Family of 4 moving to Hilo,Hawaii (apartments, rentals, house)

[hotlana]

We are a friendly, loving family of 4 moving to HI. My husband just signed a 1 year contract with the UFC and the training Camp is in Hilo, HI. The camp is paid for but we have to go through a bit of a struggle for a few months to accomplish his dream. We have to be there by Feb.1 2010 and his first fight will be in may 2010. After the fight it will be like winning the lottery but this is the biggest gamble we have ever taken. Life is about taking risk but this one is pretty far away. We are a very tight nit family and we stay together no matter what. As my husband says we go together or not at all. My husband will be working at the gym part time while training but I don't want him worrying about money while he is training. I need to find some work so I can relieve some pressure off him so all he has to worry about is not getting hurt and winning the fight. I have lots of things I am great at: Property Management(apartments or A resort), Marketing, Customer Service, Server/Bartender,Cashier, Childcare, House Cleaning, Upkeep on property such as gardening anything I can do to make things easy. We are planning on trying to pay as much rent upfront as we can so all we have to worry about is food, utilities, gas, and personal care. I have a few questions to hopefully make this move easier.

1. What is the best area to live with the best high school for my 17 year old daughter.(most importantly)She is very beautiful, outgoing and sweet so I want her to be excepted and as easy as possible for her. I also have a 4 year old toddler not in school yet but he needs a safe neighborhood to grow up in. We need a furnished 3 bedroom.

2. Does anyone know of any good deals on housing and work for me.

3. We have a very loved kitten that has all his shots and is very well taken care of. How hard is it going to be for us to get him there???????

4. We are planning on selling everything except our car. We are shipping all pictures and keepsakes. We are completely starting over so can you think of anything important we need to bring other then clothes, medical records, school records, and car. If you can think of anything that will make things easier for us let me know.

We are very exited yet scared so a friend or two and some support would be so helpful.

Thanks to all our new Hawaiian friends.....

[hotzcatz]

UFC? United Friends Church? Unlimited Freestyle Camp? Well, whoever they are, ask them if they know of anyone hiring since they would have an interest in keeping the family solvent while he's hanging with them. In Hawaii, it isn't what you know that gets you hired, it's who knows you that gets you hired, especially in down times.

Your daughter will be excepted, especially since she is new and from the mainland, I'd think you'd probably prefer that she be accepted. If she wants to be accepted, if she were to be happy, fun and doesn't try to change things or tell folks how things are done on the mainland or better on the mainland she will probably be well accepted. For schools, if you are in Hilo town itself, she would go to Waiakea more than likely which I think would be a better choice than Kea'au. Kea'au is a much newer school but they've had a few problems.

Which gym will your husband be working at? Will that be in Hilo town? Try to find housing as close to there as possible to make getting to and from work easy. Considering that is the whole reason to move to Hilo, you may as well be as close as possible. You could ask the gym folks if they know of anyone with a house to rent. Try a week or twos worth of a vacation rental so you will be able to look around to find the house you want to rent. Actually, you will probably end up living in a vacation rental since most folks with furnished places rent them out as vacation rentals. Fortunately - for you anyway, not so good for everyone else - tourism is extremely flat right now so there should be vacation rental folks willing to rent long term at a lowered price.

Part of your problems will be that it sounds like you are only going to be here for one year or even possibly less. Many employers aren't fond of training new people and if you will be leaving within a year, then they know they will have to train a new employee within that time if they hire you. There also aren't a lot of jobs right now except for some specific skill sets but you could try looking at the online version of the Hilo Herald Tribune or Craig's List. Kona is too far away to commute to from Hilo for anything less than a $16 per hour job. The costs of the commute will then turn it into the same as a minimum wage job in Hilo, though.

Depending on where you are shipping your car from, it might be cheaper to sell it and buy another one here. Folks around here don't really care what kind of car you drive. Some folks like pickup trucks, some of them like the small go fast Honda cars the rest of us don't really care.

Can your cat stay with folks on the mainland until you get back? You can check the Hawaii quarantine laws about getting a cat or dog brought over. It is quite a long, involved and fairly expensive process.

[1freespirit]

I think UFC stands for "Ultimate Fighting Championship" a mixture of boxing, kickboxing and martial arts.

[KoaKine]

I was hoping for KFC...

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by KoaKine

I was hoping for KFC...

UFC is pretty big in Hawaii - real big.

(KFC is way overpriced here)

[NomadScribe]

If you really want kitty to go with your family, contact the quarantine folks asap to find out what the current regulations are so you can prepare to also have your pet directly released at the airport (as opposed to 5 or 120 day quarantine)

Animal Quarantine Information — Hawaii Department of Agriculture

Hilo's pretty peaceful, lush and great. Have fun swimming at Richardson's beach on the sunny days

[hotlana]

UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship.... He signed a one year contract with them for min. one year.... If everyone likes it in Hilo and things work out we are hoping to stay there. Thanks so much for the edvice.....

[hotlana]

Originally Posted by KoaKine

I was hoping for KFC...

lol

[hotlana]

Originally Posted by hotlana

lol

yummy I know

[KoaKine]

So we can do KFC at the UFC?