Moving to Hawaii (Summer of 2009) (Honolulu, Kailua: apartment, rentals, car insurance)

[transambulance]

These forums have been a great source of realistic-sounding advice; mahalo to everyone who has contributed sincere and informed posts.

OK, my wife and I have just agreed that we're moving to Oahu. Here are some facts about us:

Employment
We both just finished college and have little real-world job experience in our chosen fields. My wife has trained as a special education teacher at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has set up an interview with the DOE for when we arrive and has stellar references from her professors and student-teaching supervisors. She's also a native English-and-Spanish-speaking Latina born and bred in inner-city Milwaukee, although she's been mistaken for just about every brown-skinned race (including Hawaiian) because her accent is minor and hard to place. I don't think she'll have any trouble landing a job; I'm less confident about myself. I do have an old bachelor's degree from UW - Madison (in Advertising), and I just completed a post-bac paralegal course at a ABA-approved tech school here in Madison. I know we've both made good educational choices, but I also have no illusions about the state of any economy at this point. I'll probably need to work as a legal secretary for a year or two before I can be seriously considered for actual paralegal jobs, and there seem to be plenty of opportunities on Craigslist for entry-level legal work. Hopefully, my wife will get decent benefits as a teacher so I won't need them from my employer(s).

Contacts on the Island
We have older relatives on the island who can help us out if necessary during the summer, but I don't want to impose on them any more than we need to. They are our safety net. My brother and new sister-in-law will be coming out for their honeymoon this fall, which will hopefully provide a nice emotional boost (they'll be our first guests from the mainland). Other than that, we don't know anyone.

Lifestyle
We are giving away two beloved cats, whom we've had for ages, to a close friend so we can make this move; we don't want to traumatize them with an unavoidable quarantine we couldn't afford in any case. We prefer urban congestion that requires street smarts to suburban isolation that requires car ownership. We are dedicated bus riders who have been joyously car-free for over a year now; we generally budget at least 45 minutes to make any trip we can't make on foot. We are also nicotine-free and have no other medical issues or problems. We are not fussy about what we eat and enjoy trying new foods and cooking at home. We are pro-choice and child-free, and plan on rigorously home-schooling our children if we decide we want them. We would like to find an apartment for less than $1000 per month, and accept that such a place will not be large or luxurious. We have some savings to fall back on, but a comparable amount of debt that we'd like to wipe out as soon as we can. We will be storing most of our things (for free) with family here in Madison, to be sold off or shipped to us later.

Familiarity
We visited Oahu and the Big Island on our honeymoon, and we were thinking of moving here even then (3 years ago), so we made some effort to see the real world instead of the tourist version. That said, we weren't around long enough to ever experience the place as anything less than paradise. We know very little about Oahu's neighborhoods, and would prefer to live somewhere with as much bus coverage, LGBT-friendly nightlife, and foot traffic as possible. Walking distance to a beach or hiking trail would also be nice. Would Manoa be a good place to start looking?

So...
What does everyone think? Do we stand a chance, or are we so much mainlander eel-and-centipede bait? Any and all tips, feedback, warnings, lectures, or advice are greatly appreciated!

[KonaKat]

Sounds like you are trying to plan well. Bring at least 6 months' worth of living expenses with you so that you do not become eel and centipede bait! (LOL that was a funny one)
Begin to check the online version of the Honolulu papers and craigslist for rentals to get an idea of rentals available. Not sure what you can get w/ $ 1000 a month but for sure it won't be very big.
Leave 85% of your clothes and shoes.
Too bad about your cats, but it is hard to find a rental that will accept pets. By the way there is no quarrantine if you follow the Dept of Ag's 5 Day or Less program.
When you arrive, get a local cell number immediately.
Don't forget to try all the state and county possibilities for a job (for you) however most have hiring freezes in place. Unemployment in Hawaii is at nearly historic levels right now.

Best wishes

[zetgo]

The only way to find out if Hawaii is for you is to give it a try and if for some unfortunate reason you should go homeless then where better would be going homeless be than in Hawaii.

You'll survive ... e komo ma'i

Aloha

[hothulamaui]

save all that you can and give it a try.

[caroleh]

Hi,
My son and his girlfriend moved with her small dog the middle of May. They love it and he has just gotten a job as a manager trainee and she's had some good interviews with medical personnel.
It wasn't that difficult to find a condo/apt. that takes pets. They found one in Kailua-Kona right on the water on Alii Dr. The economy is depressed there similar to California and it took them about a month to find the perfect place. There are short term rentals that they rented for $50-$60 a night, efficiencies close to everything and walking distance to lots of things that took pets.
Good luck. I'd be hapy to put you in touch with them.
Carole

[hotzcatz]

What's LGBT? Large Bus Transit?

How about looking for a place near your relatives? Then you will be able to visit them frequently and they can recommend friends, shopping spots and all sorts of things for you. Ask them if they know of any good spots for you, since they will know you and what you are looking for better than strangers on the web. Ohana is really important on the islands. Maybe you could have them over once a week for dinner or go walking with them in the park several times a week or something. It would enrich both your lives in many ways.

[TXLara]

Sounds like you've done your research, which really gives you guys a leg up. I'd try the area you suggested. Oahu will probably be your best choice for what you want. The only thing I don't know about is finding an apartment in the downtown area for $1000/mo. However, you might be able to rent a guesthouse or the back part of someone's house (with your own private entrance, walled off for privacy). I have friends that do this, and they pay around $850/mo, however, their place is TINY. I believe it's less than 400 sq ft. Try looking around U of H; they may have more affordable housing.

Also- take a few long-sleeved things. Everyone told us to leave all that behind, but if you're moving in the summer, you'll be acclamated by winter and will be cold when it dips down to 74. Trust me. I didn't believe it either, but it's true. Just like a sweatshirt or two and a few light-weight longsleeved shirts.

[newUHprof]

Originally Posted by TXLara

Also- take a few long-sleeved things. Everyone told us to leave all that behind, but if you're moving in the summer, you'll be acclamated by winter and will be cold when it dips down to 74. Trust me. I didn't believe it either, but it's true. Just like a sweatshirt or two and a few light-weight longsleeved shirts.

And The Bus is waaaay over air-conditioned. I almost never need long sleeves when I'm out (even in winter), I sometimes do in restaurants & movies, but I always do on The Bus. I just keep a long sleeved shirt in my bag so I always have one.

[lithdawg]

Good luck to you guys. I have lived here since May 2009 myself and have had honestly, a terrible time to find employment. I am in healthcare (nurse 14 yrs, degree in physical therapy, and for office management....a BS in Business Administration). Everyone loves my qualifications/experience, but no one seems to want to hire. It's been stated from potential employers that THEY don't think they can pay me what i'm worth and if they paid me less, THEY don't think I will stay with them. Also noticed that I get they "why did you move to Hawaii". Seems employers have been burned with hiring recently relocated mainlanders. They of course want longevity out of their new hires. I also have family living on the island and express that during my interviews. I actually had a physician ask me if I could give her a reason why I would make a long term commitment to Hawaii. I have no plans on moving for a long while but how are you suppose to get someone peace of mind that you just met 30mins ago. It has been tough. Also, not sure if you have looked at the salary for your specific jobs. I researched the payscale on Indeed and Salary wizard. What I found was true, Hawaii pays 20-23% LESS than the mainland. So I wasn't shocked about the compensation when I got here. Actually one recruiter told me it was "the price of paradise". This is just MY experience. I'm sure others have had not as much problems. Good luck guys!

[transambulance]

I've been waiting until I had good news to post an update, and my wait is finally over. After just over a month, my wife and I have both found jobs in our respective fields. I was lucky enough to land an entry-level position just after arriving at a Bishop Street law office, and I make just enough to scrape by on. My wife went on a number of job interviews before finding a good fit, and she will be starting at the end of July. She will be earning enough that we will be able to start pulling ourselves out of debt. We're making friends and loving it here.

Just after arriving, we found a furnished place in Waikiki for less than $1K/month, which includes all utilities, cable, and a local phone line. We arrived to check it out at 2pm and it was ours by 5:00 on the same day. It's cramped (<200 square feet), carpeted (we hate carpet), and doesn't have a real kitchen (which is apparently legal here), but we have tight security, a three-month lease, and free air conditioning.

What follows are just random thoughts from a new arrival:

I think one hard thing to get used to is the price of certain foods that are staples on the mainland. Eggs, milk, and bread are not only expensive, but also spoil quickly. Breakfast cereal is also expensive, and the high price of eggs and milk makes baked goods a luxury (even if we did have an oven to cook them in). The key is to simply look at what's cheap; mangos, for example, are so abundant here that people make bread from them. We're lucky enough to have befriended several people who have access to mango trees (and to not be allergic to mango sap). Pork is also surprisingly and consistently cheap.

The beer selection (in stores, not bars) is extremely limited. Granted, we came here from a state (Wisconsin) swarming with microbrewerys. The local brewerys aren't bad, but they're just aren't that many. However, the economic climate has also made wine and liquor cheap at the moment. Hotels and bars aren't re-stocking it as quickly, so distributors are unloading their top-shelf bar liquor to the big grocery store chains. Wines from Australia, Califoria, and South America are also cheap and abundant.

TheBus is amazing; we don't plan on ever getting a car while we live here. If you really must use a vehicle (to move, for example), rentals are cheap. Traffic here is insanely crowded, and although most drivers are courteous and actually follow the rules of the road, the sheer volume of traffic at peak times makes getting around by car a stressful headache. The unlimited bus pass is cheaper than car insurance ($50/month), and can get you just about anywhere.

One bit of advice I didn't get from these forums but learned pretty fast was this: DO NOT JAYWALK. Cops will actually circle the block to ticket a person who crosses against traffic lights, and it's a pretty steep fine, so just chill out and wait, even if there are no cars coming.

Ross is the best place to get nice clothes. People from states that have Ross Stores probably already know this, but it was a shock to me. Nordstrom Rack is apparently pretty nice as well.

Sunscreen can get expensive if you need it (like I do) and you're not careful; a lot of pale-skinned folks here carry umbrellas for sun-protection. I like some sun, and ordered 64 ounces of No-Ad sunscreen from drugstore.com (for about $30) so I wouldn't get stuck paying $10 for little 8-ounce tubes once a week. It took a while to arrive, but shipping was free.

That's about it for now; I want to thank everyone who has offered advice and stays active in this forum; the advice gleaned from this site has been extremely useful in preparing us for the realities of life here.

Mahalo!