Relocation costs? What am I forgetting? (rental car, sales, rental)

[Alicia64]

My husband and I are thinking about possibly relocating cheapy. We don't have a lot of stuff we'd pay to ship to Hawaii.

Some clothes -- not much! A sentimental desk from my grandma, same thing with a lamp, maybe our kids' bunkbed.

Other than that, we don't love anything enough to ship it for a 3 to 5 year stay.

We'd like to bring one car (is that dumb? My husband is public transit proficient to the max), one dog, 4 humans (we already have 2 paid flights). What am I forgetting in the way of costs to relocate?

Our hope is that the employer will do a partial -- and pay 1/2 of a relocation if we keep the cost down. Is that done?

Thanks for your help!!

Alley

[hotzcatz]

Ah, which island?

You mention "the employer", does this mean there is a job already? Hopefully, that would be a good thing. As to if they would pay for relocation, it would be entirely up to them but as far as I know, most of them don't pay to relocate employees.

Shipping a car is about $1,000 or more. If you sold your car there and bought another one on whatever island you end up on, it might save some money. You can't put stuff in the car while shipping it, either, so it can't be used a shipping container otherwise it would make more sense to ship a car. Folks aren't that keen on "stuff" if you drive a new car it doesn't mean much in Hawaii. Designer clothes are usually just seen as "mainland" and generally "uncomfortable". Plus the seasons don't change much so there's no real winter wardrobe necessary. So you don't have to get new or upscale stuff and there are a lot of yard sales and thrift shops.

The dog will be expensive. Check the quarantine website for the details on how to bring the dog over and follow the instructions exactly.

Hmm, relocating expenses. Well, there's the plane tickets for the people. Probably one or two weeks of a vacation rental while you figure out a longer term rental. If you have a furnished vacation rental, then temporary internet hookups, cable, water, electric, etc., should all be taken care of.

A rental car for a week or two, even if you ship yours, it will be awhile before it shows up. Incidentals of things you will need once you get here such as bus passes, swim suits, beach gear, etc. Deposits for house rental, electric hook up, phone, etc. Bring copies of medical records, resumes, address books, etc.

Any time you move to a new location it will be more expensive for awhile while you figure out where all the less expensive places to get things are.

[Alicia64]

Thanks HotzCatz -- there's a job open on Oahu that's the specialty job my husband does on the mainland. It's a relatively new software program and the only way to get training is to work directly with it.

And thanks for letting me know that you can't ship stuff in the car -- we thought you could!

The dog is always expensive in one way or another!! Ha. I think I heard it's about $1,000 to bring a dog over.

We're not fancy designer stuff people -- in fact we're longing to be in a community without the Lexus in the drive, the three and four car garage, the 2 karat (no I'm not kidding) on the finger.

And, no, our cars aren't new. Nobody would bat an eye at either of them.

Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it.

Alley

[mdand3boys]

Once you get a real shipping address, get a couple of the large, flat-rate shipping boxes from the USPS and load it up with your favorite toothpaste, deodorants, etc. Those items are ridiculously high priced on the islands. Doing this will also ensure that you have your regular items. Sometimes stores "run out" of routine, brand name sundries and you just have to wait until more arrive.