Relocating from Europe to Kauai, real cost

[KonaKat]

I'd forget the AC unless you want a $500 electric bill every month! I am somewhat surprised at the cost of your rental house, wow for Hawaii Island that would be a pretty nice house in Kona with gardener included. My house payment is only about $1600/month.

Best wishes, and keep posting!!

[FallenIntoGreatness]

I would like to hear more about the rental. Which area is it in? What did you end up getting for that price? I mean, do you have a lot of space or are there amenities included that cheaper homes didn't offer? $2150 sounds high for Kauai and I looked around last May. However I know some of the properties we looked at on the North Shore were MUCH higher than anywhere else on the island.

[Mar0]

I agree that the rent is definitely high! I live in Kauai and have a nice apartment for a fraction of that cost. I would expect that you should be renting a 4 bdrm house for that cost! I have AC and use it only when the vog sets it and trades die down- maybe 5 days a year.

I'm not sure what size apt you are looking for but I have found that 2 bedroom apts usually rent for $1200-$1600 and 1 bd anywhere from $800-$1000. Places in Poipu tend to be higher so you might want to look in Puhi or Kalaheo for something cheaper- the commute is only about 15-20 mins from either place, very manageable.

[fischi19]

Hi again,
yeah, the rent for the house is rather high. We were thinking about renting a cheaper but honestly most the other apartments we have looked at were either under foreclosure, very filthy, other too small. We even looked at some "illegal" places to stay, such as one family homes where inofficially 4 families live in. The house we rent now has a backyard that is taken care of by the management company, a garage, central AC, a barbeque and so on. The house is only 5 minutes from both our workplaces and instead of buying two cars we only bought one and we will go to work by bike. So even if our housing is more expensive than we originally expected we do not spend money on gas, time to commute and when we both are done with work we can go home and have a place where we feel comfortable. We will turn on the AC only if necessary, the wind keeps the place rather cool.
If we really can not afford to live there we move out after six months and go live somewhere else.
We knew as of the beginning that we won't get rich here in Hawaii. If I wanted to earn big bugs I would have stayed in switzerland where the economy is still booming and the swiss frank on a record high. We can always go back but we decided to work here in Kauai for more or less 2 years. Then my employer will relocate me anyways, most probably to asia or the mainland. We have saved enough money to make it here for 2 years for sure.
We spend more money on rent but we will save money on food, as we cook fresh and with locally available products only and we only have one car which we use for leisure and grocery shopping only.
No matter if we make it here or if we fail, we will keep you posted so you won't make the same mistake twice.
have a great evening
fisch

[fischi19]

Forgot to add:
The house if fully furnished with everything necessary included (linen, plates, BBQ, blender etc.). We did not want to buy anything as we are going to relocate anyways.
The house is built in 2006 and is equipped very nicely inside.

[FallenIntoGreatness]

Well that explains a lot, I would expect a newer home fully furnished with yard upkeep to be higher priced. The area it is in is also higher. Although you are paying utilities, it doesn't sound like too bad of a deal when you factor in the cost of buying or shipping in furnishings.

[waha]

Sounds like you've done well with the move overall. Housing is such an individual matter; there is definitely cheaper rent around the Koloa area (where you are locating to) but it can take some time to find (helps to know someone--Kaua'i is a very small island and good rentals often go to family members or friends).

We live in Kalaheo--about 10 minutes away from you. We are also transplants (I came to Hawaii in 1985 and my husband, in 1998). He's Irish and I'm American with lots of living experience in Asia and Europe. Aloha!

[SanDiegoKauai]

Hi Fischi19, I was wondering if you are still living in Kauai. My husband (San Diegan born in Oahu) wants to move to Kauai permanently around Dec. We are building a house there. I, like you, am European (Spaniard), have always been living in big cities (in Europe and US, currently in San Diego) and I don't think I can hang. I would appreciate your feedback. Btw, I have cousins in Geneva, used to visit them every summer. The drive / train ride from Barcelona is beautiful - once you pass Lyon at least... Thanks in advance for your response !

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoKauai

Hi Fischi19, I was wondering if you are still living in Kauai.

By the way, Fischi19 has not signed in on this site since Sept 2011.