Free information from me how you can live on Big Island if you want to (Hana: renter, house)

[Hoosier Girl]

Check out my answer to the Michigan 'MommaofMany' and see my comments about living on the BI. We lived in Ninole for three years; the town south of Laupahoehoe at the 21 mile marker.

A thing I left out was gas/deisel prices......OMG!!!!!!!!!

Another I forgot to tell 'Momma' was there is not much shopping. Six years ago it was mainly Walmart and the tinyyyy mall and the few mom/pop stores. ANdddddddd Internet shopping can be extra expensive due to shipping to HI, that is ifffffffff they ship to HI; a surprising amount of businesses do not!

Ohhhhhh, also, even in Kona you'll see fireplace chimneys; the dampness in HI will come visit at some time, some place.

[mangodog]

It was an old legend that one could live very cheaply in Hawaii, but I think that legend has been laid to rest. However, a homeless person on the mainland could be a homeless person in Hawaii .

[caljoe63]

Aloha Mangodog new member here thanks for taking questions, my question is, i'm a mechanic by trade and in my job i've had the opportunity to work on everything from electric carts to heavy equipment to Harleys, could I make a living if I bring my tools and work from the house or maybe do a mobil mechanic thing, we've been to your island several times its our favorite, we were there in march for a couple weeks and I actually had people tell me
call me when you get here, so what do you think? Mahalo

[CyberCity]

My mechanic closed his auto repair business, and left Hawaii, a couple of years ago due to not being able to make a high enough profit to make it worthwhile. The overhead of leasing a shop was a main contributor to the problem. He was busy, it was just too hard to turn a profit.

The shop I use now hires independent contractors as their mechanics. The shop guarantees the work for the customer, but the mechanics are not employees (read that: no benefits).

Being a mechanic is a fine trade to have, we all have things that break or need upkeep such as cars, etc. Being careful in where you choose to invest your money (as a start up business) would be something for you to really think about. Starting out as an employee would be a good way to get established a bit, and insure a paycheck, at least in the beginning.

[caljoe63]

Thank you CyberCity, I was hopeing to hear how fast can you get here lol, but i see your point, I met some really great people last trip and actually have a little side job lined up for the next trip, so we'll see what happends down the road. And yeah benifits would be nice.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by caljoe63

Aloha Mangodog new member here thanks for taking questions,

Actually, everybody answers questions posted here. That's what C-D forums are all about.

my question is, i'm a mechanic by trade and in my job i've had the opportunity to work on everything from electric carts to heavy equipment to Harleys, could I make a living if I bring my tools and work from the house or maybe do a mobil mechanic thing,

Sure, it's possible. People always seem to be looking for good mechanics, especially the further outside Hilo and Kona you get, as evidenced by this thread, ironically started by Mangodog:
//www.city-data.com/forum/big-i...car-truck.html

From a pragmatic side, though, my questions back to you would be...

1) Do you have experience running a business? If you are a good mechanic that is half the battle, but you also need to be able to deal with getting the necessary licenses and permits (use the Search function here to dig out previous posts), handling payments for your work, collecting and paying the state's General Excise Tax, paying state income tax, and dealing with EPA regulations, liability insurance, etc.

2) Where will you locate? Running an auto repair business out of your house is not allowed by any of the HOAs I know of, even if you could get a license. And a mobile service sounds challenging for areas that get much rain, like Hilo or Puna. Maybe a combination. But you're going to need money to set up that kind of service. Where will you get that?

3) How will you support yourself while growing your business? Even if you are a great mechanic it can take time to build enough of a reputation to make a living at it. What if it takes a year, say? Or more?

Good luck

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Caljoe, I hate to sound too negative, but just want to pass on to you the subleties of doing business in Hawaii. I have some friends who have been trying to build their business here, and it is difficult. One thing they learned about the culture here is that people have a hard time telling someone "no" to their face, so they will say either "sounds good, Let's get together to talk more" and then never do or they'll actually set up a meeting time and then never show up. It happened to them many many times. So when people say to you " call me when you get here", it may be just another way to not say no.

I really do think we need more mechanics, especially in the rural areas of Ka'u where I live. But, I've seen good tradespeople come and go, so there may just not be enough work. A lot of people do their own repairs and maybe that's why.

[mangodog]

Dreaming: telling someone "no" to their face, so they will say either "sounds good, Let's get together to talk more" and then never do or they'll


Is that not the truth - in general - all over !

[caljoe63]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I do appreciate the realistic views, I dont know when it will happen forsure just wondering if it could be done, yes I dont think I would like a bunch of broken down cars around my neighborhood either I would definitely need a shop of some sort, I had a booming little motorcycle shop that I ran out of my house on the side, I was so busy I had no time for myself or family, so I had to pick, my real job with retirement and benifits or my shop, I closed my shop, looking back I wish I would have given it a shot but oh well. We usually stay around Kona but next trip i'll be spending so time over on the Hamakua coast side we havent spent to much time over there so it will be nice to check that side out somemore.

Dreamer, It's not just there, I cant tell you how many times I heard I'll be right over, never to here from them again lol.

Again thanks.

[mangodog]

Check out the ratio of motorcycle repair shops in the general area you might ever be interested in moving to. You might do well with ATV repair as well.