Squirrels are cuter than mongoose

And other things I like better about Texas

1. The stars at night ARE big and bright.   Evening clouds made it difficult or me to view the sky sometimes from my home in Captain Cook.  Plus, the Pali, or mountain blocked part of the sky.  Here the stars sparkle and shine in an unobstructed sky.  Which leads to #2
2. No VOG  Volcanic air pollution.  The most isolated land in the world with such poor air quality.   It blackened my house, screens and windows.  I had a chronic cough and watery eyes, along with other allergic reactions. So long sulphur dioxide.   
3. Front door delivery  I can receive packages right at my front door!  What a novel idea.  I didn't have that for 23 years.   No delivery vehicle could make it up my road
4. Good roads and driveway. Going up my potholed driveway was hard on the tires and alignment  of our vehicles.  Sometimes people got stuck, blocking our entrance or exit.  Hawaii roads are full of pot holes.  You know how they fix it?  2 guys in a pick up full of asphalt, stop at bad spots, shovel it in the holes and let us drive our cars over to pack it in.  
5. Water supply.  Our water line came from 1,500 ft above us and we were responsible for all breaks and the resulting huge water bills..  We were plagued by breaks and leaks, including destruction by pigs.  I'll include pigs in this category.  It's nice to have water come in from pipes in the street.  I am going to put in a catchment tank, though, at my new home.
6. No geckos.  Those cute little "Lizards" are pooping machines.  Yes, they eat all the bugs, but their dropping line every window sill and often drip down the walls.  There are hundreds of them.  We lived in the middle of the jungle so they were everywhere.  It's interesting to see them fight for territory with each other and with #7   Cane Spiders
7.  No cane spiders.  Actually, they never bothered me all that much because they don't bite or make webs.  They can be as big as your hand, resembling  giant tarantulas but with smaller bodies.  And they can JUMP.  Far.  They are very fast but really are shy and afraid of you.  They freak out visitors from the mainland
8. No coqui frogs  New noise pollution arrived in Hawaii in the form of a little green frog with a big voice and a prolific reproducer. We performed a wedding once in Hilo on the other side of the island, and the chorus of coqui's was so loud, it was hard to hear us.  And we both could project our voices!  
9. Wine sampling in the grocery store.  Food sampling in the grocery store.  Anything in the grocery store! Cheap, abundant, huge selection of low priced items in every department.  HEB Stores  A new shopping experience for me.
10. Gas prices.  Almost half the price of gas in Hawaii.  And, I don't have to drive as far here. Almost every day I drove an hour each way for a half an hour wedding. Sometimes, I drove out to the resorts twice in a day.  Gas was a huge expense.  This leads to  to #11
11. Shopping convenience.  Every store.  Every restaurant. Every business you can name is just a 10 minute drive away.  My Costco is 5 minutes whereas it was 45 minutes to the Kona store.  The only one on the island.  People will drive over from Hilo to shop there.  A 5 hour round trip.
12. Grandchildren.  7 of them.  I saved the best for last.  I only had the opportunity to see them a couple weeks a year.  The boys, Hunter and Hayden, came over almost every year but only 2 of Tyler's 4 were there.  Besides the price of the tickets, traveling with 4 aged 6 and under was pretty much out of the question.   I would see them when I came over once or twice a year.  Not nearly enough.   Now, living with them, I am getting enough for sure!  (A little too much?) When I finish my house, they will be a half an hour drive away.  Just perfect!