[Moonliner]

If you are going:

I'd say find that perfect job first. Check with industry contacts here, Internet sites, etc... Perhaps you could even come up with your own Hawaii based film project and get someone to fund it, or set yourself up as a local guide for visiting filmmakers, start a film summer camp for howlie students. Apparently there is a lot more money in that than I would have guessed. Moving and then looking for a job leads to holding a spatula at Big Kahuna Burgers.

I like my family close but not too close. A 20-30 min drive is good. You can see them when you want but they are not showing up unannounced all the time. Your mileage might vary.

If Not:
Work on those inner conflicts: "I’m a nomad" and "I need to settle down"
There are insincere A-holes in LA, there are insincere A-holes in HI
There are good sincere people in LA there are good sincere people in HI.

When were you last happy? What's changed since then? Is it people or place that really made the difference? For me happy is stability, for others it's chaos. What is it for you?