Moving from Arkansas to Hawaii (allergies, to live, moving to)

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

OP, I just Googled 10 US cities with the cleanest air. You should do the same. I really do think that you need to do a lot more research about this whole issue before making the leap to Hawaii.

Stanleysowl is giving you good advice. I live on the Big Island and I know a lot of people who are affected by the VOG. The VOG levels are reported as a regular part of the evening news. The local high school has a detector that will set off an alarm if the VOG (i.e., sulfur dioxide) gets too bad.

[PriscillaVanilla]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Some folks are affected by vog, some aren't. It's a pretty large particulate, I suspect, since it can be easily filtered out of the air.

Which island is your friend on?

My friend has moved around on all of the islands. Lives in Maui now.

[hotzcatz]

Can you visit your friend for a week or two? Maybe have your stuff packed up so if you decide not to leave it can be shipped to you later?

Of course, the islands are much different when you live here from when you're vacationing here, but a visit would give you an opportunity to see if the air would suit you. Maybe you'd be able to find a job while 'on vacation', as well?

Maui is a lovely island and has enough population that there were be jobs like you may want and if you find a small apartment to share - at least while getting established, then it might work out. Having a friend already there helps a lot.

[davephan]

That's a really bad idea to cash out an IRA and pay a huge tax burden and sacrifice your financial future. It's ironic that you'd like to become a financial adviser when you consider cashing out an IRA early and take a tax penalty! If you can't afford to move without tapping into your IRA, you can't afford to move to Hawaii. Maybe you can't afford to take several two week vacations to Hawaii to check it out in person. If that's the case, you can't afford it it now. That doesn't mean you'll never be able to afford it in the future.

How much do you earn now? How much of that earned income do you spend in a year? That information can be used to compare how much more income you'll need in Hawaii using one of the many cost of living comparison web sites. You'll probably need some fairly serious cash saved up for the venture, maybe $50K or more, so you can make the move and live without working for a number of months without any earned income while you try to find a job.

If the job you find doesn't pay enough to cover your expenses, you'll burn through your venture money. Make sure to reserve enough money for the flight back to the mainland in case things don't work out for you. Most jobs pay a lot less in Hawaii, while the cost of living is a lot more.

I found that the VOG was pretty nasty in the Captain Cook area when I visited the Big Island. It reminded me of the pollution in Gary, Indiana about 50 years ago. Although Gary, Indiana was much worse back then. I could see a grey pollution dome over the city from about 50 miles away. I think the VOG might also effect Maui and Oahu. People used to complain about the smoke on Maui from burning the sugar kane.

You really need to visit Hawaii, and compare the cost of living to determine if your plan is viable.

[TheKiwi]

OP, I just want to give support to you. There will be a lot of people advising you against this move, but if it's what you really want, go for it. The worst that could happen is at the year mark, you decide to move back to the mainland. But at least you got to experience living in Hawaii, can check it off your list, and will live without the regret of not doing it.

[rya96797]

^

Well as long as he/she is ok with the consequences of the decision should it turn out badly, then sure go for it. Actually the worst thing that could happen is that she is broke and doesn't have enough money to return to the mainland, and ends up homeless. That happens quite a bit here. The cost to return home is quite a bit more than a simple grayhound ticket. And I'd imagine that draining all financial assets and returning home penniless and broke may leave you with regrets that you didn't simply take a hawaiian vacation every year instead.


The fact that she doesn't have the financial assets to make the move without pulling retirement money is already a huge warning sign. The move to HI is expensive, probably the most expensive in the US outside maybe alaska. Local residents who already have an advantage by being here and having a family support network already have trouble making ends meet. Then you compound the adidtional difficulties of being a newcomer and outsider, and it's a recipe to fail unless you have things seriously thought through.

No real career or high paying job lined up - recipe for disaster. Moving to Hawaii isn't for dreamers. I've said it before, if you're single and moving to hawaii, a salary of at least $60k is what you want for a somewhat comfortable living. And ideally it'll already be lined up. If you're married or married with kids, ideally you'll be at 100k - 150k combined income. Sales jobs? Looking to start as a financial advisor? Unless you're some sort of sales prodigy, you'll be making peanuts for both especially getting off the ground. Changing career + moving to hawaii does not compute. And entry level financial advising/banking jobs pays absolute crap. You're probably looking at $30k/year. Sales? Minimum wage + commission.

Buying a house? Right now the housing market is going bonkers. You're looking at $300k+ for mediocre condos. Tonwhomes might be $400-500k, all depends on location for all of course.

[TheKiwi]

Originally Posted by rya96797

^

Well as long as he/she is ok with the consequences of the decision should it turn out badly, then sure go for it. Actually the worst thing that could happen is that she is broke and doesn't have enough money to return to the mainland, and ends up homeless. That happens quite a bit here. The cost to return home is quite a bit more than a simple grayhound ticket. And I'd imagine that draining all financial assets and returning home penniless and broke may leave you with regrets that you didn't simply take a hawaiian vacation every year instead.


The fact that she doesn't have the financial assets to make the move without pulling retirement money is already a huge warning sign. The move to HI is expensive, probably the most expensive in the US outside maybe alaska. Local residents who already have an advantage by being here and having a family support network already have trouble making ends meet. Then you compound the adidtional difficulties of being a newcomer and outsider, and it's a recipe to fail unless you have things seriously thought through.

No real career or high paying job lined up - recipe for disaster. Moving to Hawaii isn't for dreamers. I've said it before, if you're single and moving to hawaii, a salary of at least $60k is what you want for a somewhat comfortable living. If you're married or married with kids, ideally you'll be at 100k - 150k combined income.

Some people can make it work. You hear all the time about people moving to Los Angeles with less than $1000 to their name, no car, and making it work.

I would advise to save up as much as you can before going, and DON'T cash out your IRA just yet. Get a short-term 6-month or so rental first, possibly sharing with a roommate or two or three to save on the cost. Make a plan that at the 6-month mark, you will evaluate. Have you secured a job? Are you happy in Hawaii still? Are you on the island you want to be on? Can you see yourself living here long-term? And always have an escape fund. If funds get low enough that you are going to need to start draining your escape fund, then you know it's time to leave.

[rya96797]

Originally Posted by TheKiwi

Some people can make it work. You hear all the time about people moving to Los Angeles with less than $1000 to their name, no car, and making it work.

I would advise to save up as much as you can before going, and DON'T cash out your IRA just yet. Get a short-term 6-month or so rental first, possibly sharing with a roommate or two or three to save on the cost. Make a plan that at the 6-month mark, you will evaluate. Have you secured a job? Are you happy in Hawaii still? Are you on the island you want to be on? Can you see yourself living here long-term? And always have an escape fund. If funds get low enough that you are going to need to start draining your escape fund, then you know it's time to leave.

"I would advise" - now THAT is decent advice.

Yes some people do make it despite being deeply disadvantaged because of luck, hardwork, or whatever. Just like lottery winners, these are the people you hear about. No one talks about the 99/100 people who tried the move with "less than $1000 to their name" and failed or fell by the wayside. Without proper planning, you exponentially increase your chances of failing. IMO 35YO is borderingold to be gambling, failing, and starting over from 0 financially

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by TheKiwi

Some people can make it work. You hear all the time about people moving to Los Angeles with less than $1000 to their name, no car, and making it work.

I would advise to save up as much as you can before going, and DON'T cash out your IRA just yet. Get a short-term 6-month or so rental first, possibly sharing with a roommate or two or three to save on the cost. Make a plan that at the 6-month mark, you will evaluate. Have you secured a job? Are you happy in Hawaii still? Are you on the island you want to be on? Can you see yourself living here long-term? And always have an escape fund. If funds get low enough that you are going to need to start draining your escape fund, then you know it's time to leave.

You simply cannot compare moving to Hawaii with moving anywhere on the mainland. For one thing, you can't just drive to Hawaii and then drive somewhere else if things don't work out Getting there is expensive and then you need to buy all the stuff that you don't ship there because it's expensive and then when it's time to leave it's expensive.

And that doesn't take into account the REALITIES of living in Hawaii. High COL and low wages.

OP, please listen to the people who actually live in Hawaii and are trying to give you helpful advise. If you can't afford to take a vacation or two to check things out, then you can't afford to live there. And I'll say it again -- don't borrow from your future to chase a pipe dream. There are plenty of places on the mainland that you work better.

[TheKiwi]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

You simply cannot compare moving to Hawaii with moving anywhere on the mainland. For one thing, you can't just drive to Hawaii and then drive somewhere else if things don't work out Getting there is expensive and then you need to buy all the stuff that you don't ship there because it's expensive and then when it's time to leave it's expensive.

And that doesn't take into account the REALITIES of living in Hawaii. High COL and low wages.

OP, please listen to the people who actually live in Hawaii and are trying to give you helpful advise. If you can't afford to take a vacation or two to check things out, then you can't afford to live there. And I'll say it again -- don't borrow from your future to chase a pipe dream. There are plenty of places on the mainland that you work better.

That's why I said OP should have an escape fund. Wasn't saying living on the mainland can be compared to Hawaii. I was just saying, dreamers moving with $1000 to their name CAN make their dreams happen sometimes.