Specific cost of living - Big Island (Hilo: rent, car insurance) - Hawaii (HI) -The Island of Hawaii - City-Data Forum

Brav989 · 11-01-2007, 02:36 PM

I've heard a lot of talk about the cost of living in Hawaii. Now, I've only been to the Big Island (have not lived), but from what I can come up with right is the housing cost is higher, fuel is, and food is (not by a whole lot from what I noticed). I've also heard electricity costs are pretty bad. I was curious what else there was that is (higher than average) on the Island than is on the mainland?

cynmkolohe · 11-01-2007, 08:54 PM

One thing to factor in is how much travel you will have to do to get to the places you will be spending the rest of your money

A lot depends where you are planning to live when you get here and what your habits are. Living far from town can have it's advantages, but also it's costs.

kani-lehua · 11-02-2007, 04:48 PM

[quote=Brav989;1888017] I've also heard electricity costs are pretty bad. quote]

i just got in contact with a person who lives up at mauna loa estates. 2 bedroom, 2 bath (might have been 1 1/2 baths). app. 1300 sqft. her monthly electric bill is app. $180.00. (just bought a lot up there).

here i am (kailua, o'ahu) grumbling about paying $125-150/month. 3 bedrooms 2 baths app. 2200 sqft with an attached cottage 1 bedroom 1 bath app. 600sqft rental. 3 people in the main house one in the cottage.

for me, another issue is the water. you pay a lot for the sewage fee and not much for the actual h20 usage.

MSJones · 11-02-2007, 04:55 PM

It also depends on what, specifically, you're talking about.

For example....

Quote:

here i am (kailua, o'ahu) grumbling about paying $125-150/month. 3 bedrooms 2 baths app. 2200 sqft with an attached cottage 1 bedroom 1 bath app. 600sqft rental.

Holy CRAP - I'm in Texas and that is VERY cheap to me, for electricity. You'd pay well over $500/month for that service here. Easily.

Liquor is cheap there as well, compared to here in Texas.

Food, however - outrageous. I nearly faint everytime I walk into a Hawaiian supermarket!

It depends on where you're coming from, what you're used to, and what goods you're talking about. I hear people from California say that the prices in Hawaii are about the same for them, all the time. Crazy! But, the cost of living in California is much higher than it is here in Texas. Just depends.

kani-lehua · 11-02-2007, 05:08 PM

[quote=MSJones;1898197]

Quote:

It also depends on what, specifically, you're talking about.

For example....

Holy CRAP - I'm in Texas and that is VERY cheap to me, for electricity. You'd pay well over $500/month for that service here. Easily.

i just about fainted. i thought it was because it's humid today. but, no, it was because of your post. you won't be hearing any more grumbling from me about this subject !

Brav989 · 11-03-2007, 01:10 AM

Well lets remember that fruit in Hawaii is free if you are resourceful and not lazy

Koale · 11-03-2007, 05:59 AM

Good morning, What is contributing to these high electric bills? I notice alot of A/C being used. Is electric actually that expensive or do you think it may be to personal usage requirements? I live south of Seattle, WA and complain when my bill reaches $75.00,
We are relocating the Big Island w/in the year and I've been noticeing that the cost of living is up a bit but other than housing and gas (which is pretty high everywhere) things are pretty much equal, give or take.
If it's the A/C and other optional electrical usage don't you think this particular necessity can be cut by utilizing other options a bit?
Mahalo, Koale

Sorcerer68 · 11-03-2007, 09:12 AM

I lived in a big old Plantation style house just above Hilo. I had a fairly small electric water heater. I never, ever used my stove. I had a/c units in my home office and my bedroom, ran them when I was in the room from May-October. I had a laptop and a tv. I kept the house pretty dark at night. My winter electric bills were over $300/mo and my summertime ones were about $425-450+/mo and about $550/mo when I had guests. I made a lot of sacrifices and even then with the cost of groceries and durable goods, it cost me 3x as much to live in East Hawaii as it did for me to live in L.A. I went to $1 movies and shopped at discount stores whenever I could. Everything being more adds up...car insurance was more too. Durable goods will make your head spin. The good news...produce at the farmers market is pretty reasonable and it's a fun experience going there. Used cars are cheap and fairly plentiful as well.

Brav989 · 11-03-2007, 11:05 AM

I was there in the summer, and with a breeze going and a fan or two around I never even saw the need for an AC. Hell, middle of the night I'd actually get cold. And this was near sea level. Guess it all depends on how one's body adjusts to the humidity.

Out of your entire bill, how much of it was for AC usage? I'm curious (for me) how it would be if I never used lights during the day (sun), and never used AC (a small/medium fan instead)

shepmead03 · 03-27-2008, 02:56 AM

Nope, the food is more expensive than the mainland but A LOT not just a little. We're talking 3-5 added dollars onto mainland prices for milk, cereal and many other items you wouldn't even expect to be marked up...this is especially the case as the costs of fuel for shipping continues to rise. It adds up like you wouldn't believe. The cost of food on top of rent has definitely contribued to my tight budget lately.