I’m a transplanted ex-Brit (naturalized US citizen in April 2012), who lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years, and who has now settled, with my husband Steve, on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai…
Like so many before us, we fell in love with this island when we first visited in 2008, but at that time it never occurred to us that we could contemplate a permanent move here.
Late in 2010 we started investigating where we wanted to be when we retired from our Silicon Valley careers. Plan A was to relocate to the Central Coast, midway between San Francisco and LA, which would be roughly a four-hour road trip for our Bay Area friends. Kauai, we figured, isn’t much further…you just have to fly rather than drive…and so, Plan B was born.
We bought a home in Princeville mid-2011, intending to use it just for vacations for a couple of years, but the pull of the island was greater than expected, so we sped up the timeline, and made the move, with our white shepherd Freya, in August 2012.
Kauai Greenhorn 
My husband and I are working towards a move to Kaua’i next year, with the intention of making it there by the May/June timeframe-ish. We’re currently living in SoCal, in Huntington Beach to be exact, and most recently visited in August/September. The pull to make the move is so strong for us and I really can’t wait to make it happen. Thanks for sharing your experiences – it makes not being there yet a little easier! 🙂
Living vicariously,
Allison
Good luck with the big move, Allison. I’m sure it will go smoothly, especially since you are a good planner! Until then, I’m delighted to know that my blog is maybe helping you to bridge the gap! 🙂
I read your posts, and it sounds as if you have all your bases covered, especially regarding your cats who, with all their jabs/permits/certificates in place, will be ready to move before you are! We had to jump through all the same hoops well in advance of our move date, as we have a white shepherd. She managed the journey very well.
I assume you know from your research that you can fly your cats direct to Lihue and have a direct release there if you book it with the Kaua’i Humane Society; you no longer have to go through Honolulu.
All the best over the coming months with the planning and execution!
– Louise
Hi Louise –
Thank you so much for your reply and the tip about flying direct into Lihue! I had actually talked to a couple who had just moved themselves and their animals a few months ago to Kaua’i, and they flew into Honolulu because that was the only option they were aware of through their research, and I actually didn’t see flying into Lihue as an option in what I had researched and read! So thankful for your help!!!! That will definitely make our trip so much easier.
Mahalo!!!!! ❤
I’m so please I mentioned it! 🙂 sadly, there are still links to docs out there that seem to indicate you have to go to Honolulu only. Absolutely not true anymore! The Kauai Humane Society are great, and I don’t regret a cent of their fee, as it goes to a great cause! 🙂 check out these links:
http://kauaihumane.org/services/quarantine
Click to access Direct_Release_Brochure.pdf
Click to access Checklist%20for%20%20Kona,%20Kahului%20-%20Lihue%20Airports%2005%2007.pdf
…and don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any queries about how it works.
Hello there — I read your post about your husband Steve using his metal detector to help people search for beloved items and we are in desperate need of his services — hoping beyond hope that you get this post and are on the island. I lost my beloved engagement and wedding rings in the sand on Thursday. Would love to speak with him or you if you guys might be able to help. Thanks so very much!
Hello there Louise! I read your post about your husband Steve helping people with his new metal detector and I am in desperate need of some assistance after losing my beloved engagement and wedding rings in the sand on Thursday. Hoping beyond hope that you get this message, and that he is on the island and might be able to help. All best to you. Thanks so much.
Aloha,
Yes, he’s on island.
Send me phone and email contact to ldb922@gmail.com. Hope we can help.
Hello,
I saw your metal detector post and I’m wondering if Steve is still doing this? My husband lost his wedding ring on Shipwrecks beach today and we’d love to get in touch about finding it if you’re interested. Thanks very much!
Bryony
Aloha Bryony,
So sorry to hear your husband lost his ring. I sent you an email with how to contact us. I hope we can help.
– Louise
I need your husband’s help to find my wedding ring on lost in Kauai a week ago at the Marriott Beach Club Hotel. I am desperate to find it! Please help me!!! I reside in Northern California.
I’m so sorry Pam, my husband passed away in 2021 and I never used his metal detector. I did a search online and found these guys: https://www.kauaimetaldetecting.com/. They seem to charge a hefty search fee which my husband did not, but it might be worth it to you. One word of caution, you need to be able to give pretty specific details about the exact location and circumstances where and when it was lost. A week is quite a long time to hope for a recovery.
Wishing you the very best of luck, I know how upsetting such a loss is, and how thrilling it was for those whom my husband helped when a ring was recovered. However, if it can’t be found, do try to let it go in every sense of the word. Despite the emotion that is wrapped up in a wedding ring, it is still an object that can be replaced with love and new memories.
With much aloha – Louise
Hi Louise,
I am very sorry for the loss of your husband. He sounds like he was a wonderful person.
The loss of my wedding ring is my fault as I tossed off the balcony of our room at the Marriott Beach Hotel during a bad argument with my husband fueled by drinking mai tais all day long… This is beyond frustrating because we know where there ring is! It fell down onto the garden roof top just below our room, which was on the 7th floor. Security has searched, but nothing has been found because a metal detector needs to be used as the area is full of dense plants and bushes. The Sonesta Hotel next door to the Marriott actually owns and manages the garden roof top at the Marriott and they are cooperative so long as the person doing the search with a metal detector has liability insurance due to being on the roof of their property. THE PROBLEM is nobody, including the place you recommended carries liability insurance!
We are pretty desperate at this point. Do you have any suggestions or might you know of somebody who can help us? We are willing to purchase the liability insurance for the purpose of this search. Being back in California is making all of this that much worse. I can barely sleep at night.
Oh Pam, that must be so frustrating, when it was a split second mistake and you know almost exactly where it is. Damn those mai tais! 😦
I can’t offer you much hope beyond those guys I suggested. The only other person I could suggest is the chap who sold Steve his metal detector and who did a lot of detection work himself at the time. It was many years ago, and even if still available I’m not sure he as an individual would have the necessary insurance the hotel requires. I also would prefer not to pass out his name and number in public.
I looked for you on FB, since you say you’re in NorCal, are you by any chance a paralegal living in Brentwood, CA? If you confirm that, I’ll connect with you through a private message instead of here.
Yes, that is my FB account. Thank you.
Sent you a message on FB Messenger, you might have to hunt for it since we’re not connected.