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Gift card for airlines? 'Just in case'? You can't possibly be serious. If OP doesn't have the bare minimum financial responsibility/common sense to keep enough aside to pay for a ticket to go back home in case things go sour, OP should NOT even bother considering moving here.
Good grief.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pj737
The plumbers I know here make $80-$100K++. Having a skill in a well-paid trade like electrical or plumbing can be very lucrative here.
Good advise on both counts! If the OP doesn't have enough common sense and responsibility, then there won't be enough savings left, and they will become just one more homeless person in Hawaii that is trapped on an island, with no way to escape, unless their parents or the government acting as a parent gives him a airline ticket back to the mainland.
I used to hear that one electrician equals 3 carpenters in wages. Plumbers are probably higher than that. If you choose a trade, you might as well choose a trade that pays more, rather than pays less. Although, jobs in the trades related to housing do suffer with high unemployment when housing takes a downturn periodically over the long haul. This means that there needs to be enough savings to carry through the lean times over the years.
I'm not sure how much saving you can do on $80K to $100K in Hawaii, since the cost of living is so high. People that make less than that on the mainland can become millionaires on less than that income level if they are extreme savers. Many people say that you should have between $1M to $2M to retire comfortably, but most people retire on considerably less savings. It's pretty tough to get to the first million, it takes a lot of saving. However, the second and third million are much easier, since your investments can significantly increase your income, while you hold your spending to well below your means. Living well below your means, and saving a lot of money might be very tough living in a very high cost of living location during your working years. That's the price for living in paradise during your working years.
"Gift card for airlines? 'Just in case'? You can't possibly be serious. If OP doesn't have the bare minimum financial responsibility/common sense to keep enough aside to pay for a ticket to go back home in case things go sour, OP should NOT even bother considering moving here.
Good grief."
THAT ^^^^ is precisely why I don't reply much in these forums. Although this IS a somewhat public forum and one should expect a certain amount of haters, etc., I just expect more ALOHA from this particular one and I keep getting disappointed.
"Gift card for airlines? 'Just in case'? You can't possibly be serious. If OP doesn't have the bare minimum financial responsibility/common sense to keep enough aside to pay for a ticket to go back home in case things go sour, OP should NOT even bother considering moving here.
Good grief."
THAT ^^^^ is precisely why I don't reply much in these forums. Although this IS a somewhat public forum and one should expect a certain amount of haters, etc., I just expect more ALOHA from this particular one and I keep getting disappointed.
I'm sorry my post was not full of aloha but suggesting that someone should put their hard-earned money into ANY gift card that can be lost/stolen, hacked, unusable in a bankruptcy, earns no interest and may not be used for years is terribly bad advice.
It's a universally bad idea regardless of your situation. I think I'm being a good person by telling others it's a terrible idea - sans sugarcoating and fluffy happy stuff.
I'm not sure how much saving you can do on $80K to $100K in Hawaii, since the cost of living is so high. People that make less than that on the mainland can become millionaires on less than that income level if they are extreme savers. Many people say that you should have between $1M to $2M to retire comfortably, but most people retire on considerably less savings. It's pretty tough to get to the first million, it takes a lot of saving. However, the second and third million are much easier, since your investments can significantly increase your income, while you hold your spending to well below your means. Living well below your means, and saving a lot of money might be very tough living in a very high cost of living location during your working years. That's the price for living in paradise during your working years.
You can do a pretty reasonable amount of savings on that income, but really depends on the details. Do they live in a house with a 500k mortgage or do they share an apartment with 2 others? Are they single, or do they have a few kids?
80-100k is well above the median household income in hawaii, which usually involves 2-3 working people. Per capita income is like 30k, so you're making triple what the average person makes. if one lives a sensible lifestyle, you can be pretty comfortable and save a decent amount of money if that's what you earn by yourself.
Per capita income is like 30k, so you're making triple what the average person makes.
Sigh, another person who doesn't know what "per capita" income is.
Per capita income does not reflect "triple what the average person makes" Per capita income takes into account the entire population - so total income / total population (total population means children, elderly, unable to work, etc). Per capita income is generally used a measurement of living standard not how much money the average person makes.
Furthermore, comparing Hawaii per capita income is problematic - we don't have ultra high earners here (with very few exceptions - and handful of CEO's) - we don't have a Silicon valley, or Amazon/Microsoft - an Hollywood/Disney, etc....that skews per capita income.
Last edited by whtviper1; 08-15-2016 at 12:16 PM..
The other misused statistic by a lot of people is "household income".
Just think about how many households are comprised of retiree's - there are a lot of retired people on Oahu (and Hawaii in general) who own a condo or home. They are going to drag down the median household median by quite a bit. Per capita income and household income can be used to compare one area against another - but they are skewed.
A business or science degreed professional - or skilled in trades such as plumbing, electrical, etc - should expect to make at least $70K or possible much more on Oahu.
I know this was posted a couple of months ago, and hopefully you got a few things squared away, but let me try to assist you as much as possible. I'm currently 22-years-old, and have been here since I was 5.
Hawaii is a nice place to reside if you're looking for cultural diversity, steady weather, and plenty of outdoor activities such as hiking, surfing, or biking. But as with everything great, it comes with a price. I'm sure you already know, but Oahu's living expenses are rising (don't even get me started with real estate). So much to the point where I'm currently in the process of moving to Buffalo, NY for a better quality of life. I don't want to discourage you, but yeah, it's pretty hard getting by on your own if you don't have a degree for a career, but even then, everyone here is extremely competitive.
I'm assuming that you're looking to move to Honolulu. Rent is incredibly high, but the amount of job opportunities may be on your side because they have a lot of tourism in Waikiki. I've landed plenty of full-time jobs for $13+/hr, you just have to know where to look. Also if you have good credit/renting history, this will be your best friend. I should also warn you about traffic. It's gotten progressively worse due to the rail system that they're currently trying to build. You could be spending an additional 2 hours on the road for a 15 minute affair. The upside is that Hawaii is great with their public transportation system. You can virtually go around the island on a bus.
If you realize that Oahu may not have its best interest out for you, try Maui! Second busiest Hawaiian island. There isn't AS much things to do here, but there are still places enjoyable to visit on a fun day out. Renting here is a lot cheaper upcountry. Most affordable places ($800-$1100/Studio) is usually attached housing. 90% of them aren't HUD approved, but if you can live with it, you don't need renting history or amazing credit, like most renting agencies expect. Look on Craigslist for places like Pukalani, Haiku, Kula, or Makawao. Maui is known for it's laid-back, country nature.
I wish you the best of luck!
P.s., you are so lucky. I would love to live in Colorado!
Wow! How can you survive on only $13 an hour in Oahu? Even if you worked 80 hours a week at that pay rate, it wouldn't be enough money. You certainly couldn't save anything for retirement. Maybe that's why you're leaving. There are many $13 an hour jobs in Minnesota. You don't need a degree for those jobs. You just need to be breathing, have some job skills, and show up for work!
Registered nurse can get about $70,000 while retail store managers about $52,000. But because there are many more low-income workers than higher income or middle income earners, I guess the average salary is lower.
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