All is well here in my off-grid part of Haiku Maui
Hawaii just experienced some severe weather in the way of a hurricane that came close to the Big Island - Tropical Storm Lala happened just over a week ago. Parts of that island were hit with incredible wind and rain, causing a lot of damage. I don't think it's been this bad in a very long time. Maui also saw plenty of high winds, causing hundreds of trees to blow down, which then left a lot of power outages in the wake.
We were prepared, as well as we could be. We are pretty much always prepared due to the way our neighborhood is. North Honokala, Honopou, Ho'olawa, Ulalena Loop, Loomis Rd. It's an off-grid part of the island, so we don't have any county supplied water services, or electrical grid connection. We do have the luxury of fiber optics for internet though, and that's a blessing. So, we never have power failures when other parts of the island go dark, and we always have plenty of potable water on hand thanks to large holding tanks that fill up from rain.
You learn to have the supplies you need. Living a half hour from "the big city" and Costco means you tend to have a good supply of food on hand too. You won't see me getting in the car and driving to the store every time I need a stick of butter or a cup of sugar. The pantry and the deep freeze are always fully stocked so we can stay home for long stretches of time if needed. It's usually the ice cream that runs out first!
When we started on this journey 35 years ago, who knew it would turn out to be such a good thing? We were shopping for some land to build a house, and the off-grid neighborhoods had the cheapest options by far. Being do-it-yourselfers, we were up for the challenge of going the solar power route. It made financial sense at the time. Over the years we learned a lot, and grew and it just became normal. Now I'm so glad we're not tethered to "the grid" which proves to be fickle, not to mention getting more expensive all the time. We can trust the source of our water, and what's in it.
I do feel bad for all the people who have no choice but to put up with the status quo. Putting all your faith in others to provide the basics of housing is something we take for granted. But the freedom of being independent is pretty nice, and I hope we can continue to make it work.
Do you think about living off the grid, and how it can be beneficial to you? It can work! Let me be your guide to this lifestyle on Maui.
Thanks for reading my Maui blog...
Buying or selling real estate on Maui? That's what I do. Let me help YOU.
Georgie Hunter R(S) e-Pro, Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers
E-mail or call/text: 808 283-0635
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