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I second this advice. Properties can DOUBLE in two years.
Except, doubling in two years has never happened in happened in Honolulu.
Or, this can happen to you - you could've bought in 1990 and waited until 2003 before your single family home was worth more than you paid in Honolulu a full 13 years before you saw any appreciation.
Or, you could've bought in 2007 and waited 5 years to get your money back.
From 1991 to 2001, property values in Honolulu dropped 6 of those years - and in that 10 year period, the highest appreciable year was only 2.7% - from 2007 to 2011, just about everyone in Honolulu saw property drop by at least 10% - which I'm sure the people on Big Island would be envious, they saw far more severe drops.
Except, doubling in two years has never happened in happened in Honolulu.
Or, you could've bought in 2007 and waited 5 years to get your money back.
I bought a Diamond Head condo in 1978. By 1980 it had tripled in value.
Another Diamond Head condo was bought in 2003. It doubled in value by 2005.
I bought a Gold Coast condo in 2008. I knew the market was near the top but now it is up 56%.
These are market purchases. I've done the same in San Francisco and Vegas.
You never answered if you were still planning to relocate to this side. Did you get priced out of Diamond Head?
In regards to people not being able to handle Hawaii:
It's anecdotal, I know, but I personally know 4 people who have moved to live "the dream".
1 stayed (Oahu), got married and just had her first baby. Still there. They were always pretty financially sound though so I'm not surprised to hear they're doing well. They both have advanced degrees and came to the island with jobs based on the mainland. I believe they're both employed locally now.
2 stayed (Oahu) after moving sight unseen with her husband. Middle income, he's a firefighter she's in HR. They have since had 2 kids and are doing well there.
3 stayed (Maui) and for all intents and purposes they were born to live there. They fit right in. He makes surfboards and she's a nurse. They have 2 kids and are moving out of their TINY "in-law suite" rental to a house upcountry.
4 left (Oahu), to return home and get her Masters. She then went on to meet her husband and has been plotting a way to get back there, despite his gov't job that currently has them overseas.
So.. I know the "we couldn't hack it" stories are real; I've read them online. But as far as my social circle tells me, if you're not completely without marketable skills/advance planning/a realistic expectation then you'll do ok.
Military ID card. That's what you need. You'll do fine. You have a dependent ID card, right? They wouldn't let my bf in, even with me there. Except Schofield. He could come in with me there. And I think the Marine base but that was too far for us. We were in Ewa. Hubby can get a permit to kayak to work across Pearl Harbor. Lots of people do it year round. Get a permit from the Port Ops people on Pearl. We were at the former base housing in Ewa. (but that's the only way I'd live in Ewa again and I'm not keen on sharing the water with the Navy traffic and sharks but my supervisor did it every day)
Thank you for clearing up the commissary for me. Looks like we will be moving to either HI or CO. Waiting to hear back from CO but moving forward with finishing the new hire info for HI. DoD is a beast within itself...
Kayaking across Pearl Harbor or even using a small dinghy to stay dry would be a great option! It's not that far of a distance and the traffic to go around Pearl Harbor is long and horrendous.
Somehow those folks trying to solve traffic problems on Oahu never consider a bridge across the mouth of Pearl Harbor, but I'm sure the military folks would nix that idea right away. Still, if they made the bridge tall enough that the ships could go under it, which would be a huge bridge, but consider how much another route between Ewa and downtown would improve traffic. Hmm, maybe a tunnel under the mouth of Pearl? That might be easier and maybe the military types could make that secure enough that they'd even let it be done? Might be less expensive than the train.
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