Hawaii vs. New Zealand (living, best, cost, state)
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My wife and I are from San Diego, but currently live in Houston, TX. We have 2 young children (2 and 5) and my wife really wants are children to grow up on the beach as we had when we were younger. Houston has a beach of sorts, but it's nothing you would want to grow up with thinking that this is what the ocean looks like. It will not turn your children into water babies, probably would be the opposite. So we are looking for that compromise between beach life, which we both want, and a slightly simpler way of life, which we both want...but we are also both working professionals and have children, so we can't/won't just make a decision on a whim. We do not want the hustle and bustle of SoCal and neither of us like Florida....so to find a place to leave we are looking outside of the CONUS. We have both been to Hawaii before (Big Island - Kona and Hilo). We both loved the weather, ocean, mountains, etc....and we are not afraid of bugs and such. The Vog was not an issue during our visit, so I'm not sure if that would be an issue in the future.
My wife works in healthcare economics and finance specializing in pathology, so career wise, she would need to be near a large medical group or hospital. Obviously Honolulu would offer her the largest career opportunities and I work in telecommunications management but I can try and find a job in any related field since I am not specialized in anything other than management. We are interested in getting out the rat race so to speak and trying to find a simpler way of life, but obviously we don't want our children to suffer, we just want them to have a different understanding of life beyond just work and money. I also don't want our children to have too tough of a transition to wherever we move and I know there are people who have told stories of the difficulties that mainland people face on the island, even young children.
So we kind of came to the conclusion that New Zealand or Hawaii may be the best options out there for us and our family. Places that speak English, love Costa Rica and the Caribbean, but I don't want to take the large of a culture shock, so English needs to be there. Plus Hawaii and New Zealand also both have some semblance of Western Life. Obviously cost of living will be a bit of an adjustment to us, but we are trying to figure out what would be the best fit for our family so that we can make the correct plans moving forward. This is nothing that we are expecting to do overnight, maybe 2 years down the road. Just trying to do some homework now.
We love the look of Kauai, but are afraid that the job opportunities may not be there for us. Oahu would have the largest job opportunity but also carry some of the higher price tags and I'm not in love with the idea of being back in the middle of a 1m plus city and all those issues. We've never been to Maui but it may be the best mix of population and peacefulness. My wife is the person who would rather do the beach shack lifestyle, but I grew up differently, and I enjoy motor racing, motor sports, soccer, skateboarding, etc...
Just trying to get some input from people who have transplanted with a family. We are a pretty laid back family that enjoy life for the most part, but I don't want my family or I to be looked on as an outsider, but rather be looked on as just being new. Grown-ups can handle themselves, but my kids at these ages will not understand the Haole treatment if it does exist.
Where did you move and why?
Pros and Cons?
Issues with job placement or salary compensations?
Issues with schools for children and the ease of transition.
How much does it cost to get back to Honolulu for mainland flights home from the other islands?
Life in HI isn't simple, especially not Oahu. BTW Honolulu looks and smells just like Houston once you're in the city or concrete sprawl. It seems to rain just as much too. I lived in Houston for 10 years total and I hate both.
NZ has universal health care. But the sea is cold. Why not Australia?
That is our big hold up with NZ, water that looks so tempting but you don't want to enter it because you know it's freezing. San Diego water was too cold for me, I can't imagine NZ water temps. When you say that life is not simple, what are you referring to? What makes life not simple? My version of simple is just peace of mind with family, friends, warm weather, and nice scenery. Obviously having jobs is key as well, that part may not be simple based on the current economy.
Well Honolulu is just as busy as Houston, bad traffic, scenery is blocked by ugly buildings. But it's worse because jobs don't pay nearly enough for the cost of living and the odds are low that you'll both find decent ones.
Maui is rural and has the lifestyle you want but even fewer jobs.
We have looked into the Visa process for New Zealand as well and again, this is a 2yr down the road idea. We have no false sense of reality that we can just up and leave. One of us would have to attain full time employment in either location in order to even consider the move. If we can decide where we would want to apply our focus, then we will get our situation here in order, submit resumes, and truly begin the process of relocating. We would have to sell our houses here first and foremost because we won't move to either location while still owning multiple properties in the U.S., but that is truly the largest hurdle beyond finding a career in an area that we can see raising our family. We already have passports and everything for our children and we know about the physicals and health checks that are required for New Zealand. I'm just not 100% sold on leaving the US completely....Hawaii seems like the compromise location. Drastically different from Houston or San Diego, but still part of the United States.
We have some friends that lived in Hawaii that we will talk to after the holidays. My wife lived in Hawaii when she was a child, my mother lived in Hawaii in her early 20's, and I lived in Okinawa, Japan for 8 years when I was a child....so we are not people who lived a Midwest life with a hometown feel. I don't want to move my children around much, I would prefer that they are raised in an environment where they know where home is, even if they leave when they are older. That is an issue I see with New Zealand as well as Hawaii, a lack of career opportunities that may force the kids to seek their professional lives elsewhere. I know New Zealand has a very big problem with brain drain, with lots of people leave New Zealand for other countries with higher pay, lower unemployment, etc...
I truly have a lot more research to do, this is only my first step in the process, but I figured I would see what the people who have moved to Hawaii with families think about the proposal. What lessons did they learn? What tips would they offer? Any regrets? etc...
I think Imperial Beach south of SD is very small townish. Have you looked around there? Big Island would definitely give you the life you desire however the job would be your challenge. Best wishes.
Australia has been debated by my wife and I as well, and her company actual has offices in Australia. We just felt that New Zealand was the better choice in that region for it's amazing scenery, topography, climates, etc...very few places have a beach, ski resort, glacier, and such all within such a short distance. Just had a mystical quality about it. Australia seems like another mega-plex city. We debate Oahu simply for the jobs, almost like you get a bit of what you were looking for, but you still have that huge city feel with traffic, shopping, malls, and most importantly jobs. My preliminary thoughts would call Honolulu or Oahu a baby step towards what we are looking for....maybe the more realistic option since our careers may be hard to duplicate in the other regions.
As far as San Diego goes, we grew up there...we know San Diego very well and have no real issues with it, but it's far from the green space that we envision that both Hawaii and New Zealand have to offer....easier to move to, definitely. Better paying jobs, definitely. But I'm just not sure that the lifestyle is what we would be looking for. Again, my wife is the beach shack person...I'm a city person, so this is all a compromise between the rural and the urban lifestyles....but what we both want is a beach city with good outdoor life. I'm just not ready to unplug so to speak like she is. I grew up with military parents, she grew up with hippy parents...lived in Hawaii, India, South Africa, etc... But we've been together for over 16 years and our melding of backgrounds fit perfectly together and we both want something different but the same and this is all about trying to discover where that happy medium is for all of us.
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