Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Also, is there a good website to look at for rental houses? You simply cannot type rental and Hawaii in a Google search without getting pages and pages of vacation homes. I am looking for real estate rentals since I would definitely want to rent a place before I make a purchase in a new area for us. If I could find some rental property in the $3-4k range that would be a great start. I would be looking for single family houses, not really condo people.
I've looked at real estate prices on Hawaiilife.com but they do not have rentals as a choice that I could find.
Also, is there a good website to look at for rental houses? You simply cannot type rental and Hawaii in a Google search without getting pages and pages of vacation homes. I am looking for real estate rentals since I would definitely want to rent a place before I make a purchase in a new area for us. If I could find some rental property in the $3-4k range that would be a great start. I would be looking for single family houses, not really condo people.
I've looked at real estate prices on Hawaiilife.com but they do not have rentals as a choice that I could find.
Australia has been debated by my wife and I as well, and her company actual has offices in Australia. We just felt that New Zealand was the better choice in that region for it's amazing scenery, topography, climates, etc...very few places have a beach, ski resort, glacier, and such all within such a short distance. Just had a mystical quality about it. Australia seems like another mega-plex city. We debate Oahu simply for the jobs, almost like you get a bit of what you were looking for, but you still have that huge city feel with traffic, shopping, malls, and most importantly jobs. My preliminary thoughts would call Honolulu or Oahu a baby step towards what we are looking for....maybe the more realistic option since our careers may be hard to duplicate in the other regions.
As far as San Diego goes, we grew up there...we know San Diego very well and have no real issues with it, but it's far from the green space that we envision that both Hawaii and New Zealand have to offer....easier to move to, definitely. Better paying jobs, definitely. But I'm just not sure that the lifestyle is what we would be looking for. Again, my wife is the beach shack person...I'm a city person, so this is all a compromise between the rural and the urban lifestyles....but what we both want is a beach city with good outdoor life. I'm just not ready to unplug so to speak like she is. I grew up with military parents, she grew up with hippy parents...lived in Hawaii, India, South Africa, etc... But we've been together for over 16 years and our melding of backgrounds fit perfectly together and we both want something different but the same and this is all about trying to discover where that happy medium is for all of us.
Seems like PB or OB - Pacific Beach or Ocean Beach in San Diego might be perfect. You get that perfect small town beach life place, but right next to a larger city like San Diego for jobs.
I spent two months in San Diego, and found it very relaxing/mellow/beach-like.
Not trying to sway you away from Honolulu or New Zealand, but parts of SD do seem to offer what you're looking for.
Seems like PB or OB - Pacific Beach or Ocean Beach in San Diego might be perfect. You get that perfect small town beach life place, but right next to a larger city like San Diego for jobs.
I spent two months in San Diego, and found it very relaxing/mellow/beach-like.
Not trying to sway you away from Honolulu or New Zealand, but parts of SD do seem to offer what you're looking for.
My wife grew up in PB. It is a nice town, but we really don't think San Diego is what we are looking for in terms of beach life. PB is just a nice beach to go to. We both want a natural landscape that is not simply concrete since we will likely not afford an actual beach front house no matter where we go. I like San Diego for it's close access to the beach and to Big Bear and such, but If we went to San Diego we would end up by Scripps Ranch for the land, because you can't find a homesite in San Diego with anywhere near an acre unless you are willing to spend $2m or more which we can't do. We are looking to live outside of town but hopefully near a city so that we have access to groceries and schools w/o being an hour away.
If your wife grew up in Hawaii and you lived on Okinawa for 8 years, you must visit Maui before deciding. I grew up on Okinawa ('58' to '69) as a DAC (Department of the Army Civilian) dependent and five years on Oahu, and I find Maui has a familiar, relaxing feeling I grew up with. Having lived 16 years on islands, missing some of the comforts (and stresses) of mainland living, I felt right at home on Maui, though it might be a tad too slow, and Kauai is way too slow and rural. The deal killer on those two islands might be jobs. I have some friends and good memories of Oahu/Honolulu but it's too crowded now, forty years on. Having visited New Zealand, it felt a bit like the US in the late 1950's, very relaxing, but the city people a bit too reserved, the weather too cold, and a strange feeling of being in a parallel universe...similar to the US but different.
What about north county in San Diego? Like Carlsbad or maybe Encinitas? Close to a big city but still chill and relaxing. At least i was always relaxed when I was there
Also aren't parts of california removed from the craziness but still close to the beach? like ventura? central coastline? beyond san francisco? just a thought. Or i hear the carolinas have nice beaches. The thing is i know people who moved from the US to NZ and it's really not just something you can up and do. It takes a lot of careful planning. There are things you can buy here in the US that I'm sure you take for granted, that you apparently can't get there, or if you can, they cost a lot more money. The cost of living is high--although if you are from SoCal i'm sure you're used to that. if you want though, feel free to message me more specific questions and I will ask them for you.
The other thing is--if all your family and friends are here in the US--it's going to be hard to see them on a regular basis if you move to new zealand. if you stay in the states, even in hawaii, it will be easier. i'm going to NZ to visit soon and my plane ticket was like $1300. imagine buying tickets for you, your wife, and your children. That will make it really hard to see your family. I already live across the country from mine, make it back home about once a year, and wish i lived closer so I could see them more. There is no way I could move even farther away, no matter how much I may love the country (and i'll find out just how much soon! ) If i was to move to another country, it'd be canada
That's pretty much what we felt if we go back to San Diego, is that we would end up in North County up by Scripps, RB, etc...
After reading some other information the things that worry me most are the cultural acceptance by the locals with us and our children. I don't want to move to too small of a town out of fear of being the odd man out. We do not have any family or friends in NZ, Oz, or Hawaii, so we would like to be able to assimilate as easily as possible without a terrible stigma being attached to us. We are not moving to any of these places to make them more like our home but quite the opposite . I don't want to see that sort of "locals only" bravado being shown to us like peacock feathers. It seems that larger places are slightly more accepting of transplants than the local villages. As far as famililes....her family lives all over the place from Florida, San Diego, New York, and Europe. My family is very small that I see which is just my parents and sister who live here in Houston now with us, but they are wanting to move as well, but I doubt they would ever choose to leave the CONUS. Canada is just way too cold...again, I grew up in 80-90 degree muggy Okinawa. I'm worried that New Zealand may be too cold to truly feel right to us. I love the look of Kauai, but the remote feel would probably be too much for us. As much as that sounds like an iconic little paradise, I'm afraid I'm not seeing the world with rose colored glasses and that a move there would likely lead to a move back to the US after I got tired of missing everything that I know.
I think I will plan an island hopping trip this summer to try and see everywhere....it may not give me the full sense of the locations, but it will at least give me a true boots on the ground view of the areas that we are considering.
I think island hopping is a great idea! I don't actually think NZ gets that cold in the winter, the people I know who live there say it's similar to weather in the bay area of california....but definitely more rain. This website gave me some more info:
I think that's cool because it shows the different climates in different regions of the country.
Anyway, good luck with your travels, and feel free to hit me up with questions, they're super helpful and have lived there for awhile now so they can probably answer your questions.
I live half time in San Diego, and half in Kailua, Oahu, and have visited New Zealand and liked it, but never considered living there. I like SD and Hi, but prefer Kailua. The water is too cold in San Diego, and Kailua is a beautiful tropical rural town on a world class beach, but 25 minutes from downtown Honolulu. I'm retired, and bought my house in Kailua in 1965, so I don't have the job search or housing problems you will have, but, if you can get those two sorted out, I'd pick HI.
I think an extended visit is a very good idea.
Also, lots and lots and lots and lots of reading. Here are some places to start. The first two have some in-depth opinions, from a variety of people, on several of the areas you are rightly concerned about. Don't worry about the fact that the pubs are almost 20 years old. The problems they talk about haven't been solved. They are about the same.
The last one will let you search real estate for sale all over Oahu. It's right up to date.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
