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One thing I have noticed over the years, there are a lot of folk in HI who try to make out like living there is a really bad move, I am pretty sure most of those posters are just trying to scare people off.
It's more of a sorting out instead of a scaring them off. Some folks should move to Hawaii and they will thrive once they arrive. Other folks probably shouldn't get to anywhere they can't hitchhike back home from.
We're just trying to get the starry eyed dreamers to come up with some sort of reality plan before they move themselves and sometimes their families 2,500 miles away from any support systems. We don't want to pick them up when they fall on their face. They aren't part of our ohana and they aren't going to bring anything to the party. Our social services system can't support the folks already here, we don't need to add to the folks in need. It saves everyone tons of grief if they go chase unicorns on deserted beaches somewhere else. Pink fluffy unicorns dancing on deserted beaches with rum drinks balancing on their horns. And rainbows over the beach. Dancing with dolphins, too. Some folks have totally bizarre perceptions of Hawaii, the Hawaii Tourist Bureau doesn't help. Vacationing in Hawaii, it's okay to chase rainbows, not so good when living here.
But these are only some of the folks who want to move here so no, we're not telling everyone to stay away, just trying to educate the ones who have unrealistic expectations.
It's more of a sorting out instead of a scaring them off. Some folks should move to Hawaii and they will thrive once they arrive. Other folks probably shouldn't get to anywhere they can't hitchhike back home from.
We're just trying to get the starry eyed dreamers to come up with some sort of reality plan before they move themselves and sometimes their families 2,500 miles away from any support systems. We don't want to pick them up when they fall on their face. They aren't part of our ohana and they aren't going to bring anything to the party. Our social services system can't support the folks already here, we don't need to add to the folks in need. It saves everyone tons of grief if they go chase unicorns on deserted beaches somewhere else. Pink fluffy unicorns dancing on deserted beaches with rum drinks balancing on their horns. And rainbows over the beach. Dancing with dolphins, too. Some folks have totally bizarre perceptions of Hawaii, the Hawaii Tourist Bureau doesn't help. Vacationing in Hawaii, it's okay to chase rainbows, not so good when living here.
But these are only some of the folks who want to move here so no, we're not telling everyone to stay away, just trying to educate the ones who have unrealistic expectations.
You are totally right! I am new here and I read every blog, forum, book, article I could get my hands on before making my move and honestly, this does not prepare you to move here. Many members on this forum have suggested living in Hawaii for a month or two to see what it is like and that is the best advice ever. Also, having a good exit plan is vital (shoring up $$ basically) if you find out that Hawaii isn't your paradise.
What has been the most interesting difference you've found so far, Jane M, about moving to Hawaii? The difference between what you expected and what you found? Or what you found that you didn't even know to expect?
It's more of a sorting out instead of a scaring them off. Some folks should move to Hawaii and they will thrive once they arrive. Other folks probably shouldn't get to anywhere they can't hitchhike back home from.
We're just trying to get the starry eyed dreamers to come up with some sort of reality plan before they move themselves and sometimes their families 2,500 miles away from any support systems. We don't want to pick them up when they fall on their face. They aren't part of our ohana and they aren't going to bring anything to the party. Our social services system can't support the folks already here, we don't need to add to the folks in need. It saves everyone tons of grief if they go chase unicorns on deserted beaches somewhere else. Pink fluffy unicorns dancing on deserted beaches with rum drinks balancing on their horns. And rainbows over the beach. Dancing with dolphins, too. Some folks have totally bizarre perceptions of Hawaii, the Hawaii Tourist Bureau doesn't help. Vacationing in Hawaii, it's okay to chase rainbows, not so good when living here.
But these are only some of the folks who want to move here so no, we're not telling everyone to stay away, just trying to educate the ones who have unrealistic expectations.
What has been the most interesting difference you've found so far, Jane M, about moving to Hawaii? The difference between what you expected and what you found? Or what you found that you didn't even know to expect?
You're sweet for asking. I will try to keep it short since I have talked about a lot of these things already.
Before I moved here, I read about a few things that are problematic for people Moving to Hawaii:
1 Being on an Island (Island Fever)
2 Being away from friends and family
3 Readjusting the kids/schooling for the kids
4 vog (particular to the big island)
5 mixed cultures
6 expensive food
7 expensive gas
8 expensive housing
9 expensive electric
10 No change of seasons
So, I read about people's experiences to detect if any of the above stuff would bother me and this is what i concluded:
1. I like small places and I don't like having too much stuff to do. I hate cities and over crowded suburbs.
2. I am not close to my family, so I don't care. Most of my friends have moved to other places. I can make new friends.
3. I don't have kids
4. I do have asthma, so I planned on avoiding the Mid West, to Southwest areas of the island
5. Don't have a problem with mixed cultures. In the bay area, white is a minority and it's fine with me.
6-9. I didn't have any exact data on the expenses except for housing. My thought was: how could it be more expensive than the bay area? (and I was right on some accounts very wrong on others).
10. could care less. grew up in Florida. Love year round warm weather.
So, above were my expectations, here is how it is panning out for me:
1. I love the geography of the Big Island, it is gorgeous, but the Island is TOO big!! I wish I could get to Hilo or North Kohala in less than 2.5 or 3 hours. I'm sad that it literally takes all day to visit someplace a little different. I knew this before I moved....but now it is sinking in! In that sense, I do not have Island fever. HOWEVER, I like to travel. And places like Portland, Seattle, Phoenix or Orlando (where my dad lives) is not a short little plane ride anymore. It's an all day or in the case of Florida, a two day affair. This bothers the hell out of me. So, in that case, maybe I do have Island Fever.
2. I don't miss family and I don't miss most of my friends. But there are a couple sets of friends I do miss dearly. I question whether at this point in my life (I am 50) if it is wise to move away from well established friends. Especially friends that are literally like family. I have made a couple new friends, but really they are only acquaintences. So, I DO really miss my good friends.
3. Don't have kids. YEAH! Best decision I ever made in life
4. I am not having lung problems, but I am having some nasal passage problems. I don't know if they are vog related or not. I live in North Kona where the vog is pretty heavy, but honestly, I track the SO2 particle count every day and my problems don't correspond the the particle level at all
5. The mixed cultures here are great, but I have to say, things seem a bit segregated. Most of it is a function of socioeconomic status, but it seems that people of color here are very marginalized. I'm not saying this doesn't happen everywhere, but the integration of different cultures here does not seem complete to me. There seems to be a dearth of ethnically owned businesses and a thriving ethnic middle or upper class.
I'm not too sure if I am saying this correctly, but the interaction of people with different backgrounds seem to be a little strained. This is just my perception and possibly a function of where I live on the island. I am very uncomfortable with that. I am used to people of color being my colleague, a business associate or my city board member. It doesn't seem to be that way here.
6.-9. Although both housing and gas is cheaper here than the bay area OMG I DID NOT expect food and electricity to be SOOOOOOOO expensive. I am forced to shop at Walmart for my groceries because I cannot bring myself to pay $5 for a carrot. Shopping, cooking and eating on this Island is a miserable experience that I cannot get past. Electricity is f---ing ridiculous. $100 a month to run a refridgerator, a computer and some LED energy efficient lighting which I don't even turn on until absolutely necessary. I've talked about this before, but it's just nuts.
10. My god, it is f'ing hot here. At least in Florida, if you get up at 6 am it's in the 60's. Here, it's almost 80 by then. Yes, I realize it's b/c I live in North Kona at sea level. I realize that other areas of the Island are much, much cooler. 78-85 seemed like reasonable temps to me before I moved here. But, it really gets old quick. Especially without the reprieve of an air conditioner. Now I hear, it may get into the 90s this summer. My landlord warned "you're gonna die" (referring to the heat).
So, this is my experience and even though I prepared, it is not meeting my expectations. I don't absolutely hate it here, Hawaii has some very redeeming qualities I like (slow paced, quiet...well, not my neighborhood, but in general...etc.), but as soon as I am able I am going back to the mainland. Sorry I wasted you guys' resources for this year.
Oh, and sorry this ended up being sooo long. And to answer one of your questions Hotzcatz I'm not too sure if any of these differences are interesting. I pretty much expected all of them, but not to the degree that it turned out. So that in itself is interesting I guess
...but as soon as I am able I am going back to the mainland. Sorry I wasted you guys' resources for this year.
Great post Jane! I wish it would let me give you another rep point! Thank you for sharing your experience so that others can learn from it.
I'm curious, in preparing for your move to Hawaii, did you save up and set aside enough money to get back to the mainland and get re-established if Hawaii didn't turn out to be what you were hoping?
That's interesting reading about your perspective as a fairly new resident of the Big Island, soon to be another person that probably won't make it past the two year benchmark. However, it's an experience that no one can take away from you, and you need to follow the path that is right for you. People move to other places, like Florida, leaving after a couple years because it wasn't the right place for them. You have to do what is best for yourself in the long run.
We didn't find it that far to drive from Waikoloa Village to Hilo using the new Saddle Road extension. I think the travel time each way was about 90 minutes, which wasn't too bad. It's a little farther from Kona. That drive might get tiring doing it many times a month. We found it saved a huge amount of time instead of driving around the island to the north or south. Hopefully, you have a Costco membership so you could save about 50 cents a gallon. It only takes about 100 gallons to pay for the membership, no including the other savings you get at Costco.
I can see where the extra distance and time to get anywhere else in the US could get very tiring, besides the extra cost in money and time, it's part of the isolation factor. The isolation could be a problem putting a barrier to visiting your friends and relatives, but once you get over several hundred miles, the visits probably stop happening anyway. We flew from the Midwest to Vietnam many times, which requires 2 or 3 flights and a travel duration of 18 to 24 hours. It takes something out of you when you travel to the opposite side of the planet. Hawaii isn't as far, but it's far enough to really add barriers to traveling very often.
There are cooler areas at higher elevations that might be a better fit, but you mentioned finding a rental that would accept your dog makes it next to impossible to have much choice where you live. You probably need the ability to buy a property instead of renting, which isn't going to be a cheap proposition.
I agree with you that food is very expensive there. It was shocking to see how much food costs in the grocery stores. A hundred dollars is 2/3 of one paper bag in Hawaii, where a hundred dollars equals about 3 to 4 paper bags in the upper Midwest and many other areas of the mainland. Have you tried growing food? Maybe you don't have enough space for a place to put potted plants. The climate seem perfect for growing a lot of produce. In areas without good soil and sufficient water resources, hydroponics could be used, which is much more efficient than using soil.
The high cost of electricity could really put a damper on the lifestyle. Investing in PV Solar seems like a 'no brainer', but you have to own the right property so you can invest in PV Solar to buy your way out of the long term high-cost electricity problem. You could buy enough PV Solar to run the AC on hot days, if you had enough PV Solar power. But all that requires the financial resources to buy your way out of those annoyances.
Thanks for your insights and good luck to you in the future.
Having a little stash somewhere to let you skedaddle back to the mainland sounds reasonable and logical. On the other hand, if you are always looking back and you know you can buy that ticket "home" anytime you feel like it is not working out, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Instead of looking back nostalgically, if you make up your mind that this is your new home and you are going to make it work, it sounds like your efforts are better spent.
The take away I get is do your homework ahead of time and then commit yourself to it. I have not finished my homework yet but I think in a year or two will pull the trigger on a move. Might be Florida, might be Texas, might be the Big Island.
I think my house here on the BI is #12 or maybe #13. We moved here a year and a half ago. Now that my life has changed (which was not unexpected) I may move again next year. Maybe to a condo in Hilo. Maybe to Roatan (Honduras). Maybe to Arizona (always thought it would be fun to live in Buckeye, AZ since I'm an OSU alum) or maybe back to Florida or Ohio. And in 10 years or so, God willing, I'll be looking for an "independent living" senior facility where I don't have to drive, etc. I'll be 80. And it can be anywhere.
I just don't understand all the hand wringing and gnashing of teeth about moving here then moving somewhere else. As your life and situation changes your address may change. No Big Deal.
YMMV
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