I should have started this Kauai Blog a lot sooner, but got caught up figuring out how to pay my bills on an island where the cost-of-living is high and most jobs are part-time, low-paying gigs, tied to tourism. Now that I’ve patched together enough income to support myself, I’m ready to share my experiences “living in paradise” since April 2011.
From now on, I’ll be posting random thoughts, and lots of photographs, about Kauai’s great beaches, wild chickens and anything else that inspires me.
So, thanks for joining me on this adventure!
Jennifer Bauman-Roy
Kauai Blog 
Hi Jennifer,
Authentic blog thanks for sharing. Are you still living there? Looks like its been a while since last posting.
Such a bummer, but I had to return to the mainland to help my 95-year old mom. Hope to make it make back to the “Garden Isle” in this lifetime. In the meantime, I’m blogging about West Virginia when I have time. Here’s a sample: https://jenniferbaumandotcom.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/almost-insane-west-virginia/
Kauai is very pretty but you need to realize paradise does become boring… I’ve lived here for 26 yrs and can’t wait to leave.. I have a job that requires me to travel 6 months of the year and I own a house here …also I need to be in the United States.. or I would be living somewhere more stimulating ..the and easyness of this island is why I am still here… but also still single unless I want a man with no money plus a pit bull I am out of luck in the dateing department …in my time here I have witnessed many divorces because one wants to stay and other can’t take the slowness and isolation of island life…it’s hard to make friends and when you do they end up leaving most likely…these are some things most people don’t express about living in Hawaii…
Jane,
I think you make some very valid points. I have native Hawaiian friends who talk about getting off “this fu—-g rock,” so I know there’s some truth to the boredom, or “rock fever” as many call it. Also, there’s bound to be a limited social life with such a small population, a fact that’s amplified by all the family connections, making the dating pool even more limited for the locals.
Making friends with locals can be hard if you’re labeled as an “outsider and most “transplants” leave after a couple of years for a variety of reasons… Boredom, financial hardships, or distance from mainland relatives, to name a few.
Mainland transplants should heed Jane’s warning about the strain on marriages. A shaky marriage does not get better in “paradise” where one spouse may adjust to the local culture, and blend in well, while the other may hate it and want to leave. I personally experienced a divorce after my ex liquidated everything we owned to move to Kauai, then bailed after 90-days. I loved the island lifestyle, but it didn’t suit him at all and he was miserable.