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We have picked up and moved our family before (without jobs lined up, without housing lined up, etc.) and everything has worked itself out just fine because we are very determined to succeed, regardless of the circumstances.
We currently live in an extremely rural area that only has 10,000 residents, is the welfare capital of the state and most people in my profession only make $25K a year.....yet I proved my capabilities, worked my tail off and earned close to six figures in my last position here, which was unheard of. Reason being, I don't accept failure as an option, in anything I do - I really think if you have the right attitude, you can succeed anywhere - even in a place where the cost of living is high and the wages are low. I also run several part-time businesses to support our large family (we just adopted our 6th child from China (we have 5 biological Haoeles - so we want to live around more cultural diversity and more of an Asian population as well.) That's one of 10,000 reasons we are seriously considering a move to Hawaii.
What about a safe swimmable beach within 30 minutes, if not 15?
I get emails daily from indeed.com
I HATE the cold and am DONE with brutal Michigan winters. We looked at moving to Georgia, South Carolina or Florida for many years, but my husband isn't a fan of high humidity. Hawaii's climate seems like a great compromise for our marriage
I hope I have explained myself a little better and I truly do appreciate your words of wisdom! I can do online reserach all day long, but talking to some locals is invaluable to me.
Thank you for your replies, especially those that have kindly responded and have been helpful. (I am happy to see a couple of the mocking and ridiculing responses posted earlier were deleted. I don't see how that is welcoming or friendly. Sheesh.
Since you're new, I'll point out this section of the Terms of Service that you may have skimmed over when you signed up. A link to the complete TOS can be found at the top of each forum here:
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Please use the Search this Forum tool to find info you need, as much has already been written about schools, jobs, weather, crime, prices, rentals, walkability and other aspects of a location. If you don't find it, please sign in and ask your questions. New users should use the Search this Forum tool before posting a question that may have already been answered. Let us know that you have searched the forums, so we don't assume otherwise.
When asking questions about a location, give as much detail as you can, so we can zero in on the info you need. If house hunting, what is your price level or rental amount. How many BR's, Baths, square feet, lot size, etc, do you need? Pets? SFH, TH, Condo, mobile home? In-town, rural, college town, military town, mountains? Schools for children? Gated community, golf course community, active senior community? Do you need to stable a horse? Is there an RV or boat trailer to consider? The more you tell us, the sooner our regular posters can reply with specificity. Same for any other criteria you have. Please avoid open-ended requests like "I'm moving to your city, tell me EVERYTHING I need to know."
Apologies for other folks' doubts and cynicism earlier, but we've all been burned before, frequently and recently. We've had several pranksters posing as clueless or naive dreamers, ignoring all of the above instructions, eliciting lots of genuine responses, but then turning against the responders and causing upset. Your post, unfortunately, had many of the same characteristics.
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Yes, obviously I am in the preliminary research phase and have no knowledge of the BI, that's why I'm asking.
Per the TOS, use the Search Function, do your homework. Until you know a lot more you don't even know the right questions to ask. Hawai'i is different, very different, from any other part of the US, so moving here is in no way like packing up the UHaul and getting on the Interstate. I would say it is closer to moving to a different country, a third world country, for the totality of how it is different. There are things that just don't "translate." There are lots of natural assumptions you make about mainland locations that aren't even valid here.
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We have picked up and moved our family before (without jobs lined up, without housing lined up, etc.) and everything has worked itself out just fine because we are very determined to succeed, regardless of the circumstances.
And I'll say that's one of those things that just may not translate well here.
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I really think if you have the right attitude, you can succeed anywhere - even in a place where the cost of living is high and the wages are low.
And that attitude can get you into a lot of trouble in Hawai'i, especially with 6 kids. Sorry, but kids can't eat attitude, and if you do fail the social safety net here is puny.
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Ok, so there isn't yard space to speak of, or why is it that my children wouldn't be able to play in the yard or ride their bicycles - aren't there any cul-de-sacs or quieter streets? If we need to live in a condo and go to community playgrounds instead or use a community swimming pool, that's fine too. I was just wondering what typical middle class families lived like there....
I live in Volcano, on the Puna side. It has a largely professional population and is an arts colony. Way above average demographics. Most of the people who live here either work in the nearby National Park, or down in Hilo, nearly an hour away. There is a Community Center here, probably the best in the District, because people come up from other communities like Mountain View and Fern Forest and Pahala to participate in the handful of things that are offered. It has a small playground and offers a few activities for kids, mostly on weekends. There is no community pool. There's honestly not much to do here. And it's obvious there is not much to do here. The kids on my street get together and run down the hill and walk up the hill and run down the hill and walk up the hill and then go to somebody's house and watch TV. For school they have to be out at the road for the bus at 6AM when it's still very dark. (One of the 10,000 things people don't know about Hawai'i... days are short in the tropics). And by the way, the schools basically suck. For people without kids, Hawai'i can be a great place to live. With kids, it can be very hard.
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We will bring approximately $15K in cash to live on for the first little bit until we can get established.
This stopped me cold. I think that's a reasonable amount for a single person coming to the Big Island... with the caveat that there's a risk you could blow through the whole 15K without ever getting "established," so be sure you have a return ticket tucked away someplace safe.
For a family of 8... it's not even remotely realistic. Sorry.
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But I don't expect to be out of work long - we will pound the pavement and wait tables or whatever we have to do to survive until we can make connections with locals and get business jobs.
That's the spirit. Unfortunately there are a lot of other people out there scrounging for the same thing, and they've all been here longer than you.
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I have a variety of skills, so I can succeed as an entrepreneur with an internet connection from anywhere in the world....so I am more concerned about my husband getting into a bank or credit union. Although he has 15 years of retail experience he could always fall back on too. We are open to anything.
Again, good for you. Be sure when you are reading through the archives to notice the number of references people make to working 2 or even 3 part time jobs for years at a time just to survive. And don't skip over the parts about how Hawai'i is much more expensive than where you live now, yet the pay is much lower.
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My husband has arthirits and I have debilitating allergies - we are hoping to feel healthier in Hawaii, considering it has some of the least amount of barometric pressure changes than anywhere else in the world and our current location has DAILY pressure changes that effect both of us and make us feel pretty miserable. Obviously the vog might be an issue for me, but I won't know until I get there....
Another area to pay attention to in your research is that doctors are in critically short supply on the Big Island, and it's hard to find doctors who are accepting new patients. And for specialists, or critical care, you have to fly to Oahu. It's one of the biggest shortcomings of living here.
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Hawaii's climate seems like a great compromise for our marriage
Yes, it's a fabulous place to live if you don't have to work, are in good health, and don't have kids!
Also plan to rent a VRBO for the first month that we live there, until we find the right area to sign a long term lease.
Maui is unaffordable.
What about a safe swimmable beach within 30 minutes, if not 15?
or ride their bicycles - aren't there any cul-de-sacs or quieter streets? If we need to live in a condo I was just wondering what typical middle class families lived like there....
I did a search on Realtor.Com for houses in the $250-$350K range within 20 miles of Kona and I came up with around 125 houses.
We will bring approximately $15K in cash to live on for the first little bit until we can get established. But I don't expect to be out of work long - we will pound the pavement and wait tables or whatever we have to do to survive until we can make connections with locals and get business jobs.
I was just curious if there was even a remote chance that we could still participate in seasonal activities of some sort. When I mentioned our holiday traditions here in the Midwest (apples, hayrides, etc.) I was just curious how Hawaii families "replace" those types of activities over there, i.e., how do you celebrate them instead?
My husband has arthirits and I have debilitating allergies - we are hoping to feel healthier in Hawaii, considering it has some of the least amount of barometric pressure changes than anywhere else in the world and our current location has DAILY pressure changes that effect both of us and make us feel pretty miserable. Obviously the vog might be an issue for me, but I won't know until I get there....
I'll take some of these things in order.
You will find the inventory of VRBO properties that can accomodate 8 people very slim - and those that can will be very expensive. Furthermore, the number of rental properties that can accomodate that many people will also be very slim and very expensive. You might not even find any suitable property. Also, electricity will be 3X or more from the mainland. Even if you managed a $9/hr bank teller job - your potential landlord would be hesitant to have a tenant that doesn't have the income to support rent.
Maui isn't that much more expensive than the Kona area. There are many more jobs in Maui due to much higher tourism.
Beaches - one generally does not go to the Big Island searching for beaches - the Kona area specifically has "some" - but the area is mostly lava and depending on where one resides, it may be a hike to a beach. Want beaches, again - Maui is more what you are looking for.
Hawaii in general isn't very bike friendly - live in a condo??? You are a family of 8 - you aren't going to find a condo that accomodates 8 people. Typical middle class family - the only typical middle class families in Hawaii are in Oahu - nothing is "typical" on the outer islands.
If you are bringing $15K in cash - how are you going to afford a $250K to $350K house?
Business jobs? I think if you ever make it to Kona - you'll find that is kind of odd ambition.
You'll need to give up your love of seasonal activites. Your apples, hayrides, etc aren't "replaced" by anything.
If you have any kind of medical issues - Hawaii is one the last places you want to be. We have a huge physician shortage especially on the Big Island and any serious issue requires flying to Oahu. Vog will be an issue for you in the Kona area.
With Halloween around the corner, I was wondering if families could still find a hayride, haunted house, pumpkin patch, apple cider/donut place, etc. on the Big Island? What about at Christmastime - is there a Santa parade or other fun activities for kids? Just wondering how (without the more obvious change in seasons)families celebrate holidays and keep traditions with their children....
In my particular neighborhood, there will be zillions of trick-or-treaters, although it's not all that common to have that many in most neighborhoods. We live in Honokaa, which is somewhere between a village and small town, and I think a lot of folks drive in from the housing areas around us. (I'd say "villages" around us but that insinuates something other than a few houses). There will be a Halloween party at the local theatre with a band and costumes. Up in Kohala (the very top of the island) there is a corn patch maze/ pumpkin patch sort of thing as well as one in Waimea. A school group puts it on, I think.
No apple cider places since most apples don't grow here. We are a sub-tropical place and most varieties of fruits which require winter chill time - apples, peaches, plums, cherries, etc., don't set fruit. For that matter, no donut shops on the island that I know of. We do have several malasada places which is sort of the island equivalent of a doughnut. If a kid asks you what a "donut" is, tell them it is like a malasada with a hole in the middle of it and then invariably they will ask you why anyone would want a hole in the middle of their malasada.
Hawaii is more geared towards family celebrations than celebrating with children. There are loads of celebrations, starting from baby luaus, to the annual Bon dance, various parades (which usually have loads of kids in them), rodeos, hula festivals, coffee festivals, breadfruit festivals, etc.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
We like to take the kids downhill skiing once every winter....any way to do that there, other than by heliicopter on a huge death-defying slope? (No thanks
There is skiing up on Mauna Kea occasionally, but children aren't allowed up at that altitude. Frequently, folks will take a pickup truck up the mountain and bring back a load of snow to the beach for the kids to make a snowperson with.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
What about an amusement park...no rollercoasters or theme parks anywhere? Even small ones? We usually do that one weekend every summer here as well...
That's why folks take mainland vacations to Disney land or some other "amusement" park. There is the annual County Fair where they have rides at the fair. They set up on the Kona side (where the town of Kailua is) as well as the Hilo side.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
Just trying to think of the activities we will be giving up. There will be so many that we will gain living there on the Big Island, that it's not much of a sacrifice. We'll find new things to do. I'm just curious what traditions we can keep doing so I can reassure the kids.
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What neighborhoods would you recommend? I would like to find one that is relatively close (30 minutes or less) to the towns where we will probably end up working (I'm guessing that will be Kona, Capt. Cook, any others where people normally find jobs? My husband works at a bank - seems to be banks everywhere there
Well, this is a very large and very rural island. We don't have a lot of "neighborhoods" per sae, since it's more scattered houses than actual "neighborhoods". Many of the towns listed on the map are nothing more than a post office with a few houses.
There aren't a lot of roads and the main one that we have is the "belt highway" (it goes by various names and numbers as it circles the island so nobody pays attention to them). That "highway" is mostly a two lane blacktop and the highest posted speed is 55 although frequently is it less than that. We also frequently have tourists wandering slowly on it. I suspect they see it as a "secondary road" (which is what it would be on the mainland) and they figure if folks were in a hurry they'd take a different faster road not realizing that it is the only road.
Your basic problem will be employment, especially employment that will afford you enough to keep everyone alive. Don't worry about which neighborhood you want to live in until you've found the employment location. If you can find a job that will support the family, then it will work. But there aren't that many jobs out there that will support a family of that size and any jobs like that will go to the relatives, neighbors and friends of the folks hiring way before the jobs will go to anyone from somewhere else. Lack of employment is probably going to be the basic problem with your plan to move to Hawaii.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
Also, one that is safe enough that our kids can ride their bikes on our street without me worrying. Where the whole neighborhood doesn't see you if you decide to play a game of baseball in your yard - we like our privacy.One that is relatively close (30 minutes or less) to the best public schools - yes I know they are nothing like Michigan public schools - and close (15 minutes preferably) to safe beaches that aren't known for having rip currents, etc. and 30 minutes or less to the stores (Walmart, Target, Home Depot, etc.), restaurants, movie theaters, etc.
Well, there are very few sidewalks on this island so your kids will be riding their bikes in the street. Hopefully it will be paved, I guess. They will be in more danger from cars than from anything else, though.
Ah, sorry, you're not going to get a yard big enough to play a game of baseball in without the neighbors being able to watch. Who are you going to play with unless you invite the neighbors, anyway? Houses and lots are smaller in Hawaii because land and houses are much more expensive. If you want that level of "privacy" then you'll need acres of land which puts you much further away than a half hour from anything.
Well, lets see. There's only two places on the island that have that sort of stores you mentioned. There is a Walmart (eeuwe!), Home DePot and even a Target now in both Kailua and Hilo. Kailua has a reasonable beach over at the Old Airport area just below the town. Hilo doesn't really have much of a beach, although there are rocky ocean accesses along the shoreline which have more of swimming holes than beaches. The island of Hawaii is too new to have a lot of large long sandy beaches like the other islands do.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
I would like to find something decent (even if it's a fixer upper) for around $250K, so that would be the price range of a neighborhood we could afford.
Is there any community - or town on the Kona side -that you can think of that meets some or most of what I have described?
Thank you so much for your insight!
Well, that price bracket pretty much knocks out the Kona district. You may want to look over in the Puna district or some of the areas outside of the Kona district. But none of this matters until you can find employment and most businesses won't employ someone directly from the mainland because they are too likely to leave within a few months.
Considering how difficult it has gotten lately to buy houses, unless you can put 20% down and prove long time employment, actually buying a house may not even be an option no matter even if you can find the house you want.
Thank you for your replies, especially those that have kindly responded and have been helpful. (I am happy to see a couple of the mocking and ridiculing responses posted earlier were deleted. I don't see how that is welcoming or friendly. Sheesh. If someone was thinking of moving to my hometown, I would point out all of the potential challenges and realistic negatives, but nonetheless try to keep it positive and helpful.) I apologize, however, for coming off as being so naive. This is my very first time joining City Data and my very first time posting - I am very new to this. But no, I'm not playing a practical joke like someone implied.
Yes, obviously I am in the preliminary research phase and have no knowledge of the BI, that's why I'm asking. No, haven't visited, but plan to as soon as feasible, even if I have to fly there alone while hubby stays behind to look after our brood. Also plan to rent a VRBO for the first month that we live there, until we find the right area to sign a long term lease.
We have picked up and moved our family before (without jobs lined up, without housing lined up, etc.) and everything has worked itself out just fine because we are very determined to succeed, regardless of the circumstances.
That's nice, but if there is no employment, there is no employment. Being determined to succeed is jolly and all, but sometimes it isn't enough.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
We currently live in an extremely rural area that only has 10,000 residents, is the welfare capital of the state and most people in my profession only make $25K a year.....yet I proved my capabilities, worked my tail off and earned close to six figures in my last position here, which was unheard of. Reason being, I don't accept failure as an option, in anything I do - I really think if you have the right attitude, you can succeed anywhere - even in a place where the cost of living is high and the wages are low. I also run several part-time businesses to support our large family (we just adopted our 6th child from China (we have 5 biological Haoeles - so we want to live around more cultural diversity and more of an Asian population as well.) That's one of 10,000 reasons we are seriously considering a move to Hawaii.
"Haole" is how we spell it around here, although you've probably already found that out. Having several part time businesses might be an answer to the lack of employment problem, although not all mainland businesses translate to Hawaii. It isn't your attitude to succeed which is in question, it is whether there are any jobs out there that would pay enough to support your family that would be offered to you or your husband. The unemployment rate is much higher for the islands other than Oahu, I'm not sure what it is, but I'm guessing 10% or so. There just aren't that many jobs out there and any good ones go to people that have connections.
There are only 185K people on this whole island and that's all the people there are unless you get on an airplane. You can't drive an hour away and find more folks. Hilo - the second largest town in the state has a population of 45K. Kailua-Kona has a population of around 12K.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
I really have no interest in being in crowded Oahu..we are used to country life. Maui is unaffordable. The only other island I would consider would be Kauai...but I'm afraid it might be too boring...the Big Island has so many free activities out in nature and is so big to explore, I think it would be a better place to raise kids? Anyone who knows anything about Kauai, please feel free to educate me on whether you think we would like it there....
If Maui is unaffordable, Oahu is twice as much. Kauai is also very expensive.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
What about a safe swimmable beach within 30 minutes, if not 15?
Ok, so there isn't yard space to speak of, or why is it that my children wouldn't be able to play in the yard or ride their bicycles - aren't there any cul-de-sacs or quieter streets? If we need to live in a condo and go to community playgrounds instead or use a community swimming pool, that's fine too. I was just wondering what typical middle class families lived like there....
There isn't much "typical" of anything here, let alone the middle class you are used to.
Any housing that close to a beach is going to be way out of your price range. As the Realtors always say "location, location, location" and being close to a beach is a major location point.
The neighborhoods you can probably afford aren't going to have things like cul-de-sacs or even much pavement. Cul-de-sacs are for neighborhoods designed with the actual intent for folks to build houses. When most of the big housing areas in Hawaii were built (many of these are over on the Hilo side) they weren't really built as housing areas but as a scam to sell undesirable land to mainland folks via late night TV advertising. They took thousands of acres of scrubby rocky grazing land and mapped it out in big squares. Well, they weren't really squares, the lots were long and skinny since then you don't have to have as many roads. They drove a bulldozer down the property line in front and kinda made it wide enough to be a "road" but that was about all the improvement they did. The back property line was just a bulldozed trail where they added the back pins to the property. Then those "subdivision lots" were sold to unsuspecting folks. No power, pavement, post office, water, sewage, newpaper, trash pickup, etc. etc. This started back in the late sixties and seventies and was pretty much stopped by the eighties but folks have been playing catch up ever since. These "subdivisions" would be Fern Forest, Eden Rock, Fern Acres, Hawaiian Acres, Orchidland, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Nanawale Estates, Ainaloa, Leilani Estates, etc. etc. And they are all nothing but tracts of long skinny lots, no shops, stores, parks, churches, etc. So, this still has a huge imprint on the current housing areas.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
Just ordered The Big Island Revealed off Amazon, should be here any day. Want to order "So you want to move to Hawaii" too and read every blog, book, forum, etc. I can get my hands on to be prepared. I did a search on Realtor.Com for houses in the $250-$350K range within 20 miles of Kona and I came up with around 125 houses. They weren't very nice, but decent and could be fixed up. We have flipped several houses in the past and turned dirty inhabitable houses into showplaces, doing the work ourselves (I am also a part-time interior designer).
I get emails daily from indeed.com with banking positions within 20 miles of Kona too. But I guess I need to look closer to see if they are those positions in the grocery store - didn't think of that, thank you OpenD for pointing that out. I have also found financial advisor/investor type positions there in the Kona region with Merrill Lynch, Ed Jones, etc. that my husband might be eligible for...but unfortunately, you are right, it does appear that we need to be residents before either of us will even be considered for an interview. We will bring approximately $15K in cash to live on for the first little bit until we can get established. But I don't expect to be out of work long - we will pound the pavement and wait tables or whatever we have to do to survive until we can make connections with locals and get business jobs. I have a variety of skills, so I can succeed as an entrepreneur with an internet connection from anywhere in the world....so I am more concerned about my husband getting into a bank or credit union. Although he has 15 years of retail experience he could always fall back on too. We are open to anything.
Prices are down at the moment, so this is the time you would be able to make a move to Hawaii, if it's possible at all.
15K cash can get sucked up real quick, though. First and last month's rent, buying a car, (not a lot of bus service around here although there is some now), putting gas in the car, one big enough to haul the whole family isn't going to get good gas mileage. Food, furniture, etc.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
I absolutely realize that ski resorts and amusement parks are not important to the rearing of our kids. I just mentioned that because those are our summer and winter traditions here - we have a big family, so the only real "vacation" we take is an overnight or weekend trip to those types of parks. I was just curious if there was even a remote chance that we could still participate in seasonal activities of some sort. When I mentioned our holiday traditions here in the Midwest (apples, hayrides, etc.) I was just curious how Hawaii families "replace" those types of activities over there, i.e., how do you celebrate them instead? I just want some examples of what you do with your children to make it fun for them during the holidays.
You can always go check into one of the big beach resorts if you feel the need or go stay overnight at Volcano National Park and see what the volcano is up to. You could fly to Oahu and go to the waterpark they have there.
The holidays are based around calendar dates more than seasons although after awhile you'll notice the seasons, they just aren't as blatant as on the mainland.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
My husband has arthirits and I have debilitating allergies - we are hoping to feel healthier in Hawaii, considering it has some of the least amount of barometric pressure changes than anywhere else in the world and our current location has DAILY pressure changes that effect both of us and make us feel pretty miserable. Obviously the vog might be an issue for me, but I won't know until I get there....
I HATE the cold and am DONE with brutal Michigan winters. We looked at moving to Georgia, South Carolina or Florida for many years, but my husband isn't a fan of high humidity. Hawaii's climate seems like a great compromise for our marriage
Ah, the vog may prove a deal breaker. Hard to move to somewhere that is hard to breathe. Kailua Kona gets a lot of vog these days. Less vog in Hilo.
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Originally Posted by mommyofmanykids
I hope I have explained myself a little better and I truly do appreciate your words of wisdom! I can do online research all day long, but talking to some locals is invaluable to me.
Thank you for your replies, especially those that have kindly responded and have been helpful. (I am happy to see a couple of the mocking and ridiculing responses posted earlier were deleted. I don't see how that is welcoming or friendly. Sheesh. If someone was thinking of moving to my hometown, I would point out all of the potential challenges and realistic negatives, but nonetheless try to keep it positive and helpful.) I apologize, however, for coming off as being so naive. This is my very first time joining City Data and my very first time posting - I am very new to this. But no, I'm not playing a practical joke like someone implied. .
Oh, that would be me. But now I'll offer up this link, perhaps it will help you [and others in the future who use the search function] research the school situation in the state. You can find the School-by-School Results for 2012 Hawaii State Assessment here.
Check out the Honokaa complex (starts line 580), which includes Waikoloa Village.
Check out the Kealakehe complex (starts line 602) and Konawaena (starts line 622) which include Kona area schools.
There is also a section on charter schools.
Besides that, you might want to check in to private schools, but break out the checkbook.
Or home schooling, but be sure to do research first because the last I heard, the state of Hawaii has some traps when it comes to "counting" years, including restrictive rules about the high school years.
From everything I have ever read and heard, it's the most beautiful and lush paradise (waterfalls, botantical gardens, beaches, scenery, etc.) of all the islands, with the exception of possibly nature lover's Kauai, but that sounds pretty remote without many activities for kids and we're not hikers or campers or anything
I would LOVE to choose Maui over the Big Island, I just didn't think it was remotely realistic...but from your comments, it sounds as if the cost of living is high in Hawaii no matter whether you are in Maui or in Kona, because $5 a gallon milk and $5 a gallon gas is simply expensive...and if jobs are easier to come by in Maui...I did find a very small selection of houses in our price range on Maui. Way more to choose from on the BI...but you're right, when I do job searches, I come up with more positions on Maui, but less housing options. But maybe with the wealthier people on Maui, I could work for them as a high end realtor, high end decorator and working for their lawyers and business people? If the majority of the people on the BI are more middle class struggling families (although we could relate to that better) then they aren't going to be paying much for high end services either
I was thinking of just flying to the BI to scope things out, but if there is even a snowball's chance in hell that we could survive in Maui, I think I would feel like I died and went to heaven, even working 3 jobs...so maybe I should take a look at Maui too while I'm there? What can you tell me about things to do with kids and as a family on Maui?
I should mention to all of you (for clarification) that I am a very hard worker and good at budgeting, uber-organized. I feed my family of eight on less than $100 a week (without any assistance if that's what you're thinking) through meal planning and organization. My kids wear each other's hand-me-downs. My friends that only have the "socially acceptable amount of children ", i.e., 2, spend way more than I do on raising their children.
(I actually teach community classes on how to be organized as one of my several small businesses - in addition to my full time job working in law firms as a paralegal specialist. I also do independent contracting jobs (professional writing, legal research, drafting contracts, etc. from home via the internet, write books, do public speaking engagements, web design, work on political campaigns and a whole host of other things. I try to be Supermom So I think if I could do something that catered to the tourism industry instead of the business world, maybe I could be successful there....? I really have no interest in restaurants, bars, hotels, etc.....any other ideas on what would be popular?
Where are the attorneys at in Kona and in Maui? (Please don't tell me they're only in Oahu...I don't want to move to an island in the South Pacific, only to end up in the concrete jungle of a city.)
I can stretch a dollar like nobody's business. When my husband was a stay at home dad and we only had one income, I was still able to put 3 kids through private Christian schools, put another 3 in private music lessons, golf lessons, fine arts camps, church camps, buy a brand new car, pay for a very expensive international adoption, etc. etc. etc. and feed and clothe all 8 of us, paying all of our bills on time or early, without any loans or credit cards.
I say this not to boast, but so that you don't think about the size of my family (I wish I hadn't told anyone I have 6 kids, because it just leads to assumptions and misconceptions about our family that are totally inaccurate) when answering my questions...please just think of me as having a "normal" family
For instance, we absolutely CAN and HAVE lived in beautiful condominiums before overlooking Lake Michigan, despite that we have 8 people. Most condos are 1, 200-1,500 square feet - the same size as our current ranch style house that sits on 8 acres. It's not like they are tiny apartments. Most have 3 bedrooms, which is sufficient for our actual needs, considering we only sleep there - we are very outdoorsy people, or we're all gone at work and school anyway, or on weekends we are busy with soccer games, church, youth group, or going to a birthday party or a family activity, or whatever. We're rarely home.
I have given my kids their own rooms before and they hate it. They are very close and enjoy sharing rooms. We live in a 3 bedroom now and have more than enough room. Our oldest 3 share a room that has 2 sets of bunk beds, my twins share a room (2 twin beds) and my daughter has a nursery (that was actually our laundry room and I got creative and remodeled it into a bedroom....I have also carved out bedrooms before out of offices/dens/garages, etc., whatever.)
Also, we don't NEED a big house, in fact, I am sick of the maintenance of big houses (been there, done that, paying for snow removal, paying for lawn care, paying for pest spraying, etc. etc. etc.) and want to downsize and get rid of all of our possessions in pursuit of a simpler life that means time spent at the beach - that is our absolute favorite pasttime. So maybe Maui is a better fit? If there aren't many nice swimmable safe beaches in Kona, then I need to re-think things because going to the beach every chance we get would be our #1 reason for relocating. It's free, it's gorgeous and the kids absolutely love it.
I don't need a nice fancy car with XM and OnStar anymore. I could live in Hawaii and drive a crappy van or jeep, but enjoy life instead. I don't need a six bedroom house full of decorative expensive crap. That's not meaningful. Swimming with sea turtles and seeing whales and dolphins are the memories that count. I WANT to get away from everyone and everything, even our relatives. I'm sick of the constant rat race and the social commitments and obligations. I'd rather be spending time with my kids checking out a volcano or walking to find a waterfall. And if we only live there for 5 years and decide to come back, I guess we do. It will still be an experience and I won't be stuck here in blizzards year after year, depressed and wondering, "What if..?"
In terms of cash, yes, I was only planning to bring $15K in cash to use for first and last month's rent, a car rental, maybe a cheap mini-van, food, living expenses, to get us through the first little bit upon our arrival. But I also have investments, savings, etc. I can tap into at a moment's notice if we need six months to find jobs and need money to live on during that time. I would just prefer not to touch the other funds if I can and I can't stand not working, so even if I didn't get a job immediately working for someone else, I would immediately start a business and begin advertising and making contacts in the community.
In terms of housing, we have good credit, are planning to make a modest profit on the sale of our home here and don't need a downpayment because my husband is a veteran and being in banking for a living, he can usually get us great deals and interest rates as an employee. But I'm not in a rush to go out and buy anyway. If we need to be established with an employer in order to qualify, that's fine...we have bought, flipped and sold houses for so many years that I would actually ENJOY not owning a house for awhile and letting it be someone else's problem if the tub starts leaking or the gutters need to be replaced I'm over it. I have spent all of our free time and money at Home Depot for over a decade when I should have been going to the beach with my kids. The trouble is, we only have 6 short weeks of beach weather here
Ok, I have rambled way too long and I am sure no one is reading this, or if they were, they fell asleep. Surely there has to be at least ONE success story of a family with a couple kids moving to Hawaii and making it and being happy....I hope!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of your time, wisdom and advice!
From everything I have ever read and heard, it's the most beautiful and lush paradise (waterfalls, botantical gardens, beaches, scenery, etc.) of all the islands, with the exception of possibly nature lover's Kauai, but that sounds pretty remote without many activities for kids and we're not hikers or campers or anything
I would LOVE to choose Maui over the Big Island, I just didn't think it was remotely realistic...but from your comments, it sounds as if the cost of living is high in Hawaii no matter whether you are in Maui or in Kona, because $5 a gallon milk and $5 a gallon gas is simply expensive...and if jobs are easier to come by in Maui...I did find a very small selection of houses in our price range on Maui. Way more to choose from on the BI...but you're right, when I do job searches, I come up with more positions on Maui, but less housing options. But maybe with the wealthier people on Maui, I could work for them as a high end realtor, high end decorator and working for their lawyers and business people? If the majority of the people on the BI are more middle class struggling families (although we could relate to that better) then they aren't going to be paying much for high end services either
I was thinking of just flying to the BI to scope things out, but if there is even a snowball's chance in hell that we could survive in Maui, I think I would feel like I died and went to heaven, even working 3 jobs...so maybe I should take a look at Maui too while I'm there? What can you tell me about things to do with kids and as a family on Maui?
I don't need a nice fancy car with XM and OnStar anymore.
Regarding Maui - my personal favorite of all of the islands. If I didn't have to worry about income - I'd live in Maui in a heartbeat. You have a recurring theme about beaches - and Maui has some of the best islandwide. There are some nice beaches on the Big Island but they aren't exactly plentiful, unlike Maui. There are a lot of neighborhoods you'll be priced out of the market - but it is large diverse island and I don't think the prices in some of the neighborhoods are that much different than Kona - and there are more jobs available on Maui due to much increased tourism. Since you haven't been to Kona - when you land, you get this feeling you've landed on Mars with all the lava and boulders (hence the lack of plentiful beaches) - I suggest checking out both islands and get a realtor.
And - many would say Kauai is the most "beautiful" of the islands - whenever a movie is shot and they make it out to be some lush tropical paradise in Asia - Kauai is often a stand-in - also, Jurassic Park filmed in Kauai - when many mainland people think of Hawaii - they generally visualize Kauai from the movies.
Lastly, don't worry about XM radio - like many things in Hawaii compared to the mainland, we don't get satellite radio here.
We've got some folks in the board who live in Maui - hopefully they can chime in.
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- so we want to live around more cultural diversity and more of an Asian population as well.) That's one of 10,000 reasons we are seriously considering a move to Hawaii. 
