mattress in it.

A roof rack on top with supplies that was not bedding,clothing, H&C,and perishable.

A cooler was on the front seat.

Dark curtains were sewn and attached for night sleeping and netting if the trunk was open.

AC dash fan

Also had a modified screen canopy to back car into for long term.

All fishing gear for weekend getaway's and leave.

Went to the beaches and parked close or on the beach

Fished..Snorkeled...Cooked...Partied....put a tube in the water and let it carry you...boogie boarded and swam and slept until had to go back to work.

Back packed and island hopped when I could.....flights were fairly cheap....if I had time.

Never hassled.....got along good with locals....had a GREAT time.....frugality and minimalism.

Although like anywhere if you go into some parts and are not aware of surrounding's you could get robbed or beat up.....vigilance.

Because it was expensive if you partied with tourists and the rent was expensive back then.....more now.

But I believe if you can get there and have funds to get a used vehicle.....selling all the time to leave to go back to stateside it can be done.

Beautiful islands.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I did see a Hawaii license plate on the rear of a small SUV in a Phoenix metro park, so someone must have made the reverse journey.

Might have been a college student, or military.  Both can continue to claim to be residents of their home state, so the laws requiring them to get a new drivers license and register their vehicle in-state don't apply.

I live not too far away from a small upstate college, and we had a VW Beetle running around with Hawaiian plates.  Pretty sure the student just bought the car locally and registered it via mail in Hawaii . . .

Regards
John

 

[westriver]

This guy is fascinating. He is well known for living on very little, in a beautiful "Hobbit Hole" in the northwest.  He also spends his winters in Hawaii, and has a pretty brilliant strategy for doing it cheaply.

priceonomics.com/living-in-a-real-life-hobbit-house

Basically, he becomes a minivan dweller, and surfer, for six months of the year, and does it for very little money.

 

[MK7]

Hawaii is expensive. I lived in Honolulu for a while. The locals won't like you. The Locals who are mostly Asians from Cali there doing business are ok, but the Hawaiian locals I didn't find very friendly unless you have money burn, like the Japanese tourists.

There's an older White guy who lives in Honolulu (from what it looks like) who posts a lot of videos on YouTube about his vandwelling lifestyle. Maybe asking him questions would be the way to go. Shipping a small car there from Cali was around $800-1000, but that was like 20 years ago.