Oahu Photographer
What a beautiful sunset! Yes, that is for real. I am constantly amazed by the beauty of this island. It is an inevitable question that I get asked frequently when I meet with my clients for a photoshoot. “What do I need to do to live here?!” Always greeted with an “Aloha” from me and a huge smile and a knowing look of, “I know! It’s so awesome.” I’ve been meaning to write up this blog post for a while now. I wanted to answer that question, “What do I need to do to live here?!” Let me start by sharing with you , my own story, which is not unique. Many people you meet here will be all too happy to share their own story of their journey to call Hawaii their home. I came to visit Oahu six years ago to help a friend shoot a wedding. It was my first time and I had no expectations. I left my husband and kids at home and came by myself. I needed a break from my busy life of being a mom. My family, graciously let me venture out on my own. I was really excited! I stayed in Waikiki, didn’t have a car and I was left to my own devices. No kids hanging on, no husband to ask what he wanted to do. I was on my own. I stayed for two full days with two days of half day plane travel. Those two days was all it took. I was possessed. The lure of Hawaii had intoxicated my very being and I was entranced by the sights and fragrances of everything. Of course, let me preface this by saying that I was “stuck” in Waikiki and I thought ALLLLL of the island looked like Waikiki….gorgeous flowers, lush greenery, helpful, smiling locals, optimal weather, blue skies and amazing sunsets every single darn day. For a photographer like me, a mecca of vacationers who would love to have their photos taken. Everything fit and I knew I belonged here. By the way, the photos I took of that wedding I was here to assist with turned out gorgeous. I wanted ALLLLL my photographs to have this stunning to die for backgrounds! I asked myself, “What do I need to do to live here?!”
Moving to Hawaii
I had to convince my husband that living in Hawaii would be the best thing for our family. What a LONG shot to say the least. I remember coming back from my trip and being greeted by my husband at the airport and just being depressingly sad. .. like I left a huge piece of me back in the islands. For the next few months, all I talked about was how we had to move. How we needed to move to allow our kids to experience a different culture. How they needed to learn to respect their elders and refer to them, even strangers, as “Auntie” and “Uncle”. How they needed to enter homes with their shoes outside. How we needed to surf and paddle board every weekend. How we needed to eat mac salad, spam musubi and shave ice every other weekend. How I knew I could build up my photography business in Oahu with family shoots at the beach. How we needed to enjoy life as a family outdoors doing things together, not hanging out at the mall every weekend. How we needed to live a more simple life with less stuff. It was a process of life re-examination for the next few months. How would the kids take this move? Do we want to try to do this in 10 years time? Do we see ourselves retiring there? You know, we’d be pretty much re-starting our lives again. Over and over again of thoughtful, exciting discussion.
Oahu Family Photographer
When you want something bad enough, you put it out into the universe and the universe will let you know that it’s listening. All signs pointed to Hawaii. We noticed bumper stickers with shaka signs, t-shirts that had Hawaii written all over them, L & L BBQ at every single darn corner. We sat down and looked at our finances and decided, “Yes, we could actually make this happen.” My husband was networking like mad to find contacts on Oahu and find a great job. This was our first step. The next question, what kind of house could we buy on Oahu? We checked out the MLS listings on Oahu and, well, the next question was, “What were we willing to sacrifice?” We realized that our dollar would not go far in Hawaii in regards to housing. All things relative, right? At this time six years ago, housing was nuts. We lived in California and all the houses around us were in foreclosure which brought the price of our house down, like waaaay down. We were expecting a nice lump sum proceeds to put into a nice sizable down payment on a house in Oahu, but that did not go as planned. My husband had already put in his two weeks notice and accepted a position in Oahu… it was now or never. We would figure it out and everything would fall into place.
Beach Photos in Waikiki
We started talking to friends and neighbors about our plan and were introduced to a great real estate agent who knew the islands. I researched public schools in the area and knew where I wanted to live. We could not afford private school, so we needed to go where my children could attend the best public schools. They were 10, 8 and 5 years old at the time. Corresponding with my real estate agent and communicating our needs, she knew the best town on Oahu for us. We planned a visit to Oahu with our kids so that we could check out the neighborhoods in person and also aligned an in-person job interview for my husband. This was the second trip for me and the first for my husband and kids. Long story short, everyone loved Oahu. How could we NOT live here?
Photo Shoots on Oahu
The re-current question in our decision to relocate to Oahu was “What are we willing to sacrifice?” and “What are we willing to gain from that sacrifice?” This is my answer to the question I am always asked, “”What do I need to do to live here?!” For us, we were willing to sacrifice a big house and lots of material stuff. We were also willing to sacrifice new clothes for every school season and being mall rats. We were willing to gain great weather all year round, beautiful beaches, awesome hiking which all equaled out to a fantastic Quality of Life for my family. We live in a much smaller house (we went from 2700 sf to 1100 sf!!) but we have grown so close to one another. My kids and I are best friends and we love snuggling on the sofa together. We have spent a lot of quality time together doing things like paddle boarding, surfing, hiking, swimming, snorkeling…. so much gains!!! I do miss the change in weather during Christmas time though. It’s not really Christmas for us so we have made it an annual trip to visit with our families during the holiday season. We get our two weeks of cold weather and that’s about enough for us. I am always sticker shocked when I fly back to California and see the price of milk per gallon… but that is for another post.
Kailua Photographer
Do you love Hawaii? What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you willing to gain?
If you loved this blog post, I will be blogging about moving expenses and what we did to relocate in a future post. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Jennifer Brotchie is a professional photographer specializing in family picture/photo shoots on the beach. Never stale, stiff or cheesy! Jennifer loves to work with fun loving, connected families and couples who are NOT afraid to hug and laugh. Visiting Oahu and lodging in Waikiki, KoOlina, Disney Aulani Resort, Four Seasons Resort or Turtle Bay Resort North Shore and all points in between? Contact Jennifer to schedule your beach photo session. Morning and sunset sessions available. Sure to be a highlight of your vacation! Forget about those resort PhotoPass people and hire a professional!
Families, Anniversaries, Engagements, Surprise Proposals, Graduating Seniors, Extended Families and Large Group Professional Photography on the beaches of Oahu.
