I moved to Hawaii from Lake Tahoe – and found it was cheaper

In my early 40’s I was back where I started: living back with my mother at our family home on the Mount Rose Highway near Lake Tahoe.

I trawled through the legalities of the dissolution of my seven-year marriage. My ex had gotten the house (his family had owned it) and I was desperately searching the area for an affordable place to stay for my now single income. I had to go my own way, a bitter pill to swallow after discovering that the love of my life had been cheating on me for most of our marriage. The discovery was hard: one of his friends was drunk outside my door.

But my new situation began to sink. I couchsurfed the Reno/Tahoe area with my 12-pound rescue terrier, Lucy. Housing and rental costs in the region have skyrocketed. Where you used to rent a family home for around $1,000 a month, I looked at tiny one-bedroom apartments with efficient kitchens starting at $1,250 a month. Good luck finding a place with a yard for my dog ​​- it would have cost my entire monthly income at that point.

Being home with my mother again – seeing my life come full circle – added to my agony. My doctor diagnosed me with major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. A way through the brain fog caused by the experience of divorce seemed almost impossible. I could barely feed myself, let alone build a whole new existence for myself and my four-legged child.

When a family friend invited me to Hawaii for the summer housesitting, I jumped at the chance. Suddenly the world was my oyster. Maybe I could plan a new life in paradise.

But little did I know that a three-month short vacation to Hawaii would completely change the direction of my life.

Residential buildings on hillside in Waimea Town.

Toshi Sasaki/Getty Images

I arrived in June 2019 in the small town of Waimea on the island of Hawaii, my new hideaway, a two bedroom house. I was thousands of miles away from pitying looks and painful questions (“you really didn’t know?”).

Coming out of my numbness I realized I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I had traded mountains and pines for waves and palm trees. I trod new paths every day, mentally and emotionally. The land’s welcoming arms enveloped me, and hiking where volcanoes regularly spawn new earth felt like a parallel to my own life. Beaches were another sanctuary. I would snorkel with flamboyant fish, and seeing them interact inspired me to a calm I had hardly known.

Meeting new people who didn’t know me or my painful story allowed me to rediscover my true self, detached from any prejudice or knowledge of my story. I found new friends. They helped me explore the island – and myself again.


During my time in Waimea, I reconnected with Hawaiian culture. It wasn’t my first trip to Hawaii: I’d spent much of my youth on Oahu, visiting my grandmother, who worked as a masseuse in Honolulu until her death. She and my father were Russian immigrants, and my father grew up there after coming to the United States. Later he also met my mother in Honolulu.

I’ve always felt the spirit of Aloha was a part of me, and even before the divorce I had considered returning to the archipelago permanently at some point. All my life I had delighted in the vibrant colors of the islands, the healing salt water and the friendly people. Except when my dad threw me into the sea to teach me to swim – but it worked.

While I was house taking care of, I never wanted to leave, and once I realized what rent rates were on the Big Island, I might not have to. Hawaii is notoriously expensive, but it was cheaper to rent here than where I’m from. The rent for the two-bedroom house where I house-sittered was $1,200 a month, less than the tiny Tahoe studio I’d seen that rented for $1,400.

That’s when I decided to move to Hawaii.

A snorkeler on the Big Island, Hawaii, near Kona.

A snorkeler on the Big Island, Hawaii, near Kona.

James RD Scott/Getty Images

Once I started actively looking into all aspects of the move – from sourcing groceries and gas to the logistics of being able to work from the mid-Pacific – I decided it was doable. I am aware that I was lucky; my personal circumstances and the connection to the region made this an option for me.

Hawaii offers a lot of financial balance in many ways. For example, groceries can be expensive at the store, but you have a variety of farmers markets where produce and meats are fresh and reasonably priced, and you can support the local community. Entertainment is largely free here if you love the great outdoors.

Also, it wasn’t that I moved to the popular spots that attract most visitors to the archipelago. I wasn’t looking in extravagantly expensive Waikiki, where apartment buildings have risen vertically to meet demand in one of the state’s most notable tourist destinations. Maui is so desirable that locals are experiencing a housing crisis, and the area is so swamped with visitors that the island is considering ending short-term rentals. (It’s something Tahoe and Hawaii have in common, as real estate prices are skyrocketing and locals are losing the price; Truckee in north Tahoe has declared a housing emergency.)

Months of research proved that the prices were lower than Tahoe. For example, I’m now paying $850 a month with utilities for a historic studio for me and Lucy, although I know that was a very lucky find. Land, which has skyrocketed in price since the pandemic broke out, cost less than $200,000 for the ocean-view acreage at the time.

Admittedly, some things are more expensive on the islands than on the mainland. If you’re a fan of packaged foods, you might be feeling the pain in your wallet. Gas is higher, but I don’t drive that much here, so one tank of gas is enough for two weeks.

If you feast on the islands bountiful edible tropical delights amidst the lush island vegetation or appreciate the fish and livestock that the islands offer, your wallet won’t suffer so much. You can find freshly caught seafood at street stands for $20-$30 as opposed to buying previously frozen salmon in Reno/Tahoe for the same price.

I’ve often received bags of avocados the size of a small head from neighbors. And one thing I discovered is that you can pick papayas from trees here, which I never did when I lived in the Tahoe area.

Road through farmland above the Pacific Ocean, in Waimea, Hawaii.

Road through farmland above the Pacific Ocean, in Waimea, Hawaii.

Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

Entertainment is largely free for residents unless you want to go out in Kona or Hilo. The Pacific offers relaxation for mind, body and spirit, as well as hours of activity. Why pay hundreds of dollars for a day of skiing on the hills of Tahoe when you can climb Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain on earth as measured from its underwater base (which also has snow), for free? Of course, Tahoe’s peaks are free in the summer, but Hawaii’s natural splendor is generally available year-round.

Water is generally included in rent on Hawaii Island, and heating and cooling can be controlled by fans and windows more cheaply than expensive air conditioners and heaters. However, there is no natural gas on the island, so propane can be expensive. However, my mom on Mount Rose Highway struggles to get any propane at all during the winter if needed due to weather and demand.

Divorcing my husband was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But I ended up moving from one magical place to another that just so happens to be a little more affordable for me while enriching my new life in countless ways. In the end it was the right decision.

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