Our move to Maui-info for those who are planning to move (Kahului: low income, rental)

[tdr22]

This myth of bad medical care in Maui is just plain misinformation. I know as fact as I have been given superior care- more tests given, more expenses approved and paid by my insurance, more access to & direct contact with my Dr and specialists than on the mainland.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by tdr22

This myth of bad medical care in Maui is just plain misinformation. I know as fact as I have been given superior care- more tests given, more expenses approved and paid by my insurance, more access to & direct contact with my Dr and specialists than on the mainland.

You can get bad healthcare in any of the 50 states.

I don't think anyone says the doctors are bad in Hawaii. There just isn't enough of them. Many don't accept new patients since they are overrun.

Also true, there are specialists - but for some people, the specialist they need isn't on the island they live. Get in a major accident - likely seeing yourself airlifted to Oahu. That takes time.

Sure, you could see the same specialist issue if you lived in say, S. Dakota or in a lot of places. The hospitals on the outer islands are very basic hospitals and aren't well equiped for things like trauma, etc...

[Homeinspectorboise]

Medical care is great on Maui if you have the common cold. Try dealing with a knee or hip surgery or something major. Oahu is your only "hope" and even then many patients have to fly to the main land for surgery that Hawaii can not handle. Believe me, it happened to us. After calling Hawaii home for nearly 15 years, we had to relocate to the main land due to medical reasons. We just could not afford to fly back and forth to the main land and Oahu for routine services found in any other "state". Hawaii is very much still in third world status when it comes to medical issues. Even our neighbor in Kihei who works as an RN at Maui Memorial told us personally that he would never let any of his family members have surgery in Hawaii of any kind.

[Ebanks]

Originally Posted by Homeinspectorboise

Medical care is great on Maui if you have the common cold. Try dealing with a knee or hip surgery or something major. Oahu is your only "hope" and even then many patients have to fly to the main land for surgery that Hawaii can not handle. Believe me, it happened to us. After calling Hawaii home for nearly 15 years, we had to relocate to the main land due to medical reasons. We just could not afford to fly back and forth to the main land and Oahu for routine services found in any other "state". Hawaii is very much still in third world status when it comes to medical issues. Even our neighbor in Kihei who works as an RN at Maui Memorial told us personally that he would never let any of his family members have surgery in Hawaii of any kind.

Is this a joke? Have you ever seen or experienced third world healthcare?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Ebanks

Is this a joke? Have you ever seen or experienced third world healthcare?

It's an exaggeration for effect, but not by much. Many things in Hawai'i seem third worldish. It's a fact that everybody complains about and some transplants never adjust to.

Like the doctor shortage that makes it very difficult to find a physician or a dentist who is accepting new patients. Or the fact that a serious trauma injury on a neighbor island will usually require airlifting to Honolulu hospitals, and for some specialties will require travel to the mainland. Or doing without. Frankly, I had much better luck getting a loose crown recemented in rural Mexico on a Sunday than I did with a similar need in Hilo on a weekday.

In other areas of life, it's a lot of little things... No mainland banks, just state banks which have 'different' ways of doing things, like issuing separate ATM cards for checking and savings accounts. Ancient monochromatic text-based ATM machines that must have come here from the mainland to die. Downtown businesses in Hilo that are closed by 4, if they didn't already close at 3. My local post office is open for only 1 hour on Saturdays, and there is no mail delivery in the area. Grocery stores have inexplicable runs on random items, and then will be out of stock for weeks. Many mainland businesses will not ship to Hawai'i. The list goes on...

[Ebanks]

Originally Posted by OpenD

It's an exaggeration for effect, but not by much. Many things in Hawai'i seem third worldish. It's a fact that everybody complains about and some transplants never adjust to.

Like the doctor shortage that makes it very difficult to find a physician or a dentist who is accepting new patients. Or the fact that a serious trauma injury on a neighbor island will usually require airlifting to Honolulu hospitals, and for some specialties will require travel to the mainland. Or doing without. Frankly, I had much better luck getting a loose crown recemented in rural Mexico on a Sunday than I did with a similar need in Hilo on a weekday.

In other areas of life, it's a lot of little things... No mainland banks, just state banks which have 'different' ways of doing things, like issuing separate ATM cards for checking and savings accounts. Ancient monochromatic text-based ATM machines that must have come here from the mainland to die. Downtown businesses in Hilo that are closed by 4, if they didn't already close at 3. My local post office is open for only 1 hour on Saturdays, and there is no mail delivery in the area. Grocery stores have inexplicable runs on random items, and then will be out of stock for weeks. Many mainland businesses will not ship to Hawai'i. The list goes on...

This isn't third worldish, this is rural life. You just described, for the most part, living in any small community in America. Nearly none of the things you mentioned are exclusively island problems. All the complaints I read on this forum don't really seem to be an issue of moving from the mainland to an island, but more along the lines of moving from large metro areas to a rural area with rural services.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Ebanks

This isn't third worldish, this is rural life. You just described, for the most part, living in any small community in America. Nearly none of the things you mentioned are exclusively island problems. All the complaints I read on this forum don't really seem to be an issue of moving from the mainland to an island, but more along the lines of moving from large metro areas to a rural area with rural services.

Sorry, no. I've lived all over the country. If I meant that I would have said that.

Come on over and spend some time, and you'll see. Thinking you can generalize about the things that are different about Hawai'i and unique to island life as if they are just like some mainland experience is a common mistake people make before they actually get here and find out how it really is.

One simple fact, that we're 2,500 miles away, in one of the most geographically isolated places on the planet, alters a lot of things that you might not even think of.

[Hamshaw]

As I do shopping at Safeway in Washington State and Maui, I do see higher prices on Maui, but really not as high as some people report. Everything is just a little more and to be expected. And some things are pretty close to the same price, but NOTHING 4 to 10 times more than that one person posted. We will be making the move from Hood Canal, WA where we live now to Maui as soon as our home sells. I am retired from the Boeing Co. after almost 40 years and I'm 61 years old and want the laid back, warm retirement life that Maui offers.. I have done 4 to 5 years of research on just about everything you can think of about living on Maui. I don't want any surprises when I get there, so TOO much research is not too much.. BUT I do get a kick out of some people and what they say about the Island. Most of them you can tell, they didn't want to move there in the first place and for some reason post a lot of negative about their life (visit) there... If anyone is planning on moving to Maui, do the research and you'll be surprised on how it's not really all that expensive to live there unless you go crazy and live above you means....

[Ebanks]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Sorry, no. I've lived all over the country. If I meant that I would have said that.

Come on over and spend some time, and you'll see. Thinking you can generalize about the things that are different about Hawai'i and unique to island life as if they are just like some mainland experience is a common mistake people make before they actually get here and find out how it really is.

One simple fact, that we're 2,500 miles away, in one of the most geographically isolated places on the planet, alters a lot of things that you might not even think of.

I'm certainly not saying it wouldn't have it's own challenges and realities. I'm just saying that most of what I see people specifically complaining about are issues that aren't specific to island living. I lived in winter park Colorado the past 2.5 years and everything you listed is also true there. No mail delivery, short post office hours on Saturday, NO HOSPITAL at all, air lift 90 miles away for real emergencies, grocery stores running low from time to time, especially in winter if a slide closes the pass for more than a few days, etc.

[CyberCity]

Folks need to be extra attentive to their medical care on neighbor islands, due in part to (1) a shortage of providers and (2) the lack of availability of equipment (thus the need to go to other Oahu). It is not that we are third world or anything near as dire. Our family has had a wide variety of ailments, and we've always managed to find the care we need right here in Hawaii. And we've had some first-rate surgeries included.

Where you'll run into real difficulties is if you get something that requires specialized equipment for diagnosis or treatment. Plan on popping for some mainland airfare. But that cost is true of living in rural areas on the mainland ... airfare, gasoline, and/or hotels, are part of the price of getting seriously sick or injured unless you are already in a big city that has the specialists you need.

Lesson for all: don't come to Hawaii thinking shady palm trees on the beach is enough. Plan on obtaining medical insurance coverage, and having a charge card handy for when that "emergency medical condition" comes about, so you can hurry to the right place (either Oahu or the mainland).

If you are already battling a life threatening disease, or a medical condition that needs specialized care, then moving to Hawaii .... or to a mainland rural area .... might not be the easiest path.