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Yeah it really does depend... A college student living on a ramen and part time retail job with student loans idea of living is very different from a single parent trying to raise 2 kids in their parents house is very different from _____ .
my personal opinion of what is a livable wage:
able to rent/own a 1br condo or larger by yourself
able to save adequate funds for retirement
able to purchase necessities without fear of overspending
able to spend on discretionary items and go on trips within reason
In my opinion, the median household income in Honolulu is a good place to start. I think the average person would be ok if earning around that sum of money. I think you could subtract ~20% from that and still be ok if single. If you are a couple and have kids, perhaps add 20% to the household income per kid.
Household Income and Average Income in Honolulu top
Median Household Income$67,905
There's a great deal of poverty in Hawaii, the gap between the rich and poor tends to be really extreme. Lots of young people who grew up here leave, so do older folks who want to be able to retire, and many who move here and then find that long-term poverty with no application for their degrees doesn't really work for them.
As others are writing, no. You absolutely do not have to be rich to live in Hawaii or to even enjoy Hawaii as a resident. While having more money certainly makes doing certain things easier (it also makes certain things even possible to begin with), I see and know plenty of people who are certainly not "rich." Note, when I write "rich," I'm referring to the ability to live comfortably (another poster had a good list that I'd agree meets this definition). I live "well" for me. But I'm single and earn in the low 6 figures. While my mortgage eats up a good portion of my pay, I still have more than enough left over each month to do what I want to do.
No. It just depends on what's important to you. If material gain is your thing, you need to be rich here. Most of what these islands offer has very little to do with material things.
Agree with most posts above. Specifically, No...you do not need to be rich. But how you live can vary dramatically depending on your choices, desires, and priorities. I live in an area of O'ahu where our population income varies dramatically from outright poverty to considerable wealth, and were those two extremes can be found living 1-2 blocks apart in some cases. In the end, we still walk out to the beach together and watch the sunsets in the same way. As an example, I live in a fantastic house that I pay a ridiculous amount of money for. That said, I live super frugally else wise...I mean ultimate cheapskates kine. I eat my own grown veggies or trade with neighbors, buy only stuff that's on sale, wear the cheapest-a$$ board shorts and 10 year old tee shirts, split a car with my girlfriend or ride the bus, send my daughters to public school, and rarely if ever eat at a restaurant. Funny thing is, this place is so fantastic that I'm just about never inside my house. I'm out enjoying Hawaii or working. So, I could live pretty much the same on a whole lot less and the only difference would be that I walk 5 minutes longer to get to the beach and I sleep in a different place. It's all about what you want rather than what you need. If you want a two car garage, two bedrooms, a couple year old BMW, and be a block from the beach, then no way. If you're okay living in Wahiawa in a room with other housemates, parking on the street or taking the bus, saving a little for special things, and mostly cooking for yourself, then sure you can live on $2K a month post tax.
I'm just curious since the cost of living is high in Hawaii. For those living or who have left Hawaii, do you have to be rich in order to live in Hawaii? According to stats, a liveable wage in Hawaii (Honolulu County) is $14.92/hour. What do you think is a reasonable, liveable wage for Hawaii?
Take note that the required income DOUBLES if you add one child. Better get that kid a reality show or a modeling gig. Seriously, why would you want to live here on a living wage for more than a few years as a young adult? Fun in your twenties but when you are 40 living in a 300sf rented studio with a stalled career and no hopes of a retirement plan you'll experience the dull side of paradise.
A local can hope to inherit a property that won't have to be split among siblings but if you are coming here on your own you'll probably need to have a salary of AT LEAST $100,000 to save for a down payment on a $500,000 one bedroom condo. That's about 4 full time jobs at $14.92 an hour. That is not living.
Take note that the required income DOUBLES if you add one child. Better get that kid a reality show or a modeling gig. Seriously, why would you want to live here on a living wage for more than a few years as a young adult? Fun in your twenties but when you are 40 living in a 300sf rented studio with a stalled career and no hopes of a retirement plan you'll experience the dull side of paradise.
A local can hope to inherit a property that won't have to be split among siblings but if you are coming here on your own you'll probably need to have a salary of AT LEAST $100,000 to save for a down payment on a $500,000 one bedroom condo. That's about 4 full time jobs at $14.92 an hour. That is not living.
Or if everyone is lower income, they can pack everyone, grandparents, parents, kids, their kids into one house all paying off one rent/mortgage payment. That's also very common in Hawaii, and why when you hear of a 3br/2ba house burning down, 10-15 people are homeless.
And I agree, "that is not living", at least in my opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aylinap
I thought with the high cost of living in Hawaii, one would have to make A LOT of money in order to live comfortably.
What income level do you define as A LOT of money? As a state, Hawaii has one of the highest, if not the highest cost of living in the country. But there are other cities individually on the mainland that have higher cost of living than Honolulu or Hawaii overall. Of course those cities tend to also have higher average income than Hawaii.
Last edited by rya96797; 01-30-2017 at 12:10 PM..
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