Quit your Job, Move to Hawaii Part 2 of 3

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This is part two of three in a series of guest posts from Ryan Martin.  In this post he will discuss his first few days adjusting to island life. If you haven’t read part one, you can find it here.

Flying fish, humpback whales, spinner dolphins, shipwrecks…this definitely ain’t (insert the state you currently reside in here) anymore! This is how I spent my first full day in Hawaii. I am quickly learning that on Maui, it is not what you know, but WHO you know. Fortunately for me, my roommate is a hotel concierge and one of the perks of the job is getting to do any activity on the island for free with one guest. Insert me, the pesky roommate who wants to do everything possible, and you’ve got the “golden ticket” to nearly limitless fun (as cheesy as that sounds, it has proved to be true.

My roommate also works on Safari Boat Excursions (highly recommended) in Lahaina. So for my first day we decided to take a snorkel trip to the neighboring island of Lanai. Somebody or something must be looking out for me because it was a banner day. I’m told only a handful of them happen a year. The 5 mile channel we crossed to get to Lanai was uncharacteristically calm, which allowed us to visit spots usually inaccessible to visitors.

As I looked up at our first snorkel stop, I could hear the creaks and groans of rusting steel and rebar. We had dropped anchor next to an old shipwreck where the captain purposely ran to ship aground to save the crew on board during rough seas. Today, it is haven for turtles, tropical fish, and tourists who are lucky enough to swim around it on a calm day.

It was an eerie feeling to be snorkeling while hearing the ship groan nearby. If you are adventurous enough, you can even climb up the side of the ship and jump off on the other side (not recommended). The problem with it is that the ship is not structurally sound and if one were to fall through, let’s says a rusty hole, there would be nobody to save you. However, if you knew anything about my roommate, this just encouraged him to do it more. I opted out as I would like to spend more than just one day in paradise. As I sat there watching him climb up the rope on the hull of the ship, I wondered, what would it feel like to be impaled by rebar? Thankfully, I heard the gentle splash of his dive over the side of the ship as I meandered back to the boat while gazing at exotic fish.

On the backside of the island, we came across a pod of spinner dolphins. If you didn’t already know, dolphins are highly intelligent creatures (I mean, come on, any animal that has sex for pleasure must be smart) and they catch the waves of boats passing by for a free ride. The boat sped up towards the pod of the dolphins and as everyone looked back, we could see the sleek torpedoes riding the waves and acrobatically jumping out of the water.

It truly is majestic on these islands. The wide open blue sky melts together with crystal clear water and you know you are some place special. This is in direct contrast with what I am used to in Oregon. The green Pacific set against typical gray skies. Also, the fact that the water itself doesn’t put you into hypothermic shock is something I am getting used to. Some people call this island paradise, others call it the perfect getaway, I am beginning to call it home.

So I’ve been told that the site has been getting several hits on “quitting your job and moving to Hawaii” so I thought I might add some actionable steps to making a dream become your reality.

Set goals

I’m probably beating a dead horse here, but I cant stress enough how important it is to make goals. If you need to write them down, go ahead. Sometimes that helps people actually attain them. If you have goals, you not only have something to look forward to and work towards, but something tangible to attain. For instance, in regards to moving to Hawai’i, I made a timetable with a realistic amount of money I needed to have saved up before moving in case I couldn’t find a job and needed to live off of savings.

Create a support group

What I mean by this is surround yourself around those who encourage you to follow your dream. I can’t tell you how important it is have people “get your back” cause believe me, there will be times where you doubt yourself. Just be sure to stick to your goals and in times of need, fall back on those who understand you and encourage you to move forward.

Read

Believe me, you’re not the first or last person to take a leap of faith and go into the world of the unknown. There are countless blogs and books out there that help with, and encourage following your dreams whether it regards travel or not. Obviously, these are other peoples lives so don’t follow their life verbatim, but it is comforting to know and read about other people going through the same trials and tribulations as you.

Click here to read Quit your Job, Move to Hawaii Part 3 of 3

Next Friday look for more journal excerpts from Steve Ogle about his kayaking expedition to Zambia.

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