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I plan to move to oahu soon. I make about 2 grand a month from my VA pension.
Is this enough to live on? I am also looking into working.
I am so nervous about this move, but its the best thing I can think of to do for my health. It's WAY too hot here in Texas, and cold doesn't work for me either. I have just fallen in love with the people and culture when I visited years ago.
Any hints on how to go about this? I was planning to start a nanny service that caters to military kids. Or thinking about teaching. Anyone know the requirements for teaching in Hawaii?
Tanks.
If you're shipping a car, go with Matson. It will cost you about $1100. Sell all of your furniture, and ship only what you simply "cant live without". You may want to ship by USPS, as it's somewhat less expensive than shipping by Fedex or UPS. Our family moved to Hawaii from Dallas back in 2004 (in a 2 week timeframe from making our decision) and shipped our household items (everything except furniture as we didn't downsize at all at that time) by Fedex and it cost us a small fortune...plus Fedex lost 3 boxes which contained 2 laptops and some other small items. We have since moved back to the mainland, and in November we are moving once again back to Oahu. This time we have downsized considerably, selling almost everything, and taking only what we truly need...we will again be shipping the car with Matson.
You may want to look at vrbo.com, which offers vacation rentals. It's a totally free site and has rentals everywhere on the island. Once you find a few suitable places, my suggestion is to contact the owners, which you can do from that site, and explain that you are moving over, not just vacationing. Most will work considerably with you on a price, as ours did with our upcoming move. The rates that are listed are primarily for the vacationers, so don't let that get you down. The good thing with going thru vrbo is that you are able to "live" there without having to pay utilities, etc. Definitely worth looking into.
Hope this helps you somewhat. Good luck on your move. Feel free to contact me if you need more help.
You can't live on Oahu for that kind of money. I would recommend looking into low cost areas on the Big Island (Ka'u, Puna). The problem there will be employment on the BI.
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Location: Eureka CA
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If you're moving from Texas because of the heat,be sure you're not going from the frying pan into the fire.I moved BACK from Hawaii because of the heat. There are little pockets of mini-climates in HI. Choose carefully! And good luck.
Hmm, how much are apartment or studio rentals on Oahu? Do they come with electric? How much will water be? I think you will end up living with a room mate of some sort and still looking for employment as well.
These are just some rough guesstimates, hopefully someone can chime in with some more valid guesses.
Rent = $800 to $1500
Electric = $200
Water = $100
Sewer = (is there a sewer charge)
Trash Service = (is there one?)
Phone = $60
Internet = $60
Car expenses = hmm, costs are racking up, you'd better take the bus and not keep a car. How about a moped or bicycle?
Monthly bus pass = $100? (I'm sure The Bus website would tell you this number)
Food expenses = if you eat out much, it's easy to rack up $200 a week
Health insurance?
Savings?
Retirement fund?
Clothing and household expenses?
Well, I think it can be done, but if you are living by yourself you will have to budget carefully. Try it for awhile and save enough for an exit plan if you start to notice a negative monthly income trend.
For me it would depend on what quality of life you are currently experiencing and what you are expecting to achieve for the said $2k. I know for myself, there is no way I could live on $2k a month on Oahu. I would assume you would have medical covered if you are getting a VA pension. However, if you want to start a nanny service or teach you would like need to provide your own vehicle. Do you have one now or are you going to have to buy one? Do you have any savings behind you to help you get on your feet?
I would recommend not to ship out your household goods until you are sure you are that in love with the place. Craigslist is full of people selling their things because it is too expensive to ship them back.
When I lived on Oahu, I only made $2K a month. I never felt like I was struggling on $2000, but I lived in Mililani and shared a house with 2 other roommates. My share of the rent was $600. When I looked into renting a place by myself in Honolulu to be closer to work, studio condos started at around $800-1000 (not sure of current prices, this was 5 years ago). Most of those in that price range were complete dumps, but since there was very little affordable housing, there were many people competing for the same condos. There were always 15-20 others looking at the same condo and it was always rented to someone else. After 6 months of searching and applying for places, I gave up trying to find my own place. I was also lucky though that my sister was moving off island, so she gave me her car, so I had no car payment and only paid basic insurance required by the state. I also had very little debt. I also live very simply. I don't shop a lot. I prefer to cook at home vs. eating out. I drive old cars and run them until they die. I am quite content to live in a small home. I prefer to be outside anyway. So it depends on the person and the desired lifestyle.
Now I am on the Big Island, and I would never move back to Oahu. The cost of living is much better here and it is not overcrowded like Oahu. For the cost of a condo on Oahu, we are moving next week to Puna into a large 3-bd 2-bath home with a separate Ohana on a 1-acre lot. We can't even see the neighbors from the house. The Big Island is nice also because of the different climates at different elevations.
As for teaching, I don't know about the requirements for teachers, but I was told when I registered my son in school here that they are always in need of teacher's aides. The principal told us at orientation that there is a current shortage. For level 1, no experience is required, but CPR. You can find out all the info on jobs with the DOE on their website, including requirements for teachers.
When I moved to Hawaii, I just booked a round-trip ticket with a return trip in 6 months, so if it didn't work out I could always return. I had never been to HI before moving here and knew very little about the islands, so I had no idea what to expect. The round-trip ticket cost me about $150 more, but it felt good knowing I had the safety net if needed, but in the end I never needed to use it.
You may want to look at vrbo.com, which offers vacation rentals. It's a totally free site and has rentals everywhere on the island. Once you find a few suitable places, my suggestion is to contact the owners, which you can do from that site, and explain that you are moving over, not just vacationing. Most will work considerably with you on a price, as ours did with our upcoming move. The rates that are listed are primarily for the vacationers, so don't let that get you down. The good thing with going thru vrbo is that you are able to "live" there without having to pay utilities, etc. Definitely worth looking into.
This is exactly what we did when we moved to the Kona. We found a vacation rental that was advertised at $120 a night, but contacted the owner and asked them if they offered a discount for a long-term rental. We ended up getting the condo for $1400 a month with everything included (phone, electric, cable, trash, etc.). The best part was it was furnished, so we sold everything we had and just came with our suitcases and just had family ship a few boxes once we moved in, although beware shipping through the postal service as all our boxes came in smashed and one was completely ripped open on the side. Ended up having to throw away about 25% of what we shipped as it was damaged (even some of the handles on my expensive stainless steel cookware had broken off. Don't know what they do to those boxes). It was nice living there though for the first 4 months. It was a bit over what we were looking to pay long-term, but it was fine for 4 months and for those 4 months we got to live like tourists walking to town every evening exploring and enjoyed lounging by the pool during the day.
I do have a car a pt cruiser. I plan to ship it. I also plan to bring some clothes, my laptops, and a few personal items. Not sure about shipping my electronics in.
I have a bad knee and looking at surgery number 8 coming up soon. It just hurts a lot having warm or cold fronts coming through. I think the climate will help that. Also I would have access to lots of water for swimming which would be great for my knee and the rest of me.
Yes I know its hot there, but here its been 100 and holy crap for weeks. I love temps between 70 and 90.
I also don't eat out but maybe once a week now. I like cooking my own stuff.
I have my CPR cert already and first aid. I also am great with computers.
I would be arriving with about 5 grand to get started. And my pension may be up to 3grand by the time I make it there.
How hard is it to get someone to rent a room to a new comer?
is October a good time to come or spring better?
Truthfully I think what you are proposing to do sounds risky and I am a real risk taker. It is going to cost over $1k to ship your car alone, if you need to move it back there goes another $1k.
Not to put you off, but have you spoken with anyone about finding employment because it is a tough market to break into. I would imagine a lot of the jobs are at the lower end of the pay scale and if you don't know anyone it could be hard to get to the interview process.
What about taking yourself off on a 3 month holiday there. Sublet a condo and leave your things and car behind where you are now and just go for a trial run.
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