Moving to Hawaii at 19...farfetched or unrealistic? (Honolulu, Kihei: health insurance, hotels)

[NomadicChickenwings]

Hi. i currently live in buffalo, ny with my mom. ive saved up 10k and am very interested in hawaii. i have no family or personal contacts there. however i do have contacts through co-workers and friends that are giving me info with good areas to rent and employment. i have a '94 taurus i got for $500 that is in perfect runnin order and practically pristine condition outside of the hit n run from x-mas eve. is it worth it to ship my car or should i pursue other means of transportation? i was wonderin where i can find info on utility costs. i havea friend that will comin with me so we will be spliting the costs with will greatly help. im basically lookin for any advise, tips, knowledge. anything will help. i have stil so much to investigate but am hopin to make a move in 3-4 months. the only other things i might take would be some of my clothes. i cant think of anything else besides things like: ipod, toothbrush, shaver, my pumas. i could sell my comp make a couple grand from that. any help is much appreciated.

[kani-lehua]

what island?

[Brav989]

If you haven't visited anywhere in Hawaii first I'd strongly advise you not to move until you can visit. My friend decided to move to Honolulu on a whim without ever visiting and he was back 2 months later. This is one place in the US you really need to see before you leap.

[lucygirl]

I moved to Maui when i was 21. I did have a job lined up but other than that, I only had $1,600 in my pocket.
Over the 10 years of living in Hawaii, I have noticed that either you love living there or you hate it.
I was homesick for a few months. But eventually i met a bunch of friends who became my family.
If i were you, i would move to maui vs oahu. maui is like a small town. i felt very safe there (lahaina side) and met some life long friends.
As far as your car, i would not bring it. That is a long haul to Hawaii and for the cost of shipping (about $1,000 from L.A. to Hawaii) you could buy a small, older car. Unlike the mainland, cars do not hold a status symbol in Hawaii. NO ONE CARES WHAT CAR YOU DRIVE OR WHAT COLLEGE YOU WENT TO OR WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING. People just want to know about you.

If I were you, I would look into name brand hotels and try to get a job there. They offer good pay and good health insurance.
If you want to move to Maui, live on the Lahaina side vs Kihei or Kahalui. I lived in Kihei for a short period and there seemed to be more drinking and drugs and crime. I just didn't feel as safe as when I lived in Napili and Kahana (Lahaina side)

You remind me a lot of myself when I was thinking of moving to the Islands.
I fell in love with Maui and ended up staying there for a long time. If you don't like living there, you can always move back to the mainland. Its better to take chances in life and explore and LIVE it rather than be afraid.
Please feel free to ask me any questions if you like.
Best wishes.
Aloha.

[NomadicChickenwings]

i was considering oahu, mainly honolulu. i have not heard really anything about maui but would def like any info you guys have. along side of the research i will be doing. i am buyin a book called "so you want to move to hawaii". i was reading it in borders for a good hour and a half but would like the info at my fingertips. how is the job market and rent options in maui, i have not thrown that into my pool of things to research and ask around about but believe you me its there now.

transportation wise: i have a 1994 taurus that i bought for the winters here that seems to be quite an amazingly well kept car. the gas milage isnt that great being a 3 litre v6. i heard oahu has good transit options but was wondering how true to life that is.
1) how often does the bus not come or is late?
2) how is the taxi service?
3) would a pedal bike be outrageous to use or is motorized required?
4) would it be a half decent idea to buy a car/motorcycle/scooter there and use that?
i know much of that could be rly dependant on my personal preferences but all im askin is insight and personal knowledge.

what kind of grocery bill would i be lookin at each week? i dont drink carbonated beverages, no chips, cookies, ice cream, fast foods, not big on snack foods or sweets. i maintain what i consider to be a fairly decent diet. is it better to stock up on foods or be a lil more european and buy them as you go. or does that rly even change anything.

[Brav989]

Originally Posted by NomadicChickenwings

i was considering oahu, mainly honolulu. i have not heard really anything about maui but would def like any info you guys have. along side of the research i will be doing. i am buyin a book called "so you want to move to hawaii". i was reading it in borders for a good hour and a half but would like the info at my fingertips. how is the job market and rent options in maui, i have not thrown that into my pool of things to research and ask around about but believe you me its there now.

transportation wise: i have a 1994 taurus that i bought for the winters here that seems to be quite an amazingly well kept car. the gas milage isnt that great being a 3 litre v6. i heard oahu has good transit options but was wondering how true to life that is.
1) how often does the bus not come or is late?
2) how is the taxi service?
3) would a pedal bike be outrageous to use or is motorized required?
4) would it be a half decent idea to buy a car/motorcycle/scooter there and use that?
i know much of that could be rly dependant on my personal preferences but all im askin is insight and personal knowledge.

what kind of grocery bill would i be lookin at each week? i dont drink carbonated beverages, no chips, cookies, ice cream, fast foods, not big on snack foods or sweets. i maintain what i consider to be a fairly decent diet. is it better to stock up on foods or be a lil more european and buy them as you go. or does that rly even change anything.

I read that book. I'd take it with a grain of salt mainly because it's over 10 years old and the author just seems very negative about a lot.

[kani-lehua]

there are other threads/posts regarding the cost of food. it vary's from island to island from store to store. use the search button above or go to safeway's site to find out some general info. there's lots of farmers' markets on o'ahu and i've heard from other posters that the big island has some really good ones, too. another thing is that o'ahu will be getting a whole foods store. there's down to earth and umeke market that specialize in organic/natural foods.

also, o'ahu's bus system was rated one of the best in the nation. i used it for many, many years. the official site is thebus.org.

[NomadicChickenwings]

yeah that book did seem rly negative but had some good points. and i was thinkin the exact same thing about its age, kept quotin like 2000's n 2003. its already 08. lot changes in 5 years. also i heard oahu has costco and walmart and those bulk chains that help cut the cost of food. im not rly a big eater i can eat a lot but on a day to day basis i dont consume a lot.

how much is it to travel from island to island? like island hoppin

i like big cities but i also like small rural communities. im not entirely sure why but i like them both. i dont favor one over the other.

[kani-lehua]

if you fly go airlines, it's $49 one way. don't know about the others aloha and hawaiian. go to their websites to find out.

[NomadicChickenwings]

i did some lookin found priceline.com to be the cheapest as far as flight and hotel for feb 14-17th. was $805 tax and fees included. i rly do want to visit before i commit to anything.