Fiancee Wants to Move to the Big Island (Kailua, Waimea: apartments, rentals)

[waxwolf]

Hi All,

My fiancee and I just got back from a 10 day vacation to Oahu, and she's already making plans on how we can move to Hawai'i. She has singled out the Big Island as a less expensive, but still beautiful and livable place to be. The girl has done her research, and has been showing me tons of apartments for rent, houses to buy, etc.

To be honest, I kind of like living in Massachusetts, but my lady is not really digging it, and I don't want it to become a sore spot between us. I like Hawai'i too, but have only been twice (once to Maui and just now to Oahu), and the lava flow/isolation kind of freak me out. It's a hard place to get a feel for due to the expense of flying back and forth. I was hoping I could get some perspective from those who live or have lived there on what it's like long term.

Here's a little more information about us

This theoretical move would be pretty far into the future, as we have middle aged cats and would not want to put them through the holding period. We would have to work out jobs as well. Also, we would almost definitely rent first, and give it a few years before buying anything. On the plus side, it's usually not too difficult to find a job as a dentist, and we don't plan on having any kids, so we're pretty flexible right now.

We're gay, and I'm mixed/mostly black. My fiancee is vegan. We're both kind of nerdy/goofy and introverted, but are trying to convince ourselves that we'd be able to make friends without too much trouble. We're liberal, and educated as well. We also love hiking and the beach. I don't like bugs... particularly mosquitos or swarms of pretty much anything. We both like art, and love long in depth conversations with friends

Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you :-)

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Sorry to sound brusque, but you and your fiancee need to spend a couple of hours reading through this forum. It will give you both a BIG reality check.

A couple of things to consider:
-- I've heard that doctors leave Hawaii due to the insurance regulations here (hopefully someone else knows more about this)
-- Hawaii has bugs
-- Living in Massachusetts is WAY different than the Big Island. You've never even been here, so it's going to be a big leap.

Good luck with your research. We hear from many people who come for a visit and fall in love with the Hawaii. The realities of living here are much different than the tourist things you do on vacation.

[hotzcatz]

Well, the Big Island isn't really any more isolated than Oahu or Maui. More rural, of course, but not really more isolated. All of the islands are pretty much equally about 2,500 miles away from just about everything else.

The lava flow is pretty well behaved, it pretty much stays where the scientific folks tell us it's gonna go and if the scientific sorts don't know where it's gonna show up, the insurance folks have maps, too. If you stay out of Lava Zone 1, 2 or 3, you're not likely to be dealing with lava. If you go up the coast to Waimea or up around Kohala, there won't be any lava there at all.

The quarantine for cats and dogs can now be done at home, so it's not like they would be in a quarantine facility like the way it used to be. But, it's still a big change and they probably won't like changes. Not to mention it's expensive. Some folks have said it's about $1K per animal by the time they go through the quarantine paperwork, process and airfare.

As for the gay/hapa-black/vegan/nerdy/goofy, etc., I think your biggest problem will be the bugs. Hawaii does have bugs and we don't have a winter that kills them off. They don't generally swarm much, but there's generally some around.

Hawaii has problems getting and keeping medical folks. I'm not exactly sure of the details, but that might affect you, so it might be worth looking into.

How about a couple of visits first? As you said, you're not planning it right away. So there's time to visit for a couple of vacations first.

[Buckeye77]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

.
The quarantine for cats and dogs can now be done at home, so it's not like they would be in a quarantine facility like the way it used to be. But, it's still a big change and they probably won't like changes. Not to mention it's expensive. Some folks have said it's about $1K per animal by the time they go through the quarantine paperwork, process and airfare.
.

Aloha - We just brought over our 2 little dogs and the total cost was about $4k. We did use a pet relocation service which did drive up the cost, but makes life much easier. Our Shih Tzu is almost 14 and we were worried about the stress of being in 3 planes in day, but she is fine. So is the toy poodle.

Mahalo

[waxwolf]

Thanks everyone!

Very helpful :-)

[Due]

Originally Posted by Hoot N Annie

Aloha - We just brought over our 2 little dogs and the total cost was about $4k.

cost was about the same ($2,000 per dog) for our 3 and they love it here.

~ bought our house from a formerly married couple: two Doctors who didn't stay.

[Lodestone]

Definitely need to visit a couple of times. The Big Island is a little different from the others. Not worse, just different. Size, lava, scarcity of viable beaches are the main things. That and huge lot sizes in the vast rural areas. Prices are way cheaper, but only on the southeast half, due to lava, few beaches, and rain.

[Randymu42]

you never been to the Big island ?? nothing like the other two you have visited, I live on the Kona side (west) side of the island ... own two rentals on the east side life can be hard here jobs, food, gas, just to say a few, to even think of coming over to a island 2000 + miles from any where takes a major amount of planning and time spent here, sorry if this sounds like putting water on her fire but please by all means come stay a month or two around the island IMO

[kishanad]

i can relate to your story but, like any dream in life,
the number one factor is money. Savings. How much money we've got.
That's what landlords want to know, that's how you get a car, that's how you have a life.

As we all know, health and money pretty much rule everything.
If you have health and money, you can live anywhere. If you do, well you are lucky.
I worked on Maui, while my husband was a contractor there for a hotel company. It was like heaven on
Earth, as far as weather, people, scenery. but I could only find 15 hours per week of work. and every penny of husband's salary
went to our rent and food. I mean, every penny, and he was making good money.

Hawaii is outrageously expensive. It's best for those who are retired and very comfortable,
or making a very very good salary.
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[hotzcatz]

Would you be opening a dental office of your own or working at someone else's office? If you're working at someone else's office, then contacting various dentists to see if they need another associate might be a place to start. Probably the top half of the island (which would be "North") and perhaps on the Kailua-Kona side might be good target locations. Less bugs and better beaches. Sounds like you'd want at least a small town, though, for folks to chat with.

I don't know if Honokaa needs more dentists although the dentist in town is just starting to build a small new house next to his office building for visiting dentists. Not sure if he's planning on having new associates full time or just consulting dentists or maybe it's just a rental. They've just barely started construction on the house though so it will be awhile before it's done. It will have an incredible ocean view and be a cute little 2 bedroom in a small town.