From Hawaii to Iowa: Food, Travel & Finding Community with Char Cahill What happens when you trade island life in Hawaii for life in Iowa—and decide to embrace everything your new community has to offer? In Season 4, Episode 7 of Not Your Average Neighbor, Ann sits down with her new friend Char Cahill, a tech professional, traveler, foodie, lifelong learner, and recent Iowa transplant whose curiosity has quickly taken her from coffee meetups to supper clubs, road trips, food festivals, and new friendships. And fittingly enough, Ann and Char's friendship started on TikTok. After Char posted looking for people in Iowa who wanted to meet, eat, and build community, the algorithm brought the two together. What started with a simple coffee meetup became a conversation about something much bigger: how food, travel, curiosity, and the willingness to say “yes” can bring people together. Char shares what it has been like moving from Hawaii to Iowa after her husband’s career brought them to the area. Despite how different the two places may seem, she discovered an unexpected similarity: a strong sense of family and community. They also dive into Char’s adventures as a self-proclaimed foodie—from road trips to Chicago and Minneapolis to discovering Cedar Rapids restaurants, joining the Cedar Rapids Supper Club, attending Iowa food festivals, and preparing for her first Iowa State Fair. But Char isn't only exploring Iowa. She talks about traveling to Cozumel for scuba diving and preparing for an upcoming trip to Croatia with a group of women she initially didn't know. By choosing to travel with a roommate and meet people who share her love of adventure, Char is intentionally stepping outside her comfort zone and creating new connections along the way. Ann and Char also talk about lifelong learning. Char works in tech and continues earning AWS certifications while diving deeper into DevOps and automation. Her philosophy is simple: sometimes you don't know how much there is to learn until you start learning. From travel and technology to sourdough, food, fitness, and making friends as an adult, this episode is a reminder that life gets a lot more interesting when we're willing to stay curious. In This Episode Ann and Char talk about: - Moving from Hawaii to Iowa and adjusting to landlocked life - The surprising similarities between Hawaiian and Iowa communities - How TikTok helped Char find new friends in Cedar Rapids - Why food can be such a powerful tool for human connection - Exploring Cedar Rapids through local restaurants and community events - Char’s experience with the Cedar Rapids Supper Club - Road-tripping to Chicago and Minneapolis for food and adventure - Scuba diving and exploring Cozumel - Saying yes to a group trip to Croatia without already knowing everyone - Getting outside your comfort zone and meeting new people as an adult - Char’s work in tech, AWS certifications, DevOps, and lifelong learning - Her growing interest in flour, grains, sourdough, and cooking from scratch - Discovering Iowa through food festivals - Experiencing the Iowa State Fair for the first time - Why community can sometimes begin with something as simple as sharing a meal A Reminder From This Episode You don't always have to wait for community to find you. Sometimes it starts by making the post, accepting the invitation, sitting down at the table, taking the trip, or simply saying yes to something that's a little outside your comfort zone. You never know who might become your next friend—or your next not-so-average neighbor. Connect with Char Follow Char on TikTok: @real.talk.wchar @nerdiichar About Not Your Average Neighbor Not Your Average Neighbor shares stories of resilience, inspiration, good news, community, and the people who remind us just how much good exists around us.
