I kind of have to stand by the cost of living thing generally, just because I'm comparing it to the Twin Cities or other countries, where my money just goes a lot further in terms of buying or renting property, gas, food, etc. Hawaii teacher salaries, in considering cost of living are statistically the weakest in the country. You have a good point (in your response) about great access to fresh, locally grown fruits/veggies at the farmer's markets. (It seems everyone has some exotic fruit tree in their backyard thanks to generations of immigrants past, and everything seems to grow here - so, awesome, for sure!) Also, fresh Hawaii-caught fish is cheap, which is also awesome.

I pay $400 a month for my place, so I feel pretty good about it!

Big Island has a lot of cheap, rural living situations though. Hell, you can trade work for housing all over the island.

Me too. At this point, I just don't have the time (or money) to make trips to the mainland. But I've been dreeeeaming about my next trip home, and I'd love for it to include some intimate show of an up-and-coming musician and maybe a big music festival too.