By ERIN MILLER
Stephens Media
A West Coast magazine has named Hawaii Island as one of its top “fantasy towns,” places its readers may want to move.
Sunset gave the Big Island top marks in the tropical category, noting “anywhere on this lush, easygoing island would suffice for the average overworked mainlander, but hot spots to consider include Puna (the fastest-growing district in eastern Hawaii), with its black-sand beaches and macadamia nut farms; and timeless towns like Waimea and Hawi, where artists, surfers and disenfranchised daily grinders are filling up the cafes.”
Other locales earning top recommendations from the magazine were Nelson, British Columbia, for woodsy living, McMinnville, Ore., for people looking to relocate to wine country, and the Whitsunday Islands, Australia, for a Pacific Rim move. In all, 20 towns and regions were listed as “fantasy towns that prove a big move is doable.”
The magazine reached out to Christie Cash, a Waimea resident whose guest ranch, Puakea Ranch in North Kohala, had been featured in the magazine before, to talk about making the move.
Cash came to the Big Island in 2007 from Los Angeles where she was an executive producer for a film post-production company. She told the magazine she asked herself what she really wanted to be doing in five years and where she wanted to be. The answer? Hawaii.
“I grew up in cities,” she said Friday. “I’m a city girl through and through.”
A native of Chicago who attended Michigan State University, then lived in Los Angeles for 18 years, Cash said she values Hawaii’s lifestyle.
“The quality of life is superb,” she said. “We chose the Big Island because it’s the most diverse and feels the least touristy to us. When we found the ranch — a 33-acre former sugarcane plantation with jacaranda and plum trees — we fell in love with and wanted to share it. There is still magic here.”
Cash told the magazine moving to Hawaii means giving up things, too, including long-time friends, “amazing restaurants, museums, theaters. There aren’t too many occasions to get dressed up there, and there is still a part of me that wants to wear my fancy high heels.”
For each location the magazine highlighted, someone who moved to the area also gave advice on how to make the transition. Cash said coming to Hawaii is a hard move, and it isn’t for everyone.
“You will always be an outsider to folks who have been here for generations, and you may need to work a bit to make friends,” she said. “I volunteer at my kids’ schools, and most of my close friends are other parents or business owners. Respect the fact that you’re a newcomer in a place with deep roots and you’ll be fine.”
Kailua, Oahu, also made the list, as a “low-key cross between small town and suburb, with two of the best beaches on the planet.”
Email Erin Miller at emiller@westhawaiitoday.com.
