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We moved from NY and have embraced the 'ohana' lifestyle. We have one big house, with sis and her daughter in one unit on the back (can be separated but is joined to the main house), me hubby and son in the middle, and grandma in a semi-separate studio on the front. Six of us all together. In NY we lived in 3 separate houses, what a waste. It has so many advantages. We're right here to keep an eye on Grandma as she gets older and needs more help. She gets the companionship, the keiki get to know their grandma, and to learn a little compassion about the difficulties of getting older. The cousins can visit and play with each other anytime, great because they are both 'only children' in the traditional sense. We only need one RoadRunner account and a big wireless network. Some nights we all eat together, other nights we eat separately, but if you want someone to eat (or visit, or watch TV) with, there's usually somebody to be found. If we don't have a cup of sugar, an egg, or some bread to have with dinner, Grandma might have some, or sis. If we have to go to Honolulu for a day sis or grandma can look after our son, feed our cats, etc. There is almost always someone here to sign for a package. There are more of us to eat up all the avocadoes and starfruit that fall from the trees out back (and still plenty to give away). Easy for sis or I to pick up grandma's prescriptions at the drugstore. If sis is going to the beach and I need to work, my son can go with her, and vice-versa. Not to mention that we could afford to buy this house, by pooling our resources, and we could never have afforded 3 houses here on this lovely island!
Really a great way to live if you can get along with your relatives.
At $1200 you can get a one bedroom around Mililani and Ewa Beach or even Salt Lake. But the drive is at minimum 45 minutes before traffic starts which means you leave the house at 6:30am the latest, if you have to be in the office at 8:00am around downtown area. You will face the same situation when you return home. The positive side is that there will be a public rail system, but won't be built for another 4 to 6 years. And by the way the State runs things, I'd put my money down on 8 years.
For $10 grand just to move "stuff" I suggest you sell everything on ebay and craigslist. Your lifestyle and size of apartment may change greatly from VA to HI and you may have excess "stuff" you may not need, so why pay to bring it over just to disgard it later? Such an extreme change from one end of the spectrum to another, might as well reinvent yourself and start from scratch............
I have been living here in Hawaii for 12 years and raising a family. Regardless whether you are single or married, Hawaii is not a great place to live due to the high cost of living. I think that anyone who can do well in the continental US will definitely do well here since you will more likely have a "resourceful" mentality and not settle for mediocrity. Go online and look at the Hawaii classifieds. Ask yourself, where else can you find "high school" as a minimum requirement in the majority of job positions? Kids here have huge parties after their high scool graduation....that's a milestone for them. In Hawaii, Public Schools Feel a Long Way From Paradise - New York Times (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DB153FF931A25753C1A9679C8B 63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all - broken link)
In closing, if you are a college graduate with some experience, you can easily obtain work here, however, your pay will only be relative to what Hawaii market dictates.
Hawaii has a long way to go when it comes to completely revamping education standards. And since only a small percentage of the population can afford to attend the more academic private schools, the majority still adversely affects the norm. In Hawaii, Public Schools Feel a Long Way From Paradise - New York Times (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DB153FF931A25753C1A9679C8B 63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all - broken link)
Do not neglect to check out the grocery prices online too. Ensure that you thoroughly do your due diligence. The internet is a powerful tool. What is your objective for moving here? Good luck!
The majority of jobs in Hawaii are service jobs if we educate our students to a higher level they then leave so our tax dollars for educating them are wasted. If we would get some economies other than tourist based, then we could educate our people for the new jobs and they'd get more money, the state would get more income tax and the kids would get more education. At the moment, though, if you educate the kids too much they leave.
Considering the financial markets this week and how many folks are getting their 401Ks wiped out, I don't expect tourism to rebound any time soon. Without the tourists, our economy is basically in the toilet. If tourism is down by twenty percent then our overall economy is going to be very grim.
I own a vacation rental on Kauai, and so far my bookings are just as good or better for the rest of this year and next as they were a year ago at this time.
I'm poised to head out to Honolulu next month for a few job interviews. My last check on the cost of my move was approx. a little over 10k last year. With this economy, I'm sure it's a bit more. I'm just not sure if it's the best time to be looking at a huge move like this. I'm already aware that the salaries as well as the living space will virtually be cut in half to what I'm use to here in VA. I'm just worried that if the economic situation sucks here on the mainland, how bad is it on the islands? I've heard about a few airlines out that way that went out of business. That's not a good sign. Does anyone know how well the apartment rental situation is mainly in Mililani, Ewa Beach? What does $1200/mo get you? I've checked but it's always nice to hear about these things directly from people who are physically there. Any feedback would be very welcome.
Mahalo
Please forgive me for being blunt but I've lived here for 16 years and survived because I have a very thick skin. You want to spend 10k cut your salary in half and pay twice as much for a place to live. Why? Those jobs you see will go to locals and unless you are local or related to one your chances are slim. Just this last year Hawaii county was finally "forced" to accept applications from outside Hawaii. A nice way to discriminate and stay within the law. So you will have to work 2 jobs to get by and always be an outsider. I'm not bitter just know how it is to be treated like a non-person because of my race. There are a lot of beautiful places to live and really enjoy the journey.
If you're interested in Kona, go for it! no cons except for Vog.
Try Quinns restaurant for Ahi fish & chips
white pineapple
apple banana
SPAM
Thats all thats needed in life
Prices will plummet by 50% soon on housing.
That happens every 5 years or so.
If you choose to live in Ewa or the surrounding areas, be prepared to spend your days in "paradise" like so:
-wake up around 5am
-leave house between 5:45 and 6am
-drive to The Boat or begin the commute to downtown
-start your workday at 8am
-have lunch hour anywhere from 11 to 1pm
-leave work at 5pm
-commute back home from 5-6:30pm
-prepare and eat dinner/clean up 6:30-7 or 7:30pm
-relax from your day 7:30-9:30 or 10pm
-get ready for next day 10pm-10:30pm
-go to bed 10:30-11pm
Repeat M-F. By the weekend, you will be exhausted mentally if not physically and may not feel like doing anything. Your wife may be mad. You will still have to find time to spend with your family.
Hope you saw the sunset on the way home from work, cuz that's all you're gonna be seeing of it during the week! And this is if you only have one job....
it all depends on your salary and profession. if your in the service industry then it will be tougher of course.
as far as the cost of living, i don't see much of a difference between california or nyc.
actually some things are comparable, if you eat the local food then it's not expensive. if you want prepackaged food, milk etc then yes, it will be more expensive. there is plenty of local produce, meat etc at reasonable or low-cost.
clothing is a non-issue as it's a warm island year-round, so is gas if you decide to live close to your work. you can even take the public transit system which is excellent to save some money, if you work in honolulu. a lot of people bike to work which you can do easily year round anyways because of the weather. you can find one or two bedrooms for 1500 a month or even less. places further away from the cities tend to be a lot less expensive of course but you will have to commute. but since most islands are small anyways, it's not a tremendous commute usually. there is no air-conditioning or heating costs ever. just a fan will work.
there are ways to save money and cut costs, it just takes some creativity and compromise.
BUT for the overall cost, unless you are really into the beach, it's not worth it.
also, after awhile, the beach can get old after you live here awhile and you could even get bored. now, those who are really into outdoor sports and surfing, snorkeling, fishing etc find hawaii is right for them. otherwise, it's not worth it as you'll be far from family and the mainland.
also, it's majority asian which a lot of people don't know about. and some locals do not like haole(whites) usually because of the uppity attitude they bring with them or they try to 'take' over or charge. also, the locals don't like the commercialization they tend to bring.
ALoha...we are moving from the mainland to Maui this December. I have looked into county and state jobs and there are a lot. ALso the federal government like TSA at the airports. We are also gonna take advantage of the the real estate market and get a foreclosre. Houses have dropped like 50% for these type of properties. Our budget for moving and getting established is moderate and we can afford it. I hope the transition is smooth
Many county and state departments have a hiring freeze, even though there are "openings" and workers are needed, there is little hiring going on. TSA is not a real high paying job, either.
Last edited by 7th generation; 02-03-2009 at 03:17 PM..
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High Cost of Living/Education
ALoha...we are moving from the mainland to Maui this December. I have looked into county and state jobs and there are a lot. ALso the federal government like TSA at the airports. We are also gonna take advantage of the the real estate market and get a foreclosre. Houses have dropped like 50% for these type of properties. Our budget for moving and getting established is moderate and we can afford it. I hope the transition is smooth
