- About
the Author
-
- Skip Thomsen was born and
raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and has had an avid interest
in writing since childhood. He has written and successfully self-published
several books over the last twelve years.
He has also written numerous magazine articles on various how-to
topics, including some on relocating to Hawai'i. Reviews of his
writing consistently commend him for his ability to make complex
topics clear and easy to understand.
During 1988-89, he and his then-wife published an arts-and-entertainment
guide called Elixir! for the North Oregon Coast
area. A paper of 16-20 pages with a circulation of five-thousand
copies, it included a variety of articles, fiction, art, photos
and poetry concerning Oregon Coast issues. It was well received,
got great reviews and supported itself from the start with enthusiastic
local advertisement. It was put to sleep when Skip moved to Hawai'i
in 1993.
-
- Thomsen spent the better
part of three years in Hawai'i in the early seventies and knew
for certain that this is where he wanted to spend the rest of
his life. Circumstances prompted his move back to the Mainland,
but the dream of some day moving to Hawai'i never left him. In
1993, he visited the Islands on his way home from a trip to New
Zealand, and for the first time discovered how inexpensive housing
was on the Big Island. During that visit, he bought a home there
and within a few months had moved to Hawai'i for good.
From the start, friends, visitors, tourists and acquaintances
have been making comments like, "How can you afford to live
in Hawai'i full time? Isn't it awfully expensive?" To their
amazement, Skip and his wife, Camille would tell them that they
live in the Islands for less than the cost of their modest former
lifestyle on the Mainland. Of course, everyone wanted to know
all the details. Some even recommended Skip write a book on the
subject!
-
- There continues to be such
a conspicuous amount of interest in affordable living in Hawai'i
that the natural next step was Affordable Paradise.
The first printing sold out quickly and the new material included
in the second printing was mostly in response to feedback from
the enthusiastic readers of the original book. In addition, Thomsen
felt the then-new Third Edition needed to cover some essential
philosophical information that is in response to the changes
happening to the Aloha State now that people are moving here
in huge numbers.
-
- The newest Fourth Edition
brought real estate values and other issues up to date for 2010/11,
and those values remain essentially unchanged at this writing
in 2014. The new edition also contains some new emphasis on living
aloha!
-
- In 2013, There had been enough
requests for an eBook edition that Thomsen did another thorough
update of the entire book and published it in Kindle and Nook
Editions.
-
- Thomsen's interests include
Hawaiian culture and cultural events, stained-glass art, fine
woodworking, restoring vintage houses, kayaking, music, playing
in the ocean, and riding his Harley in the warm Hawaiian sun.
Oh, and writing! He and his wife share their home in the hills
of Hilo with their feline friends, 15-year-old Bill and a recent
young adoptee, Kai.
- ~~~~~
-
- Fast
forward to January, 2012
-
- Fast
Forward to January, 2013
-
-
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Webmaster ====== Updated
8/10/2014