Planning move to islands need help! (Hilo: low income, fit in, sale)

[Bamaken]

First off thanks all that read and lend idea's and thoughts.

My wife and I have come to a point in our lives where we can make a live change.
Here is list covering our situation.

AGE AND WORK

1.Age 47 wife 46
2.Have 5 children youngest 20 all on there own and different places in US
3.Family all over US also so distance from should not be problem , heck might see them more
4.I worked 20 years as master auto tech and for last 12 years taken care of rental property ,
own 6 homes and manage 4 others nothing fancy low income .
( I am pretty much a handyman I do it all and enjoy that type work. )
5. My wife works for a big casino customer relation. Never meet a stranger enjoys interacting with people.

LIFE STYLE

1. Can be called minimalists , material items don't mean much to us now.
2. We prefer rural area , travel to and from work no problem.
3. We are looking for somewhere to belong, be part of small community not change it.

Finances

1. Not much will need find work fast.

I have read and researched so much my head aches.
Can't decide what island and area we fit in.

[hotzcatz]

Hmm, you started work as a master auto tech at fifteen? You own six houses and they don't pay enough that you have additional income? How are you planning on taking care of the houses if you are moving 2,500 miles away?

Well, car mechanics don't really get paid much from what I've heard. Something about the dealerships pay by the job or something. A friend tried working for one several years ago and it would have been good, but there were more mechanics than cars to fix.

No casinos in the state, so no transferring your wife's job. If she enjoys interacting with people, you may not want to get too rural. She will probably be happier with some folks sort of nearby to visit with, perhaps.

Well, rural pretty much means not Oahu. Jobs are gonna be the problem probably more so than anything else.

[Bamaken]

Thanks for input and actually started working as auto tech at 12 family business(got under age limit because family owed), was blessed with ability to pretty much fix anything.

I did not list where I am from but Alabama,Usa Housing is alot different.
I have one block home and 5 older manufactured homes(trailer).
Mortgaged to value , they do produce about 1000. profit month.
I have 2 children that are staying in area for now ,they will take care of property.

[Due]

Have you made many trips to Hawaii to see what island, climate, etc. that you like?

[hotzcatz]

Well, if you will still have the $1K a month rental income, that will help a lot when it comes to making ends meet here. Maybe find a small place somewhere in Puna and then let the mainland rentals cover your mortgage here. Then scramble around and find odd jobs to cover the rest of the mortgage & living money. Cars shouldn't be a problem and here you can drive an "island" car without losing respectability. Put in a small garden to assist the food bills. If you can get solar hot water and solar electric, then you could probably make do on odd jobs and mainland rental income. Dunno what you'll do about health care, though. That will be one of the things to figure out.

[Bamaken]

Actually the more I research the more I like Puna , Hilo area. Seems to be best fit for us.
Something odd I keep hearing food prices higher. So today looked at weekly sale papers from costco and walmart few others and compaired to same stores my area found some items cheaper on island most same cost.
We are looking at move before end of year. That will give us time to build little more cushion cash.

[Mikala43]

Originally Posted by Bamaken

Actually the more I research the more I like Puna , Hilo area. Seems to be best fit for us.
Something odd I keep hearing food prices higher. So today looked at weekly sale papers from costco and walmart few others and compaired to same stores my area found some items cheaper on island most same cost.
We are looking at move before end of year. That will give us time to build little more cushion cash.

Hilo has a Walmart, but I don't think they have a costco?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Hilo has WalMart, Target, KTA, Safeway, Sack and Save, and Cost You Less (which is a small scale Costco). I'm sure that someone will throw in the stores that I've forgotten.

Some food items are ridiculously higher than the mainland such as milk, eggs, bread, and some produce. I quit buying bell peppers because they are so expensive.

No Costco in Hilo.

[PaliPatty]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Hilo has WalMart, Target, KTA, Safeway, Sack and Save, and Cost You Less (which is a small scale Costco). I'm sure that someone will throw in the stores that I've forgotten.

Some food items are ridiculously higher than the mainland such as milk, eggs, bread, and some produce. I quit buying bell peppers because they are so expensive.

No Costco in Hilo.

Tip on the bell peppers.
Once in a blue moon Safeway will have a "10 pounds for 10 dollars" sale on green bell peppers. When they do, I buy a ton or so, slice them up, freeze them on sheet pans and then store them in ziplocs.
Obviously not good in salads, LOL, but perfectly fine in soups, sauces, chili, omelets, etc.
Occasionally, when hell freezes over, you can find a similar deal on the apparently-made-of-precious-metals red bell pepper. Do the same thing, after picking yourself up from the floor in the produce department.

[hotzcatz]

Here's a solution to the pepper problem: U of H Seed Program It's a dollar for a packet of seeds. Find a container of some sort that has drainage, put some soil in it, add in a bunch of bunny manure if you can or some compost, put in the seeds and add sun and water. If you get an old washing machine tub at the dump, they make great planters. (Add a pink plastic flamingo and folks won't even notice the washing machine tub.)

Or go to the Filipino store where the vegetables aren't made of gold. They have a limited selection since I think they are all local grown things, but they aren't near as expensive as the big name brand grocery stores, either.

Of all the stores listed, we generally choose KTA since they buy more produce from local producers. There are also farmer's markets, but that's not always less expensive, it depends on the market.