Possibly moving to Hawaii in the future need advice please (condo, living)

[Travis9783]

And by the way,besides you Rain monkey,having a child is not a bad start yes it makes things a lil more challenging but never a bad start and as for living with little we are already doing that.I made a account and asked on a public forum for information on the island...just got through reading through the rest of the replies and besides monkey rain,all that was said was either think about kid,im a parent so of course i have and made it seem like the most aweful decision in the world to even think of such a thing.I've made a really good living before without the need of both parents working it is very possible and why not now? because the career i had was at a dead end and i decided to get out before it crippled me like it does everyone else,so yeah we got used and living where its cold as hell and yeah ive lived where its hot to,just cause someone ask on a site where there is a ton of information about moving outside the mainland doesnt mean they are naive or their to young to know better they might be asking just cause there is a ton of people that could provide some insight on the possibilities,yes now days it is harder for just one person to work and yes it is a little more difficult with a kid but its not as bad as what ive read that yall wrote,making it sound like im moving to Iraq

[hotzcatz]

It's actually quite rare to support a household in Hawaii (and especially on Oahu) on only one income. Even if both parents don't work, then frequently there's more than one family or more than one generation of the family living in the house to bring in more wage earners to support the household.

Check rents on Craig's list and discount any that are really low since there's a lot of scammers there. Be aware than the lower priced rentals are frequently on the wrong side of an hour or longer each way daily commute (even though the distance is just a few miles). Also check the real estate listings to see the prices of houses, so buying a house probably won't work on a welder's income very well. It's really tough to live in Hawaii at any kind of 'normal' mainland type living on only one income.

We don't have a lot of industry in Hawaii and the island that has the most of it is Oahu which has a crazy insane cost of living to go along with the traffic. Check the Safeway advertisements for the 'on sale' grocery prices. Look at your electric bill and recalculate it using about forty cents per kilowatt hour to see how much it would cost in Hawaii.

It's a real struggle for families to live here, I know of several young guys more or less living out of their cars although they also spend a lot of time at their parent's houses. Rentals are that tight and that expensive. They have jobs, they just can't afford to rent an apartment anywhere, let alone a house. Another young person rents a couch to sleep on and has a dresser in the hallway for clothing. That's from sharing a two bedroom house with three other people.

To really enjoy Hawaii, try living in a lower cost of living area and then having a really jolly several week vacation every other year or so.

If you still want to try Hawaii, then look into perhaps starting a welding shop. Maybe you'd be able to find a shop with living quarters above it?

Or perhaps Honolulu Shipyards would work out for you. That's probably the biggest employer of welders on the island?

It's a tourist based economy, there's just not a lot of industry around.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

It's actually quite rare to support a household in Hawaii (and especially on Oahu) on only one income. Even if both parents don't work, then frequently there's more than one family or more than one generation of the family living in the house to bring in more wage earners to support the household.

Highly highly highly disagree with that statement.

Hawaii for years for years ranks in the top 3 in resident millionaire households (excluding house value and retirement) - nearly 8% of all households who are residents have assets exceeding $1,000,000 excluding house/retirement funds.

There are the share of poor households - but it isn't rare to support a household on a single income.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by Travis9783

And by the way,besides you Rain monkey,having a child is not a bad start yes it makes things a lil more challenging but never a bad start and as for living with little we are already doing that.I made a account and asked on a public forum for information on the island...just got through reading through the rest of the replies and besides monkey rain,all that was said was either think about kid,im a parent so of course i have and made it seem like the most aweful decision in the world to even think of such a thing.I've made a really good living before without the need of both parents working it is very possible and why not now? because the career i had was at a dead end and i decided to get out before it crippled me like it does everyone else,so yeah we got used and living where its cold as hell and yeah ive lived where its hot to,just cause someone ask on a site where there is a ton of information about moving outside the mainland doesnt mean they are naive or their to young to know better they might be asking just cause there is a ton of people that could provide some insight on the possibilities,yes now days it is harder for just one person to work and yes it is a little more difficult with a kid but its not as bad as what ive read that yall wrote,making it sound like im moving to Iraq

Travis, you said in your original post that you want to "provide the best possible life for your family". My reply in post #3 was trying to get you to look at the big picture of the realities of living in Hawaii. Of course one of the things that I mentioned was schools. I made the assumption that giving your kid a good life also meant insuring that he/she had a good education in a safe school environment. I suggested that you read through the many threads here discussing the state of education in Hawaii so that you can get a better understanding of what to expect.

People post negative stuff as well as positive, because the negative does exist and can really impact you and your family.

[Misterperfect]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

People post negative stuff as well as positive, because the negative does exist and can really impact you and your family.

Travis,

I quoted Dreaming of Hawaii but most of the advice given by the guys / gals with more than a few posts under their belts is accurate. It's expensive, it's a different culture, it's NOT the mainland!

You haven't posted in a while and I hope the cons have not discouraged you.

I'll go out on a limb and tell you what worked for me having landed just a few months ago.
Advice #1
Just try it out first.
I needed to actually have boots on the ground.
Ok they were slippaaahhhhhhs but just the same.

I heard every positive and negative thing that was said about living here, I respected the people who said it and I flew here anyways.

But here is my thing.
I'm kinda a rebel.
I'm kinda a guy that can sleep in a ditch if I have to and not complain.
I really liked buying the last 3 man tent at Walmart and camping out in my buddies back yard.
If you are a survivor that doesn't mind eating junk food for a while and washing up with the garden hose then you can live here very frugally.
i.e. Two local guys living two doors down have a small lot, live in a homemade house, have an IBC water cube, have no PV panels, generators or electricity of any kind and they seem, well I have to say it, ga, ga, ga ... blissfully happy.
I take them Avocados from the trees in my yard and they seem positively calm, stress free and happier than me. They are perfectly content.
They eat what they grow, raise chickens and forage for the rest.

Let the wife and kids stay on the mainland while you explore. Buy small, build small and bring them over after you have made a little place.
Lots of YouTube shipping container home success stories. Build your life here don't buy it.

If a mortgage and corporate career isn't your thing that's ok, you can still move here.

My point being when I got here I added up purchasing the 4 bedroom house, 2 cars + 2 trucks, furnishings, tools, equipment, etc., etc., and guess what. Hawaii was waaaaay out of my price range.
But I came anyway.

That statement will generate a lot of negative comments from the peanut gallery about importing poverty, contributing to unemployment and the what about the children types will have their say but poor people, struggling people are everywhere. Maybe now more than ever it's time young people like you, optimistic people with real skills, need to move here. Hawaii needs you to move here and start your welding shop or lawn mower repair shop or machine shop so you can hire a couple local guys and build a new community.

Hawaii is an island and a man with his wits about him who can turn his hand to any task, who is willing to work 6 days a week for 12 hours a day, and has an actual alum/ mig / tig cert, will do alright.

Advice #2
There are a million ways your plan cant work, try focusing on the few ways it can.

I'll be teaching an Optimism 101 class in the fall so sign up early....


Cheers,
MisterPerfect

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by Misterperfect

I'll be teaching an Optimism 101 class in the fall so sign up early....

Cheers,
MisterPerfect

Oh right, like that's going to work.....

[Grassyknoll]

I see your Optimism Class, and raise you a Sarcasm Class.....

[Misterperfect]

Originally Posted by Grassyknoll

I see your Optimism Class, and raise you a Sarcasm Class.....

Funny! I like a crooked smile.

I had a coworker tell me at first she thought I was a jerk but then realized I had PERSONALITY!
Isn't that just a polite way of saying jerk?

[hotzcatz]

I think it's when you have 'character' that you're a jerk. 'Personality' usually involves bad jokes, though, doesn't it?

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

I think it's when you have 'character' that you're a jerk. 'Personality' usually involves bad jokes, though, doesn't it?

Or good qualities and a lack of physical attractiveness.