This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Buz Moffett, 63, who moved from Hawaii to Pohnpei, an island in the Pacific Ocean that’s part of the Federated States of Micronesia, with his wife in 2018. It has been edited for length and clarity.
The first time I visited Pohnpei was in 2006. An Australian friend suggested that I check out a surf camp there. He thought I’d love the place — and he was right.
The island is stunning, the people are warm, and it offers world-class waves, great fishing, and incredible diving. Over the next 10 years, I went back there almost every other year. Eventually, my wife, Liz, started joining me on my trips.
One day in 2017, she approached me and said, “I could live here.” By then, I was in my mid-50s and ready to slow down — I didn’t want to continue to work myself to death.
I was born in California but raised in Hawaii. Being in the real estate industry, I always dreamed of retiring somewhere quieter, more like the Maui I knew from the late ’60s and early ’70s, with fewer visitors and a slower pace of life.
We’d considered moving to Molokai, but Liz felt it was too close to Maui. She knew I’d just hop on my boat back and keep working. We decided Pohnpei, an eight-hour flight from Honolulu, was the right place for us to start our new adventure.
We started putting out feelers with a few friends about finding a place to rent. As foreigners, we can’t own land in Micronesia.
Soon enough, a friend of mine who runs a surfing and diving company in Pohnpei called me and told me he had found the perfect home.
He told us that it might be better than his — and he has a nice waterfront home. We didn’t even see a picture; we just jumped on it. Turns out, he was right.
It’s a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home right by the ocean. Rent is $1,500 a month, and we have wonderful landlords who treat us like family.
We’ve been living in Pohnpei ever since, with a two-year gap during the pandemic
The good kind of busy
We have become part of the community and have embraced the lifestyle.
When you’re not working, finding an activity to fill your time is really important. Somehow, I feel like I’m almost busier now than I was when I was working — it’s just a healthier type of busy.
Every day, I’ll start with coffee and a workout, then return a few calls and emails before heading down to the harbor by 10 a.m.
I ice up the boat and refuel before going fishing for four hours. I usually come back home in the mid-afternoon, have a nap, ask what’s for dinner, go to bed early, and do it again the next day.
When I take a day off from the boat, I usually spend it at home smoking fish — it’s my hobby.
I seal them up before giving them away as little presents to people I see when I’m cruising around town. Everyone knows me as the old man with the big beard who gives away smoked fish.
Here for now
People on Pohnpei are shy, but we realized that after you break the ice, they are the friendliest people ever. I’m also part of the fishing club, so we have tournaments and parties, too.
The supply ship comes in every two to three weeks, and there are times when we run out of fresh vegetables and dairy. But there’s never a shortage of canned or frozen goods.
But we have learned to adapt and enjoy what we can find at the markets. Liz is a wonderful cook, and we eat at home most nights as we live about 15 minutes from town.
We adopted three rescue dogs and have a tabby cat who keeps them all in line. Twice a year, a vet from Guam visits with a team and sets up a clinic at the local college. That’s when everyone books appointments for their pets.
There are two hospitals and a handful of private clinics on the island, but for anything serious, you have to leave. Many locals travel to Guam or the Philippines for care, and some even go as far as Hawaii for medical treatment.
Two to three times a year, we travel back to the US to visit friends and family. But Pohnpei is where we plan to stay for at least the next decade — until we eventually need easier access to advanced medical care.
We couldn’t be happier — we’ve found our little slice of paradise in the Western Pacific.
Do you have a story to share about retiring abroad? Contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.
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