Moving to Maui! a few ?'s (rent, jobs, hospital)

[Patty_Cakes]

Aloha everyone.

I will be moving to Maui by the end of August/beginning September. I would like to bring my cat with me. I have contactd the Hawaii department of agriculture and gotten the checklist for the five days or less quarantine. What I'd like to know is does anyone have any personal experience they can share with me about moving their pets to the island? How did this trip affect him/her? What was your experience with the department of agriculture, etc.

ANY insights would be greatly appreicated!

Also, on employment....

What do you do, or plan on doing?

My husband is a carpentar (jack of ALL trades, really, but a union carpentar currently) so, he is pretty lucky. Everywhere we went last fall in Oahu and Maui, we were being told how "in demand" responsible skilled carpentars were.

I currently work for Sony as an "analyst"- so, basically, many office/adminitsrative/communication/presentation skills, etc. I'd like to break into something radically different though..... Something in party/event planning, even if it just on a volunteer basis, to start (I will do whatever I need to for money- wait tables, maybe administrative work in the hospitality industry, etc) I've been planning and executing parties (including my wedding, last fall) over the past 2 years and keep being told by EVERYONE that I should charge for what I do, because I do it extremely well. I realize that I really enjoy it (even the myriad details and related stress) and I LOVE making people happy.....

So, yeah, that is my little "secret" (now less so- LOL) dream.


~*~ Mahalo in advance ~*~

[whynot?]

I would say "it depends," based on your cat's age, general health, and disposition. If your cat has flown and been boarded before, it shouldn't be a lot worse. If not, you have to kind of guess how he/she will react. I don't know where you're moving from, but be sure to get detailed information about what to expect when you land with your cat.

The job market in Hawaii has been very good for skilled/educated people. However, the cost of living is so high that other than professionals, many (most) people work two or three jobs. While the economy has been good, there has been very high demand for good workers. With unemployment really low, employers have had a hard time filling positions with highly-qualified staff. I don't know what the slow-down will do. The state is very dependent on tourism, and if they don't come, it won't get built (or bought).

[Jerlene]

Carpenters are in demand here. New structures are always being built.
As far as party/event planning goes, it's Maui. People fly in from all over the world to get married here so I'd imagine there's a lot of work there.
Not much just for parties though. We plan our own parties here. It's rare that you'll find a local that wants a planner.

[JuliaHuff]

Patty, we are also moving to Maui from NY, maybe we should get in touch? where are you moving from?
we are young professionals, 30 years old, russian
We also have a cat and I dont know how it will be with her, pretty freaked about it