I was reading about another couple’s transition to being expatriot Americans and living in a foreign country. They seem to have gone through the same or similar steps as we have – they have gone traveling to interesting places with an eye out for answering the question, “Would we want to live here full time?” They were faced with so many different choices, that they sat down and made a list in descending order of importance, their top criteria. Top of the list was being near or on the beach. They wanted to actually hear the waves crashing on the shore or lapping on the beach..
So, what is your perfect beach house? What do you think about when someone mentions going away to live on a tropical island? Or when asked what you would do if stranded on a desert island, what image comes to mind?
Maybe, something like the images above? Or maybe something like this:
Or even this?
Whatever your image of the perfect tropical beach bungalo may be, you picture it right on the beach. Ocean front properties – properties right on the beach – are always the perfect dream choice! There is nothing like waking up in the morning and walking directly out on to a sandy beach, between a couple of palm trees, and straight into the ocean. Unless of course, the wind is blowing, and then that sand hitting your face actually hurts. And there is no way to keep the sand out of the cottage. It is in everything. And the salt spray has eaten or corroded every metal surface around. The door knob crumbles in your hand due to the constant corrosion, and your light fixtures and your kitchen appliances have to be replaced every other year because the salt simply eats them away. Or there is a storm and you are up all night trying to keep the storm from entering the house! Suddenly, your image isn’t so perfect anymore.
For a week or two vacation, when someone else is responsible for the maintenance, a shack on the beach is ideal. But when the storms come up, maybe you would prefer to be somewhere else.
These thoughts were all in mind as we searched for that perfect spot. There were some constants that kept coming up during the search. The first and foremost – this is going to be expensive. Ocean front, beach front lots on Kauai start at a million dollars and go up for a postage stamp sized lot. The same with St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Mexico has some beautiful spots and affordable locations. Near Todos Santos, north of Cabo San Lucas, there is a beach on the Pacific Ocean that is fantastic. We stumbled across a couple of lots north of Mazatlan, and even along the gulf of California north of Puerto Penasco towards El Golfo. But they are all still in Mexico. And we would always be gringos with lots of money and a target on our back for schemes to get that money; which really isn’t too bad, except when you are in one of those situations and the only way out is lots of money, but you don’t have any, and no one believes you. Others do it, but Mexico might not be for us after all. So, second is security. The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic are fantastic, but every house, every building has bars on the windows to keep out the unwanted. Thinking in terms of a place that is left alone periodically, we didn’t want a place where every time we come, we have to replace half or more of what we had left there. But we also did not want to live in a guarded compound.
I am sure, that we are not alone in this endeavour. Many others are looking for that perfect place, and creating their own lists of priorities. And I realize that others’ requirements and priorities are not the same as mine. In fact, I am finding that my requirements and priorities are not the same as my wife’s.
So, . . .after a day of volcanoes and waterfalls, we got out our list of properties that we had compiled from the internet, and went looking. Again, we gravitated to Ocean View Ranchos – or at least, I did!
Being right on the beach has it’s advantages, and it’s disadvantages. Being just a bit back from the beach relieves some of these disadvantages, and retains the advantages of having an ocean view. And what an ocean view! That is why it is called Ocean View. 270 degrees of ocean view – unobstructed in most cases. That is what brought me back to Ocean View Ranchos. We had made an offer on a lot at the bottom of the Ranchos after our last trip, but it didn’t go through. The owner wanted more than I was willing to pay!
My list had numerous lots to look at. First on the list was one on the SE corner of Menehune and Kamaina. Disappointing to say the least! A thirty foot deep hole in the lava and the lots next door on all 4 sides were all up on cliffs. No ocean view here – explains the low price.
But there was this really cool lava tunnel that looked interesting. Unfortunately, having no flashlight, and not really being dressed for exploring, all I could do was peer in from the entrance.
The second was a jumble of large jagged boulders with the far back 150 feet of the three acre lot being higher than the rest. Wow! what a view from here. Wow! what a chore, just climbing to get here. I can imagine the task to making it possible to access this portion of the lot.
The third on Poha street sloped up from the road to the back of the lot which was about 25 feet higher than the road, and it all faced the ocean. 180 degree views showed the cliffs and windmills at KaLea (South Point) and the small cinder cones at the bottom of Road to the Sea up the coast towards Kona.There was some skraggly grass an a few scrawny shrubs growing amongst the lave, but it was mostly the smooth type lave – the kind they refer to as pahoehoe. In the front south corner, there were three small ohia trees – each about six to eight feet tall. What I wanted was the view, and what a view there was! I was ecstatic! This was it! I really liked this lot! A voice penetrated my visions and dreams – “All this lava is ugly!”
This statement from my wife startled me. It simply did not register.
“What!?” I asked. “You never said that before!”
“Well, it is!”
“So, you really don’t like this area?”
“No.” she said, “Not really”
‘”You never said that when we made the offer on the lot on Lanikai, three streets down” I think to myself. “So, why are we here then?” I ask.
“Just part of the adventure, I guess.” she says and shrugs her shoulders as she turns and walks back down to the car.
AAAAARRGHHHHH!!!!
TropicalCastaway 