Moving to Hawaii to be a Beach Bum? (Honolulu: fit in, spring break)

[CJHUSMC]

Sup all. I'm a disabled vet, I make about $2500/month. I'm thinking of moving to Hawaii and being a beach bum, watching the surfers etc. I was in the military so I don't mind sleeping outside, in the hills, wherever, until I find a more permanent place. There's a VA there so I wouldn't be abusing any local state services.

Are there any glaring facts that I'm missing here, anything that would mess this plan up once I got there? I've never been there so I might have a false image of Hawaii that's unrealistic. I live in Florida tho, and I know I could do it here.

I've got a few weeks to consider it all, so if it's an impulsive decision I have plenty of time to change it.

[R3DBEARD]

define beach bum?....

literally homeless...
or jus always at the beach.

[CJHUSMC]

Originally Posted by R3DBEARD

define beach bum?....

literally homeless...
or jus always at the beach.

Person without a permanent residence who doesn't beg for money. And always at the beach.

[CJHUSMC]

The more I look around, Maui looks about right. The plane ticket's only $700, leaving me with about $2100 for the month. Is there a better party town? I know waikiki is all touristy, I don't wanna mess with that.

On the other hand there are a bunch of military bases in Honolulu; the commissary and px prices would probably be pretty hard to beat.

Sounds do-able to me at this point. If it isn't I can always come back to the mainland in Feb.

[MadRussian]

Originally Posted by CJHUSMC

I'm a disabled vet...

How disabled? There is not much public transportation on Maui. Without car or at least bicycle it is really hard to move around.

[whynot?]

Maui is not exactly a "party town." Everything pretty much closes at 9PM if not earlier. I often hear spring break kids complaining, wishing they'd stayed on Oahu.

MadRussian is right, too, about public transportation -- it's slow and limited.

[maui08]

Originally Posted by CJHUSMC

Sup all. I'm a disabled vet, I make about $2500/month. I'm thinking of moving to Hawaii and being a beach bum, watching the surfers etc. I was in the military so I don't mind sleeping outside, in the hills, wherever, until I find a more permanent place. There's a VA there so I wouldn't be abusing any local state services.

Are there any glaring facts that I'm missing here, anything that would mess this plan up once I got there? I've never been there so I might have a false image of Hawaii that's unrealistic. I live in Florida tho, and I know I could do it here.

I've got a few weeks to consider it all, so if it's an impulsive decision I have plenty of time to change it.

As a fellow war vet to you....please don't come and add to the already high population of "bums" here. Why on earth would that be a desire of yours???? Do you really think you would be happy just sitting on the beach watching surfers all day? Maybe for a few days but not as a profession! However, if this is something you are set on doing....Maui would not be the place. Everything shuts down around 9PM just like a small town. You would be better off bumming around Oahu as places stay open pretty much all night over there.

Why not put your attention/efforts into having the VA assist you in getting a disabled vet position so you can grow as a person....? I was wounded in combat and hate to see fellow vets go down the wrong road.

Good luck.

[CJHUSMC]

Originally Posted by MadRussian

How disabled? There is not much public transportation on Maui. Without car or at least bicycle it is really hard to move around.

I considered that. I contacted a vendor on the island; a new moped runs about $2500 or so, cheaper if you buy it used. Looked at the scooter laws, they seem pretty reasonable. Parking spaces can be found for $50/month or so if I have to use them. Granted I'm guessing it rains almost all the time at least part of the year (I haven't gotten into the climate and seasons too much yet), not to mention a scooter has practically no cargo space, so I'd be permanently limited to never buying anything larger than could fit in a large rucksack.

Of course I'm looking at all this from the internet, so it could be misleading. But I think I'm pretty pragmatic; I've been homeless off and on for a long time, at least I have a guaranteed source of income. Really, that brings up one of my few real problems; if I have too good of a time, they'll say I'm not disabled enough and that'll be the end of that

Originally Posted by whynot?

Maui is not exactly a "party town." Everything pretty much closes at 9PM if not earlier. I often hear spring break kids complaining, wishing they'd stayed on Oahu.

Thank you for the information

Originally Posted by maui08

As a fellow war vet to you....please don't come and add to the already high population of "bums" here. Why on earth would that be a desire of yours???? Do you really think you would be happy just sitting on the beach watching surfers all day? Maybe for a few days but not as a profession! However, if this is something you are set on doing....Maui would not be the place. Everything shuts down around 9PM just like a small town. You would be better off bumming around Oahu as places stay open pretty much all night over there.

Why not put your attention/efforts into having the VA assist you in getting a disabled vet position so you can grow as a person....? I was wounded in combat and hate to see fellow vets go down the wrong road.

Good luck.

Oh not a bum bum. Just someone who sits at the beach. I could leave anytime. Think of it as an ultra low-budget semi-long term vacation

The choices are Hawaii, North Carolina, or San Fransisco. For various legal reasons, mostly. Compared to the other two, NC is fairly tame. Costs around the same as Cali, at least in the parts I'm interested in, and I've been there for years so it wouldn't be a very adventurous step.

San Fran is full of junkies. Pretty much the end of that. Still considering it tho, since I'm lacking other options.

That leaves Hawaii. Which wins by default regardless of what problems it has.

Haven't you ever just wanted to go somewhere without worrying about what you'll do when you get there? Ok, admittedly, I haven't either.

But it's that or sit here, and I'm very tired of sitting here.

[hotzcatz]

Oahu probably has the best beaches for people watching, although there is already a pretty big homeless population there. How about staying at the YMCA and going beach bumming?

With $2,500 a month income, you could afford to rent a small room somewhere or share an apartment with someone and still go beach bumming. Kinda the comfortable bum, as it were.

If it were me on this adventure, I'd start out with a week or two at the YMCA near Ala Moana Shopping center since practically all the buses go to Ala Moana. There are all sorts of small apartments and condos in Waikiki and with tourism as down as it is, the rents are probably down. Find a small apartment and then you can walk to your beach bum job. There are also some nice checkerboard/chess tables by the beach over at the zoo end of Waikiki. And the people are always fun to watch there since you can see folks from all over the planet and they have time to stop and chat since they are on vacation.

[maui08]

Originally Posted by CJHUSMC

I considered that. I contacted a vendor on the island; a new moped runs about $2500 or so, cheaper if you buy it used. Looked at the scooter laws, they seem pretty reasonable. Parking spaces can be found for $50/month or so if I have to use them. Granted I'm guessing it rains almost all the time at least part of the year (I haven't gotten into the climate and seasons too much yet), not to mention a scooter has practically no cargo space, so I'd be permanently limited to never buying anything larger than could fit in a large rucksack.

Of course I'm looking at all this from the internet, so it could be misleading. But I think I'm pretty pragmatic; I've been homeless off and on for a long time, at least I have a guaranteed source of income. Really, that brings up one of my few real problems; if I have too good of a time, they'll say I'm not disabled enough and that'll be the end of that



Thank you for the information



Oh not a bum bum. Just someone who sits at the beach. I could leave anytime. Think of it as an ultra low-budget semi-long term vacation

The choices are Hawaii, North Carolina, or San Fransisco. For various legal reasons, mostly. Compared to the other two, NC is fairly tame. Costs around the same as Cali, at least in the parts I'm interested in, and I've been there for years so it wouldn't be a very adventurous step.

San Fran is full of junkies. Pretty much the end of that. Still considering it tho, since I'm lacking other options.

That leaves Hawaii. Which wins by default regardless of what problems it has.

Haven't you ever just wanted to go somewhere without worrying about what you'll do when you get there? Ok, admittedly, I haven't either.

But it's that or sit here, and I'm very tired of sitting here.

Why are you just sitting around? Many wounded vets work and are active in the community. Don't feel sorry for yourself, keep your spirits up and get back to work! If you are typing on here....then you can find a job. If you need a break from life....go on a vacation but don't plan to just vegitate somewhere with no ambitions.