Happy Thanksgiving! Giving thanks and gratitude for all that we have and enjoy should be done year round, but during the next few days and weeks, it’s a great opportunity to focus on how fortunate we are. LUVA Real Estate Realtors created this list to remind us all of just a few aspects of what we have t
1. Real Estate Prices Are Less Than the Other Islands
This IS a real estate blog, so we DO have to point out that you get more bang for your tropical buck when buying real estate on the Big Island and for THAT we all can be thankful! Unlike Oahu and Maui, we live without the crush of humanity and over development. Did you know that 70% of the island has been zoned agricultural, public parks or lava zones? We may have low inventory of homes right now, but it is the cost of living on an island that refuses to give in to over development.
2. Room To Roam
With an island the size of the state of Connecticut, you can drive for over six hours and still not see the same thing! There are so many open spaces to discover, explore and enjoy on the Big Island that some people spend 12 hours a day for a week on their vacations trying to fit it all in! When you live here, you get to slowly explore the places, people and culture of this beautiful island and it can take years to get to every beach, park, farm, neighborhood, forest, volcano, and over look. Unlike over crowded places like Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and New York, you can stretch out and be ALONE in so many places. The value lies in the quiet and solitude to enjoy the beauty of our island and in the cities, you can still get a reservation at a restaurant or walk into a movie theater without much hassle or waiting.
3. Beach Time on Thanksgiving Day
How many places in the world can you just drive up to a white sand beach, park and stroll to a spot to call your own even during high season? You can do that on Thanksgiving Day in West Hawaii at Laaloa (Magic Sands) beach, Honl’s beach park, the beach at the Pier in downtown Kailua-Kona, the beach in front of the Kamehameha Hotel, Kua Bay, Hapuna State Beach and Spencer Beach park. Best part, you can arrive in your shorts and t-shirt or swim and still enjoy ocean temps of almost 80 degrees! Take some photos and be the envy of your friends shivering in the cold on the mainland.
4. Locally Grown Food to Enjoy in Your Feast
When you consider your Thanksgiving dinner, wouldn’t you love farm fresh vegetables such as romaine or butter lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, and fresh herbs along with sweet potatoes and green beans? All are grown here year round! We have a bit of a hard time with pumpkins and cranberries, but if you like local goat cheese to sprinkle on your organic beets, just visit a farmers market in Waimea or Honokaa. Best part of Big Island is also the fabulous chefs and restaurants serving up the bounty of the land in innovative and creative ways to tantalize the taste buds of even the most discerning foodie!
5. Aloha Comes with the Turkey
When people around the nation sit down with their families to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, they bless their food and are grateful for the meal. On the Big Island, the gratefulness expands past the dinner table to encompass the people, the land, the culture and the attitude of Aloha that everyone shares. Gratitude is a way of life here. We are not just grateful for the turkey, the food and the company. We are grateful for the ability to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. We count our blessings each night when another beautiful sunset plays out in front of us and we share that happiness with all around us.
6. Holiday Travel is Limited to Going to the Airport
With 50 million people expected to travel this year for Thanksgiving and epic traffic jams already underway, we just sigh and wait for our family and friends to come to Hawaii and enjoy some island time. Many of us are lucky enough to have our families living here with us. The worse traffic will be on Queen K coming out of the airport, but we just turn up the Hawaiian music, look at the ocean and know that we will get there soon enough, probably in about 25 minutes. It’s all good.
LUVA Real Estate wishes you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and we share our Aloha with you! Have a fun weekend ahead and if you are considering a trip to visit, please consider going to our Vacation Rental page, or if you are considering purchasing a home, we can place you on our listing alerts to obtain homes as they come on the market.