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Pacific Flights Wrote: "Don;t do that. You have too much to reserach to spend the time cooking and shopping. All you need is a list of items you normally buy and the price you pay, just write down what's the cost on Hawaii."
I completely agree with Pacific Flights, however you can get a sense of what you might be paying at Hawai'i grocery stores, etc. by checking their websites for their weekly ads. It is quick and very easy to do. Of course, your food costs will vary depending on what you normally eat. We have found eating local has resulted in our overall food costs being equal to or cheaper than what we pay on the mainland, however every family's experience can differ.
Don;t do that. You have too much to reserach to spend the time cooking and shopping.
I have to respectfully disagree. If you truly want to get a sense of what it is like to live in a place, you must try to get as close to that as you can. Spending your time eating out every meal(if you won't be able to afford that when living there) will not give you what you are looking for. Doing the cooking and other chores will also help you to see when and if you really need to turn on the AC. Spend the time that you would be working(if you were already living there) doing all the things that PacificFlights mentioned and you should do them all.
Don;t do that. You have too much to reserach to spend the time cooking and shopping.
I could not disagree more. There is nothing that will give you a better sense of what living in Hawai'i will be like for you than to do the things you would actually do if you moved to Hawai'i. Making a list of prices won't give you a feel for what shopping for food will be like nearly as well as actually shopping for food. You'll not only get a sense of what prices are like, but also what everyday mainland items are almost impossible to find, what choices are missing, etc. It's so fundamental to the perceived quality of life for most people that I can't imagine NOT doing that.
Ok, more updates and questions. First, i appreciate the opinions on what we should do once we arrive. However, we really have decided to live like we would and visit markets and cook most meals. We will probably eat out once or twice but no more than that. We also really like local small coffee shops and pubs so we want to do that as well. We aren't into the big chains. We like to support smaller local businesses.
So for the bigger news and questions....
We definitely will be coming sometime in the middle of May. However, my wife has been given the choice of working in Kona or Maui. I've done plenty of research and know a bit about Kona from questions i've asked here. But, Maui we know nothing about. Here is what i'd like some local opinions on...
As stated, we don't want a big city. We are looking for more of a smaller town/local feel. Definintely not in or around the tourist areas. That is the number one thing. We also want to be near nice beaches. We want the warm side as well, little rain as possible. Not necessary walking distance, but somewhere we can hope in the car or jump on our bikes and be there.
What I have searched so far has made me think about somewhere like Lahaina.
Any locals pitch in some ideas or thoughts about Maui and possible landing destinations?
Ok, more updates and questions. First, i appreciate the opinions on what we should do once we arrive. However, we really have decided to live like we would and visit markets and cook most meals. We will probably eat out once or twice but no more than that. We also really like local small coffee shops and pubs so we want to do that as well. We aren't into the big chains. We like to support smaller local businesses.
So for the bigger news and questions....
We definitely will be coming sometime in the middle of May. However, my wife has been given the choice of working in Kona or Maui. I've done plenty of research and know a bit about Kona from questions i've asked here. But, Maui we know nothing about. Here is what i'd like some local opinions on...
As stated, we don't want a big city. We are looking for more of a smaller town/local feel. Definintely not in or around the tourist areas. That is the number one thing. We also want to be near nice beaches. We want the warm side as well, little rain as possible. Not necessary walking distance, but somewhere we can hope in the car or jump on our bikes and be there.
What I have searched so far has made me think about somewhere like Lahaina.
Any locals pitch in some ideas or thoughts about Maui and possible landing destinations?
Any chance you see the irony in your post. Hawaii's economy is driven by tourism but yet you don't want to be around the tourist areas - and at the same time, want to be on the dry side and near nice beaches. I hate to tell you this - but that is where the tourists are. They kinda gravitate towards the dry side and the nice beaches also.
Anyway - Lahaina is a huge bullseye for tourism. Where would the job be in Maui - that's more likely going to tell you where you can live options. Maui is a big island with smallish roads and gas above $4.50/gallon. It isn't really commutable from Lahaina to Kahului for instance unless you want to be in the car all the time and spend a fortune on gas. And there are way more tourists on Maui which gets nearly a million more a year than the Big Island.
I'm a RN so hoping for Maui Hospital. If not Lahaina, then any suggestions? We plan to visit once more after our trip in May.
You can't realistically commute from Lahaina to Maui Medical. A couple of options are Kihie - nice beaches, dry - but a lot of vacation renters - less touristy than Lahaina. Or, stay north - perhaps Haiku - it'll be wetter though but a lot less tourists.
Maui and the Big Island are vastly different places.
I'm up for all suggestions. I plan to research places to live while my wife works. our number 1 priority is to be away from the big city type of lanother by myself for job interviewsifestyle, plus being relatively close to where I work. dry and warm weather year round is nice, but staying away from the big city life is more important. we will be taking aiden other trip to wherever we decide at least 1 time together.we will be taking another trip together, and probably another by myself for job interviews. our first trip I want to focus on where we want to live.
but staying away from the big city life is more important.
Just stay away from Honolulu
I have not found anything on the Big isand or Maui that remotely could be considered "Big City Life" by my standards, so maybe it would help if you describe what YOU mean by "Big City Life!
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