Moving From Bay Area - Easier?

[R_Cowgirl]

Towngirl: I would think that you two are some of the best candidates for a move to Hawaii. Many of us try and discourage the people who don't have a job set up, or don't have job skills that would help them compete in a very tight labor market. But a job at Hickam and an HR job in Waikiki or in town would carry you both fine. Plus, you have some realistic ideas about what it would cost, and coming from SF Bay area, it won't be a huge shock.

If he's a Hickam and let's say you get a job in Waikiki, You are looking at two of the busiest corridors in the morning commute. i would definitely STAY AWAY from the Kapolei area, since that 16 mile commute used to take me up to an hour to an hour and a half in the morning and going home at night. You would both want to be living in places where you could take back streets if you needed to. So maybe the Nuuanu area? Up the Pali a ways? If you live too near Hickam in some of the housing near the airport, you have to fight all that traffic going into town. if you go too far out towards Hawaii Kai, you'd both suffer. He would be driving the opposite of traffic towards Hickam if you looked at a place like Craigside, and in a pinch, you could go around the back of Punchbowl and get to Waikiki that way. (I lived up in that area for awhile, Lots of little roads to get where you need to go.) Nuuanu is near downtown, but not in the middle of it, in case you got a job with a company in that district.

Again, as we have told everyone else, go there. Drive around during all types of traffic. See what the places look like during the day, at night, on weekends. Try to get where you think you would need to go during peak times. Do some crime checks on different neighborhoods. Go in with your eyes open. What you get in SF for $1,600 won't look anything like what you will get for the same in Hawaii. I love it, the old plantation style houses, the laid back atmosphere. But ... that's probably an acquired taste. ;-)

[pyr0]

I spent 3.5 years in the Bay Area (college) and I arrived in Oahu 2 weeks ago. I had never been to Hawaii before and I already had a job and housing situation figured out before I got here. I arrived with a suitcase and a duffel bag (travelling light ). Honestly it's not as different from the mainland as people would lead you to believe.

People drive just like in CA except we're going 60MPH instead of 90MPH. Driving in Honolulu/Wakiki is just like driving down Market St or downtown LA.

You still have your share of crazy people here.

The weather is a little different, instead of being cool with cool winds, it's warm-hot with stronger cool winds.

Housing is just as expensive as the Bay Area although it seems like places here are smaller than what you would get on the mainland. Housing prices here are still ridiculously high (judgement being that prices should reflect what the average salary is) but not as bad as SF. It's kind of interesting since my friend is relocating across the bay to SF and I'm out here and we've been comparing housing prices and living costs. I find it interesting that a lot of the houses here use window mounted ACs instead of central AC.

Costco is packed, out of the 3 times I've been there, it's always been full. I wasn't used to this since back in CA, I've never seen them packed beyond 30% capacity unless there was a special event where people would buy food to host/bring (superbowl, boxing, etc).

You'll pay about $1-$2 per item more on everything regardless of the store. Talking with some guys in the army, I've heard that as long as you have a CAC card, you can shop at the commisary since they don't check it closely. I may give it a try one day.

[KoaHawaii]

id agree with some of the previous posts saying that while San Fran is expensive Hawaii is more as everything has to be shipped there so you have to add on the the price for the most basic of things. Also I think many people have other problems with adjusting than just 'sticker shock'. The biggest thing in my opinion is culture shock and island fever. Many have never lived in a population where the minority is the majority (actually Hawaii and New Mexico are the only states where this is the case). Most people live where whites are the majority and culturally there are huge differences. So that does take time for those who haven't been exposed to other cultures and such. Though i think as long as you have a positive attitude about the whole thing and don't have a misconception of this Island paradise because it has its cons too like any other place. that brings me to 'island fever' many aren't accustomed to the fact that you are truly living in isolation. unlike living in a slow paced small town in the midwest where you can still drive to a big city or across the country. hawaii doesn't even allow for driving from island to island, naturally you must fly or take the ferry that now runs from maui to oahu. i think you'd be fine as long as you don't expect to be 'catered' to in that you don't act arrogent or rude to the locals because that is possibly the worst way to go about it. remember you are an outsider moving into their backyard. be open to new things and people and try to understand the local customs and you will be fine. people will be warm and welcoming to those who are the same. that's really all i can say. treat others like you would like to be treated