Moving to Kauai: Calling all recent transplants and ilong time residents! (Lihue: rentals, health insurance)

[paniclan]

My wife and I are considering moving to Kauai in '09 and I wanted to try and connect with some recent transplants and other residents to hear about your experiences.

I've been to the island several times, as recently as this year, and have familiarized myself with the current job and housing markets. I have a few specific questions...

1) Has anyone here had the experience of moving and starting a business on the island?

2) Is raising a family there as difficult as many seem to say? Moreso than any other part of the country?

3) Can anyone recommend a good realtor contact for finding long-term house rentals on the North Shore?

THANKS!

[whynot?]

E komo mai! One of the best ways to get started here is to use the search feature at the top of the page to read about others' experiences. Several posters -- on Kauai and other islands -- come to mind who have moved recently, and have written extensively about their experiences. I'm on Maui, but best wishes and best of luck with planning your move.

[Mar0]

What kind of business are you looking to start?

[kaiwahine]

how is the economy on Maui? Was there back in May and loved it.

[paniclan]

Thanks all. Ive scoured the CD site for Kauai and the problem is... people tend to write until they move or shortly thereafter and then.. silence. I havent found too many running accounts of how transplants are faring on the island, whether they found the experience maddening, worthwhile or otherwise. Of course the reason for this is probably largely because folks are so busy trying to make ends meet once they settle down, they have little time for dialogue here.

Whatever the case, i'd really love to hear from folks whove been on the island for a few months, a couple years, etc... and here some details about
1) educational system
2) job and housing markets
3) general lifestyle stuff... do u miss the mainland?, etc...

On the business end i have looked into a couple opportunities there. My focus has been on services that are currently lacking or in need on the island and strategizing ways to improve those services with a new business or organization. My background is in nonprofit development.

I think at this juncture my main concern is the public school scenario and the youth culture on the island which ive heard can foster the bored-n-going-nowhere mentality, with lots of teenage pregnancies and strong pull towards drugs , etc... Basically the same temptations that face most young people in small towns on the mainland. Boredom can be an dangerous obstacle for kids...

[kani-lehua]

try to send a direct message to sweetbeet. she just moved there and was recently licensed as an attorney. or, try doing a search by using her username. i believe she started a thread discussing her move and status.

here's the link to her thread: Something to consider

[Sweetbeet]

Yeah, I'm still lurking here, trying to write when I get the chance. I also post on another forum about Hawaii (mainly about vacation and travel, but there's also a relocation thread there, and a nice, albeit small, community of posters).

One thing that is currently driving me nuts about island life is the mold. I noticed this morning that two bathrobes that had been hanging on hooks in my closet since we unpacked (in August) had mold on them! Eeeeeewww! I tossed them in the wash, no other clothes in the closet seem to have anything, but yuck! The closet has little air circulation, and the area where we live has been wet lately (a shower most every day). Also some folding chairs, with cloth seats, that were stored on the lanai, have mold on the seats. I can see this is going to be an ongoing problem, especially in the winter (rainy) season.

I have been wondering if we located in the right place on the island. Up north would be no good, too far away and even WETTER. South/west, past Lihue (where my office is), is drier, but to get significantly drier you have to go out near Kalaheo or beyond, and that's a bit of a drive back up to Lihue. And, I think, hotter in summer; we get a break because we're up a little in the hills. I really don't want to have that long a commute, and getting up to the north shore to snorkel and play in summer would also entail long drives. Also my sister, who lives with us, would not like it, as she likes to garden and needs the rain. Sigh. Just some difficulties of island life.

I haven't been writing much because I've been very busy setting up and marketing my law practice. Now, work is starting to pick up too, and I'm still marketing (I'm going home to address a bunch of announcement postcards tonight). Anybody think it's tacky for a probate lawyer to send an announcement to local funeral homes?

Basically we like it here very much. Kauai is very much the island that best suits us, it is very laid back and rural. My son goes to private school (Island School) so I can't speak much to the public school system, though he has a friend on his swim team who goes to public school, and he strikes me as a bright, well-spoken and polite boy (he's 11, my son is 12). Though he's a haole, he's also a big kid, and I don't think anybody would mess with him much! I don't know if he's had much trouble, but I've heard that the schools here on Kauai might not be quite as bad as some other islands. I have also heard that there is more of a 'red neck', 'good ol' (local) boy', type attitude out on the west side, don't know if that's true or not. My son has had some teasing at school but he's kind of a wimp (do they use that word anymore?) and had the same thing in NY. Nothing seems to be related to the fact that we're caucasian or new to the island.

It is very nice that it's not getting cold. I have to admit that I like that a LOT. Also, I don't have to wear pantyhose to work. A BIG plus. I wear my slippers so much, though, that one pair that I bought when I arrived is wearing out already.

We got our building permit today for my hubby's shop. And we found a great electrician. So now I'm going to have to spend some time getting contractors lined up and so on.

As for expense, it's not too bad. Most of my major expenses (aside from the mortgage, ugh) arise from the fact that I gave up a job with lots of benefits, and became self-employed. I have office start-up and overhead expenses, and HUGE payments for COBRA health insurance. Once I've been here 6 months, I will qualify for a low-premium, high-deductible (medically underwritten) health insurance policy from HMSA. I'm also paying to continue COBRA coverage of my vision/dental plan, so I can get the benefit for my son's braces, which will be put on in January. Once that's done I'll probably do private-pay on those things. And I have private school tuition (had that in NY also). The house taxes are lower here (will be even lower in a year, when our exemptions for owner-occupancy take effect) and insurance is a bit higher (includes hurricane coverage); utilities are actually lower (we have no A/C and conserve electricity, which is 45 cents per kWh), and food is about the same (in NY, we ate very gourmet; here, we buy what is on sale).

Hubby and I volunteered as poll workers yesterday, and that was a really fun (and educational) way to help out in the community. We had a steady turnout of voters in our little district, but only once had a line (about 10 minutes, max). It was weird coming home to watch the election returns (thinking wow, for once we won't have to stay up until 2 a.m. to see the west coast returns), only to find out that the contest was over (and Hawaii's electoral votes "counted" for Obama), before we had even finished voting! Weird. But at least we had our local races (mayor, county council, and some interesting state and county propositions) to keep us tuned in. Local politics here is interesting, the races are technically non-partisan, there are no political party committees running things, but people tell me that I'll soon see through that and begin to realize the party connections.

Anything else I can tell you? Happy to do so, on the forum or by PM.

[SkyBob]

Originally Posted by Sweetbeet

One thing that is currently driving me nuts about island life is the mold.

Keep us informed on the mold problem and what you are doing to eradicate it. It would irritate me to go to the closet and put a shirt on that had small patches of mold on it. To me that's almost worse than the thought of finding a giant centipede climbing the walls.

If anybody else has any comments on how they deal with the mold I would love to hear about it.

Bob

[kani-lehua]

try putting a heating rod in the closets or leave the closet doors open. that might help. there's also those pellet things (can't recall the name) that you put in a container that absorbs moisture. you might even try ceiling fans.

[paniclan]

Thanks for the post Sweetbeet!!! I will PM.