How we are preparing to live our dream.

I thought I would blog a little of our background and how we are getting ready.

We don't plan to move until summer 2008. This will allow us a chance to get over there and scope things out and my daughter will finish the school year here. School starts at the beginning of August there and so I would like to be settled by then. However, we are actually seriously considering homeschooling. It is tough for someone to go into 10th grade with a bunch of kids who quite possibly have been going to school together their entire lives. We'll see.

Darin is an electrician by trade. Five years ago the economy sank in Oregon and he was laid off so he started working to start a new business with his dad. During that time, his license lapsed and so he is studying to take the test to reinstate his license in Hawaii.

I am the Executive Director of a non-profit organization that provides conflict resolution training and mediation services to two counties here in Oregon. I love the work of conflict resolution, but the being the boss part has become very stressful for me. Because we are non-profit, it is my job to raise the revenue for the agency every year. Ugh, it's an endeavour to be sure.

Right now I am studying for my Real Estate License. I was studying for it before we decided to look into Hawaii and now I am feverishly trying to educate myself on how to not have to start at square one when I get there. I think what I am going to do is get my license here, which will allow me to sell our houses here as well, and then get a waiver to just take the Hawaii portion of the exam there. Did you know that you cannot just have a broker's license as in the piece of paper? It has to be parked at a Real Estate office and you have to work under them. You don't even get to frame it and hang it on the wall!

We are starting to go through some of our stuff and prepare to sell everything. That is a little tough because our friends want our stuff and so we would like to give them a good deal and yet we need to raise the money. I will let you know how that goes.

Well, stay tuned for more later!