Californians Desperate to Escape: Look for the Island Life

By Shane Myers Photography @ Shutterstock.com

You can’t enjoy life with wildfires, high taxes, crippling regulation, unchecked rioting in the streets, and a pandemic working through your overcrowded city. Yet, that’s the situation many Californians face every day.

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That’s why so many Golden Staters are looking to escape the city, and instead, live the island life. Many are looking to Hawaii as a refuge from California. Trevor Boyer of the Daily Mail reports “From January to June 2020, Californians have bought $587.6 million worth of Hawaii real estate, or 41 percent of the total from U.S. buyers.” He writes:

Beset by fire and a pandemic, Californians are buying up houses in Hawaii at a fearsome clip – often without even having set foot on the islands.

Golden State residents, representing 41 percent of Hawaii home buyers from the U.S., plunked down $587.6 million on Hawaiian real estate between January and June this year.

As COVID fatigue set in and smoke from wildfires clouded the sky, California residents were calling Hawaii real estate agents.

Catherine Pennell, a real-estate agent with KW Kauai Keller Williams who sells homes on the island of Kauai, told SFGate.com that since March, she’s been taking two or three calls a day from U.S. mainlanders wanting to buy a house on the islands.

‘I think people are saying, “Life is short.” It’s a lot of talk because they’re not here yet and they can’t get here yet, but I’ve done more sight-unseen sales than I’ve ever done during the pandemic,’ she said.

Realtor Jeanna Rimmer of the Hawai’i Life agency said since March, she’s sold 15 houses to buyers who had not set foot inside their new abodes.

‘I’ve had clients since April been trying to get over here. Those that are OK with taking a little risk are buying sight unseen,’ she told the Daily Mail.

Buyers are looking for single-family homes, not condos, which are often used for Airbnb tourists and are thus moldering on the market, according to SFGate. New condos listings in Maui are up 97 percent this August vs. August 2019.

Overall, however, the market is tight, evidenced by the fact that inventory across the islands from April to August 2020 is down over 15 percent compared to the same period last year.

Whether you move to an actual island, or simply build a virtual island for yourself, the benefits can be immense. Separating yourself from the hustle and bustle of the big city can do wonders for your finances, and your mental health. If you choose the right spot in America, you can live like a billionaire.

Action Line: Don’t get overwhelmed. Life can surround you with problems like taxes, disasters, sickness, and even violence. Build yourself an island to escape all that. Save money, prepare your family, escape the city, and get your gun and your training now. Live the island life.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.