Trying to understand some of these moving posts (Honolulu, Volcano: condo, house)

[Fredesch]

I came to this forum because I want to move to the big island. I was born on Oahu and before Christmas had only been to the big island when I was a keiki. I have been back to Honolulu in the 90s and did not like how expensive and crowded it was. On our winter trip to the big island, I was amazed by how cheap the real estate is and of course the beautiful weather.

If you look at the northern Virginia forum, we get lots of should we move there for a 10k or 20k raise theads? As far as I can tell, folks in other regions believe they could drive 25 miles to work in under an hour and a half. And ask silly questions about small towns or houses for under X amount of dollars. I believe these are real folks with real questions, but have not spent any time in the area.

These forums should be a good place to ask questions like these. If we labeled every person that asks Should I move from (name your city here) to Northern Virginia for 20k more per year? As a troll, we wouldn't be doing them any good.

[Kayekaye]

A lot of these people asking about moving are real, but those who have the wild yarn pattern and get mad, I just don't think they are real. People that want to move to Minneapolis do post and get a lot of advice but they don't have the unreasonable expectations that seems prevalent here. You are right, Hawaii does have that Shangri-la appeal. And I missed the last Shakuhachi concert here in March OpenD. Though we do have a great Slack Key Festival in Minneapolis that I like to catch Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival featuring Keoki Kahumoku, Jeff Peterson, Sonny Lim, Charles Michael Brotman and Kohala | The Cedar Cultural Center

I guess some people would just up and move, though I can't imagine it. My Great Grandfather came from Norway but he settled with a bunch of Norwegians from the same village of relatives and friends.

RugbyDave, I'm sure those vacationers will be glad they listened to you. They were lucky to have run into you.

[RugbyDave]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Again, that may be true for you, but it's not true for everyone, and it's not true for every circumstance.

For sure, life can intervene and make many things not possible, but I'm only talking about those who have the capability to do so. I would also argue that spending some time/cash scoping out your future home would be worth it, but again, I've done the same too. I moved to Minneapolis sight unseen and loved it! Would recommend it to many people. No problem there, bro, only, Hawai'i is slightly different and there needs to be a "Plan B" for sure!

It's just a different beast on an island, and I'm not sure many people appreciate that fact. I think many people feel "oh its just another state", but it's just so not, right?

Originally Posted by OpenD

They simply have a quick go/no go decision to make, for instance to jump on an opportunity that opens up for them or to walk away from it. "Should I, or shouldn't I?"

I guess you get what you pay for, right

Originally Posted by OpenD

His particular "Should I, or shouldn't I?" when he encountered the opportunity was all about the position itself, and who he'd be working with, and how much observational time he'd get on the telescopes. So again, it takes all kinds.

he's not really the 'dreamer' type we're talking about, so let's throw him a different pile. I think many of us are more talking about the 'dreamer' (or whatever) threads that pop up every month.

Originally Posted by Kayekaye

I guess some people would just up and move, though I can't imagine it.

I tend to agree here. Obviously there's exceptions to the rules, but I feel like the 'mythos' of Hawai'i can be way different than the reality. Again, something that is common in Alaska as well. It is partly that the islands are calling those people, the only problem is, not everyone should probably answer that call

Originally Posted by Kayekaye

RugbyDave, I'm sure those vacationers will be glad they listened to you. They were lucky to have run into you.

I recognize this is a snap judgement on the girl, but I was honestly surprised they could even connect my tats to Hawai'i, but I guess 'aloha' is known around our country. She'll love the BI, but I definitely nudged her to spend some time grinding it up (is that what they do?) at the discos on Waikiki. Oh man, I'm giving away my age again

[hawaiian by heart]

Ya i agree with most of the posters here. You really need a plan b4 you tackle hawai'i. So Open D, Rugby Dave, Whtviper, etc Mahalo brahs. But in my opinion, we focus way to much on costs, jobs, rent etc. Which is important for like honolulu, etc. But we forget that Hawai'i is also very different from the mainland in alot of ways. Customs, languages, celebrations, culture etc. We should also talk about this more too because i know ppl who fail in hawai'i because they can't handle the culture shock.

I also agree with you guys so much that i will be visiting b4 i move back to oahu, eventhough i was born there and grew up as a keiki, it was in the 70s. Ya i have also seen how the aina and the aloha spirit has changed ppl. Mahalo guys.

[MickeyE]

Originally Posted by Kayekaye

Been reading this forum for less than a year. For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would post about "should I move to Hawaii" never even having been there. They need to take a trip, find out for themselves. Once someone has done that, and has a date, plan, a job and THEN posts about specifics, well that makes sense.

I have been visiting Hawaii for DECADES and thought my husband and I could retire there when the time comes. (My favorite island is Oahu because I am a city girl but I love them all) However from reading here and from what I already know from visiting, checking real estate and other common sense needs, I have come to the conclusion, all by myself, that sadly, it just won't work. Without doing the research yourself, asking someone else if you should move anywhere just boggles my mind.

Why would people move

• on a whim to the middle of ocean without ever having been there?
• without a job?
• without any regard to their kids needs?
• without savings?

Maybe this forum should develop a stickie note that can be copied off and posted for all the endless same requests, one real, one tongue-in-cheek. You are certainly long suffering and come through when someone has real concerns and I really enjoy reading here and have learned a lot. Thanks.

Maybe for some of the same reasons people in the late 1700s-early 18000s headed west from the east coast, or from Europe in the early 1900s with just the clothes on their back and $5.00 in their pocket, or in the late 1600s from England in a small sailing ship with very minimal supplies.

If you want to see just how small those ships were, visit Columbus Ohio and tour the Santa Maria ( The Santa Maria Columbus, Ohio USA ).

I wonder what the questions and answers would have been if there had been an internet back then.

Sometimes people just gotta do what people gotta do!

Mickey

[Robin Rossi]

Originally Posted by Kayekaye

Been reading this forum for less than a year. For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would post about "should I move to Hawaii" never even having been there. They need to take a trip, find out for themselves. Once someone has done that, and has a date, plan, a job and THEN posts about specifics, well that makes sense.

I have been visiting Hawaii for DECADES and thought my husband and I could retire there when the time comes. (My favorite island is Oahu because I am a city girl but I love them all) However from reading here and from what I already know from visiting, checking real estate and other common sense needs, I have come to the conclusion, all by myself, that sadly, it just won't work. Without doing the research yourself, asking someone else if you should move anywhere just boggles my mind.


Why would people move [LIST][*]on a whim to the middle of ocean without ever having been there?[*]without a job?[*]without any regard to their kids needs?[*]without savings?[/LIST]Maybe this forum should develop a stickie note that can be copied off and posted for all the endless same requests, one real, one tongue-in-cheek. You are certainly long suffering and come through when someone has real concerns and I really enjoy reading here and have learned a lot. Thanks.

I will make the following observation.

Many people want to come to Hawaii, for many reason, but most don't have much at all to do with Hawaii, per se, but have to do with either escaping something (cold weather, 4 season, snow, cold feet etc.) or wanting to engage in some out-of-the-norm activity, and Hawaii (especially the Big Island) appears to offer an opportunity to engage in that lifestyle or conduct that experiment etc.,

As prelude, I wll state that I am not commenting on those "lifestyles" per se.

It seems to me, and I am not currently (although was in the past, and will be in in the future) a resident of the state), that pretty-much the only viable reason to want to move to Hawaii, is because you WANT to be in HAWAII and live the lifestyle that is unique to Hawaii. No other reason(s) are really "viable" IMHO.

If your goal is to "live off grid", be a fruitarian, be a vegan or whatever else, other than wanting to live in Hawaii and live the lifestyle that is Hawaii, I think your contemplated move is better undertaken elsewhere.

I think you have to really gotta WANT to be a Hawiian, to pull it off successfully in most cases.

[kauailover]

Being the long term planner type, part of me has always envied the people who just go for it, even though so many don't stay very long when reality slaps them in the face! Least it makes this forum interesting hearing the ins-n-outs!

[HonuMan]

Originally Posted by hawaiian by heart

But in my opinion, we focus way to much on costs, jobs, rent etc. Which is important for like honolulu, etc. But we forget that Hawai'i is also very different from the mainland in alot of ways. Customs, languages, celebrations, culture etc. We should also talk about this more too because i know ppl who fail in hawai'i because they can't handle the culture shock.

I agree. Hawaii is as different culturally from anywhere else in the US as Manhattan is from, say, a small town in the bayous of Louisiana. To be a happy transplant to Hawaii, you first need to understand the culture, and then you need to genuinely respect, appreciate, and like it. Too many people who haven't traveled much beyond wherever they're from assume that everyone else is pretty much like them, with only minor surface differences. My parents are from New York, and I spent most of my childhood there. When I met my Hawaiian wife-to-be, we had to get past a lot of misunderstandings based on cultural differences. As it turned out, I have a personality and temperament that are suited for Hawaiian culture, and I feel at home there. I was never the stereotypical type-A New Yorker. If I were, then Hawaii would be a place I might want to visit, but I'd never want to live there. I don't respect people who move to a place for superficial reasons (better weather, nice beaches, etc.) and then expect the local culture to change to accommodate them.

[RugbyDave]

definitely a good point HonuMan - something else I'd also offer up is the idea that, these are islands (clearly). Not connected to mainlands - we can't bounce back so easily from things, because we don't have a neighboring state to rely on. Sure, we can ship things or fly things in, but on the mainland, if life doesn't work out for you say, in Omaha, you can just drive to a different state/city/area/region and try something more your style. New York too loud and expensive? Head a few hours west to central PA. Zanesville too quiet and cheap? Head a few northwest to IL.

What I mean to say is, growing up in Alaska, I noticed people moved there for similar reasons we see with Hawai'i (I call them both 'mythos' states, where there is this deep emotion to live there) - however, due to its insular nature, Hawai'i cannot just swallow up people who don't 'make it' - things on an island are heavily different than the mainland, and its partly why forums like this exist - to help people understand "hey, if things don't really pan out for you in Honolulu, it's not as simple as saying that you'll just move to Kihei and find a better job and cheaper housing" - each island/region/municipality has its own finite-ness, and this is something that people who don't grow up on an island understand. Granted I'd argue it's something pretty simple to learn, as is highlighted by the amount of non-Hawaiian-born people who move here and fit in great (e.g. HonuMan, KauaiHiker).

But it's not as simple as just packing up and moving a few hours north if things don't pan out - there is no 'few hours north', except maybe on the BI and really, you won't find much more work in Hawi

Things are more 'under a microscope' here on an island, and I think it's something that's overlooked often when people want to move here. It's not just another state' - it's a different lifestyle/mindset.

[hawaiian by heart]

Mahalo Robin i could not have said it better! Good thread guys. Aloha.