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Considering the size of the island and since you don't have any jobs yet, how about renting for six months and finding a job and then looking for a house near to where you find employment? Maybe you'll find a job in Hilo or Waimea or somewhere other than Kailua-Kona. Then you'd be able to look in that area for less expensive houses.
All the roads on the island are posted for 55 mph or less. In reality, the speed is much less than that, frequently around 45 mpg or so. And there's only one road in many areas so if there's an accident or something that blocks the road you're stuck. Plus why waste your life in transit? You don't get paid to drive to work.
Before deciding that an hour's commute is okay, run the numbers. Gas saved, time saved, ability to go home for lunch, ability to get to the store or supplies easily can add up to quite a bit of savings, frequently it's enough to cover the cost of a more expensive house. We shifted fifteen miles from town and employment and moved to town itself and have saved tons.
15 miles each way = 30 miles a day times twenty work days a week = 600 miles a month. I think the van gets about 18 miles a gallon so that's 33 gallons of gas. Right now it's only about $2.50 a gallon or so, it was up near $5 for awhile. At the lower prices, that's about $80 per month. It was around $160 when gas was $5 a gallon. Now lunch is at home instead of about $7.50 a day at a lunch spot. That's another $150 saved per month. It's much cheaper to prepare food at home than buying it ready to eat. There's also a lot of other things that become possible by living close to town. Selling things on Craig's List is easy now. CL in some areas is chancy, but around here where everyone pretty much knows everyone else it's safe. But folks aren't gonna drive 15 miles to get small stuff.
I'd guess you could pay an additional $200 per month in a mortgage to live in town and it would all even out by the monies saved by living closer to town.
Our life is also enriched in other ways just by the proximity to town. We can decide to go see the movies five minutes before they start and still get there in time. We can join an evening exercise group and not worry about driving at night to get home. We have more folks to interact with in town so there's all sorts of events here and there that we didn't used to attend.
We've also moved again, now instead of being a three minute drive into town, we are now able to walk to town. Woot! Being able to walk to the post office, grocery store, dentist, bank, library, swimming pool, rodeo, etc., is just a joy.
Those are some of the considerations about just the location of the house, this is Hawaii so there will be things to look for that might not be the same as the mainland.
If you see metal teepees in the yard of the house next to the one you're considering, don't buy the house. Those are rooster huts and they crow all the time so it will be a noisy neighborhood. A lot of houses are on agricultural lots so roosters are allowed. Even in town, I think you're allowed six chickens or so.
Check to see if it's leasehold land or not. Some of the less expensive properties are leasehold so you don't actually buy the land, you just buy the lease. 'Fee Simple' is when you actually buy the land and not just a lease.
Not all 'sub-divisions' are like the sub-divisions you may be used to on the mainland. Many of them have catchment water since there's no water service to the lots. Many of them are on private roads so there is an association of home owners in the sub-division who fixes the roads. In some subs, it's a mandatory membership and mandatory road dues. No house to house mail delivery in most subs. Some don't have electricity, some don't have pavement. So, just because it's in a 'sub-division' don't expect utilities, pavement, delivery services, sewers, etc.
Don't expect soil, either. Most of Puna and Ka'u is leaf litter on lava rock. There's enough rainfall to keep things growing, but there's no actual soil that the things are growing in. If you want to plant a tree, you'll possibly use an o'o bar which is a metal rod about six feet long and about an inch and a half in diameter. It has a blunt chisel point at one end and usually a flattened knob at the other. It's used to dig holes in rocks.
Lava, I'm sure you've checked the lava maps? Pahoa almost got cut off by lava last year, it got within several hundred feet of the only road in and out of the lower Puna area. The County was busy building some detours, although one of the detours would have added several hours to the commute to Hilo time.
Vog. You've looked into vog?
Personally, I think it's impossible to find the perfect house from the mainland.
Great points about the expenses to commute long distances, but your numbers are understated. According to the AAA, the cost of driving a car is 59,2 cents per mile based on 15,000 miles per year. The cost of gasoline is the most visible cost of driving, but actually only a small part of the true cost of driving. The purchase, depreciation, maintenance, and insurance cost far more than the gasoline. Your time is a huge cost, especially if you make a decent income and if you value your time. Some people seem to think that their own time has no value and is worth nothing. If you weren't waisting many hours per week driving, you could be enjoying your life more, or making more money. Some of the people I work with commute an hour or more each way. They usually replace their cars every 3 to 4 years, which is a huge expense.
Depending on the work you do and your income level, it could be a huge cut in pay. I've seen jobs posted in my career field that pay only half to one third in Hawaii, compared what I make in Minnesota. There are other places on the mainland that would pay me even more than where I currently live. Plus the cost of living is very high in Hawaii. It doesn't make economic sense to live in Hawaii during your working years, unless the desire is so high, and you're willing to sacrifice your standard of living and long term economic future.
I haven't heard about the metal teepees before. That's good information to know. I don't think trying to avoid areas with metal teepees would help on Kauai, because the free roaming chickens and roosters seem to be everywhere on Kauai, although the OP is talking about the Big Island.
Hi all, new to the forum. I have a few questions regarding moving to the Big Island from the mainland. I apologize if they have already been answered in other threads.
My wife and I are planning to move to the BI in about three years. We plan to buy a house outright so that we have no house payment and can take the first jobs we can get until established.
I am a semi driver and my wife will take whatever work she can get. She is not a professional. We plan to live as close to Kona as possible as I'm sure we won't be able to afford a place in Kona. Our kids are out of the house, and we have no debt.
Any advice, warnings, suggestions, irregular expenses that may be unique to Hawaii? Anyone or everyone telling us our plan is unrealistic?
Thanks
Most importantly, do you have a semi job lined up there? I wouldnt move there without having that locked in.
The chickens in the metal teepees are all fighting roosters. They have a little leash tied to their leg that keeps them from being able to reach all the other roosters. You can see them from Google Earth. If you see a yard with little dots, check to see if they're trees or roosters.
Driving a truck doesn't pay all that well on the islands. Possibly less than $20 per hour, I've not looked lately. If you can get it, driving a tour bus can be profitable because of tips to the driver (and kickbacks from the stops if the kicks aren't already being sent to the bus company). However, the likelihood of a malahini (newcomer) getting one of those tour bus jobs is about zilch.
There is a huge bias towards hiring locals when it comes to that type of job. Actually, any type of job that doesn't require some sort of degree or specialized skill. There's even advertisements on the TV by a hiring company who's main selling point is that they only have local applicants.
Not that you won't be able to find employment of some type eventually, but it won't be the choice jobs. Nor will it be the choice rentals since those disappear before even getting to the advertisement stage.
I think this is how folks who live here manage to afford it. When there's a new good job available, everyone looks around to the folks they know first before offering it to an outsider. The employer gets someone they know will stick around and who will behave since his family would be shamed if he didn't. The employee gets the job that will let him afford to stay here. The folks renting houses will also choose locals over outsiders since they know the person will stick around and already has a job. It's risky business to rent to folks who aren't employed. But, these are just generalities, there will be jobs and rentals available to non-locals, it's just that there's a bias towards giving these sorts of things to locals first if possible.
All the roads on the island are posted for 55 mph or less. In reality, the speed is much less than that, frequently around 45 mpg or so. And there's only one road in many areas so if there's an accident or something that blocks the road you're stuck.
I found this part especially interesting--the fact that most of the highways we drove not only had a maximum speed posted (usually 55 mph), but also a minimum speed posted (usually 40 mph). That tells you a lot about the drivers in the areas we visited, at least. It was funny to think that you had to tell people to go at LEAST 40 mph on a "freeway" where the speed is 55 mph! Certainly around here (western Oregon), you tend to have the opposite problem--keeping drivers within a reasonable speed OVER the speed limit, rather than under it.
.. Certainly around here (western Oregon), you tend to have the opposite problem--keeping drivers within a reasonable speed OVER the speed limit, rather than under it.
Yeah, and I hate that problem.
There used to be a popular bumper sticker in Hawaii that said something to the effect of: "Slow down, this ain't the mainland!"
Thanks to all for the tips and advice. I have plenty to think about. I think since we plan to buy outright and have no mortgage payment, and will have several month income saved, the main problem will be finding the right job and the commute as I am sure we cant afford to live in Kona.
I have seen many job postings for Hazmat qualified drivers, and have read that there is a shortage of qualified drivers on the BI. Are there any professional drivers on the forum who might have a better sense of the situation?
Mahalo
There used to be a popular bumper sticker in Hawaii that said something to the effect of: "Slow down, this ain't the mainland!"
Oh, they still have them for sale. I almost bought one to bring home with me. I think it was for sale in the souvenir section of Mall Wart.
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Certainly around here (western Oregon), you tend to have the opposite problem--keeping drivers within a reasonable speed OVER the speed limit, rather than under it.
