Could you live in Hawaii if.... (Honolulu, Kahuku: rental, big house, transfer)
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How easy would it be for you to live in Hawaii (Oahu or Kauai) if you:
-Prefer the warm, tropical weather
-Shop at farmers markets/buy organic health food
-Are able to travel to the mainland often for career
-Prefer outdoor activities (biking, surfing, snorkeling, etc) to indoor ones
-Are able to transfer your career to Hawaii
-Are from a fairly rural area (not from a big city, anyway) and are used to driving 20+ minutes to stores, restaurants, etc, but do prefer to go shopping on weekends
-Have family on the mainland, but not in Hawaii
And 2 random questions: 1) How easy is it to bring a couple of cats with you from the mainland? 2) Are there many chain stores and restaurants (Kohls, JCPenny, Macy's, Younkers, Winn Dixie, Publix, Carabbas, IHOP, etc) on Oahu and Kauai? I'm sure there are some on Oahu, but still...
Oahu and Kauai are two completely different islands. Oahu is very full and has most things a big city has, although it won't have all the chain stores you are probably used to on the mainland. JCPenny I think is still there, Macy's is there and there is one or two IHOPs, I think, although perhaps those are Denny's. Get a yellow pages for Oahu and check department stores or look to see what stores are in Ala Moana Shopping Center and Pearl Ridge Shopping Center, those are two of the biggest shopping areas on Oahu.
Both Oahu and Kauai are going to have warm tropical weather, both will have outdoor activities although the ones on Oahu will have more people there than Kauai. The population density of Oahu pretty much means no matter what you want to do, there is someone else there doing the same thing. Kauai is definitely much more rural than Oahu, although Oahu has some rural areas such as Kahuku, Kaaawa, etc.
If you were considering moving to Hawaii and haven't ever visited before, it would be worthwhile to take several weeks and check out the islands you might be interested in moving to. Then find a place to rent for six months or so while you decide if you want to permanently move to Hawaii.
Cats can be brought, but follow the rules on importing cats exactly or they will go into an expensive quarantine. Finding a rental with cats is much harder, though, it might be best if you could find someone on the mainland to take care of your cats for several months while you found a spot over here and got settled in, then had your first visitor from the mainland bring the cats over with them. Or during one of your business trips to the mainland, bring the cats back.
It's NOT easy to bring animals over from the mainland! Please search it up, they have a very strict rabies thing going on there..
Search it up on google, and make sure your cats have all their required shots & a microchip, or they could be in quarantine for three months. Some of the shots have to be taken a couple months apart from eachother, I'm pretty sure, so if you're planning to move, find out what they need asap. See what airlines let you take animals. I'm know it's obvious, but please do a lot of research about moving there.
Some people love it, others hate it. Take a long vacation there before you decide, make sure you absolutely love it. I'm sure you will.
How easy would it be for you to live in Hawaii (Oahu or Kauai) if you:
-Prefer the warm, tropical weather
-Shop at farmers markets/buy organic health food
-Are able to travel to the mainland often for career
-Prefer outdoor activities (biking, surfing, snorkeling, etc) to indoor ones
-Are able to transfer your career to Hawaii
This means you'll probably be pretty happy here, especially if you throw in "aren't very excited about buying the latest & greatest of everything and don't care so much if you have a big house."
Quote:
-Are from a fairly rural area (not from a big city, anyway) and are used to driving 20+ minutes to stores, restaurants, etc, but do prefer to go shopping on weekends
-Have family on the mainland, but not in Hawaii
If you like the rural area, then you should be thinking about Kauai instead of Oahu. Oahu, at least Honolulu, is very very urban. And it's hard not to go to Honolulu if you live on Oahu. If you want really rural, you want another island. If you want "kind of rural with a city I can drive to (instead of fly to)," maybe you want Windward or North Shore Oahu.
Quote:
And 2 random questions: 1) How easy is it to bring a couple of cats with you from the mainland? 2) Are there many chain stores and restaurants (Kohls, JCPenny, Macy's, Younkers, Winn Dixie, Publix, Carabbas, IHOP, etc) on Oahu and Kauai? I'm sure there are some on Oahu, but still...
Bringing pets is a pain. Allow for four + months to be able to bring them home in Hawaii. You can do the quarantine on the mainland (delays your arrival) or in Hawaii (expensive & you live without your pets). But you have to do it. Details here: Animal Quarantine Information — Hawaii Department of Agriculture
Of the chains you list, I'm guessing there are none on Kauai and the only ones I can think of on Oahu are IHOP and Macy's. But those are mostly midwest chains. I don't know of many of them in LA or Boston either, for example. We do have chain supermarkets, but not Winn Dixie. We do have chain dept stores, too, but not the ones you list. No idea what Publix or Carabbas are...
Winn-Dixie's are actually more of a Southern thing; we don't have them in the Midwest, but they do have them in Florida. Same with Publix, which is a grocery store. Carabbas is an italian restaurant.
Well, where I live now is about 5 minutes from a small town and about 20 minutes from a pretty good sized city (Not LA/NY sized, but fairly large-ish). I would prefer to be in a fairly rural area but within 10/20 minutes of a good sized city. Not sure what Kauai is like when it comes to that... Are there really any "bigger" cities on Kauai, or is Honolulu/Oahu a better option?
Winn-Dixie's are actually more of a Southern thing; we don't have them in the Midwest, but they do have them in Florida. Same with Publix, which is a grocery store. Carabbas is an italian restaurant.
Well, where I live now is about 5 minutes from a small town and about 20 minutes from a pretty good sized city (Not LA/NY sized, but fairly large-ish). I would prefer to be in a fairly rural area but within 10/20 minutes of a good sized city. Not sure what Kauai is like when it comes to that... Are there really any "bigger" cities on Kauai, or is Honolulu/Oahu a better option?
Personally, I think Honolulu will be a better option. But Oahu is so much more populated than kauai, talk about traffic..
have you visited both of the islands?
How easy would it be for you to live in Hawaii (Oahu or Kauai) if you:
-Prefer the warm, tropical weather
-Shop at farmers markets/buy organic health food
-Are able to travel to the mainland often for career
-Prefer outdoor activities (biking, surfing, snorkeling, etc) to indoor ones
-Are able to transfer your career to Hawaii
-Are from a fairly rural area (not from a big city, anyway) and are used to driving 20+ minutes to stores, restaurants, etc, but do prefer to go shopping on weekends
-Have family on the mainland, but not in Hawaii
And 2 random questions: 1) How easy is it to bring a couple of cats with you from the mainland? 2) Are there many chain stores and restaurants (Kohls, JCPenny, Macy's, Younkers, Winn Dixie, Publix, Carabbas, IHOP, etc) on Oahu and Kauai? I'm sure there are some on Oahu, but still...
Just my feeling, but everything you mention, it sounds like you are better off in the mainland, and just doing the vacation in Hawaii.
I say that because you plan to have a career on the mainland, travel to the mainland often, and you mention all your family is on the mainland. The shopping seems more like a mainlander interest as well.
It seems like the only real parts that draw you to Hawaii, are the few vacation-oriented things.
So, in that regard, it seems better to live and work on the mainland, and instead take your vacations to Hawaii.
Hawaii is also extremely expensive, so I think its fairly unlikely you'll be able to do so much mainland travel all the time, combined with all the vacation-like interests, when you'll be way too busy trying to pay high rent for a very modest place to live (especially compared to the mainland).
The only true city in the state of Hawaii is Honolulu. Everything else is more or less in the category of "town". Some of the outer islands don't even have much in the way of towns and are more or less at the "scattered village" status. Folks in Hawaii don't shop much and the islands other than Oahu don't have the population density to support very many stores.
The Island of Hawaii, aka "the Big Island", has one Costco, two Safeways, two Walmarts, one K-mart, two Targets, (the Safeways, Walmarts & K-Marts are about 100 miles apart) several Longs Drugs, a new Walgreens, two Home Depots, one Lowe's, no more Borders, probably less than ten McD's, I think one Wendy's, although there might be two of them, one Outbacks, no Sizzler's, several Burger King's, several Subways, quite a few Ace hardwares. We have a lot more non-chain stores than we have chain stores. I think that's a very good thing.
Just my feeling, but everything you mention, it sounds like you are better off in the mainland, and just doing the vacation in Hawaii.
I say that because you plan to have a career on the mainland, travel to the mainland often, and you mention all your family is on the mainland. The shopping seems more like a mainlander interest as well.
It seems like the only real parts that draw you to Hawaii, are the few vacation-oriented things.
So, in that regard, it seems better to live and work on the mainland, and instead take your vacations to Hawaii.
Hawaii is also extremely expensive, so I think its fairly unlikely you'll be able to do so much mainland travel all the time, combined with all the vacation-like interests, when you'll be way too busy trying to pay high rent for a very modest place to live (especially compared to the mainland).
Actually, I am in a very well-paying industry, so travel cost is really no problem. And the travel isn't just to the mainland, it's worldwide. My career literally doesn't care where I live. My only issue with that may be the super long flight from Hawaii to Europe.
One of the things that I dislike about the mainland is the huge focus on having high-tech everything. I don't spend my whole day in front of my cell phone or computer. I prefer seeing nature and doing things outside. I prefer farmers markets and organic foods to factory items that come in a box on the shelf. I am totally uncomfortable with nuclear power (and I read somewhere that Hawaii has no nuclear plants?). I prefer surfing the waves to surfing the internet. I do like shopping at small little shops and designer stores, since places like Kohls, JCPenny, and most chain stores have - quite frankly - really crappy "clothing" that gets holes in it after you wash it twice! I prefer boardshorts and a rashguard/tank top/tee shirt to jeans and a sweater. I prefer palm trees and beaches to pine trees and snow.
I think as long as there are some good organic/raw health food stores nearby, and plenty of local produce and seafood, and a normal supermarket (a Wal-Mart or Sams Club or something) nearby, I should be fine when it comes to food.
And no, I have not visited both of the islands. Just Oahu.
And I like a nice mix of rural and urban. I prefer to actually in a more rural area, but be within 10 or 20 minutes of a larger city. I'm not sure how big cities like Hanalei are on Kauai, but I do know that I don't want to live in downtown Honolulu.
Actually, I am in a very well-paying industry, so travel cost is really no problem. And the travel isn't just to the mainland, it's worldwide. My career literally doesn't care where I live. My only issue with that may be the super long flight from Hawaii to Europe.
One of the things that I dislike about the mainland is the huge focus on having high-tech everything. I don't spend my whole day in front of my cell phone or computer. I prefer seeing nature and doing things outside. I prefer farmers markets and organic foods to factory items that come in a box on the shelf. I am totally uncomfortable with nuclear power (and I read somewhere that Hawaii has no nuclear plants?). I prefer surfing the waves to surfing the internet. I do like shopping at small little shops and designer stores, since places like Kohls, JCPenny, and most chain stores have - quite frankly - really crappy "clothing" that gets holes in it after you wash it twice! I prefer boardshorts and a rashguard/tank top/tee shirt to jeans and a sweater. I prefer palm trees and beaches to pine trees and snow.
I think as long as there are some good organic/raw health food stores nearby, and plenty of local produce and seafood, and a normal supermarket (a Wal-Mart or Sams Club or something) nearby, I should be fine when it comes to food.
And no, I have not visited both of the islands. Just Oahu.
And I like a nice mix of rural and urban. I prefer to actually in a more rural area, but be within 10 or 20 minutes of a larger city. I'm not sure how big cities like Hanalei are on Kauai, but I do know that I don't want to live in downtown Honolulu.
Come to the Big Island. We have all of those things and way less traffic. And so far all of the people I've encountered have been super friendly and nice.
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