Relocation Questions (Honolulu, Kaneohe, Ewa Beach: 2015, how much, homes)

[FederalGuy]

Originally Posted by pj737

Most of the long-time forum posters here think a single person needs $100K to live comfortably on Oahu.

The truth is if you can get past the high cost of housing/rent/mortgage, you can live very comfortably here on a relatively small amount of money. Because outdoor activities are almost always free, you can have a high quality of life on a budget. That is if you love the outdoors.

Thanks for you input! My feeling was always along the lines of your post; housing will deplete the fun money, but free things to do are plentiful in the area. Where I live, we are really only outside for about 5 months out of the year, (plus hunting season which is damn cold anyways) and even in those months, the summer activities around here are sparse (ocean water hit 65 this week I think, which will be the highest it gets all year).

[Kona Dave]

I have to agree with those who think you could easily make it. But it really depends on how badly you want to live here. I live on the west side in Makakilo/Kapolei. I have to drive the H1 freeway if I have a job in Waikiki like I have presently. So I leave earlier in the morning and earlier in the afternoon and my commutes are more than acceptable. I own a home that is in the $525k price median. It is just me and the wife. She works and we live on what you two are going to make. And we save money every month that we don't have an emergency. We have no debt other than our home. Our cars are a little older but we keep them in good shape and we bought Toyota/Honda so we know they will last a long time. Neither of us are big spenders and spend a lot of time at the beach or parks. You can do it if you really want to.

If you want a realtor recommendation you can PM me.

[VA2SA2HI]

Originally Posted by Kona Dave

I have to agree with those who think you could easily make it. But it really depends on how badly you want to live here. I live on the west side in Makakilo/Kapolei. I have to drive the H1 freeway if I have a job in Waikiki like I have presently. So I leave earlier in the morning and earlier in the afternoon and my commutes are more than acceptable. I own a home that is in the $525k price median. It is just me and the wife. She works and we live on what you two are going to make. And we save money every month that we don't have an emergency. We have no debt other than our home. Our cars are a little older but we keep them in good shape and we bought Toyota/Honda so we know they will last a long time. Neither of us are big spenders and spend a lot of time at the beach or parks. You can do it if you really want to.

If you want a realtor recommendation you can PM me.

Hi. Can you elaborate on "more than acceptable" commute? I had ruled out that area (despite affordability) based on what I've heard about commuting.

[Kona Dave]

Originally Posted by VA2SA2HI

Hi. Can you elaborate on "more than acceptable" commute? I had ruled out that area (despite affordability) based on what I've heard about commuting.

Sure, I'll be happy to. Normal commute time from my home to where I am working at Ala Moana is 35-40 minutes with no traffic. I arranged with my company to start work at 6:30am. So I leave the house at 5:30am and I average 45-50 minutes. Only 5-10 minutes longer for a normal commute. On the way home it is a little different. I take a different route home due to the terrible onramp designs in Honolulu going west bound. So my normal commute is 40-45 minutes going home with no traffic. I take 1/2 hour lunch so I leave work at 3:00pm. My commute time averages 50-60 minutes. Again only 5-15 minute longer commute. To me this is acceptable. If I had to leave 1/2 hour later to and from work it would add at least 30 minutes to my commute times each direction. Worst case would be 1.5 hours in the morning and 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon. This is assuming no major accidents. The earlier you leave the less chance of being in traffic behind an accident. Most employers these days understands and will usually work with you with your schedule due to traffic.

I love where I live because besides work, I don't have to drive around Honolulu/Waikiki. Though they are building housing here so fast I see traffic getting worse. But it is still nothing like driving through Waikiki.

I hope this helps.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Kona Dave

I arranged with my company to start work at 6:30am. So I leave the house at 5:30am and I average 45-50 minutes.

On the way home it is a little different. My commute time averages 50-60 minutes.

To me this is acceptable.

If I had to leave 1/2 hour later to and from work it would add at least 30 minutes to my commute times each direction.

Worst case would be 1.5 hours in the morning and 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon.

This is assuming no major accidents.

Yes folks - people actually find the above "acceptable".

[thejackalope]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Yes folks - people actually find the above "acceptable".

My friend says "Lucky we live Hawaii" is psi ops... He is probably right

[pj737]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Yes folks - people actually find the above "acceptable".

I agree. It's ridiculous. I find it hard to believe people endure that kind of pain to save less than a couple hundred a month (after you factor higher cost of commuting vs higher rent).

Other people across the US face similar traffic and long commutes to save on housing costs. The difference is the housing here is dirt cheap in town compared to that in other US metros where outlying suburbs require similar long commute times. It's common to see rents in other metros that are double (100% more) in the urban core vs those rents an hour drive away. Here the rent difference is maybe 30-40% more. That blows my mind.

[pj737]

Originally Posted by thejackalope

My friend says "Lucky we live Hawaii" is psi ops... He is probably right

Not all of us locals deal with those insane commute times. Some of us are a little smarter at planning our lives.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by pj737

I find it hard to believe people endure that kind of pain to save less than a couple hundred a month (after you factor higher cost of commuting vs higher rent).

To add insult to injury - after all that commuting, you find yourself in the paradise of Kapolei

[Mikala43]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

To add insult to injury - after all that commuting, you find yourself in the paradise of Kapolei

You can laugh, but I love it out here. I don't commute though.

It's flat with bike lanes so I can ride all over. All the landscaping is growing so it is more tropical. Huge mall going in. I'm kinda more on board with rail, sounds like fun to jump on have dinner and drinks in town, no need for a designated driver.

We go over to Aulani and Roy's for nice dinners. Hotels are going in. I have a good size yard, live in a great community though it's small. We do all kinds of activities together, movie night at pool, girls night, poker, etc.

It's amazingly quiet at night, tons of stars.

The only reason I have to go to town is for my specialist doctors, and that's because I do not want to switch.

Although I originally hated the thought of moving to Ewa Beach, I really like it. We do need a Whole Foods, and more good restaurants.