Family considering moving to Hawaii

[Haoleman]

I agree with Jazz NH. I lived in Kona for 15 years where I had an appliance service business. When I met my bride, we opened a B&B in Kona and after 6 years, she got homesick for New England so we sold out and moved to Ashland New Hampshire. The tax free state unless you own real estate. Inside of 2 years, the town raised our property taxes 50% and our taxes were 1000% yes not 100 more than in Hawaii for a property that was half the value. Hawaii has lots of tax but it is all consumer oriented other than property tax which is some of the lowest in the nation. It's 80 every day except as when there is a cloud! As Triumph the Insult Comic Dog would say. "Hawaii has a cloud! Oh No! It's Armageddon! Yeah, Right! The weather is perfectly boring! What could be worse than that? Crime is minimal in Kona and Kona is Haoleland. (Newcomers). The locals are great as long as you don't bring your mainland attitudes with you and don't attempt to speak Pidgin as unless you were born there, it won't work! Except maybe if you found learning Chinese easy. Schools are all run by the state so if you have a problem, there is no local school board to go complain to. I tried when my son was failing math at Konawaina HS and the VP told me I hope you have a plane ticket Haole! You must go to Oahu to the state school board and try waiting in line for a year. There are a number of superior private schools on the Big Island and that should be your plan if you can afford it otherwise, the public school doesn't send many to college as of 2002 when I left there. There is also the volcanic smog issue there called Vog. Check out HVO on the web. This is the USGS volcano observatory site with much info about air quality. Would I move back? Youbetcha! It is still the best place to live in America and real estate prices will tank in the next year so housing will become affordable.
You like grinds? (food). Hawaii has the best in the world, hands down.

Aloha

[Tomsjem]

Plan would buy airfare to send Hawaii homeless to Mainland | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser

Check out this article. I think this is what you are looking for.

[Jill Beitz]

Please come to Indiana - we have some of the lowest costs of living anywhere!

[mcayer]

How did the move go???? We are lokking into moving for just a 1 year adventure with our 9th grader, 6th grader and 3rd grader. Have a family adventure and then back to Mass. I think my company would allow me to work remote because I have a West Coast client. I looked at the Hawaii Academy for a private school option - Where would you suggest mon=ving if we are looking for adventure; NOT a country Club experience (unless the price is right ) - living in a nice cottage near a beach with a cute town and nice people???

[mcayer]

Any suggestions on where to move in HI for 1 year with a 10th grader, 7th grader and 4th grader - We will move back to MAss after....we are ALL just looking for a little adventure and figured since HI is still in the states it might be easiest. We want a cute town with character and nice people, reasonable rentals (a cute cottage near the beach??) and near a good school (Public or Private)

[PacificFlights]

Originally Posted by mcayer

Any suggestions on where to move in HI for 1 year with a 10th grader, 7th grader and 4th grader - We will move back to MAss after....we are ALL just looking for a little adventure and figured since HI is still in the states it might be easiest. We want a cute town with character and nice people, reasonable rentals (a cute cottage near the beach??) and near a good school (Public or Private)

Hawaii is a State
Hawaii is also one of the islands
Which are you talking about?

Have you ever been to Hawaii?

[Haoleman]

Kailua-Kona on the Big Island would be a good choice as I'm sure rentals have come way down. There is no such thing as a cute little cottage near the beach that won't cost you an arm and your first born. You might look at a condo as there can be quite reasonable. Moderator cut: Realtor recommendations are not allowed. Please use the DM feature to contact other members.

[Jill Beitz]

I agree with Haoleman - there are no cute quaint, cheap cottages on the beach anywhere! We have been to all the Islands numerous times and I would say the most enjoyable with our daughter was the Big Island. Kailua-Kona is a wonderful town with a welcoming cozy feel. The Big Island has 23 microclimates and you could spend months exploring it from Mountain to Sea. We found it amazing. It is fairly reasonable in cost and would make a good base of operations to fly from and spend time on all the islands. Each Island is very different in flavor. If you are rich and like excitment do Maui. If you are very laid back and like to hike and camp, then Kauai is for you. If you like the hustle and bustle of the big city and Asian culture, than downtown Honolulu is the place to be. I would be careful in choosing a school however, there is some resentment toward "Haoles" (look it up, if you are not familiar with this term) in some areas and your children may be picked on. I hope that is a fair and kind thing to say. Also, consult with natives or locals before going to any beach at night. You can't just fly over there and act like you own the islands. Yes, Hawaii is a state, but there is local culture that must be respected. Hawaii has a very high cost of living and with the economy down, they are certainly suffering with the loss of tourist dollars. Natives work several jobs to just get by. The tiniest starter home costs about $350,000. The poverty level is considered to be less than $40,000/year. They are having problems with people who moved there wanting to do the same thing you are who went broke and now can't afford a ticket home and are now on the welfare rolls. Visit and have a wonderful time and spend lots of money there! I would love to retire there, but need to work on bankrolling LOTS of money to do that! Good luck with your adventure!

[uhhdorkable]

i don't agree with everyone posting. yes it is expensive to live here. it really does depend on where you live. i live in the heart of honolulu and it is quite expensive. grocery prices do differ from the mainland. i have family and friends who live across the US and they always say how cheap they get their eggs and milk etc. if you have the money there are good schools here. punahou is a very good private school but it is expensive. if you do decide that hawaii is the right place for you and your family i wish you guys a smooth move and good luck!

Originally Posted by Jazz_nh

You are right Halopa.

It doesnt work for everyone. The Islands of Hawaii are all very different from one another. Where you live has a lot to do with how you live or how you can afford to live.
For me, it makes sense. Great Job, solid career. I have family (locals) that live there so I have great Ohana support, and know what to expect. Although, I often wonder that there must be something I must be missing while everyone says it's so difficult to live there. Thats why I did a lot of research. The internet is a wonderful thing. I know that groceries, gasoline, clothing and Real Estate taxes are the same as here on the mainland.
What is more expensive ? Real Estate itself is higher than what I am accustomed to in NH, but very comparable to my neighbor state of Massachusettes.
Im not running from New England because I think it is cheaper there, but think that it just is not as expensive to live on Oahu as many say it is. Unless of course foodland,safeway and Sams Club are all falsely reporting prices on their web sites..... lol.