honolulu's best neighborhoods (Pearl City, Aiea: rent , jobs, university)

[flowermom]

Hi Terrie,

I appreciate your responses! That is good to know he would be traveling against traffic. Obviously, if he decides to accept the job we would be working with a realtor, but it is always interesting to get some other feedback too.

We are in Orange County, in Southern California. We are trying to do as much research as we can before we commit to anything. I have been reading this and several other boards and have ordered the So You Want To Live in Hawaii book. We have traveled to Hawaii many, many times, but I can see living there would really be different.

My husband would not be working at the airport. He is in finance, but he told me the building was somewhere near the airport area, just to give me a frame of reference.

Again, mahalo for your help!

[*hinalea*]

Mililani is pretty affordable but isn't very close to town. It's probably the most suburban town in Hawaii though...it has a very mainland feel to it. Lots of condos & townhouses so rent is more affordable. Also, a lot of families since it is close to the Army base.
Traffic doesn't feel as bad if you aren't driving so he could take the bus into Honolulu -- My friend's dad used to do that.
Mililani is also a good place because the drive out to the Northshore isn't too bad so on weekends you can head out that way.

[HI2VegasNowSA]

Originally Posted by sleepaholic

ok, scratch the "urban feel" comment I made - I really just want to live in town, with the shortest commute possible (will be working at Queen's and Kaiser Hospitals) in a safe, quiet, affordable neighborhood. I'll be renting a 1 bedrooom or studio.
thanks for the comment, any additional info on areas of honolulu to avoid would be appreciated.

My wife and I started on a 1-bedroom apartment in Olokele Ave (Date and Kapahulu Ave) in 1997 and the rent was $550/mo and I am sure that has changed. We love it since it's convenient to Waikiki and we walked around Alawai Canal through Iolani High. Easy access to the freeway and going the opposite direction. My cousin works at Kaiser in the IT department. Best of luck to you.

[jessilizzi33]

We live in Pauoa. Nice, small-town feel. Fairly affordable but CLOSE to town (10 minutes to Queens).

Pauoa elementary is okay for public school - Kwanakoa middle school is one of the better middle schools on the island. If you can afford upper Liliha or Nu'uanu you'll be in better elementary school zones (Mae'mae & Nu'uanu) and still close to where you want to be.

[Eh It's Me]

Pearl City got everything

[lazy1]

Originally Posted by sleepaholic

thanks for the info! what about these areas of town, as far as safety and affordability are concerned: Kalihi, Nuunua, Punchbowl, Pacific Heights, Makiki?

Kalihi: forget about it! A lot public housing, agg assaults, drugs, some gang activity, lots of gargabe on the streets.

Nuuanu: very nice, close to downtown but very expensive

Punchbowl: parts are nice like nuuanu and close to downtown, other parts kinda rough

Pacific Heights: very nice close to punchbowl and nuuanu, nice views of the city but expensive

Makiki: mixed bag, a lot on condos, very crowded. Makiki Heights has more single family homes and is less crowded

[lazy1]

Originally Posted by flowermom

I hope the original poster won't mind me jumping into this thread. Terrie, do you know anything about these neighborhoods - Aina Haina, Niu Valley or Waialae Iki? I believe they are all considered to be in the Diamond Head area? We looked at Hawaii Kai, but are afraid the commute would be too long. My husband would be working near the airport. Also, I will be having to drive in to get my daughter to school (looks like most of the private schools are in Honolulu proper - also, for that matter if you have any input on schools...). Any feedback appreciated!!

Thanks

all three of these neighborhoods are nice with Waialae Iki being my favorite. all three are expensive but Waialae Iki is closest to metro honolulu.

[TwoG's]

Kailua, Kailua, Kailua! Small town feel, easy commute to Town or the airport area (on H3), family friendly. Great beaches. I can't say enough good things about it.

[jessiesma]

I hope you won't mind a newbie jumping in here but where have you lived on the mainland and where? I'm in Tampa bay area of FL and in the city of Tampa, you'd be hard pressed to get a decent 1 br. in an interesting neighborhood for $900. in neighboring cities it's a little better but hardly the place for young "urbanized" folk. We pay $775 for a just ok place in a just ok neighborhood and are dying of boredom even tho we're older. Our Utilities are about $125 avg. Traffic in Tampa proper is the worst I've experienced including Atlanta and the metro NY area.

I looked at the Safeway weekly circular for Hawaii online and the food prices are pretty comparable to here. Believe it or not, food in north Jersey, just a short ride from Manhattan is the cheapest in the nation, no sales tax either. If you mean restaurants, maybe Hawaii is bad. Haven't been yet but am contemplating a move also cuz daughter and grands are doing it and we all want to be closer. Right now hubby is transitioning into teaching as a second career and even as a sub in Honolulu his pay will double compared to here while housing will go up only 50%. Don't eat out. Learn to cook.

Gas is now over $3 and I know it's probably much higher there so the thing is to bring a car that uses very little and then drive less.
Someone else on this board said she had to drive her child to school. Maybe you could live where you could take the bus and just accompany her and manage with one vehicle? Or could you live where your husband could do the bus?
As someone who grew up in NY, I even managed in Charlotte NC without a car for a while in the 90's and that was not easy. You just have to decide if the other things about living in Hawaii are worth some sacrifice.

None of you may want to hear this from an older lady but with your youth, you have time to increase your fortunes and move up. It's really more fun that way, harder but vastly more rewarding. It keeps you from becoming jaded so that when you are almost 62, as I will be when we move next Summer, life is still an adventure and you can look forward to moving a continent and half an ocean away even without great resources as sometimes happens.

Just be sure to do your own research and don't listen to the horror stories about comparisons. On average, you need X to live decently. You can't find a place to do it on Y. If costs seem low so are salaries except in a few professions. You'll still pay one -third for rent and that's too much on a lower income because the other two thirds won't stretch as well as on a higher salary even using that same one-third of income for housing parameter. Think about it, one third of 3K a month is 1K leaving 2000 for things you can't change much like food, gas and utilities. Those things will still be the same at 4-5K but even spending that third on housing (1300-1600) you'd have 2700-3334 left for the same food, gas and maybe a little more for utilities.
My point is don't let the rumors scare you. Run the numbers and see if you can and want to make some changes for the tradeoffs.

My daughter mentioned the quality of schools. How about a charter? Or homeschooling? I question the poor reviews however. Despite my husband going into teaching (there are some private reasons for this) we're not big fans of public ed. in general. We do believe that EDUCATION is what parents make of it. However, Hawaii has pretty stringent guidelines for teachers, even subs so if you put the effort in to outside enrichment, the kids should make it thru with flying colors. If I only called what I received in school my education, I'd be pretty ignorant. It was the learning how to learn and the desire to go beyond the classroom, that truly was my edeucation.

[holgazana]

Hi Jessiesma, you sound like knowing a lot. Forgive my ignorance but I am totally lost. The only thing I know for a fact is my daughter will be at University of hawaii in honolulu, (i do not know if is manoa o what)
Based in that fact My husband and I want to live nearby or at least not too far for her, and at the same time we are a mature couple and he loves surfing, also he is a musician and would like to find some jobs playing etc.

Give me at least an orientation about what Manoa is, Honolulu, something that show me a light and i will continue my search,.

I am sorry but my english is not very good.
thanks