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Hi! I'm new to this site and my husband and I have decided to relocate to Hawaii. I have lived in southern California my whole life and he grew up in the Philippines til he was 11 then moved to Jersey and I met him right when he moved to Cali in 06. He has always wanted to live in an island environment and I'm excited that we have made the decision to move!
We have a 3 month old boy, our first baby, and are planning on purchasing our first condo when we move out there.
Basically I'm wondering what cities are best to live in, which have the best school system and the safest. My husband is planning on transferring to an ATT store there, he currently is an assistant manager at a store here. There are ATT's in Honolulu, Kailua Kona, Kaneohe and Pearl City as far as I know.
I researched car shipping and its about $975 per car to ship and we have two cars, which isn't bad. Is it necessary to have two cars while living in Oahu, are there a lot of places that are walking distance, food, stores etc depending on the city?
Also for those of you that have relocated to hawaii, what did you use to ship your items to Hawaii? Were planning on only shipping small items such as clothes, shoes, computer, TV and electronics that go with the TV and our fine china, but I'm wondering for items such as our mattress, which only cost $400 and our baby crib and dresser would it be worth it to buy new ones when we come out their, or pay for shipping? And how do we go about shipping items this big? We are definitely buying a new couch/tv stand/table/pots and pans.
I'm planning on saving $15,000 by next August for our relocation, we should have separately about $20,000 for a down payment on a condo.
Thanks in advance for any advice/tips/helpful sites!!!
The biggest mistake many make is assuming Hawaii is something that it is not. They see Hawaii from movies and pictures or worst case, from a vaction that is nothing how living on a tropical island is all about.
When someone ask me about moving to Hawaii, i can try and give advice, but I now find the best is to ask them what are they expecting? There are a lot of things that will not be the same, and I don;t mean Los Angeles to NYC diffrent, I mean Los Angeles to Tokyo type different, bith big major cities but they are nowhere close to each other in what to expect. Just like Great Falls Montana is nothing like Nagri India.
If you can give some extra info as to what you are looking for or expect it to be, that can help many understand your mindset and that can better give advice.
One thing I will mention that you are going to get a lot of advice that seems negative. It's not negative but rather honest advice based on real expereince of many. There are hundreds of past post of people looking to move to hawaii who only wanted to hear its the right thing and rah-rah you can do it. But those same people moved and ended up hating it because they ignored the possible negatives and when those negatives hit them they were not prepared to deal with it.
Moving to Hawaii is not like moving to another mainland city, you need to be prepared for some changes that are only on Hawaii. You also need to know that some advice is being given by people with difrent experience. A person who moved to hawaii years ago with a few dollars in their pocket and a dream may have made it because jobs and housing were available, today they would flop on their face because things are not what it was in 1990 or 2005. 2011 is 2011 and you need to deal with what is going on today, not 10 years ago.
Basically I'm wondering what cities are best to live in, which have the best school system and the safest.
There is only one city on Oahu, Honolulu. The rest are much smaller towns within the county of Honolulu. The population of the entire island is under a million.
Quote:
Originally Posted by taradene
I researched car shipping and its about $975 per car to ship and we have two cars, which isn't bad.
I'd check this closer to bon voyage time. Pasha, which is my first choice, is currently (today) quoting $1,072 from LA or San Diego. Matson, which is the biggest shipper overall, usually is matched to Pasha. I don't recommend Horizon. And do NOT use a freight forwarder. Also the tariffs are expected to rise soon due to the high price of oil.
Quote:
Originally Posted by taradene
I'm planning on saving $15,000 by next August for our relocation, we should have separately about $20,000 for a down payment on a condo.
Congrats. You seem to have a much more realistic plan than many do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by taradene
Thanks in advance for any advice/tips/helpful sites!!!
My suggestion is that you search through the back pages here. There's a ton of useful info already posted. Be sure to read the #2 Sticky Thread at the top of the page. It's very helpful.
Not just the sticky thread. Here are some threads found by using "Advanced Search" and putting in the hawaii forum and "Moving to Oahu". There are more:
<snip>
We have a 3 month old boy, our first baby, and are planning on purchasing our first condo when we move out there.
Basically I'm wondering what cities are best to live in, which have the best school system and the safest. My husband is planning on transferring to an ATT store there, he currently is an assistant manager at a store here. There are ATT's in Honolulu, Kailua Kona, Kaneohe and Pearl City as far as I know.
<snip>
Given the employment areas listed above, if it were me, I'd choose them in this order:
1. Kailua in the Kona District
2. Kaneohe
3. Pearl City
4. Honolulu
You may be able to afford a house in Kailua on the Big Island. It is a safer town than any of the others, too. Less traffic, less expensive to live. It is, however, on the Big Island so there won't be as may expensive stores as on Oahu. However there are also less strip clubs and Korean bars than as on Oahu, too. Much less population density than Oahu so it's not anywhere near as crowded. That is good because there aren't lines for things and such, but that is bad because there isn't enough population to have a bazillion choices of stores and things.
For raising a family on Oahu, Kaneohe is nicer than Honolulu since it's not quite as expensive and it's more houses than condos and apartments. Pearl City is on the outskirts of Honolulu and will be a bit less expensive than downtown although there probably isn't a whole lot of difference.
Don't buy any condos or houses until you've lived in the area for at least six months. You'll get a much better place if you rent in the area first.
As for "stuff" there are always folks moving back to the mainland and selling all their stuff they brought over with them or got since they moved for pennies on the dollar. Bring personal mementos and paperwork (medical papers, birth certificates, wedding certificates, etc.), photographs, and a few things you don't think you'll be able to replace but most everything can be easily replaced at yard and garage sales. As far as shipping goes, sending things via U.S. parcel post is probably the least expensive method other than shipping a pallet with a freight forwarder. If you can put everything on a pallet and shrink wrap the whole thing and drop it off at the dock then pick it up at the dock in Honolulu (or Kawaihae if you will be in Kailua-Kona), that may be the least expensive method of trans-locating stuff.
Oh, for clothing, bring things made of natural fiber. Silk, cotton and linen are very comfortable and breathe well. Synthetic fabrics are miserable to wear in our weather. Also tight clothes are miserable. Most folks can't afford to run an air conditioner so we rely on tradewinds to keep us cool and the natural fabrics help a lot, too. (Our electric rates are significantly higher than mainland rates, so air conditioning may not be affordable.) Folks also don't dress up as much in the islands as they do on the mainland so no need for really fancy clothes.
If you can afford to ship both cars, I would do it. In the coming years you will have Dr's & dentist, preschool and play dates etc.. to get do and it would be tough with only one car.
Coming from SoCal, Oahu will be closer to what you are used to, in terms of shopping, dining and the variety of home options. I would look at Kailua town, Kaneohe, Kapolei or Milillani.
And as everyone else has said, rent for 6-12 mos and get a feel for what you like and feel comfotable with. May ship just one car & clothes at first and if things work out, send for the rest.
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