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Hi everybody,
Ho hum, yes...another "should we pack up and move to Maui?" post!
We are in our mid-50's, kids are grown. We won't move without at least one of us having a solid job. Husband is a helicopter pilot with lots of experience, so he can likely get a job with one of the tour companies. He has lived on Oahu (25 years ago).
We currently live in Bellingham, WA - a beautiful but ridiculously expensive community with sky-high taxes, grocery prices and housing costs. Maui is actually pretty comparable in that respect. The rub is that the weather here, 8 months out of the year, is horrible. Rain. Cold. Gray. Day after day, week after week. My husband doesn't mind it much but I absolutely cannot stand it.
We are smart enough to know that living on Maui isn't anything like vacationing there. We are pretty simple people - active, "green," respectful, outdoorsy, real. When we visit, we don't stay in the mega-resorts.
So, specific questions:
Is it possible to find a nice, newer home to purchase in a decent area for 4-500k? ( and can anyone recommend a good realtor?)
Is there decent access to basic health care?
Is it really true that you have to be rich to be happy on Maui? (something I read on another thread...)
And is there anything else we should know, to make a wise informed decision?
Aloha LoriandRandy
I have a few bits of insight, as I just moved here last month from Texas. Although Texas is less expensive, I was only in Houston for 3 years and lived in NYC and SFO for 15 years, so I know what you mean by expensive living. Newer and nicer homes are around $750K - $1 million, and that's just in Kihei. I live in a neighborhood where there are newer homes (circa 2010) and they are worth around $650K, but a couple of brand new homes were just built (with ohanas for the rental income) for right about $1 million. Most of the houses where I live have a nice front and back yard, and have fruit bearing plants, and the neighborhoods are super quiet (8pm curfew). Almost all of the homes in this area have either ohanas or apts for rentals, so that may help defray the mortgage cost for you. It all depends on where you want to live. Kihei/Wailea will put you closer to the beaches and resorts, but upcountry will put you by the gorgeous mountainside and will have spectacular views of the ocean, only 20 minute drive to the beaches. I don't know a lot about the Upcountry homes and their costs, but I believe they are quite a bit older and may need some TLC. I don't know about living in West Maui either, so maybe someone else will chime in.
With regards to health care, depends on what you are needing to address. Normal PC visits and HBP meds for ex, you can achieve here - most of the docs are in Wailuku by the hospital. If you have chronic issues, you will have to plan to fly back to the mainland or Big Island or Oahu where there are larger medical facilities. My friend is a nurse and provided this info to me, so I'm going on her 18 + years on Maui. Dentists may be tough to find too.
I'm not rich, and I'm super happy. I'm comfortable and I saved wisely, and gave up a lot of "stuff" to make it happen, but I'm happy. I was willing to give up the 6-figure corp job for a P/T consulting WFH gig, which allows me to play in the sand most of the day and explore the island. I don't spend $$ like I did on the mainland, mainly because I don't draw that income but also because those types of stores are not present here - Nordstrom, DSW, BB&B, you get the drift. I've shopped at KMart more since I've been here than I have in my 46 years on the mainland.
Making a wise informed decision is about tolerance in my opinion. I'm on my own, so I didn't have someone to weigh in or provide input on how it would effect their lives. Therefore, I can tolerate a lot more bumps in the road and sacrifices than a couple might. On the other hand, moving on your own provides its own set of bumps that can be upsetting as there is no one else there to help out....but you make it work, because your goal is to live in paradise - that's what kept me going.
I would suggest making a list of things that you do for an entire week, such as going to the doctor (how far is it, how easy is it to make an appt), picking up groceries, going out to eat, picking up starbucks, getting the dog groomed, getting your nails done, going to church, picking up dry-cleaning, etc. Then do a trial run when you visit Maui and see if you can tolerate it. I'm guessing you won't be able to do everything here that you do in WA, and you will have to determine if you can live with or without it.
Good luck - search older posts on this board for other tips and suggestions.
I can't see many places on the mainland no matter how nice being comperable in price to most of Hawaii in general. We moved from Newport Beach which is very pricey and still are in shock at the cost of things here on Kauai. Just a simple lunch or dinner is usually double.
I'm not familiar with real estate on Maui but I'm sure others will chime in. 400-500k seems low to me. There is access to basic healthcare but be prepared to go to Oahu or the mainland for any specialists. I am a nurse here and the majority of my patients fly to the mainland because the facilities and some say the doctors are more up to date on things even than on Oahu.
You will probably wait months for appointments for say an allergist or audiologist or podiatrist. Well here on Kauai anyway.
I'm sure there are happy people who aren't rich but having some cushion will certainly help ease the transition and day to day sticker shock. Electricity is very high as well. We have solar hot water and a gas range and no a/c and pay upwards of $200 a month for 2 people and an infant. So things really add up.
I don't like discouraging people and it's good that you are doing research. Just be prepared to pay the "paradise tax".
All the real estate agents have their listings on-line, so it would be easy for you to check and see what sort of housing is in your price range.
"Rich to live on Maui" is going to depend upon your lifestyle. A place to live is going to cost you pretty substantially. Other than that, if your lifestyle is shopping and eating in restaurants, you'd need a lot of money. If your lifestyle is snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, hiking, eating local produce and barbecuing on the back deck, then it could be done with less income.
Thanks for the perspectives! TH, I love your idea of writing down what you do for a week and then imagining (or doing) it on Maui and seeing how expensive/difficult it is! Great idea, never thought of that! Oregon, I know you can find all kinds of real estate agents online - but we're looking for a good one! One that will dig for us, and not turn their noses up when the learn we're not looking for a seven-figure home.
Also, Oregon I love your perspective about what you like to do determining how happy you'd be living there. We are definitely of the latter! That is exactly why we want out of where we're living now; an outdoor lifestyle is impossible here 8 months out of the year (unless you ski/snowboard, or don't mind doing things in the cold rain).
So...SCG...you there's a shortage of dentists in HI? Can someone else chime in here? We are healthy and only need the routine stuff, medically speaking. Is it just a shortage of providers that causes a long wait for appointments?
Yes there is a shortage of providers. From what I hear from doctors, Hawaii insurance has very low payouts so they don't make nearly as much here as in other states. And I guess many have large student loans and probably went to school thinking they would have a decent lifestyle being a doctor. One told me his wife didn't like the fiscal sacrifices that were necessary to live here.
Also the islands are very transient in nature. Doctors (as do many people of all professions) tend to come and go. And, people don't really like to work a lot here so there isn't that sense of urgency to work extra. Aside from those who have to work a lot just to get by, many people work the bare minimum. The weather and beaches are just too appealing.
Yes there is a shortage of providers. From what I hear from doctors, Hawaii insurance has very low payouts so they don't make nearly as much here as in other states. And I guess many have large student loans and probably went to school thinking they would have a decent lifestyle being a doctor. One told me his wife didn't like the fiscal sacrifices that were necessary to live here.
Also the islands are very transient in nature. Doctors (as do many people of all professions) tend to come and go. And, people don't really like to work a lot here so there isn't that sense of urgency to work extra. Aside from those who have to work a lot just to get by, many people work the bare minimum. The weather and beaches are just too appealing.
Agreed, that's what I've been told as well from my friend who is a nurse here. In fact, I'm renting a place that is really for the traveling nurses, but I lucked out I guess. I got all my appointments in order on the mainland before I left, and loaded up on the necessary Rxs. Some Rxs won't transfer to HI per law, so check on that first. Finding a PC doc is tough here, but they do have Kaiser, if that's an option. I am planning a trip back to the mainland in 3 months, and have already booked my doc appointments during my visit. Hopefully by then I'll find a doc here on Maui that will help out, but at least I have the security of my mainland docs just in case. I met a doc on the plan ride last week from PHX that was actually moving out of Maui because of the cost of living. He had secured a job in the mainland, CO I think, and was flying back to close out everything on Maui. He was only here for 8 months before he realized he wasn't making the money he needed to.....oh well.
"One that will dig for us, and not turn their noses up when the learn we're not looking for a seven-figure home."
Each person's 'nice' is different regarding real estate. Maui has quite a few micro-climates so if you are wanting a wetter neighborhood closer to Oregon, you might want to look up in Makawao/Haiku/Waiehu etc. Kihei is pricier, and some people absolutely want to be near the beach, but even if you live upcountry, the beach is still only 30 minutes away. People pay a premium for a view, and view + beach access is pretty high, hence the prices in Kihei.
As oregonwoodsmoke mentioned all our listings are located online as the MLS will share and syndicate it to other sites. As far as agents go, Maui's real estate board consists entirely of Realtor designated real estate agents. I recommend interviewing a few until you find a nice match in personality, and what you are looking for. Feel free to PM me if you need any assistance.
Thanks Mitch. We actually prefer Upcountry Maui. I hope I didn't offend you with my comment about real estate agents, but as in any profession, there are awesome ones who we've really clicked with, and then, well....not-so-awesome ones.
TH, that was quite the cautionary tale about the doctor who couldn't make a go of it on Maui and came back after 8 months - yikes!! And SC, it's shocking to me that insurance companies' reimbursement rates are actually less on Maui, and a definite concern for me as I work in healthcare and about 1/2 my practice is from insurance.
Food for thought, but not enough to squash the dream quite yet...
Hello,
Have you guys considered renting for a year to see if island living is for you. As you said, it's one thing to vacation somewhere and it's another to live the day to day grind. Even if it is paradise.
Regards,
Mike W.
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