Moving to Hawaii.. lots of questions.. (Honolulu: fit in, apartment, crime rate)

[susanf813]

I am seriously thinking about moving to Hawaii in the late summer around August. I am into the modeling and acting industry and I am a fitness instructor and bartender on the side. Is there a good entertainment industry to where I wouldnt have to fly to LA all the time? Also, is it hard to find a job out there for my fields? Where is the best place to live for a good college and job opportunities? I do have a puppy who is a husky/german shepard mix I read a little bit about the "5 day quarantine" is it going to be a problem bringing my pet over? Thanks in advance for any input.

[cynmkolohe]

Aloha Susan,

Sounds like Honolulu will be your best bet if you are going to pursue acting...take a look at this link for an overview of the industry on Oahu... Enterprise Honolulu | Film & Digital Media Honolulu Oahu Hawaii

Use the search function at the top of the page here to search for keywords related to animal quarantine in Hawaii...there are lots of previous posts with links and individual experiences. Just be sure to start the process early enough.

Honolulu has many options if you want to take college classes. Keep in mind that, if you are just starting the process and decide to enroll in the University of Hawaii, you can take classes at the Community College campuses and then transfer to Manoa for to complete your degree. Read more about the University system here: University of Hawaii System

Have fun!

[oawho]

Hi Susan, my wife and I are going to be relocating to Oahu as well around late July.

We have 2 pets (a dog and cat), and the quarantine rule is pretty much determining our relocating date :P

The requirements for the 5-day-or-less program are pretty stringent, and you need at least 4 months of lead time if you're going to go this route. There are a lot of things to do, including getting your doggy microchipped, making sure you have 2 signed recent rabies certificates, and doing a rabies titer blood test . It's clearly a complex process, and it's a little costly; the blood test itself costs about $180, the microchipping $30, etc.

The Hawaii Dept of Agriculture has a checklist for the 5-day-or-less program:
http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/aqs-checklist-5.pdf

Use it as your guideline and follow it closely. You'll notice that the reason for the long lead time is because of the rabies blood titer test (OIE-FAVLN). We just had our dog's blood test and we got a passing result in about a couple weeks, but the 4 months time period is based on the date when the lab recieved the sample, not when the test passes, so you save a little time there. The Hawaii Dept of Agri site also has a listing of the microchip numbers and the test results so you can see the results online.

This page has pretty much all the info, download and read whatever you can, because there's a lot to keep track of

Animal Quarantine Information — Hawaii Department of Agriculture

Good luck to the both of us!

[susanf813]

Thanks alot for the help cynmkolohe the website gave me alot of useful information. I looked into Hawaii Pacific University it is so pretty, Ive just got to figure out if that would be the best for my major. Im going for my MBA and Finance. Is it hard getting a job out there? Im a personal trainer and bartender.. hopefully it wont be too hard. Where do you live? How long have you lived there and how do you like it?

Oawho I was planning on going in August or so.. Ive still got some convincing to do with who I want to bring over with me. If I cant bring my puppy I cant go shes like my child haha Im sure you understand. Im going to check with my vet about getting that done, shes only 4 months old I hope thats not going to be a problem.What made you decide to move to OAHU? I looked into it.. it was either California or Hawaii.. and the crime rates are what did it for me. They are both beautiful. Hope everything works out for you!!

[oawho]

Susan, we're moving to Hawaii mostly for cultural reasons - my wife is Japanese and I'm Japanese American - it feels a little closer to Japan culturally but still American, it's slower paced, and we think it'd be good for us. What's also nice is I'm going to get to keep my current job and salary, making the transition a lot easier. We're in northern california right now, which is ok, but it wasn't somewhere we felt we wanted to settle.

About your puppy, I think there is an issue with bringing puppies less than 6 months old, but check the Dept of Agriculture website for that. I know pets are family (which is why we're taking ours :P), so make sure you read that site carefully for all the info.

Good luck!

[Mar0]

Originally Posted by oawho

it feels a little closer to Japan culturally but still American

thats why i moved here! even though im not japanese, i studied it throughout my life and am in love with japan after having lived there for a bit. once i heard everyone saying shoyu, i knew i found my place!

[susanf813]

Yes I hear it is an amazing place,with many different cultures. I am Japanese, Korean and German. I hope it won't be a problem bringing a couple of people over, since they are white. I hear there is a bit of a race problem there, but Im sure its nothing compared to the South haha Im from Texas. Thats good you get to keep your job and everything, I hope its not too hard to get a job there. I hope there isnt going to be a problem bringing her over. Im on the website and it says "due to the amount of minimum time needed to prepare a puppy...it will be about 10 months by the time everything is completed" Actually mine is currently 5 months I was wrong before and Id move in August..shes up to date on all of her shots Ive just got to get everything else done. I was going to adopt a dog too so it will be alot to catch up on. Yeah I was looking into southern California.. Calabasas Thousand Oaks Westhollywood.. but the crime rate is just so high. I want my family to be safe. What are you bringing over? Are you selling alot of your stuff (furniture and cars)? I want to know what the best thing to do about moving my stuff is. Thanks for all the advice!

[oawho]

About what stuff we're bringing - we live in a 2 bedroom apartment, and we think we have a lot of stuff but we're hoping we can take most things - I think most of our stuff will fit in half a container. We're getting rid of older stuff, but I hear lots can fit in a container, so that's what we're tentatively planning on doing.

We're planning on bringing our car over - we're fortunate to be close to the port (Oakland) that ships to Honolulu. It looks like it's $1055:
Horizon Lines

You mentioned Calabasas and Thousand Oaks in SoCal - I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in SoCal, and I'd say Calabasas and Thousand Oaks are pretty safe places. My impression is that it's safe,very suburban, and maybe kinda boring (not that's a bad thing). West Hollywood is probably more 'dangerous', but it depends on where in West Hollywood. WH borders Beverly Hills so it may not be so bad.

The thing about the LA area that bothers me is that it's a big urban sprawl - you can drive for 30-40 mins and still feel like you're in the same place. At least in the SF bay area, you're not that far from nature -redwood forests and scenic coastlines are nearby. I like Oahu because you sort of get the urban-ness of LA in Honolulu- but driving out a little can get you into the remote, more nature areas, and I really don't need a lot of space :P

[susanf813]

It looks like Im going to have to wait to move to Hawaii.. Im not too happy! My puppy is too young to get another rabies shot from what I understand Im going to look into it more though. Good luck with everything and thanks for the help!!

[jessiesma]

as I stated quite emphatically on your other thread with less to go on, yes 4 mos. is going to be a problem. Even if she has had one rabies shot, (you weren't sure) she needs the second one, ONE YEAR later. It can be a 3 year shot but do not depend on your vet to know what HI requires.

I, along with several other posters have told you to see the HI Dept of Agri. web site. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO HOLD PUPPY'S FATE IN THEIR HANDS.

There's no getting around it and your choice this year is MBA in HI or pup. It is that simple. You cannot have both. You can wait until she has her second shot and then 120 days after that or you can leave her with trusted family and bring her over later. It's just NOT going to happen for you the way you seem to keep thinking it will. Can you start your MBA wherever you are? Please realize we all understand about your feelings towards the puppy. We just can't help you have everything you want. The quarantine isn't a recommendation, it is the law. Posting multiple threads doesn't get you the answer you were hoping for. If you don't believe us, just try. Only have a round trip ticket in your pocket because you will need it.

Originally Posted by susanf813

Thanks alot for the help cynmkolohe the website gave me alot of useful information. I looked into Hawaii Pacific University it is so pretty, Ive just got to figure out if that would be the best for my major. Im going for my MBA and Finance. Is it hard getting a job out there? Im a personal trainer and bartender.. hopefully it wont be too hard. Where do you live? How long have you lived there and how do you like it?

Oawho I was planning on going in August or so.. Ive still got some convincing to do with who I want to bring over with me. If I cant bring my puppy I cant go shes like my child haha Im sure you understand. Im going to check with my vet about getting that done, shes only 4 months old I hope thats not going to be a problem.What made you decide to move to OAHU? I looked into it.. it was either California or Hawaii.. and the crime rates are what did it for me. They are both beautiful. Hope everything works out for you!!