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All I want to know is are there relatively uncrowded beaches in Hawaii, published on the internet or not. It would be important to our move to know if there are places like this in Hawaii or nor? Not meaning a beach all to ourselves, but not overcrowded.
In a nutshell, there are some relatively uncrowded beaches in Hawaiʻi. However, there are usually reasons why those particular beaches are uncrowded. Accessibility, facilities (or lack thereof), ocean conditions, time of day, etc. are some of the reasons...
Noahj1102, it sounds like you have very legitimate concerns about if Hawaii is the right place for you to move. Could you swing a week in Hawaii, or a long weekend, on the island that you think you might be headed to, before you or your wife accepts a job? Popping a couple of grand for airfare, hotel, car, etc, will be a small amount to pay if it helps prevent you from making a move that you are not going to be happy with. And if on that trip you love it here, then you can spend time collecting info from realtors, etc, in advance of your actual move.
Or, perhaps that is already in your plans. I see something about a 2-3 week trip, but I'm not too keen on re-reading this long thread for details.
Comparing a resort in Jamaica to the entire state of Hawaii doesn't make a lot of sense. There will be places in Hawaii where it will look and feel very similar to that resort in Jamaica. There will also be deserted beaches that aren't anything like Jamaica at all. One of the basic difficulties is your range of housing is limited by the job location and what you want may not be within range.
Since you'll be in Hawaii for two weeks in May, use that time to look around where your wife's job is to see if there's anywhere you'd like to live. It's not that large of an area that you wouldn't be able to pretty much look everywhere. If you don't like the way the area is, then don't move. If you do like the feel of it, then move. Simple, no? Worst case scenario, you get a two week Hawaiian vacation.
Yes to recap this thread, my wife and I will be in Maui in May for almost three weeks while she takes a temp. assignment with her current employer. Our plan is to research and live like we are residents while there. My wife only works part time and will only work that if we move. She has already been assured she would have a job if we so decide to move. She has been with the same employer nearly 20 years so we aren't concerned about her. She also homeschools our 9 year old son.
A bigger concern is me getting a job. I am an experienced RN and I have some connections that could get me a job somewhere in Maui or Kona.
As per the thread title, we are looking to slowdown our lifestyle and reduce. We wont have cable TV and are just looking to live simple. We currently have no debt and look to keep it that way.
I wasn't by any means trying to compare Jamaica with Hawaii. I was trying to get a somewhat parallel as to how crowded most beaches are, thats it. We are realistic that we wont be living directly on a beach, but living relatively close is important and not one that is crowded with tourists. We would just like to be able to get in our car and be somewhere we can sun, swim, snorkel, and/or fish.
We don't mind a longer drive to the store or town. We are just looking for a slower paced lifestyle. So what I really would be interested in would be ideas for towns that might fit these descriptions. I can research said ideas and when we get there have a headstart on to places to visit.
If you are on Maui, it will be a plane trip to visit Kailua-Kona but if that is a consideration as a place of employment for you, it might be worth a side trip. There are some smaller planes which fly directly from Maui to Kailua-Kona so you won't have to pay the $75 to Honolulu and then another $75 to Kona on the bigger planes.
Gas is going up, it will probably be over $5 a gallon (again) real soon and it doesn't usually drop by much once it hits the high numbers. Adding that to the generally increased cost of living, living close to work is really important. You have to go to work everyday and beaches are usually a weekend event. So, although you'd like to be close to the beach, it is more important to be close to work. If you can keep your living costs low enough, you'll be able to have time to go to the beach otherwise you'll be working two jobs to pay the rent and no beach at all. How much it costs to get to work as well as to get to supplies makes a huge impact on your cost of living and it is usually a difficult cost to change unless you move which is a huge hassle.
Waikiki is about the only beach which has toe to toe type folks and that's on Oahu, not Maui. Other beaches get folks on them, but not as densely. Surf breaks are a different matter, do you surf?
Hawaii, the entire state, only has one "city" and that's Honolulu. On many of the other islands a small "town" (shown by a town name on a map) may be nothing more than a post office and a few houses. On most of the islands other than Oahu, there aren't that many roads so once you find out where your wife will be working, to search living areas within a reasonable driving distance won't take that long. Even living in a town in Hawaii will more than likely be much slower than the same sized town on the mainland so don't automatically make decisions of what you want based on how things are on the mainland. I know that's the only database you have to work with, though, but once you get to Hawaii how different things are will be really apparent real soon. What we call a "town" won't be anything like what you call a "town".
I'm not sure about exact details on Maui anymore, it's been years (cost of inter-island airfare) since we've been there. On the island of Hawaii (the Big Island) the only two real "towns" (mainland style towns) are Hilo and Kailua. Waimea, Honokaa and Pahoa are almost complete little towns. Here's a link to a tour guide's description of some of the areas on Maui: Maui Towns and Regions - Tom Barefoot's Tours He kinda describes them pretty wall, it seems to me, anyway. Maui folks can chime in and say if they are valid descriptions anymore.
Locate where your wife will be working, see where you will be possibly working and find housing between those two points. The beach will still be within an easy driving distance. There isn't anywhere you can live in this state where you can't get to a beach fairly quickly with a car. Hmm, I suppose if you lived up at Volcanoes, it would take forty five minutes to get to the beach. The observatories up on Mauna Kea would probably take an hour. Maui is much smaller, so it will be a quicker trip to the beach. Look for a nice quiet neighborhood where you can get supplies easily that is close to work. If you can get good neighbors your life in Hawaii will be a LOT easier. They can answer questions and help you along.
So, a basic recap, almost anywhere on either Maui or Hawaii (the island) will be a "slower paced lifestyle". No need to hunt for a special place on the island, the whole island will probably be much slower. There really aren't "towns" like you are used to on the mainland. Each island is it's own County and that's as small of a governmental unit we get around here. No townships. We have state, we have County. That's it. In three weeks you'll have time to pretty much drive over the whole island as well as visit the Big Island, but you're still going to be only looking in one area near by work so you'll have time to look at pretty much each house within a forty five minute drive of work. Locate work, locate supplies, look at housing nearby. See which beaches are nearby, there will probably be more than one to choose from.
Yes to recap this thread, my wife and I will be in Maui in May for almost three weeks while she takes a temp. assignment with her current employer. Our plan is to research and live like we are residents while there. My wife only works part time and will only work that if we move. She has already been assured she would have a job if we so decide to move. She has been with the same employer nearly 20 years so we aren't concerned about her. She also homeschools our 9 year old son.
A bigger concern is me getting a job. I am an experienced RN and I have some connections that could get me a job somewhere in Maui or Kona.
As per the thread title, we are looking to slowdown our lifestyle and reduce. We wont have cable TV and are just looking to live simple. We currently have no debt and look to keep it that way.
I wasn't by any means trying to compare Jamaica with Hawaii. I was trying to get a somewhat parallel as to how crowded most beaches are, thats it. We are realistic that we wont be living directly on a beach, but living relatively close is important and not one that is crowded with tourists. We would just like to be able to get in our car and be somewhere we can sun, swim, snorkel, and/or fish.
We don't mind a longer drive to the store or town. We are just looking for a slower paced lifestyle. So what I really would be interested in would be ideas for towns that might fit these descriptions. I can research said ideas and when we get there have a head start on to places to visit.
Best wishes. Frankly, I don't see the attraction in Hawaii at all. I visited not long ago, and saw what I expected after prior research. To me it is a glorified "scenario" of Miami on a smaller scale "island" geography. Residents will fume and sputter over that comment, but , for the costs and overall hassles, no thanks. Yes, very beautiful, but landscape does not sustain you in life. Not trying to batter the place, just realistic. More bang for the buck with less loss, in many other world locations. Too much in Oahu is run down, and focus in tourist areas is the apparent emphasis at detriment to the remaining. If it were 1950s or 60s, maybe different. Not now. Longer drive? Brace yourself for more than that. Wanna surf? Go to Costa Rica -Jaco, Pacific coast. Cheaper by far? Panama , Belize, or Cuenca, Ecuador.
In a nutshell, there are some relatively uncrowded beaches in Hawaiʻi. However, there are usually reasons why those particular beaches are uncrowded. Accessibility, facilities (or lack thereof), ocean conditions, time of day, etc. are some of the reasons...
thanks hotzcatz! pretty much answers all my questions.
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