Software engineer Raymond Berger begins his

work day at 5 a.m., before the sun comes up

over Hawaii.

Rising early is necessary because the company

he works for is in New York City, five hours ahead

of Maui, where he is renting a home with a

backyard that’s near the beach.

“It’s a little hard with the time zone difference,”

he said. “But generally I have a much better

quality of life.”

The pandemic is giving many workers the

freedom to do their jobs from anywhere.

Now that Hawaii’s economy is reeling from

dramatically fewer tourists, a group of state

officials and community leaders wants more

people like Berger to help provide an alternative

to relying on short-term visitors.

Coinciding with the approach of winter in

other parts of the U.S., “Movers & Shakas” — a

reference to the Hawaii term for the “hang

HAWAII SEEKS

TO BE SEEN

AS A REMOTE

WORKPLACE

WITH A VIEW