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$3500 is also a 20' container self-packed, to or from California. That fits a small family of 3 with a 2BR house, but lots of book boxes. $1K for the car self-delivered to the port in Oakland. Sounds like the cross-country car-moving business is pretty lucrative.
Sounds like the cross-country car-moving business is pretty lucrative.
Yep and my car wasn't worth the amount of money it took to ship! My company was trying to get me not to bring it, but I said if they're paying for it, it's coming. They weren't willing to help me out with a car purchase or anything when I got to the island, so I wasn't willing to give up my car
I sold it to a dealership when I left - that was the easiest route for me because I was too busy with all the other moving stuff and didn't really have the time to deal with flaky private parties. Selling my furniture on Craigslist was a pain in the arse in itself.
My new company in Syracuse helped me out with a car purchase here, which is why I sold mine on island
Great story, good counterpoints to the pie in the sky "bumming it in paradise" threads so that people can see both sides of it. It is great at first but it does get old after a while unless you are one of those people who just love the "'aina" so much that it is worth the downsides.
I came to surf, hike, play basketball, and meet exotic women... 7 years later I left with a wife and a masters degree from UH. We could have stayed (both had decent paying jobs) but wanted to start a family and the prospects of $600,000 houses, poor career options, lousy public schools, geographic isolation, horrible traffic etc... convinced us to move. Now we have the best of both worlds, we live someplace nice where we can afford a decent standard of living but also get to spend 3 weeks to a month each year on Oahu staying with my wife's family for free.
Like you, I have moved on but wouldn't trade the experience for the world. What a way to spend my 20's!!! Glad to hear things are working out for you Becca8377.
All of that being said, what if someone is retired, has SSA and pension checks coming in with an income over, say, $35K and doesn't gallivant about bar-hopping but goes bargain-hunting, buys/eats local, gets basics at Costco Kona or Hilo Walmart, etc., and doesn't drive around a lot, and has a modest place in, like, HPP? Sounds liveable and affordable to me, from what I can see. You don't really need AC, just good Hunter-Douglas fans with big palm-like blades on 'em, eh? Adapt and survive, or stay put, maybe?
Great story, good counterpoints to the pie in the sky "bumming it in paradise" threads so that people can see both sides of it. It is great at first but it does get old after a while unless you are one of those people who just love the "'aina" so much that it is worth the downsides.
I came to surf, hike, play basketball, and meet exotic women... 7 years later I left with a wife and a masters degree from UH. We could have stayed (both had decent paying jobs) but wanted to start a family and the prospects of $600,000 houses, poor career options, lousy public schools, geographic isolation, horrible traffic etc... convinced us to move. Now we have the best of both worlds, we live someplace nice where we can afford a decent standard of living but also get to spend 3 weeks to a month each year on Oahu staying with my wife's family for free.
Like you, I have moved on but wouldn't trade the experience for the world. What a way to spend my 20's!!! Glad to hear things are working out for you Becca8377.
All of that being said, what if someone is retired, has SSA and pension checks coming in with an income over, say, $35K and doesn't gallivant about bar-hopping but goes bargain-hunting, buys/eats local, gets basics at Costco Kona or Hilo Walmart, etc., and doesn't drive around a lot, and has a modest place in, like, HPP? Sounds liveable and affordable to me, from what I can see. You don't really need AC, just good Hunter-Douglas fans with big palm-like blades on 'em, eh? Adapt and survive, or stay put, maybe?
Whitebeard, that may be a little tight on $35K, but folks do live on that in HI. We too are retirees, I am getting SSA, Military and Government retirements (double dipper), and what I receive is a ways north of your $35K. We were okay living on Oahu and renting a decent home. I did, however, supplement my income with my real estate career until the SSA kicked in and I decided I liked playing golf more than working. I think many folks in our situation are doing the same thing. If you can use the military commissaries and also supplement regular shopping with trips to Costco and Sam's, you should be okay. Housing is always the biggest hurdle, but depending upon your needs, you might be able to find a Studio or smallish 1-bedroom for around $1200.
I'm suffering here in TX at the moment, but we're giving serious consideration to either moving to San Diego or back to what I consider my second home on Oahu.
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I'm curious - where did you end up?
