Choosing An Island In Hawaii

I've always put a ton of thought into my decisions, moving to Hawaii is one of those. Now that I've decided that it's 100% something we will do I have to actually decide on which Island. This oddly is a little harder than I thought it would be. 

The main islands are, Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island. I've only actually ever been to Oahu. Once. So my other information on the other islands is 100% coming from my own research. 

Oahu is 100% off the list (although I loved it) My husband said that there are so many people on this island and we both agreed that we want something more off the beaten path. Really experience living in Hawaii. 

Off the beaten path, of course, Kauai came to mind, from what I have seen it looks like an incredible place to live. It's like a photographers paradise there and the adventures we would have there as a family would be like a dream. Only downfall is that there's not a ton of homes for sale and we might end up having to live in a little beach shack somewhere. I hope my kids are ok with sharing a room. haha.

Next on the list is the Big Island. I love how different the big island is. They have all sorts of different beaches there, black sand beaches, white sand beaches, even green sand! They have lava that flows into the water and stunning hikes that lead you to beautiful waterfalls. It seems like from all the islands, the big island has the most homes to pick from. We might all get our own room there ;) I also love how open the Big Island and it's at the top of our list right next to Kauai. 

Maui is also on the list because let's face it, their beaches are a dream. One of the reasons we are moving to Hawaii is our love for water, the beach and being outside. Maui seems to be the perfect place if living on the beach is something we plan to do a lot of. They also have a Waldorf School there which I would love to get my kids started in. My daughter is in public school right now and it seems like with every day that passes I see the value in a more creative private school like the one I was lucky enough to attend as a child. 

To be 100% honest, I have no idea which one we will end up landing on. What I do know is that it will be on either Kauai, the Big Island or Maui. 

Does anyone have any recommendations? If you could pick any island to live on, which one would it be?! At the end of the day I think where ever we end up we will be happy, after all, it will be in Hawaii and there will be plenty of island hopping going on.

As far as my photography business goes I'll plan to use the island we end up at as our 'home base' but branch out to shoot on all the islands especially when it comes to the wedding side of my business.