pjab

In CO, roughly $60k for 2 kids in HS plus another $10k for incidentals (they don’t even ask, they just include the kid in the plan and send the bill). Middle School was a little more. There are 4 desirable co-Ed private high schools. 2 religious ones are $30k, the others are about $45k-$50k. There is nothing between $0 and $30k. There are several good public schools with an ability to attend if you are out of district and one great public school with a strict residency requirement (some people rent apartments just to use the address). I know families that have one kid in public and another in private. It’s all about fit. Freshmen year I thought we were wasting money, but by sophomore year I realized that it was money well spent.

I think school success is very dependent on the kid, regardless of the environment.

For snorkeling, the fewer people on the boat, the better. We've used Bluewater Rafting several times which operates a 12 person zodiac style boat that leaves out of the boat launch in Kehei. They have a 5 hour tour which my family thought was a bit much since the extra time is running towards Hana to learn about lava flow history. Years ago they would back into one of the caves but evidently that's not allowed anymore. The 3 hour tour stopped at Turtle Town and Molokini like many other tours, but also to the backside shelf of Molokini which is definitely the highlight (google some pictures). The main part of Molokini seems to be degrading unfortunately, but that might just be my perspective.

Hana used to have public access to all kinds of waterfalls and swimming spots but many of those are closed off on private land. You will need a permit to get in the park with the black sand beach. Those permits sell out so prepare accordingly but also dictates which day you are going for a super long car ride so make sure everyone in your party is on board with the timing.

For food, a good place that's not mentioned much is Cafe O'Lei at the Plantation; good food, decent prices, and very relaxing setting looking at the mountainside. The food trucks in Kehei are nice if you get tired of formal meals. Oao Sushi is in a strip mallas the highway turns into Wailea, very good. Kraken Coffee is in the same strip, great coffee, and next to the hemp gummy store if that's your thing.

My top tip is to stop at Whole Foods to grab beer and snacks. Hawaii is not easy on the wallet and the bleeding never stops. Having a few things on hand helps alleviate that concern. Another thing to buy is 7D mango which is some Philippine dried mango that isnt avilable or tough to find on the mainland. Stuff is so good.

quote:

---

So hospitals are only viable when taxpayer dollars are streaming in?

---

The money has to come from somewhere.

Someone mentioned illegals which is a subset of free care cohort. They take up a lot of time and resources (translators, multiple systematic health issues, etc) and no ability to pay. It’s not just rural hospitals either.

From a doctor’s perspective, especially surgical specialist, why would you put up with that when you can focus on people with commercial insurance and make multiples with less effort. Even the most altruistic docs have a breaking point.

ETA: Hospital systems waste a crazy amount of money too, especially large teaching hospitals but atleast they get big donors to sponsor the inefficiency.

$100s of damage

A collector from New Orleans owns/owned the 330 LM.

MB SL500 R129

Great looking, DIY maintenance, $10k-$15k for a decent one, sub $20k for a nice example

Mid ‘00s Aston Vantage 6spd

$30k for V8, $70k for V12

quote:

---

Been under $2 here in Colorado since before Christmas,

---

Paid $1.47 today in Denver***. I paid under $1.60 for the last several weeks. I’ve also paid $3.79 in the mountains.

I rent cars quite a bit and spend a good amount of time in them.

The ones that stick out:

CX-5 - quite possibly the worst car I’ve driven. Nothing intuitive or ergonomically organized. Total POS

Chevy Equinox - bare bones base model yet was very impressive. Excellent basic transportation.

Volvo XC60 - Fantastic car.

Jeep Wrangler - The hybrid 4cyl is an absolute boat anchor. It constantly bogs down and the transmission seems like it’s in the wrong gear. If that doesn’t bother you, slightly used ones are <$35k which could be a good value proposition

Jeep Gladiator - shite turning radius and death wobble. Pass

The same thing happened to me with Stare Farm. My only guess is the agent got an origination fee because the list of “items to be addressed” from underwriting were fundamentally part of the property and obvious.

- 40’ wide driveway required. The aerial photo clearly shows it’s 1 car width wide.
- 2 access points to the property required. It’s on a dead end road.
- Two emergency vehicles might not be able to pass each other. It’s a two lane county road.

I paid $750 for the last A service and $1300 for the last B service. I change the oil in my own cars for $60 each so going to the Merc dealer is never a good experience.