First time going to Hawaii, need advice (Honolulu: real estate, buyers)
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Five day is not enough time to see what its really like to live on Hawaii since you have never been there. If this is a vacation, enjoy the vacation. You'll plan too much (fun and research) and get little accomplish. You won't get to enjoy Hawaii and all she has to offer tourist, and you will never get to understand living on Hawaii on a first trip. Your living research will get clouded by your tourist wants.
If you like what you saw as a tourist, come back and this time you won't have the vacation/tourist bug biting you on the neck, distracting you from your research.
OP, you may want to consider this first visit as just "putting your toe in the water". If you really love the island and feel like it could be "home", then you'd be wise to come back again and plan to spend several weeks doing the many activities suggested by the earlier posters. As many have pointed out numerous times on this forum, there's a very big difference between visiting and living on the island. Five days is just barely enough to whet your appetite.
There is good food at the swap meet (that's what it called, not flea market There is one particular vendor that sells these bread things, filled with cheese, spinach, herbs-almost like a calzone but better. They are very filling and the carbs help give energy. There are also various stands with fresh fruit-gotta get the pineapple (supa cold and juicy) and also try the guava if can find. There is a lot more food there than there used to be.
Skip Zippys, the are expensive and not that great (unless you like chili which is good). Go to Leonards Malasadas on Kapahulu-supa ono!
My coworker told me to get the Saimen at Zippy's. The only reason why we may go to Zippy's is because they open late. Is there any other place that opens late like Zippys?
Not that I know of except the regular fast food places. If you're gonna be staying in Waikiki, try Dukes. It can be spendy but the atmosphere near the outside seating is nice plus their mac nut encrusted ono with butter sauce was sooooooo good, it just melted in my mouth. Their mahimahi ceasar salad was killer also.
Many of the hotels provide a shuttle; check with your hotel.
Actually, unless you're a high-roller, none of the Waikiki hotels have a shuttle. This thread will tell you all you need to know about options from HNL to Waikiki:
Five day is not enough time to see what its really like to live on Hawaii ...
Utterly agree. You need at least 10 times that and the first step is not to stay in a hotel in Waikiki. And even then with much diligence about "living as a local" you still will not know what's it's like. It can help some, but that help is limited. It really is like the difference between living together and being married.
Hello Everyone,I'm a long time reader (4 months) and first time poster. I got the idea of moving to hawaii from talking to my coworker who grew up in Hawaii (20 years ago) and move to the mainland to get married.
This is my first time visiting to hawaii.
I'm very excited and at the same time a little nervous.
There are two reasons why we are going.
1. The first reason is that we are on Vacation.
2. The second is to explore Hawaii and understand what it would be really like living there.
We are staying for 5.5 days and 5 nigihts at a Hotel by Waikiki.We also rented a car.
We plan to rent our snorkel gear from Snorkel bob.We plan to rent our body boards from Surf Braddah.
We plan on dining where the locals do.
Lunch Wagons, Helena, Kozo Sushi, Palamera Market, Zippy'sMatsumoto Shave Ice
We are only doing a couple of tourist activity such as:
Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head Hike, Polynesian Culture Center, Waimea Park.
We are not interested in doing the Pearl Harbor memorial, any museums, the zoo, aquarium or the water park.
The rest of the time, we plan on touring the neightborhood of Honolulu, Ewa Beach, Kailua, Kanahone
My Question:Is there any other place or activity that we should do to in order to get a better idea of living in Hawaii?
thanks for your time and feedback.
-Hawaiianfoodlover
Not sure where to start?
Honolulu is simply a BIG CITY on a very small island. Honolulu is the 25th most expensive city to live in in the world and 2nd most expensive in the US. New York City is number 1.
You will not get a true living in Hawaii experience from staying 5.5 days in Honolulu. Instead, stay on Maui, Kauai, or the island of Hawaii (Big Island). After getting to one of these islands, note how few jobs there are of any type right now...
Toni Palancy writes a book So you want to move to Hawaii? It's very informative but out of date.
Consider the cost of moving too...please do your research on moving companies, try to find someone based in Hawaii, and find out how they can move you from CA to HI. DO not use a company that doesn't come and take an estimate of goods, gives a quote over the phone, makes you do the estimates, or bases it on cubic feet, all moves must be made on weight. See movingscam.com.
I'm from CA too, just moved here in 9/09. My biggest misconceptions:
TRAFFIC! If you can afford to live close to town (Honolulu) that's great but if there is any chance you will have to commute from someplace like Ewa Beach, it is truly awful! Try it one day when you are on vacation, the commute hours are very specific 6-8am, 5-7pm.
It is not that much more expensive than CA, about a $1 more on everything. Restaurants, probably $3 more on meals. It does add up though.
Kahuku shrimp wagons are delicious And Koolina lagoons is one of my favorite beaches.
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There is one particular vendor that sells these bread things, filled with cheese, spinach, herbs-almost like a calzone but better. They are very filling and the carbs help give energy. There are also various stands with fresh fruit-gotta get the pineapple (supa cold and juicy) and also try the guava if can find. There is a lot more food there than there used to be.
