Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am thinking of coming to live in Honolulu and would really appreciate input on whether I can realistically do this. My comtemplated move is not usual in any sense of the word. Here is why....
It matters not to me that places to live are sky high in price...I will be living in my vehicle or camping out the whole winter.
It matters not to me - at least in the long run - whether I can get work easily or not...I will be making my own work by offering window cleaning services to rich folks with nice homes (what I have been doing for 4 years where I live now).
I hope to arrive in Honolulu with about $3000 US in my pocket. With that money I hope to replace/get window cleaning equipment that I need, get an old beater truck (like an old Suburban), and start offering window cleaning.
In a worst case scenario I figure I can get a local job flipping burgers or something to increase the amount of money that I have to work with before I launch out in window cleaning.
A couple of things making me wonder if I should do this...
Taxes in Hawaii are ridiculous. A tax on this and a tax on that. 4% "sales" tax on most things, 4% use tax on most things brought in from outside. Tax on food, surgery, and most other things that are not taxed elsewhere (Hawaii's tax is a considered a poor tax because it makes the poor pay a much higher percentage of their money in taxes than the rich do).
I will loose an $82,000 tax exemption from the US by moving back to the US for longer than 30 days. Not as big of a deal as it might seem though since I can claim taxes paid to Canada (where I live) in place of this exemption - as a credit toward any US taxes due - and since Canada's taxes are higher I will end up paying no or very little US taxes. Still...
I will loose the ability to be exempt from paying self-employment taxes to the US at 15% by claiming privaleges under a Canada/US tax treaty that allows me to pay only 9% to Canada. On 20,000 of gross income (example) that equals having to pay an extra $1200.00 US in self-employment tax per year.
But I HATE, HATE, HATE Canadian winters. It's worth me paying 50% of my income in taxes just to get away from these horrible winters.
Is Hawaii all that it is cracked up to be, weather wise? Can I live in my vehicle there? Is that legal? Are there homeless/transient people hanging out in the good weather everywhere?
Is cheap storage available? I pay $30 per month for a 4x6 unit here. Anything comparable there?
Are there a great quantity of rich folks there (who might want their window cleaned)?
Regarding window cleaning...do rich folks clean their windows monthly from the salt spray? Anyone know?
Any input on any or all of this would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Carlos
PS. If not Hawaii can anyone recommend a good city in the US or South America to move to for the winters? With a possible permanent move there in the future (which takes out of consideration cities that are terrible hot in the summers - i.e. most of Texas or Arizona). Am also considering Santiago, Chile. If not an ideal city then one that is at least reasonable during the Northern winters (how people can stand to live in Canada is beyond me).
-You're going to live out of your vehicle and offer "rich" folks window cleaning services on a cold call basis as a means of surviving in Hawaii....? -You might want to do this somewhere like.....Iowa! Sounds like an adventure. Good luck with that
I don't know if it's legal to live in your vehicle, but I would never hire somebody to clean our windows whose truck appeared to be their home. I live on Maui and we have no shortage of people -- some sort of shifty-looking and some respectable -- who ring our bell and offer to perform all manner of services. We have never hired a single one of them.
Windows are particularly tricky because the person is inside your home as well as outside. There is no shortage of "petty" crime on Maui and people -- "rich" or not -- are particularly aware of "strange" trucks in their neighborhoods, etc. Let's face it, somebody randomly ringing your doorbell to do an honest service looks just like somebody casing your house.
I would look carefully into the legality and feasibility of your plan before you make such a big move.
If this is what you really want to do, it would seem logical to go to a place that is NOT a small island....the small size can be a huge limitation and if this plan does not work out, its not like you can easily get out and head elsewhere (well not as easily done as driving from LA to San Francisco or something...)
Do all of the houses there actually have "windows"? I thought most of the buildings there (houses) had louvered windows.. ?? Not sure this plan is going to work in Hawaii..
Sorry I have not visited the thread since I posted but I have been extremely busy with various things...including window cleaning .
A few thoughts for those of you following the thread.
Regarding the feasability of living in my truck and doing window cleaning...I have been doing precisely that for going on four years! And you should see my truck. Rust all over, curtains on the windows, a real beater.
Rich folks have never...I mean ever...had a problem with my truck. Maybe it's where I live but I doubt it.
When I go door to door you would never know that I am a person living in my truck. I have the best of business cards, dress well, am clean cut, and otherwise handle myself professionally. People never even see my truck (mostly) until I actually show up for the window cleaning. And then when I excuse the appearance of my truck to them...no one has ever had a problem or cancelled me on the spot because of my truck. It's a work truck during the day and it continues to run...so they understand me continuing to use it. At which point I get on with the work to their complete satisfaction.
I had one...and I mean one solitary customer ask me once if I "lived in that thing" in a joking manner and I joked right back and that was that. I don't remember what I said but I do not lie to my customers or otherwise deceive them. I still have that customer by the way. She is a very loyal and great customer.
Now granted...in the States (I live in Canada) people seem to be a lot less trusting than in Canada. A lot less. But I think the principles of how I have built my business in Canada still apply. Be professional, courteous, treat your customers right, give them value for excellent service...and the appearance of your vehicle won't matter...at least in terms of your long term success.
As it is I have decided to skip Honolulu. I did more research on living there and I just can't see giving Hawaii up to 12.5 % of my income in State income tax when there are states like Florida (I once lived there) that charge...zero!
I think I will head to Victoria, British Columbia for now. If I can find a good, used UPS type cube van that I can convert into a one bedroom apartment . I want to move up to a bigger apartment...I mean vehicle LOL.
If I can't find a good UPS cube van I will give away or sell everything that I can and hightail it to Florida (probably Orlando). Starting over there. I've had it with Canadian winters.
Legal wise...it is not illegal where I live to sleep overnight in your vehicle while parked in city streets. Nor does my insurance company have a problem with my sleeping in my truck...as long as a mailing address (which I have) is within the area I frequent so that my insurance rates can be set appropriately. I have called the police, transportaion authority, and insurance company to verify all this. It's good to go with all of them but I must have a physical address where I can be served legal papers if the need arises (which I have). It's a suite # address and it works for my needs.
I will be contacting the Victoria authorities to determine the legality of what I would like to do before actually going. If they say no...I will contact other municipalities until I find one that has no problem with it.
I've been told or have read that it's no problem in the Vancouver area as others have done this before. One college educated person moved his family into a cube van and lived in the Vancouver area for several years that way (he called it Vanzilla). So it has been done. Though I think Vancouver has an ordinance against sleeping in your vehicle...the police don't care if you are not the drunk, drugged out, stereotypical homeless fellow.
Quite frankly I just don't see the logic of giving a sizable proportion of my income (and thus my life spent working to earn the money) to a landlord and will live in vehicles the rest of my life if I have my way. And with window cleaning...I can work anywhere that there are rich folks in need of this service. While I have not actually tried this anywhere else...I think...or at least am hoping that people are people and will use my services for the same reason that hundreds of customers currently use my services where I have been living.
I haven't said the hundredth of my experiences with this lifestyle. I am even thinking of creating a web site on my experiences tied into how to make a living window cleaning .
...
It matters not to me that places to live are sky high in price...I will be living in my vehicle or camping out the whole winter....
... Is Hawaii all that it is cracked up to be, weather wise? Can I live in my vehicle there? Is that legal? Are there homeless/transient people hanging out in the good weather everywhere?
... PS. If not Hawaii can anyone recommend a good city in the US or South America to move to for the winters?
Heh ... living in your vehicle in Hawaii, eh? Yes, you can. In Honolulu. Not legal. Plenty of folks doing it though. If it is a lifestyle you are happy with it is not too hard in the big city. Free showers on the beaches
BUT, $3000 won't go nearly far enough in setting yourself up in Hawaii with vehicle and tools and gas and starter money. And you will have a TERRIBLE hard time getting rich folks to buy your service. Sure, there are plenty of rich folks in Hawaii ... but they will shut you out like nothing you've experienced in Canada. You don't have a prayer of getting by with your plan. Except the living in a vehicle part. Don't do your plan over there, man.
Florida? Maybe, for work. But living in your van is NOT likely to work out so good there.
Living in your truck is NOT legal in most places in the U.S. where you would find the kind of work you seek. If you live "stealth" in your van you can get away with it better in some areas than others, but it is getting increasingly difficult to get by that way in the U.S.
As for Victoria, B.C. — I now live in this corner of the world, on the U.S. side. SW B.C. may have the best weather in Canada, arguably ... but it is NO place to live in your van on the street from about October thru April. The cold, windy rain will make you wish you were in a snowbank somewhere. I have lived in a trailer in the NW for a couple years in winter (while I built a home). I camp Long extended trips in my van with my dog across the US and Canada. The relentless condensation inside your van will be unbearable. The extraordinary, inescapable damp will give you chills at temps just above freezing that you will NEVER forget. If you are looking to escape the Canadian winters, head for Mexico, South California, or Florida.
Stay clear of Hawaii! (I used to live there and love it ... but your plan? Stay Clear!) Stay clear of the NW U.S. coast and SW B.C. coast in winter with your plan, as well!
Thanks so much for your further thoughts nullgeo(?). Much appreciated.
About BC...hmm...maybe I will have to rethink my tentative plans to go there too based on what you say. Doesn't sound good. Mind you...I have lived in my truck in the middle of -40 C weather so BC weather will undoubtedly be better than that...but still. I know what you mean about condensation. I had to sometimes go to the laundromat once a day to dry out my sleeping bag.
During the night I slept fine - it's one of the best cold weather sleeping bags money can buy but if I did not dry it out the dampness would work it's way into the inside after about a day.
If I head South it will be Florida I think. Since I lived there for ten years and know it well - though I never lived in my vehicle while there.
Mexico...the locals there can't make any money and come North. There is no way I will be able to head to Mexico and make the money I make in North America.
If I head South I will fly down, work as a dishwasher or something for a while, camp in the woods, save money and start over down there (I worked in a fine restaurant for over a year while living in the woods before for any doubting Thomases reading this). Eventually getting back into window cleaning again. Anything to get away from this crazy Canadian weather (I don't see how people can stand living up here ).
I'm not much into stealth living in a vehicle - though I can do it very, very well if I have to. The issue is not "can I live in a vehicle". But rather "what do I need to have a driver's licence and insurance on a vehicle". As long as I can legally meet those requirements there isn't much a municipality can do about it if I want to sleep in a vehicle. And there is no way they can know how long I have been sleeping in a vehicle unless I tell them - which I won't. Unlike in Canada where the police expect you to answer all kinds of questions...there are some legal protections down in the States which might make things easier.
1. How long you been sleeping in your vehicle?
2. Do you live in your vehicle?
3. Is this address on your licence your home address?
These and other types of questions can all be answered in ways that do not incriminate me or otherwise give the police cause to hassle me or give me a ticket.
If push comes to shove I can just respectfully refuse to answer some questions. Depending on the police person I might end up with a ticket for sleeping in my vehicle the night they catch me but, even paying a ticket from time to time is better than paying rent - from a financial standpoint it seems to me.
Who knows...maybe I will become a guinea pig to test the constitutionality of ordinances against sleeping in -my- vehicle .
Anyway thanks for the input again ya all. Much appreciated.
For now, I will make as much as I can from window cleaning where I am and make a decision as to how to get out of here as winter gets closer and as I see how much money I can save.
Thanks so much for your further thoughts nullgeo(?). Much appreciated.
About BC...hmm...maybe I will have to rethink my tentative plans to go there too based on what you say. Doesn't sound good. Mind you...I have lived in my truck in the middle of -40 C weather so BC weather will undoubtedly be better than that...but still. I know what you mean about condensation. ...
If I head South it will be Florida I think. Since I lived there for ten years and know it well - though I never lived in my vehicle while there. ...
Mexico...the locals there can't make any money and come North. There is no way I will be able to head to Mexico and make the money I make in North America.
...
there isn't much a municipality can do about it if I want to sleep in a vehicle.
It is easier to keep warm in sub-zero weather than in wet just above 0* ... sub-zero air doesn't hold the moisture ... right ... the NW will kill you in winter in a van
Mexico is for living cheap on money you make the rest of the year north of the border ... you can't compete with any way of making money there ... right again.
Florida is a real possibility — except living in your van from May thru the summer would be terrible ... way too hot and humid ... but that's when you would be in Canada or other northern States working in more reasonable weather.
Unfortunately, it IS illegal in more and more places to live in your van in the U.S. It is tolerated a LOT, however, so you won't have much trouble — except in tourist and wealthy communities. For example: many communities of California around the Bay Area and San Diego and such have ordinances against mobile living ... to the point where they have even made it illegal to park overnight in WalMart lots, where WalMart coast to coast allows that. The police will come onto even the 24-hr store lots and roust you out. Mostly they will just force you to move on. But it's a pain in the middle of the night. But lots of outlying areas still don't focus on it so you can find a way.
happy camping, bud ... I do it long-term when the rambling mood strikes. Love it. Love Canada too, but the winter is a no-no now I am getting older.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
hawaii
. 
