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I am in my late 20's and I have been to both the Big Island and O'ahu. I really liked the local and slow paced lifestyle of the Hilo side over the Kona side which I mainly liked because of the clear water beaches. I found that there isn't an abundance of people within my age group in Hilo. That side of town had this unique energy and it was so green and beautiful, and loved that it wasn't crowded. I'm not sure if it'll be easy to find a job and make friends? On the other hand, I had a blast on O'ahu and made some friends while I was there. I even applied to a couple of jobs in the medical field that I have experience in, and was offered 2 job interviews, which I turned down because I had to return home for personal reasons.
Public transportation was also really convenient. I was able to get around the island easily although I rather buy my own car and drive myself. I disliked that O'ahu was really developed, crowded and small, but like Hilo, it was very beautiful. Everyone drives fast on O'ahu and I was not a fan of the traffic.
I have enough savings to be able to live on the island for a solid year without work. I can't decide whether I want to move to the Big Island or O'ahu. I was wondering if you guys can offer some advice on which island to move to as I am indecisive. Please do not reply and tell me how expensive Hawai'i is. I know how expensive it is. My goal is to live on the island for 6 months to a year, short-term.
In all seriousness, if you are in your late 20's and you can't even make a decision on where to move on vastly different islands and need to post to an internet forum the entire question doesn't even seem credible.
In all seriousness, if you are in your late 20's and you can't even make a decision on where to move on vastly different islands and need to post to an internet forum the entire question doesn't even seem credible.
Your comment had nothing to do with my post. I obviously need some advice and would love to hear from those who have moved to Hawai'i. If I knew the answer I wouldn't be posting on a forum.
Don't worry about this forum's agent provocateur, he can be helpful when he wants, and mostly harmless otherwise. But in his usual way, he cut right to the heart of the matter, indecision. Without knowing more about your likes and dislikes, background, and personality, it's hard to help you--and then nobody can decide for you.
Honolulu has a lot going on, so active and exciting, but if you have introvert tendencies and need peace and quiet, it's harder to find (usually requires some driving and hiking). Or you love the city but could end up in a distant suburb due to rent costs and you have all the downsides and none of the advantages.
Then again on the big island, there is lots of driving everywhere. Rent is cheaper except maybe now little is available with all those displaced by the volcano. Might be too sleepy for some, but even here on Kauai I see groups of young adults doing fun and cool things outdoors (mostly through their Instagram feeds, might be worth looking for). So if you are outdoorsy and active, there might be plenty to keep you busy.
Employees in the medical field are usually in demand, so while people usually say it's easier to find work on Oahu, you might find something on the Big Island. But things change. So you should check craigslist and other job boards to get a feel for the situation. Sounds like you can take the time off, and maybe only need to go back to work if you want to make the move permanent.
So I would check rentals on Craigslist to see what you can afford in both places (don't forget to look at roommate situations, instant peer group). Then imagine living in those places and how you'd set up your life.
Don't worry about this forum's agent provocateur, he can be helpful when he wants, and mostly harmless otherwise. But in his usual way, he cut right to the heart of the matter, indecision. Without knowing more about your likes and dislikes, background, and personality, it's hard to help you--and then nobody can decide for you.
Honolulu has a lot going on, so active and exciting, but if you have introvert tendencies and need peace and quiet, it's harder to find (usually requires some driving and hiking). Or you love the city but could end up in a distant suburb due to rent costs and you have all the downsides and none of the advantages.
Then again on the big island, there is lots of driving everywhere. Rent is cheaper except maybe now little is available with all those displaced by the volcano. Might be too sleepy for some, but even here on Kauai I see groups of young adults doing fun and cool things outdoors (mostly through their Instagram feeds, might be worth looking for). So if you are outdoorsy and active, there might be plenty to keep you busy.
Employees in the medical field are usually in demand, so while people usually say it's easier to find work on Oahu, you might find something on the Big Island. But things change. So you should check craigslist and other job boards to get a feel for the situation. Sounds like you can take the time off, and maybe only need to go back to work if you want to make the move permanent.
So I would check rentals on Craigslist to see what you can afford in both places (don't forget to look at roommate situations, instant peer group). Then imagine living in those places and how you'd set up your life.
Wow!!! Much mahalo for your reply.So many great suggestions and information. I appreciate it so much!
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
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If, as you stated, you have enough $ to live on either island for a year without work, why not spend a few months exploring and interviewing on each to make your decision?
Side note-if you truly have enough money saved to live on Oahu for a year without working, then you actually have enough to live on the Big Island for two years without working.
The islands are so different I find it strange that people are deciding between the two. Sort of like deciding which beverage I want to drink, a cold beer or a glass of lukewarm pickle-juice.
I'll leave it up to you to figure out which island I consider to be pickle-juice
Oahu is like pickle juice? It'd be cold pickle juice at least, wouldn't it? Maybe with a shot of tequila and an olive in it or something more upscale than just warm.
If you were interested in Hilo, Eric808, you could try taking some college classes there in order to meet folks. Since the University opened up a campus there the folks in Hilo have had more younger folks there.
Still, if you're just planning on staying for six months, then perhaps Oahu would be a good choice. Their population is more transitory, especially in areas such as Waikiki so folks are more open to meeting and having friends that aren't going to be there for the long haul. Although, at the University, that's a similar sort of thing so it'd be similar in Hilo.
If you want night clubs and such to be part of your lifestyle, then choosing Oahu would make more sense. If you want more rural and nature, then Big Island would make more sense.
If employment matters, then take some job interviews and pick whichever island you get the job on. Although, your prospective employer isn't gonna be too happy about the only here for six months bit, no doubt.
If you're moving for merely six months, then may as well just make an extended vacation out of it. If you work to live here, you'll spend all your time at work and won't have much time for running around meeting new people.
I am in my late 20's and I have been to both the Big Island and O'ahu. I really liked the local and slow paced lifestyle of the Hilo side over the Kona side which I mainly liked because of the clear water beaches. I found that there isn't an abundance of people within my age group in Hilo. That side of town had this unique energy and it was so green and beautiful, and loved that it wasn't crowded. I'm not sure if it'll be easy to find a job and make friends? On the other hand, I had a blast on O'ahu and made some friends while I was there. I even applied to a couple of jobs in the medical field that I have experience in, and was offered 2 job interviews, which I turned down because I had to return home for personal reasons.
Public transportation was also really convenient. I was able to get around the island easily although I rather buy my own car and drive myself. I disliked that O'ahu was really developed, crowded and small, but like Hilo, it was very beautiful. Everyone drives fast on O'ahu and I was not a fan of the traffic.
I have enough savings to be able to live on the island for a solid year without work. I can't decide whether I want to move to the Big Island or O'ahu. I was wondering if you guys can offer some advice on which island to move to as I am indecisive. Please do not reply and tell me how expensive Hawai'i is. I know how expensive it is. My goal is to live on the island for 6 months to a year, short-term.
Thanks!
It sounds like you need to visit Hawaii several more times if you can't decide which island where you want to live. Where you are going to work will determine where you will be able to live, unless you are independently wealthy and no longer have to work the rest of your life. There are larger questions in your situation, since you brought it up. How much money do you think is enough money to last a year without working, moving to and living in Hawaii? If I was in your situation, I'd budget about $80K for that venture. Where is the pile money coming from? If it's coming from your retirement savings, that's a huge mistake. There are serous penalties to withdraw money from pretax retirement accounts before age 59 1/2. It's also unwise to withdraw money from Roth retirement accounts early. I'm not in your age group. I'm retired because I saved enough money so I have the freedom where work is an option, not a requirement, and I don't need to work to make money. My investments and pension make me more money than I spend each year without working.
Also, if you were about 30 years old, and that money could be put into your retirement savings, by the time you hit 60 years old, that money would double about 3 times in 30 years. So, $80K today, would be $320K in 30 years. You're giving up on that extra retirement savings for your fling, living in Hawaii for a year, bumming around, on an extended vacation. Meanwhile, the time gap without employment, or accepting low-level, part-time, no-benefits jobs that are more likely in Hawaii, since most jobs in Hawaii are tourism based, won't be very good for your resume, making you more likely to be rejected for any decent high paying jobs in the future.
Since you're younger, perhaps you should be concentrating on your job skills, unless you already have job skills. There's not much of a financial long term future working part-time waiting on tables. When you were walking around in the park in Hilo, did you notice the homeless people wandering around, looking for soda cans, to get the deposit money? Several times, I saw homeless people digging through trash cans for food that was thrown away by others, then they ate that food from the trash can. When you run out of money, you don't want to end up homeless in Hawaii!
If you do have job skills where you can make money, the best opportunities for making money will be Oahu, but you'll have to live with the crowds and higher cost of living than the Big Island. If you've read posts for awhile about Hawaii, you'll already know that it will be difficult to make new friends, unless you've already lived in Hawaii for at least several years. It's not like other places where you can meet new friends right away without the serious 'locals' and 'visitors' issues that plague Hawaii.
The vast majority of people who already tried what you are proposing, moving to Hawaii, only last 1 to 2 years, before they have to return back to the mainland. Maybe you'll be the rare exception to that rule, but the odds are stacked against you.
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