When I arrived on Maui, I rented a furnished condo for 30 days. That would give me a local address, and time to find a job and a place to live.

I found a place fairly quickly. Had to double pay rent for a couple of weeks, but I was just glad to find a place that would let me have Ginger.

It took approximately 6 weeks for my belongings to arrive. In the mean time, I purchased a sofa and loveseat from the dude that was renting the cottage before me. I have been sleeping on the sofa.

My belongings arrived a little over a week ago. I have unpacked the majority of my things. I disposed of over half of my belongings before I left the mainland. Now that I have unpacked almost everything, I still have too much "stuff".

That's okay. I'm just glad to have my computer. Before my belongings arrived, I was either using the internet at the library or paying a king's ransom at an internet cafe. I was able to obtain a library card soon after I arrived. However, you can only use the internet at the library one hour a week. Aaahhhhh!!!! One hour a week?!?!?!? I didn't realize how dependent on the internet I was. I think I could do without food for a week before I could do w/out the internet.

I took almost 5 months to research my decision to move to Maui. I researched the job market, the pay rate, the cost of housing, etc. I wanted to bring Ginger down with me, so I had to find an affordable place to live that would allow me to have a small dog.

When I say "affordable", in Maui, that means between $1000 and $1300 a month for 400-550 sq. ft. of living space.