Back in late 2022 and early 2023, I worked remotely from Hawaii for four months, which was absolutely awesome.
It was also mildly stressful, considering thereâs a three-hour time difference between Hawaii and Phoenixâand my company had no idea I was in Hawaii.
Early mornings? Brutal.
Sunsets on the beach after work? Worth it.
I just adjusted my calendar, smiled on Zoom, and pretended palm trees were a very convincing virtual background. đ´đ
Remote work hits different when your biggest daily problem is deciding which beach to âwork fromâ next.
Imagine flying from the West Coast to Hawaii for about $100 USD.
Sounds fake. Itâs not. Iâve done it several times.
I even grabbed a Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard that basically said, âCongrats, youâre going to Hawaii again.â Four flights for $5.60 each after one purchase? Donât mind if I irresponsibly do.
35,000 points.
$5.60 out of pocket.
Seattle to Tokyo.Â
I have paid more for an airport coffee many times!
Another example of why people think Iâm annoyingly cheap. đ¤
I spent the first two months in Kona staying at a concentration camp Airbnb.Â
It can only be described as a maximum-security Airbnb.
Seriouslyâthis place had more rules than a parole agreement. Iâve never experienced anything like it. I was stuck, so I adapted⌠but wow. The hosts clearly hated each other, and their mood swings directly affected the rulebook. And yes, the rules changed. Daily. Based on vibes.
At one point, there were 28+ rules, which I had to shrink to a microscopic font just to fit on one page. Think less âvacation rentalâ and more âchoose your behavior wisely.â
I made the best of it by treating the place like a charging station:
Work. Sleep. Leave immediately.
If I wasnât working or unconscious, I was gone.
The second two months were spent in Honolulu on Oahu, which felt like parole had finally been granted. I wrote a separate blog about that stay, which you can read HERE.
Lesson learned:
Not all Airbnbs are created equal.
Some are destinations.
Some are endurance tests.
Despite the Airbnb being one mood swing away from solitary confinement, it worked out greatâI met some amazing people who completely saved the experience.
The second two months were spent in amazing Honolulu, Oahu, in a spectacular place that felt like a complete reset. I wrote a separate blog about that chapter, which you can read HERE.
It still worked out great, because along the way I met some incredible people who turned it into a genuinely local experience.
We went deep-sea fishing and caught my dream fishâa marlin over 350 pounds. The captain later invited us to his home to smoke the marlin, which was unreal. The best way I can describe it is fish jerky with the texture of beef jerky, finished with a lightly spicy marinade. Absolutely next-level.
We fished three times during my first two-month stay and returned twice more on later trips. I also wrote a separate post focused entirely on those fishing adventures, which you can read by clicking HERE.
I was working four days a week, which left me with three full days off. Most mornings, Iâd walk to the gym, shower there, and then spend the rest of the day bouncing around town using the downtown Kona trolley, which is completely free. That routine introduced me to Kona in a way that felt natural, not touristy.
Iâve now been to Kona four times:
Once at what I now lovingly refer to as Auschwitz Airbnb (details below),
Once at another Airbnb where an earthquake woke me up, and
Twice at the Kona Beach Hostel, run by a Ukrainian woman who somehow always upgraded me for free.
That hostel is now my go-to whenever Iâm back to fish.
If you want an introduction, let me know. Thanks, Victoria!
I spent most days riding the bus around the island, visiting Hilo and a bunch of smaller townsâmostly because I was rarely home and had nowhere better to be. The local Kona trolley deserves special recognition though. Itâs one of the best free features on the island, running end to end through Kona and stopping at all of my soon-to-be favorite spots.
Including Kona Brewing Companyâwhich weâve all tried back home, but hits a little different when youâre drinking it where itâs actually made. Fresh, local, and dangerously easy to justify as âcultural research.â
Kona Brewery – we all have tasted it, but I was getting it right from the tit!
O’la Seltzer Brewery – they used all of the island flavors to create seltzer magic that went awesome with poke!!
Willie’s Hot Chicken – the absolute best chicken fingers and live music on the island.
Two-Step diving – Just like the name, there are two steps into the water, and you’re in snorkeling paradise.
Foodland Poke Bar – I would get the absolute best poke lunch and dinner for under $10.
Quinn’s almost by the sea – This was where I found the absolute best one, the absolute best tasting fish.Â
Harbor House restaurant – this is where in the marina where we would often go after fishing, as it was in the marina.
The whole time I was in Kona, there was an active volcano. You could see it across the island, and we even visited to get a closer look a couple of times.Â
During my two months there, the active volcano lit up the night sky like something out of a sci-fi movie. The photos above were as close as we could safely getâand of course it was cloudy that dayâbut the drive home at night was unreal, with an orange glow stretching across the horizon.
I also visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park before the eruption to see it up close. You could clearly see how the earthquakes had torn up sections of the road, a reminder that the island does whatever it wants, whenever it wants.
Even crazierâyou could see the glow from across the island at night, right from my Airbnb. Hawaii doesnât ease you into moments like that. It just casually drops them into your evening and says, âYeah⌠this happens.â
Hawaii doesnât ask for your attentionâit just reminds you whoâs in charge, then goes back to erupting like itâs no big deal.
Iâd watch the Edmonton Oilers play hockey while an active volcano lit up the sky outside.
Hard to beat that for an intermission show.