wwyd - move to nowhere to save big $$

[LEAW]

Dh has a uhm.. different? amazing? scary? opportunity that may happen early next year in regards to his job. However, this job is on a tiny little island in the middle of the ocean with 2000 people who live there. Literally you can walk from one end to the other in less than an hour.

The nearest hospital is a 7 hr flight, they have a medical center with a general doc on the island. The place is almost entirely American, modern, but no cars, crappy produce but plenty of shelf stable foods, one general store, one school, a post office, etc. Like a tiny small town, but with no big city nearby. Airfare to come/go to visit family or have them come to us is $1500 or more, and right now we live 15 min away from both my and dh's family.

We would have to go there for 2 years minimum, with the opportunity to extend.

Sure, it's practically paradise, beautiful beach, blue water, always 85 and breezy, but forever away from family.

The biggest perk would be that nearly everthing is subsidized. Our housing would be free, no car payment, we'd be issued a lawnmower, moving costs are paid, essentially we would only pay for our groceries and other household goods (2x the cost as here), telephone service, and travel off the island or to bring our family to us. Dh would retain his current salary and would only be subject to federal tax, no state or local taxes. IF we could manage to not travel much and had no strange or unusual expenses pop up, we could pay off my student loans, dh's career training, and all of our credit card debt the first year, and save enough to make a HUGE downpayment on our home when we move back during the 2nd year. Options to stay longer would probably either let us travel Asia and other places the 3rd year OR set up decent college savings for our child(ren).

Sounds almost like a crazy story, eh? I've refused to make any decision until I actually see this place, as dh has been there for work for several weeks adn LOVES it, would move tomorrow if he could. I can't do that, sight unseen. Hopefully his next assignment there will be in the fall and I will be able to go along with him.

SO, give up nearby family and friends to financially be in the best position of our lives? Is it possible to just walk away from a current life for 2 yrs and do that? I've lived in the same place my whole life, 2 hrs away from family is the furthest either of us have lived.

WWYD?

[loraxc]

I would do it, but then I have wanderlust like that and I love islands. Do you currently rent or own? That would be the sticking point for me now--we'd have to sell our house.

[smudge]

I think I would probably do it. If you all are in relatively good health with no chronic medical conditions I wouldn't worry. 2 years is not that long and it could be a wonderful bonding time for your family without a bunch of outside distractions. And the opportunity to get out of debt would be a HUGE draw for me. Difficult decision but I wish you all the best!

[LEAW]

Currently we own, but we want out of this house. We can afford it, but it's too big for us, and needs a lot more work that we don't necessarily want to dump into it (we've already done roof, insulation, kitchen, bathroom, it needs windows, siding, some porch and garage work, and the entire upstairs redone - currently we have a renter upstairs but it needs to be put back to a single family home).

We've been here for over 5 yrs, and we'd profit on the actual sale of the house for what we paid, but actually only a tiny bit or just break even for the cash we've put in here.

I think living on an island in the middle of nowhere sounds like great fun, I mean really, what is a sahm to do? sit on the beach all day every day

[FillingMyQuiver]

Wow, that's tough I honestly don't know what I'd do, hmmm.... could you garden so that you have fresh produce? You could buy stuff in bulk and ship it to yourself, like grains, etc so that you could do scratch cooking. There's ways to get around the everyday living stuff. Now, the family issue sounds like the biggie. I mean, living away from family isn't THAT bad (I lived 5hrs one way from my family for the 3 yrs after getting married), especially if you could save up for visits. Also, maybe your family could save and pay for a visit themselves I think that if you could handle 2yrs of being away from your family, then it's doable. You could get calling cards to talk on the phone as much as possible and send videos of everyone back and forth.
As the pp mentioned, do you have to sell your house??
I would go and see the place, if you like it, then I say try it.
Do you have to commit to 2yrs, or if you couldn't stand it, could you move back and pick up your "old" life w/ your DH working his old job?

[swimswamswum]

That sounds wonderful! I would do it in a heartbeat! You could write a book about your experience!

Now, what was your question?

[frontierpsych]

i'd do it, it sounds like a great experience! I'm living in Hawaii right now, but I like the idea of a smaller island with no cars.

[LEAW]

If I wanted to see my family we'd have to subsidize their trips out... my ILs work for the only airline that serves this island, so they could fly essentially free (ugh, that means seeing my ILs more than my parents!!)

And yes, I'd for sure order a bunch of stuff from Seeds of Change and container garden until I ran out of space. I'd have neighbors stealing tomatoes from my plants, I think. Dh said on this last trip that the produce was really pathetic, bananas were all brown by the time they came to the island, etc.

We'd also have an APO, so using USPS would be the same prices as mailing things in the US, as long as I could get companies to ship USPS instead of UPS or Fedex, we'd be able to order anything, or have it shipped to family and they'd have to reship to us via USPS.

Dh would retain his current job, it's just a different assignment. He works for a company on the east coast, though we live in the midwest. So if we showed up and it was the worst experience of my life, I could probably get him to talk his supervisor into letting us come back after 6 months. It's unlikely that he'd get his current assignment back though (local job, 2 miles from home) and we'd have to relocate to Chicago or the DC area.

We have both expressed a desire to not live in this area for the rest of our lives, so the relocation to Chicago/DC would put us 6-10 hrs drive from family, which isn't as scary as 2 days of flights away!

Yah, the big catch for me is the "can I survive life 2 days of travel away from MY family" right now. I guess I should mention that I just found out we're expecting another babe in Feb, and this move would likely happen Mar-April, so I'd be with a 2 yr old and an infant in a new place without my Mommy! (that's SCARY for me!)

Dh is wonderfully supportive, though he would likely also be sent to Hawaii once a month for work - probably a week each time.

[msjd123]

Wow, that's really tough! The idealist in me thinks, "Yes! Sign me up!" But, realistically, I'd be scared out of my mind. For me, the biggest fear would be loneliness. As much as I fantasize about getting away from a big city, I also love the fact that we can just get up and go somewhere for a change of scenery. Want to go to the zoo? No problem. The library? Done. The beach? We're there. The mountains? Here we go.

Then again, part of me also hates that I am such an urbanite in so many ways, so maybe I'd do it just to challenge myself, to force myself to be more adaptable, KWIM?

I don't think there's a quick and easy answer to this one!

[skueppers]

I would definitely do it -- but for me, it wouldn't even be about the money, I'd do it for the adventure! And honestly, 2 years isn't a really long time in the grand scheme of life, so if it turned out to be a lousy experience, at least there'd be a reasonable end in sight.

It strikes me that everyone on the island is probably really friendly and interested in socializing, since they're all in the same proverbial boat. So you'd probably find there would be lots of opportunities to make new friends.

[ozzyemm]

I PM'ed you, but I wanted to let ppl on this thread know a little more about the island .

There are TONS of activites for people of all ages. My aunt participates in weaving, cloth dying, quilting, Creative Memories (is that right?), etc. her kids are involved in Scouts, swimming (a natural on an island, right???), dance, etc.

Because everyone stuck on the island, they make sure to have lots of activities. There is also a movie "theatre" that shows movies for free. The movie choices are very limited, of course.

I also agree with a poster about sending stuff to yourself/ getting your family to send things. Whenever she comes out, my aunt buys hundreds of dollars of dry food, clothes and items they will need for the year (they come every year). She then ships them to herself.

If it were me, I would do some gardening, too. I haven't asked her about that; whether ppl do that or not. It would be so cool to get a little "farm co-op" going on! Hmm, your produce might be limited, since it is ALWAYS 85 degrees. maybe you could grow stuff inside??

[amyamanda]

I would do it in a heartbeat. Two years is not very long, in the scheme of things. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity for your family - both experientially and financially - and one that I'd personally regret turning down.

I would even leave a settled life in a place I liked, rent my house out for two years, and just go.

I hope you do it. It sounds amazing.

[courtenay_e]

Ummmm...get a banana tree? I'd definately go. We're so far in debt that I don't see an end, and were we offered this opportunity, I'd run for it in a heartbeat. Yes, my mother and children would be horribly lonely for each other. Horribly. But in the end, if it meant that we'd be able to pay their college tuition? Afford to LIVE again? We'd be leaving on the next plane.

Again, I'd certainly plant a garden...fruits and veggies. I'd be sure that, as a part of the agreement, I had a home with enough soil to support most of our veggie needs.

Otherwise, it sounds like a friendly and active place, and a wonderful opportunity. Will your DH be AROUND, or will he be working 24-7? That would be my only concern with a new baby and no mom to help me out!

In the end, I say GO FOR IT! And, sell your house, definately.

[fireshifter]

Oh, what a blast! My only concern would be internet access (isn't that sad?) b/c I have that connection with a lot of friends.

I think I'd really enjoy something like that. It would be the type of isolation I crave, even now as a SAHM.

Jen

[kymholly]

OK, it all sounds very exciting, but....


is there internet??????



'Cause I don't think I could live anywhere without my 'puter for 2 years!:



Otherwise, it does sound like a great adventure!

[kymholly]

Originally Posted by fireshifter

Oh, what a blast! My only concern would be internet access (isn't that sad?) b/c I have that connection with a lot of friends.

I think I'd really enjoy something like that. It would be the type of isolation I crave, even now as a SAHM.

Jen

Great minds think alike!!!

[McFeelings]

Debt or no debt, I'd go in a heartbeat. I'd see it as a unique opportunity that most people don't ever have and jump at it. The photos and stories from this time would become a part of family lore.

Debtwise, I think just missing your extended birth family isn't sufficient reason not to do what is best for your ACTUAL family (husband, kids, etc.)

DH and I are already trying to see if we can swing living in Germany for a year 5-6 years down the road. We also tend to be adventure people. YMMV.

[A&A]

SEVEN hours away from a hospital???? No way.

[LEAW]

ozzy, thanks for the info - I will pm more with you! It's good to know a real person who has gone, all the people I've met from there live in BQ and eat at the mess hall, so their views are a little skewed (no kids, no spouse, etc).

Hospital - yah, 7 hr flight, which means you have to wait for the next flight too, potentially a whole day!

Internet - hahahahahah they have dialup. Really slow dialup. BUT part of dh's assignment there could potentially be to network the entire island appropriately and once the network is in place, they would bring in high speed for everyone. I think he said they had 14.4-19 k dialup depending on the time of day.

Dh would be working "normal" work hours (which there is a little later in the day, Tue- Sat because they try to work on Cali time as much as possible adn the island is over the date line) though some deadlines could have him working longer hours or on his days off. He would get sent to Hawaii probably one week a month, which could be totally killer for me if I didn't make some mama friends FAST to be there alone w/newborn and 2 yr old.

I know financially it's a really smart move, that's why I want to do it.. but it's really scary too!

Dirt - yah, not much good dirt there, pretty much everything will be grown in containers, and given the history of the place (they still find military weapons in the harbor regularly, and they have done all kinds of crazy miltary things there) I don't know that I'd WANT to grow something in the dirt, yk? BUT containers I can do!

I talked to my mom about this a little bit the other day, and she said that she'd sign my dad up for a job there so they can move too - which actually I think she would seriously consider doing. He'd be able to get a job there pretty easily, and she is disabled enough that working doesn't benefit their family, the physical stress on her body causes too much more medical issues... so she was a sahm and now sah with the cats...

I think the biggest issue for me would be is there a safe place (preferrably my yard!) with a fence for dd. She's pretty spirited and needs some physical barrier. I have no idea if there are any fences there!

[moondiapers]

I'd ask if you'd be allowed to plant veggies and flowers. If the answer is yes, I'd start packing. I can't do without fresh produce, lol.