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I've been offered a pretty nice job in Hilo and seriously considering the move. However after reading websites and posts on this forum I have a few concerns that I wanted to address here to get your take on the situation.
Here are the details of my situation: I will be going with my wife and 3 year old daughter. In addition my wife is pregnant with twins. So this move is a pretty important life change for us. We have been to Hawaii on vacation for about a week and thought that this place was paradise. We would need to move in July.
Now my concerns:
1) vog... how often or how bad is it? My wife has asthma (allergy related) and particularly while pregnant this scares me. If it's rare, then it's no big deal, but if it's half the month, then that's a deal breaker.
2) healthcare... I've read some things that may make it hard for newcomers to find a doctor, both for the pregnancy and pediatrician. Is this rust rumors started by the interwebs or could this be an issue?
3) daycare/schools... for our 3 year old, are there some that we should steer clear of or some that we should start applying right away?
4) money... This job will pay about $65K/year. It looks like rentals are in the $1500-2400K depending on the location. That sounds like a substantial chunk of my salary! Is that feasible for a new family of 5.
That's it for now, though if there is anything that you can think of that I have not please mention it. I am so excited to have this possibility but I want to make sure I am not shortchanging my wife.
I've been offered a pretty nice job in Hilo and seriously considering the move. However after reading websites and posts on this forum I have a few concerns that I wanted to address here to get your take on the situation.
Here are the details of my situation: I will be going with my wife and 3 year old daughter. In addition my wife is pregnant with twins. So this move is a pretty important life change for us. We have been to Hawaii on vacation for about a week and thought that this place was paradise. We would need to move in July.
Now my concerns:
1) vog... how often or how bad is it? My wife has asthma (allergy related) and particularly while pregnant this scares me. If it's rare, then it's no big deal, but if it's half the month, then that's a deal breaker.
2) healthcare... I've read some things that may make it hard for newcomers to find a doctor, both for the pregnancy and pediatrician. Is this rust rumors started by the interwebs or could this be an issue?
3) daycare/schools... for our 3 year old, are there some that we should steer clear of or some that we should start applying right away?
4) money... This job will pay about $65K/year. It looks like rentals are in the $1500-2400K depending on the location. That sounds like a substantial chunk of my salary! Is that feasible for a new family of 5.
That's it for now, though if there is anything that you can think of that I have not please mention it. I am so excited to have this possibility but I want to make sure I am not shortchanging my wife.
Thank you very much in advance for your input!
1) The wind carries most of the vog over to the west side of the island. Generally, the air quality around Hilo is much better than, say, Los Angeles. That being said, if she has respiratory issues, she may have to stay inside or adjust her meds if you travel to the west side or if the wind makes an unusual shift.
2) I dont' know.
3) You need to do due dilligence when choosing schools and daycare. You may want to select the location of your residence in consideration of what school the child will be attending.
4) 65k is a lot of money for East Hawaii standards. What kind of rentals are you looking for? Within 30 minutes of Hilo is abundant housing available, some on acreage, for less than 1000 a month. The real estate market here is in the toilet, there is abundant housing for sale on nice properties for under 200k.
You say you vacationed in Hawaii for a week. But did you spend a week in and around the area you are considering to move to? The BI is nothing like Oahu or Maui or anywhere else in the state. If you haven't been, you need to visit before making such an important decision. You may also want to check out punaweb.org
1) The wind carries most of the vog over to the west side of the island. Generally, the air quality around Hilo is much better than, say, Los Angeles. That being said, if she has respiratory issues, she may have to stay inside or adjust her meds if you travel to the west side or if the wind makes an unusual shift.
2) I dont' know.
3) You need to do due dilligence when choosing schools and daycare. You may want to select the location of your residence in consideration of what school the child will be attending.
4) 65k is a lot of money for East Hawaii standards. What kind of rentals are you looking for? Within 30 minutes of Hilo is abundant housing available, some on acreage, for less than 1000 a month. The real estate market here is in the toilet, there is abundant housing for sale on nice properties for under 200k.
You say you vacationed in Hawaii for a week. But did you spend a week in and around the area you are considering to move to? The BI is nothing like Oahu or Maui or anywhere else in the state. If you haven't been, you need to visit before making such an important decision. You may also want to check out punaweb.org
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeychemist
Hello everyone,
I've been offered a pretty nice job in Hilo and seriously considering the move. However after reading websites and posts on this forum I have a few concerns that I wanted to address here to get your take on the situation.
Here are the details of my situation: I will be going with my wife and 3 year old daughter. In addition my wife is pregnant with twins. So this move is a pretty important life change for us. We have been to Hawaii on vacation for about a week and thought that this place was paradise. We would need to move in July.
Now my concerns:
1) vog... how often or how bad is it? My wife has asthma (allergy related) and particularly while pregnant this scares me. If it's rare, then it's no big deal, but if it's half the month, then that's a deal breaker.
2) healthcare... I've read some things that may make it hard for newcomers to find a doctor, both for the pregnancy and pediatrician. Is this rust rumors started by the interwebs or could this be an issue?
3) daycare/schools... for our 3 year old, are there some that we should steer clear of or some that we should start applying right away?
4) money... This job will pay about $65K/year. It looks like rentals are in the $1500-2400K depending on the location. That sounds like a substantial chunk of my salary! Is that feasible for a new family of 5.
That's it for now, though if there is anything that you can think of that I have not please mention it. I am so excited to have this possibility but I want to make sure I am not shortchanging my wife.
Thank you very much in advance for your input!
2) healthcare is a nightmare, from my experience; no bedside manner and incompetent doctors. (especially at the hospitals when you are having an emergency!)
4) I hate to break this too you but 65k is not enough for a family of 5 unless you want to live in the ghettos. 65k a year breaks down too roughly $3600.00 after taxes if claiming 3.
if you choose to live in Hilo, expect to take off $1500.00 a month for a nice, safe, neighborhood.
(keep in mind you might find a place for 1k now but eventually when market comes back rent will increase... be prepared to pay $1500.00 NOW)
perhaps another $1000 for foods, diapers, etc.. (food is very expensive here, think $7.00+ for gallon of milk )
electricity $250.00+
you have basically, 1k left over for, care insurance, car payment?, occasional outdoor festivities, etc.. etc..
65k for a family of 5 is most likely not enough income to sustain you in Hawaii....
With a family of five travelling to the mainland to visit relatives will be a very rare thing.
It can be done, but your quality of life could be lower than what you have now. If you already have a job on the mainland along with a support group such as family, it may not be the best for you to relocate your family to Hawaii. Frequently, once everything is factored in, it is much more beneficial to you and your family to live where the cost of living allows you to take Hawaiian vacations. Then you have the beauty and joy of Hawaii without having to scrimp and save and live a poorer quality of life. But there are also joys to living here, so those may offset the material things you'll not be able to have.
But to address your concerns more directly:
1. the vog can be bad, but usually not all that frequently in Hilo. A filtered breath mask is enough to cut it way down although wearing a filtered breath mask is a bit obvious when at the store. I have one since vog gives me headaches. Breathing through the mask the headache disappears almost instantly. Even breathing through a handkerchief is enough to lessen the headache so I suspect the vog particles are pretty big.
2. Healthcare can be a problem. I've heard that the best birthing unit is at the Waimea hospital which is about fifty miles away from Hilo.
3. Haven't a clue about daycare. The folks I know who have children drop them off with a friend or auntie to take care of during the day. In my neighborhood, one of the moms has two kids of her own and takes in two more for additional money since she makes more doing that than going out to work.
4. The money is going to disappear pretty quickly. Run up some numbers and see if they work. Factor in 20% more for everything you buy, triple the electric rates and check Craig's List for possible rental numbers to use. You don't want to rent anything until you are on island to actually view the neighborhood it is in, though. (Should you decide to move, of course)
It is something that if you don't do it, you are likely to regret it for the rest of your life, but it could set you back for several years if it doesn't work out. It's a tough choice and one you'll have to make for yourself eventually. What does your wife want? As a married person, you're kinda a team and this might be best as a team decision.
We have been to Hawaii on vacation for about a week and thought that this place was paradise.
In some ways that is a handicap. It's almost impossible to get a sense of the various downsides to daily life here in such a short time. You only get the high notes. Metaphorically, trying to decide whether to live here or not after a week's vacation is a lot like trying to decide whether or not to marry someone after one great date.
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeychemist
1) vog... how often or how bad is it?
I'd personally say it's generally a few bad days a month, but that's quite subjective. What do you consider bad? How sensitive is she? One recent post here by a retired guy who came for a month with his wife was very much a "Hilo Sucks" rant, and vog was one of his top peeves. Do an internet search on "vog in hilo" for a larger sampling of opinions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeychemist
2) healthcare... I've read some things that may make it hard for newcomers to find a doctor, both for the pregnancy and pediatrician. Is this rust rumors started by the interwebs or could this be an issue?
If you have good health insurance and are diligent about your search for a provider (co-workers are usually a good resource for contacts), you should be able to find a general practitioner/clinic and ob/gyn. The problem comes if you need a specialist for anything. Remember that Hilo is a fairly small town (40,000) and that anything medically complicated is going to wind up in Honolulu. "When in pain, get on a plane."
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeychemist
3) daycare/schools... for our 3 year old, are there some that we should steer clear of or some that we should start applying right away?
Schools will be a challenge for a family with little ones. You've basically got a choice between lousy public schools or expensive private schools.
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeychemist
4) money... This job will pay about $65K/year. It looks like rentals are in the $1500-2400K depending on the location. That sounds like a substantial chunk of my salary! Is that feasible for a new family of 5.
Again, this is highly subjective. Some here will tell you "NO WAY!" while others will say "Yes, WAY!" but it really comes down to what kind of lifestyle you are used to and aspire to.
If you value a simple, non-materialistic life in a place that is inherently beautiful but that can be downright squalid in some details, you could be fine, especially if you adapt to eating local foods from farmers markets rather than packaged goods from the mainland, and intend to spend your recreational time outdoors, rather then on QVC shopping for crap you don't need. On the other hand, if you are an average American family, sorry, you won't last. That may sound harsh, but that's what it comes down to. The cost of living in Hawai'i is too high to support all the excess of a typical contemporary American lifestyle.
But pare it down, and yes, you could be living in paradise here.
1. the vog can be bad, but usually not all that frequently in Hilo. A filtered breath mask is enough to cut it way down
Yeah, I didn't mention that I have a high-tech mask with activated filters I use, in an attractive pale blue, which I first acquired during the bird flu scare a few years ago. The vog is periodically very bad in Volcano (worse than Hilo), and I'll wear that mask if I'm doing heavy work outside during those occasional episodes. Indoors I run a HEPA filtered air cleaner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
4. The money is going to disappear pretty quickly.
Yes, it does boil down to that, doesn't it? With one down and twins on the way, even if they stay where they are, eh?.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
It is something that if you don't do it, you are likely to regret it for the rest of your life, but it could set you back for several years if it doesn't work out. It's a tough choice and one you'll have to make for yourself eventually. What does your wife want? As a married person, you're kinda a team and this might be best as a team decision.
As usual, Hotzcatz deserves a medal for her common sense commentary here.
I think I'm a tad older than Hotzcatz, and probably more battered and bruised by life, so I'll go just a little further than she did... yes, you ARE a team, and yes, you need to have your wife's complete alignment on this decision... not just acquiescence, not simply agreement, but her total alignment... or it is unlikely to go well for you. You need to be of one mind, or it will simply be too hard for you.
Thank you so much for the comments! There seems to be somewhat of a mix of opinions but helpful in making the decision. I'll try to reply to some of your questions:
Our trip to Hawaii was at Waikiki, so of course I'm sure that things are different on big island since it's more of a nature oriented island, where as Oahu has more of a city feel. This isn't a problem because we're more of a nature loving family. We love the fact that big island has beach, mountain, rainforest, desert, snow, etc...
As far as costs, we're very minimal. I've been working on a PhD for 5 years now with a salary of 22K/year so we know how to be thrifty. We love farmer's markets and other local businesses so whether we made 40K or 200K we would still shop there, because, let's face it, it's better food and it supports the community!
I think from what everyone said vog isn't going to be a big issue, and I do have a very nice mask with filters that I used during my chemistry lab years. So on those really bad days then my wife can use it and have no probs.
I guess at this point the only thing that scares me is money. I'm not looking to buy a bunch of crap or travel too much in the beginning, I just want to have a nice comfortable life in paradise so is 65K doable??
Our trip to Hawaii was at Waikiki, so of course I'm sure that things are different on big island since it's more of a nature oriented island, where as Oahu has more of a city feel. This isn't a problem because we're more of a nature loving family. We love the fact that big island has beach, mountain, rainforest, desert, snow, etc...
Oh my - could you have picked such complete opposite places - Waikiki and Hilo. Make money on the mainland - let your kids graduate high school - and if you can afford it - move to Hawaii at that point.
I guess at this point the only thing that scares me is money. I'm not looking to buy a bunch of crap or travel too much in the beginning, I just want to have a nice comfortable life in paradise so is 65K doable??
Yes, of course it is doable.Many people do it for a lot less. And it sounds like your head is in the right place to make a go of it. Whether or not you will like it is another matter completely.* I'd say a $65K salary here would be something like a $55K salary on the mainland.
*If you do decide to go for it, be serious about developing your exit strategy. There's nothing worse than getting here, deciding you don't like it, but being stuck. And it's a lonnnnnnggg drive back.
The hardest thing you're going to deal with is schools. Yes, your 3 year old is not in school yet, but how long do you plan to live here? If you will be here when he/she starts school, then you really do need to do a considerable amount of research about the schools in Hawaii. There have been many threads on this forum; in fact there's a current one titled "Schools are Bad". Please read all of the threads with an open mind and know that people are trying to give good solid advice based on their real experiences.
Living in Hawaii is not all about enjoying the beach, mountains, rainforest, etc. Daily life in Hilo is very very different than a quick vacation in Waikiki and very very very different than daily life just about anywhere on the mainland. Again, there is tons and tons of information on these threads. Do yourself and your family a favor and spend quality time reading what's been posted before making your decision.
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so is 65K doable??
