Possible Move to Maui or Hilo? (Kihei, Pukalani: apartment, condo, salary)

[cutiger58]

My work has 2 openings in HI with one in Maui and the other in Hilo (east side of the big island). I'm a 27 year old single male looking for a change and it seems this is the perfect time to take a leap of faith! Just hoping I could get a few questions answered:
1. For someone my age which is better Maui or Hilo? I'm not a big partier just want to be able to meet others my own age.
2. Are their any white sand beaches in Maui or Hilo?
3. With me having a job that pays in the mid-high 50's would I be able to live comfortably without a second job? I want to enjoy living in HI not working all the time!!
4. I see mixed reviews about how newcomers are welcomed are they treated badly? I'm from the south so I'm pretty easy to get along with but would a southern boy be welcomed in HI?

Any feed back would be very helpful b/c this is a HUGE decision!!!!

[109*]

the people in maui seem to be nicer then in hilo. hilo has no white sand beaches you would have to drive to the other side of the island, maui has lots of white sand beaches.

[cynmkolohe]

Much depends on what you like to do with your free time...Hilo is a fairly quiet place as far as night life, but there are some truly amazing things to do here as far as exploring the island. It is likely the least expensive option for you. Are you into surfing/paddling? This is the fastest way to meet new people!

If you live north of Hilo, you shorten your drive to the white sand beaches. It takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to drive to the Kohala coast beaches.

I'm a southern girl in Hawaii...and I've always felt very welcome here. A lot of parallels between "aloha spirit" and "southern hospitality" in my experience!

[jenalove]

I find the biggest problem with trying to move to Hawaii are the home prices - simply outrageous compared to most of the mainland. However, if you are willing to rent there are many ohana-type rentals there, which means either an attached or separate apartment or cottage. You can find some really nice ones, even though most are somewhat on the small side. I suggest Maui - lots to do, beautiful beaches, great restaurants, and friendly people. You might want to check craigslist.com for rentals. I don't know where your job would be located on Maui, but upcountry is cooler and the rental prices are not so high. Check out places like Haiku, Kula, and Pukalani. If your job is more towards the west side, I really like the south Kihei area - lots of good rentals there too.

[cutiger58]

I will be renting due to the fact I will be only committing to one year with my job. I would be working from home so could live pretty much anywhere, but would prefer to be close to a beach to take morning jogs!!

Thanks for all the replys!!! I will take all the help i can get!!!

[whynot?]

I love the Big Island, but I live on Maui, so this may sound biased. It seems like for a guy your age, Maui has more rental options that are close to beaches and (is admittedly more developed) and is easier to quickly acclimate to geographically and socially. If you're only planning to stay for a year, I would assume you'd want to make friends quickly. One big caveat, though, is that the Big Island is more rural and "outdoorsy," if that is more to your liking. Not that Maui isn't "outdoorsy," mind you -- the whole state is, in a way -- it's just not necessarily the first thing you pick up on there amid resorts, etc.

As for living comfortably on 50K on either island, that depends upon your tastes, your habits, etc. That's the approximate "average salary" for Maui households as of 2005, but the costs of everything have increased since then, and if you have a long commute, eat out all the time v. cook, plan to live alone v. share a house or condo, have to pay utilities on top of rent, etc., the incremental costs add up quickly. The state taxes are fairly, high, too, depending upon where you're moving from and what the taxes are there.

[~elise~]

We moved to Hilo from Southern California and we were amazed at how friendly everyone was! Of course, that was compared to where we moved from, where no one would look you in the eyes, for fear you may want to confront them or something. We have lived on the Big Island for 11 years and I noticed that people from here were more friendly than people from Oahu for sure!
We only went to Maui once, but I have heard that if you are young and crave a night life, Maui has a bit. I didn't think the scenery in Maui was as beautiful as on the Big Island.
I do agree with cynmkolohe, Hilo is a sleepy little town, but that's what we wanted after California. There are so many things to see in and around Hilo, though. It's such a pretty place and fairly unspoiled. We have friends who are scuba divers and, having been diving on all of the islands, say that the diving around the Big Island is the best.
I do know that houses are less expensive on the Hilo side of the island--especially around the Puna district. You can always do what we did, buy some land and live off-grid!

[michael49]

Originally Posted by ~elise~

You can always do what we did, buy some land and live off-grid!

Just curious - how difficult/expensive is this to do?

[cutiger58]

Well my job in Hawaii fell through so it looks like I'm not coming to Hawaii at this time!!! Just wanted to say thanks to all that replied!!!

[~elise~]

michael49, we bought our land before the prices went up ($14,500 for one acre)
Now you pay anywhere from $25,000 to $40,000 for an acre in the area where we bought in Mountain View. I know there are lots in Fern Forrest above Mountain View, Paradise Park out past Keaau, and there were some lots on N. Kulani Rd. when we were looking to buy. All of them were pretty inexpensive.
In Eden Roc there are still quite a few people who live in converted shipping containers, old school buses or simple cabins like ours, who live off-grid.
People will tell you that Eden Roc is a bad place to live, but we never found it so, and many people are still buying land and building homes in the area, so it must not be that bad.
We had a catchment tank for water, a propane stove and fridge, a large generator that charged our 4 marine batteries and we had a 12 volt electrical system for small things.
We decided just to live more simply. I imagine that not everyone would accept the challenges of living without all the extras, but I don't feel that we missed out on much.
If someone really wanted to live in Hawaii on very little money, that would be the way to do it, in my opinion.