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What did you do for work to make it 7 years if I may ask?
Whatever I could find to pay the bills until I got enough contacts to secure a professional position. Jobs included:
Ala Wai Driving Range (guy that picks up balls in cart)
Hanauma Bay Snorkel Rentals (rent snorkel gear)
Hotel Security (waikiki)
Lot Attendant at car dealership
Hotel Valet (waikiki)
Got my big break after 2 years and became a tech for the city. After doing that for a few years, I decided I didn't want to stay forever and went back to school full time. I worked as a graduate research assistant at UH and part time valet for my final two years.
Despite my B.S. in a physical science, a lot of the early jobs were minimum wage service positions, I didn't make over 20k until my 3rd year there. Money was TIGHT, but I was in my early 20s and loved to surf and play basketball (both are free) so I made due. Keep in mind though, this was in the early 2000's (went in 2002) so the economy was better and housing was lower.
Yeah I was asking as I'm looking to give it a go myself. I was a mechanic for 2.5 years and I have a CDL class A drivers license are there any jobs for those things down there like a delivery driver or truck mechanic? Working long hours is nothing new to me as my current job is oilfield work and I often do 20+ hours in a shift
Yeah I was asking as I'm looking to give it a go myself. I was a mechanic for 2.5 years and I have a CDL class A drivers license are there any jobs for those things down there like a delivery driver or truck mechanic? Working long hours is nothing new to me as my current job is oilfield work and I often do 20+ hours in a shift
Not sure because its not my field. There are definitely mechanics and delivery drivers around but I couldn't tell you if they were in demand or not. Most jobs like that it seems like you need to know somebody to get your foot in the door, many don't want to invest a lot in a new transplant who may not stay very longs.
I really wish y'all would quit telling people to relocate to the South. The weather is not that great here. We had over a foot of snow and ice last winter. We get tornadoes aplenty and don't forget hurricanes. The job market is not any better down here, we get flooded with people who are lured here by the promise of a low cost of living PLUS better weather. Try looking at the boards for some of the SE states and you will see what I mean. Toyota came to NE MS and people all over the country have tried to get hired there, hundreds of thousands of applicants for a few hundred jobs. I had neighbors that moved here from Michigan, got stuck here without jobs, and ended up on welfare. I've encountered lots of transplants that moved here from other areas only to be disenchanted and leave.
Basically I just wanted to say things are bad everywhere, only YOU know what YOU can handle and are willing to do to survive somewhere. Typically if you have doubts about something, don't do it. Making a life change of this magnitude requires a full commitment to making it work and LOTS of planning on your part. Dreaming of a better life is not crazy, it just requires work.
Fallen- I couldn't agree more the bet thing I would think for someone to be able to relocate is go visit like I will be doing for two weeks see if it's what you want and go from there the south has its nice parts but as you said its not the paradise people are looking for people want to move to Hawaii because it's breath taking the south... Isnt. As far as jobs I believe it is possible to get a job anywhere within reason if you have skills and a go getter attitude I think you can make it yeah it
Might not be easy at first but it's doable
My husband and I have lived in Hawaii for more than 20 years. Hawaii is a multi-ethnic society. The majority of Hawaii-born residents are part Japanese. There is a large Filipino communinty here in Hawaii. Mix-race couples are very common here, especially where one spouse is of Asian or part Asian descent and one is Caucasian. The cost of living is very high here, especially the cost of housing (both renting and buying), food and gasoline. The public school systems are not very good -- those who care about education and can afford it send their chidlren to private schools or pay for after school tutoring. Just about everything is taxed here (food, medication, medical visits). It will cost you about $2000.00 to ship a vehicle here. It will be less risky for you financially if at least one of you has a firm job offer here before committing to moving here.
My husband and I have lived in Hawaii for more than 20 years. Hawaii is a multi-ethnic society. The majority of Hawaii-born residents are part Japanese. There is a large Filipino communinty here in Hawaii. Mix-race couples are very common here, especially where one spouse is of Asian or part Asian descent and one is Caucasian. The cost of living is very high here, especially the cost of housing (both renting and buying), food and gasoline. The public school systems are not very good -- those who care about education and can afford it send their chidlren to private schools or pay for after school tutoring. Just about everything is taxed here (food, medication, medical visits). It will cost you about $2000.00 to ship a vehicle here. It will be less risky for you financially if at least one of you has a firm job offer here before committing to moving here.
I really appreciate everyone's advice, I thnk the main problem is trying to secure a job a few thousand miles away...how can we convince companies we are serious about moving other than actually moving there...
I really wish y'all would quit telling people to relocate to the South. The weather is not that great here. We had over a foot of snow and ice last winter. We get tornadoes aplenty and don't forget hurricanes. The job market is not any better down here, we get flooded with people who are lured here by the promise of a low cost of living PLUS better weather. Try looking at the boards for some of the SE states and you will see what I mean. Toyota came to NE MS and people all over the country have tried to get hired there, hundreds of thousands of applicants for a few hundred jobs. I had neighbors that moved here from Michigan, got stuck here without jobs, and ended up on welfare. I've encountered lots of transplants that moved here from other areas only to be disenchanted and leave.
Basically I just wanted to say things are bad everywhere, only YOU know what YOU can handle and are willing to do to survive somewhere. Typically if you have doubts about something, don't do it. Making a life change of this magnitude requires a full commitment to making it work and LOTS of planning on your part. Dreaming of a better life is not crazy, it just requires work.
But the Gulf states don't have much snow and much more moderate temperatures in the winter. If people just don't want to freeze every winter, they're better off going there than Hawaii.
I really appreciate everyone's advice, I thnk the main problem is trying to secure a job a few thousand miles away...how can we convince companies we are serious about moving other than actually moving there...
With automated resume tools you are more or less out of luck unless you have some extraordinary skill that can't be readily found in Hawaii. With rare exceptions - your resume never even makes it to HR or a hiring manager - it is automatically tossed.
A few things to mitigate this:
Hawaii jobs are often about who you know.
There are tools like LinkedIn - perhaps someone you know has a contact in Hawaii.
Come to Hawaii - but instead of hitting the beach, start making contacts and knocking on doors.
Get a Hawaii address like a PO Box and preferably an 808 phone number (note: you can't get an 808 number via google voice). Your downside with that is when they say "can you come in tomorrow" that can be a challenge.
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