Thinking of moving to the big island (rent, how much)

[Onisbah]

My husband and I are thinking of moving to the big island. We have enough money to purchase a modest house for cash. I'm an EMT and was looking to work on an ambulance or hospital. My husband has a general bachelor of arts. We would ideally want solar and cistern water system. We want a slower pace of life. Are we crazy? Or could this work for us? Any advice? Also, are mopeds great for beating the traffic I hear is out there? Thank you in advance!

[Grassyknoll]

Not crazy depending on your expectations, built up savings ect...
Mopeds are really only good in town where modest houses cost big bucks. Areas where you are going to buy a modest, off-grid house for cash, you will want a matching modest automobile.

[hotzcatz]

Houses are easier to find than employment, usually. If you can move over and rent for six months to a year and wait to find employment before buying a house that may be best. Then once you know where you'd be employed, you'd be able to look for houses nearby.

Cistern water is almost non-existant around here, but catchment water is very common in some areas of the island. County water isn't expensive it's just that it's limited in availability.

As Grassyknoll noted, mopeds work best for only in town use as well as better on the drier Kona side of the island.

I'm not sure what the Hawaii certification is for EMT, it may or may not match the mainland certifications. Frequently in many of the licensed professions, there is a specific license required for Hawaii which is separate from the mainland ones.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

What kind of work experience does your husband have? What work would he be looking for with his BA degree?

What price range is your housing budget?

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Onisbah

Are we crazy?

Absolutely.

It reads like a ridiculous first post. No detail. No posting history. Nothing specific. How can anyone respond to that based on what was written?

[hotzcatz]

Yeah, well, WV, they gotta start somewhere. At least they're looking for 'slower' and are good with solar and water catchment. Which would be what they'd find in many areas that have the 'modest' priced houses.

Although, 'modest' differs quite a bit depending on location. I'm sure my idea of a 'modest' priced house is seriously different than yours and yet we both live on a Hawaiian island.

I'm sure we will eventually find out about their eight kids and ten big dogs and a pet pig or whatever else may be their problems for any of their relocation dreams.

[Onisbah]

Lol, yes, there wasn't much in my first post, but we are just starting to entertain this idea. We have no kids, three cars. We've looked on Zillow and found a lot of houses that are decent for around 100-150,000. We are handy and can fix things and aren't looking for a wow house, just one we can live in and slowly fix up. Good to know about the mopeds. We planned on bringing one car, cats, told and clothes. Maybe some other personal stuff. I did start checking into the EMT thing and I may or may not qualify to transfer my license. If not, we do have enough money for me to retake the course to get a Hawaiian license. Here's not sure what he would do. Figured he c could start of in tourism or construction until he found a better job. With no mortgage, water or electric bills, we could survive on my salary quite comfortably. We have enough if we are both out of work for awhile but obviously we don't want to talk too much into it. We would like at least an acre to grow did and have chickens. We heard from his friend that we can fish and hunt pig without a license, is that true? I appreciate all input, we don't want to make a bad decision. We are pretty adaptable people, usually make the best out of any situation. We are tired of the heat in Florida and there is no sense of community here.

[Onisbah]

I have been an emt for 12 years in a progressive company, I'm hoping that helps me get a job a bit more easily .

[Onisbah]

How much does it cost to transport a cat over with all sorts done and microchipped? I heard it can be expensive.

[eureka1]

Have you been here? Hawaii is just as hot as Florida if not more so.