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I am currently living in Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA), but I just got a job offer in Hawaii that pays about 75k. I understand that Hawaii is a bit high in terms of cost of living, and I wonder if anyone could tell me whether my salary is sufficient for a reasonable living (and hopefully a little bit of savings as well).
I am single and I may decide to either rent a 1 bedroom or studio or perhaps share a place with another individual. I don't need a super nice place, but hopefully somewhere reasonably close to downtown (where I will be working), clean, and in a safe area. I enjoy gong out every once in a while for entertainment, but I don't really see myself as a huge spender. I do like to eat out fairly often, but I anticipate that about 1/3 to 1/2 my meals will be on the company's dime. I know that my standard of living might not be as high as on the mainland (Or will it? Silicon Valley is also fairly high cost of living relative to the rest of the US), but I am hoping that I won't have to live like a pauper if I were to make the move.
Finally, is it easy to make friends in Oahu? Would you say it's easier, harder, or about the same as on the mainland? What about the dating scene? I am Asian, btw, if it matters.
I am currently living in Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA), but I just got a job offer in Hawaii that pays about 75k. I understand that Hawaii is a bit high in terms of cost of living, and I wonder if anyone could tell me whether my salary is sufficient for a reasonable living (and hopefully a little bit of savings as well).
I am single and I may decide to either rent a 1 bedroom or studio or perhaps share a place with another individual. I don't need a super nice place, but hopefully somewhere reasonably close to downtown (where I will be working), clean, and in a safe area. I enjoy gong out every once in a while for entertainment, but I don't really see myself as a huge spender. I do like to eat out fairly often, but I anticipate that about 1/3 to 1/2 my meals will be on the company's dime. I know that my standard of living might not be as high as on the mainland (Or will it? Silicon Valley is also fairly high cost of living relative to the rest of the US), but I am hoping that I won't have to live like a pauper if I were to make the move.
Finally, is it easy to make friends in Oahu?Would you say it's easier, harder, or about the same as on the mainland? What about the dating scene? I am Asian, btw, if it matters.
I can't help you with the dating scene although there isn't a lack of single people in Oahu - I'd hit the online personals like match.com and look and see what the options look like.
$75K should be fine. What kind of salary are you coming from in Silicon Valley, as in do you make $125K in Silcon Valley and live check to check? Honolulu isn't way off of Silicon cost of living but there are some big differences like electric - I think of Honolulu as at least 10% more expensive as the bay area. If you can live on $75K in the bay area you should be able to do so here.
Making friends in Oahu isn't terribly difficult at least from my perspective and is about the same as the bay area - again, give the online personal a try (sign up for a free trial, doesn't cost you anything).
I am actually making a bit more in Silicon Valley, but not by as huge a difference as you mentioned.. about 15% more. I'm definitely not living paycheck by paycheck or anything currently.
Is using match.com pretty effective? I'm not an unattractive guy, but I'm not Brad Pitt either, haha. I guess one way to find out..
I am currently living in Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA), but I just got a job offer in Hawaii that pays about 75k. I understand that Hawaii is a bit high in terms of cost of living, and I wonder if anyone could tell me whether my salary is sufficient for a reasonable living (and hopefully a little bit of savings as well).
I suggest you check out a few of the Salary/Cost of Living Comparison sites online. Most of them will show you factual survey information about what various key expenses cost in each city, and you can map those onto your own current expenses to personalize the comparisons to your lifestyle. After you've reviewed three or four you'll have a much better idea what you're dealing with.
But to get you started, the first one I looked at showed that a $75K salary in Honolulu compares to a $68K salary in San Jose.
I hope to live downtown and believe most of my clients will be downtown. In the interest of living frugally and minimally, will it be possible to live here without having a car? I am hoping to live close enough to downtown to mostly rely on walking, and I am also considering buying a moped. Thanks.
I hope to live downtown and believe most of my clients will be downtown. In the interest of living frugally and minimally, will it be possible to live here without having a car? I am hoping to live close enough to downtown to mostly rely on walking, and I am also considering buying a moped. Thanks.
I live downtown - its possible to live without a car - it isn't entirely practical. There is a Safeway downtown - bars - restaurants.
You can't walk to the beach downtown - mopeds aren't practical downtown with all the traffic. I rarely see them downtown.
Some will chime in about the bus - The Bus is an option but it isn't all that it is cracked up to be - it is often crowded and hot - but, you want to be frugal - that is a better option than a moped. There are other practical matters like grocery shopping without a car - dating kind be a downer without car (Your date may not appreciate your frugalness when you pay her bus fare), and so on.
Some will chime in about the bus - The Bus is an option but it isn't all that it is cracked up to be - it is often crowded and hot - but, you want to be frugal - that is a better option than a moped. There are other practical matters like grocery shopping without a car - dating kind be a downer without car (Your date may not appreciate your frugalness when you pay her bus fare), and so on.
Crowded and *hot*? You really don't ride TheBus, do you? When it comes to A/C, the bus believes that more is better. I travel with a long sleeve shirt in my purse just to wear on the bus, and my feet are usually freezing by the time I get off.
Depending on where you want to go, TheBus can be a good option from downtown. They have a GPS site telling you when the next bus will arrive, which minimizes my main complaint (the buses are never on schedule, so I used to spend a looooong time waiting because either a bus was really late or just a bit early). But I hear rumors that to save $$ for rail construction they'll be cutting some bus service, so there's that.
I have friends who live not far from downtown car free. They rent when they need a car for the weekend to go to the North Shore or somewhere, and they take TheBus everywhere else. (However, they are close enough to walk to a beach, which matters I think.)
I hear that Enterprise is starting a ZipCar-like service in Honolulu, so that's another option for car-free living.
Crowded and *hot*? You really don't ride TheBus, do you?
I don't use The Bus on a regular basis - but when I do (I think I sound like the Dos Equis man now) it is usually crowded (meaning I'm standing) and hot (in evening rush hour) - but, maybe I'm just not lucky. I've never really had good experiences with it.
OP, you will find housing cheaper than in San Jose but it's not going to be as nice at the same price. A $1500 1-BR unit in San Jose is very different than a $1500 1-BR unit in downtown Honolulu. If you don't have high standards (i.e. expecting granite countertops) and especially if you don't hang around at home much, then you'll be okay.
As for a vehicle, you'll probably want one just to have more freedom in grocery and general shopping. Day to day goods will be visciously more expensive with less variety than in San Jose so having your own wheels wont necessarily cost that much more when you look at the big picture. Also, if you're single then you will be seen very strangely by females if you don't have a car - Oahu is a very car-centric kind of place.
Last edited by orangecat; 05-11-2012 at 09:53 PM..
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