NH to Hawaii with a family (homes, employment, transfer to)

[styxx7]

I am possibly making a transfer to Hawaii from NH where I am in a management position with a major retail chain. I am concerned, as lots of families may be, with the cost of housing, school system and the best area to live.....and since there is a choice of islands available, which one to choose? My husband is a construction foreman and we haven't found any info on jobs in Hawaii in that profession.

[hotzcatz]

If you can get a position on any island other than Oahu, you may be able to be a one income household if you are careful with spending. Construction is about flat lined and hiring a mainland foreman probably isn't likely these days.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by styxx7

I am possibly making a transfer to Hawaii from NH where I am in a management position with a major retail chain. I am concerned, as lots of families may be, with the cost of housing, school system and the best area to live.....and since there is a choice of islands available, which one to choose? My husband is a construction foreman and we haven't found any info on jobs in Hawaii in that profession.

With those kind of concerns why move?

[PacificFlights]

You need to be a bit more specif as to your position. A management position with a major retail chain can be just about anything. Better than the title, the pay is the make or break it factor. A manager for a major chain could be paid $35,000 a year or $175,000 a year,

[styxx7]

We are really just done with the cold weather. I realize we can move to a stateside warm state, but my job opportunity isn't available. Hawaii sounds wonderful and I have been truly reearching the cost of living and everythign else associated with such a move from the mainland. It sounds like a huge jump of faith to make it work so I appreicate all information.

[Kualoa]

In all sincerity your casting a large net with your question. As Pacificights said its all about the $$$. Many or all the answers you seek can be found in previous posts. Your asking about different islands so we should presume your company has outlets and a position open for you on each island? If neither of you have visited here before I would say forget it. Or why not you take the transfer, get settled here, then bring the rest of the family 3-6 months later after experiencing life here.

[hothulamaui]

pay here sucks as does the public school system. everything else, food housing, gas, utilities are pretty expensive. get your offer in writing. look at the newspaper, craig's list and anywhere else you can think of to see what kind of employment your hubby can get. most people work outside their field and in a lot of cases two jobs. good luck

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Most of the responses to similar questions on this forum have been negative, and people who don't live here accuse us who do of being too negative and wanting to keep other people out. The truth is that moving here right now DOES have a lot of negative implications. The economy in Hawaii is even worse than the mainland. Tourism is down; people who used to have second homes can't afford them any longer; people who used to retire here are not able to retire; etc., etc.

The island with the cheapest housing is the Big Island, but then there are way fewer jobs than on Oahu. And most of the public schools are pretty bad on the Big Island and things are a lot more expensive. There are a whole lot of out-of-work contractors right now and your husband being new would have a difficult time finding work.

There are a lot of threads on this forum discussing schools, job opportunities, etc. on all of the islands. If you look through those you may be able to get a clearer picture of which island would be better for you, if you still decide to come.

[styxx7]

Thank you all for your insight. It's much appreciated! So much to consider.

[hotzcatz]

There are the beginnings of cautious optimistic outlooks beginning to be seen around here. I don't know if it is just the new year with new hopeful beginnings or what but perhaps things will begin to ease a bit. On the news this morning the economic guy was mentioning that even though construction was flat lined, there seemed to be a demand for project managers. That might be a step above a foreman, though, but at least it's hopeful.

Umm, also, the term "stateside" is rather offensive to folks who like to think they live in a state, too. We like to use the term "mainland" for the rest of you states in a clump over there.