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Given your comfort with Fargo and your love of spring through autumn, you may want to stay put. You're going to pay through the nose for everything in Hawaii: home price, taxes, gasoline, utilities, HOA fees, groceries (unless you shop primarily at farmers' markets.)
It's going to be tough to get the wage you want unless you're 100% correct that the employer is in a bind and will pay anything to fill the position (in which case, why not ask for more?) Most employers pay less in Hawaii than on the mainland because they know prospective employees will take a pay cut to live in paradise. If you don't mind living in a moderately small home compared to what that money could get you in ND, and you don't mind paying a ton for all other essentials plus missing out on the fun feeling of winter coming, then make the move. You have to absolutely love the islands to make the sacrifice of space/money.
Well the company is BIG. and works almost like the Federal Government. They actually post the salary band. The max is 126K. That is all they can do. The only way to go above that is with a move bonus in addition to the move package, or cancel the job posting and re-post at a higher management level. (That has been done. There was an opening in Bismarck that no one would apply for, or no one that was qualified, they cancelled the posting and re-posted at the next level to get the wage up. Best I can tell though that job is still open.)
$120 will cover 20%down on a house purchase of just below $600K, however, as a guy with an 800+ credit score looking to put a new primary mortgage on a house, I can tell you money is VERY tight right now for mortgages - not impossible to get, but significantly harder than in the last couple of years, and it has been tight for a while.
That $627K home will (generally) be smaller and of much poorer construction quality than you are used to on the mainland.
It is likely you will make some significant money on a house if you buy one very soon, but if you buy in a year or two you will likely miss the big "rise" and may find yourself at the "peak" or underwater after a correction. Hawaii real estate seems to sit flat for 10-12 years, then rises at between 5%-20% for two or three years, then looses 5%-10% then sit flat for 10-12 years. It will average 7% growth, but it does it in big jumps, small corrections and stable prices for a long periods, then the cycle starts all over again.
Cars, gas, food, basically everything is more expensive, but then that is why you need to make in the $140K range to have the same lifestyle as $75K in Fargo.
The weather is great, the island is beautiful, and there is a lot right with Hawaii, but if you are a working stiff, you are a working stiff, and you will have a lot less time to enjoy Hawaii than you are thinking you will have because you "live here."
Also, something to think about, the rail project is costing Billions, but the population base supporting it is about a million. At some point, the city/county (if not the state) is going to have to start significantly raising the GET, property taxes, income taxes, start taxing pensions/retirement, or all of the above to meet the obligations incurred to build the rail.
Further, it sounds like the employment opportunity is not something that would be a "step up" for you economically, and you would struggle some financially by comparison to your current situation. I am not anti move to Hawaii, but based on what you have shared, I think you would be disappointed with a choice to move here.
If you are OK with a step down economically and wrt housing in order to get beach, and mountains, and endless summer, you will probably really enjoy it here (I certainly do, even with the downsides). Otherwise, you may want to just do a great vacation here and call it even!
Make sure the cat has had two rabies shots and has a FAVIN OI test at least 120 days old but not more than three years old before the move to avoid quarantine requirements (expensive, and very hard on the cat!)
Last edited by Tuck's Dad; 05-07-2015 at 08:58 PM..
$120 will cover 20%down on a house purchase of just below $600K, however, as a guy with an 800+ credit score looking to put a new primary mortgage on a house, I can tell you money is VERY tight right now for mortgages - not impossible to get, but significantly harder than in the last couple of years, and it has been tight for a while.
That $627K home will (generally) be smaller and of much poorer construction quality than you are used to on the mainland.
It is likely you will make some significant money on a house if you buy one very soon, but if you buy in a year or two you will likely miss the big "rise" and may find yourself at the "peak" or underwater after a correction. Hawaii real estate seems to sit flat for 10-12 years, then rises at between 5%-20% for two or three years, then looses 5%-10% then sit flat for 10-12 years. It will average 7% growth, but it does it in big jumps, small corrections and stable prices for a long periods, then the cycle starts all over again.
Cars, gas, food, basically everything is more expensive, but then that is why you need to make in the $140K range to have the same lifestyle as $75K in Fargo.
The weather is great, the island is beautiful, and there is a lot right with Hawaii, but if you are a working stiff, you are a working stiff, and you will have a lot less time to enjoy Hawaii than you are thinking you will have because you "live here."
Also, something to think about, the rail project is costing Billions, but the population base supporting it is about a million. At some point, the city/county (if not the state) is going to have to start significantly raising the GET, property taxes, income taxes, start taxing pensions/retirement, or all of the above to meet the obligations incurred to build the rail.
Further, it sounds like the employment opportunity is not something that would be a "step up" for you economically, and you would struggle some financially by comparison to your current situation. I am not anti move to Hawaii, but based on what you have shared, I think you would be disappointed with a choice to move here.
If you are OK with a step down economically and wrt housing in order to get beach, and mountains, and endless summer, you will probably really enjoy it here (I certainly do, even with the downsides). Otherwise, you may want to just do a great vacation here and call it even!
Make sure the cat has had two rabies shots and has a FAVIN OI test at least 120 days old but not more than three years old before the move to avoid quarantine requirements (expensive, and very hard on the cat!)
Thanks,
That is about what I figured. I would take a life style cut at 126K, but the experience might be the difference. I am hesitant to sell my real estate in Texas. I could rent the house out for about 1200 a month, this would net me about 700 a month and I could put that toward the rent on a 2 bedroom condo.
Like you said, I have to work. So I believe that other than forgetting how to dress warm, I will live about the same. I have considered buying boat and living aboard it. That would help with moving furniture and stuff. On the other hand, boats are a lot of work, and are about like a hole in the water into which one pours money. I imagine that there are boat clubs like they have in Houston where you own part of a yacht. This seems like the right way to go as most boats owned by one owner just sit, and sit and sit.
The cat sure likes a yard though. Even though she is 11, my wife rescued a chickadee from her jaws yesterday. I guess she still likes a light between meal snack.
This job has not scheduled interviews yet, another has me scheduled for an interview Monday. It seems like I would end up in Salt Lake City or Portland for the job that I will interview for Monday. I don't know yet, but I believe I would be road warrior covering everything in Arizona, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
This job has been open for 6 months, the last time it was posted, only one person applied, after 18 months he took a hardship transfer to Spokan Washington and even though he ruined any more chances at promotions, he believes it was a really good move.
Actually, I am uniquely qualified for the job, and so they will probably be willing to pay to get me there, but if they don't want to pay, I can stay where I am, life is not bad in Fargo, the winters are brutal, but I just take a couple of weeks and go the the Caribean in January and a couple of weeks in March and go to Texas. April through October is glorious, and the tension and excitement of Chrismas and early winter puts a fun edge on the winter.
That alone would send up the red warning flag for me. Location may be paradise but that soon fades if you're struggling or just making ends meet.
This is perhaps the most ignorant statement I've ever read on CDF.
I work in finance and salaries for accountants & financial advisors/consultants are significantly lower in Hawaii than I was making in the NYC area and slightly lower than what I'm making in the Southeast. Corporate research positions pay significantly lower than the states I've worked in. Insurance/mortgage broker positions pay below the states I've worked in. Marketing positions pay below the states I've worked in. Most "everyday" low to moderate growth industries will offer experienced employees less than they would be offered on the mainland. This is a fact. Go to a salary comparison website and compare the salary of an everyday, middle management employee in Hawaii versus someone in MA or FL.
Here's an example:
I'll say it again: Hawaiian employers can pay employees less than employers on the mainland, so they do. From the employers' perspective, why pay more than necessary on salaries when you know prospective employees will accept lower pay to live in Hawaii?
If someone's working in a high growth industry (IT, engineering, medical) of course employees can command great salaries in Hawaii. Same goes for military contractors. There are so few experienced employees versus the large amounts of positions that need to be filled that employers have to pay up--in Hawaii or anywhere else. However, if you're a regular white collar worker you're going to get paid less on the islands. I've been searching for positions with comparable pay to the mainland for 5 years, and those jobs are few and far between.
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