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What did you bring with you (kid(s), car, furniture, dog)
Did you have a job already when you moved
Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost
What was your anxiety level like when you moved here
Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy
When did you start making friends
Did you move from your first place
Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking
How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc.
In retrospect was it a good decision and would you do it again
1. Air Force
2. Single, no kids or pets, only had furniture shipped
3. Yes
4. Pearl city, rented a room for $1,150. Currently in the process of moving to Aiea as the government will no longer store the rest of my household goods
5. No anxiety, just axnious to get settled in.
6. Yes, the racial profile of the island (Oahu) is obiovusly majority Asian. I found it to be a bit refreshing at the diversity as well
7. Right away and mostly coworkers I people I worked with prior to coming on the island
8. Yes, about to.
9. I'll be staying at my current job for the next 4 years. My my contract is up I'll find a contracting/civilian job
10. It's rough and expensive. It's extremely hard to find decent and affordable housing. Knowing then what I know now, I would've saved up much more
11. Yes it was a good decision and yes I would do it again. I'm still new so I haven't fully experienced Hawaii though
What made you decide to move to Hawaii [b]warm weather, slower pace, less people, for the experience.[B}
What did you take with you? The car, the dog, and shipped 35 boxes with some necessities.
Did you have a job already when you movedMy BF is in tech and working remote. I was a college professor, but there are no jobs for me here.
Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost First and only place we lived is a small house in Kona we pay about 2000/mo.
What was your anxiety level like when you moved here I was very calm until I found about the Dengue Fever outbreak, the rat lung worm and MRSA at the beach.
Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthyPeople really hate convenience here.Everything is "call me and give me directions" "send it by(USPS) mail" or "sorry, can't do until next month (or year). Food is MUCH MUCH more expensive than I thought. Since I am living in Kona (It was hardly a choice, no rental would accept my dog) it is like living in any suburb of the U.S. except hotter and less conveniences. What I like about the Island is I can always see the ocean, there is less people than where I was from and that you can drive forever without seeing development. God, I love that part.
Did you make any friends.? We are friends with our next door neighbor, but he will be moving to Canada in a month. I worked for a little while in a coffee shop and met some acquaintances, but they eventually all went back to the mainland
Did you move from your first place No. We have been here 13 months in the same house
Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking I opted not to have a job since my BF makes enough to cover us both.
How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc.Oh, it was fine. I do miss my friends now. But i don't have any kids or family so it is a lot easier for me.
In retrospect was it a good decision and would you do it againI don't know if it was a good decision, but I am glad to have had the experience.
What made you decide to move to Hawaii? Little health care in Alaska, cheaper to live in Hawaii, better weather.
What did you bring with you (kid(s), car, furniture, dog) Wife, teenage daughter, dog, 7 parrots, 20' container.
Did you have a job already when you moved? Yes, a transfer
Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost? 1 bedroom cottage on a coffee farm in Hawaiian acres for $650/month.
What was your anxiety level like when you moved here? Through the roof, but there were external reasons beyond moving here, like the Hawaii vet calling us 2 days before our departure date saying there was a problem with our parrot import permit, and a parent dying a day before that.
Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy? Much cheaper to live in Hawaii.
When did you start making friends? Before we moved here.
Did you move from your first place? Yes, we bought a house a few months later and we're still here ~5 years later.
Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking? Still in first job. I moved here to retire and die here.
How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc? It was easier here than Alaska.
In retrospect was it a good decision? Yes. And would you do it again? The second part of this question doesn't make any sense... I wouldn't move back to Alaska and then back to Hawaii again if that is what you are asking.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,163,270 times
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Q: What made you decide to move to Hawaii?
A: Technically it was my wife that "made" me decide to move. It had been a dream of ours for years and she gave me an ultimatum to set a date and do it. Best decision I never made.
Q: What did you bring with you?
A: 2 cars, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 kid and a pallet of tools and other irreplaceable personal items.
Q: Did you have a job already when you moved?
A: No, I was in a position to retire young. Both the wife and I could only handle being idle for a year and have since started second careers.
Q: Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost?
A: We bought a house before moving over-$225,000
Q: What was your anxiety level like when you moved here? High, but that was due to finishing renovations and selling a house on the mainland before I could move over, wife and daughter were already moved over ahead of me. So stress was all related to missing them and trying to get closure so I could join them. Zero stress regarding actually moving here.
Q: Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy?
A: Not really. I grew up living with Yupik Eskimos in an Alaskan village, so issues such as being a minority, respecting local customs and rock fever were never in question for me.
Q: When did you start making friends?
A: Almost immediately. And more so once I joined a local volunteer group.
Q: Did you move from your first place?
A: No.
Q: Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking?
A: Still at first job and not looking.
Q: How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc?
A: Piece of cake. It was almost a year before I went back to the mainland and after 1 day I was ready to get back on the plane and go home.
Q: In retrospect was it a good decision?
A: Yes. I sometimes wish I had moved years earlier, but I know that waiting until I was in a place in life where I would have no financial issues was key to a stress-free transition.
Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy Food is MUCH MUCH more expensive than I thought.
I haven't moved - Hawaii is on the maybe list - but when we go on vacation anywhere, we always shop at the local markets/supermarkets and tend to avoid restaurants. We do it because it is fun, cheaper, and helps us to understand the local culture better. It is also a COL reality check because we always want to live where we vacation! Iceland was probably the worst as far as expensive food, but Hawaii did try to give them a run for their money! The biggest shockers to us was how much anything wheat based cost - flour, breads, cereals, etc. Had to pick our jaws up off the floor.
I haven't moved - Hawaii is on the maybe list - but when we go on vacation anywhere, we always shop at the local markets/supermarkets and tend to avoid restaurants. We do it because it is fun, cheaper, and helps us to understand the local culture better. It is also a COL reality check because we always want to live where we vacation! Iceland was probably the worst as far as expensive food, but Hawaii did try to give them a run for their money! The biggest shockers to us was how much anything wheat based cost - flour, breads, cereals, etc. Had to pick our jaws up off the floor.
Yeah. If you want to lose weight, come to Hawaii. Once you see the food prices you won't want to buy anything. Only papaya. Cheap at $1 each (most of the year, until it goes up to $2.50 each). I went 6 months without eating vegetables because I couldn't bring myself to pay $3 for a parsnip or $7 for a head of cauliflower. Stuff like collards and even local grown greens still $4 for like 3 stalks of the stuff. I started growing my own vegetables from seeds I ordered on the internet. Fro $5 dollars I've grown all the vegetable I needed for the last 6 months. I usually eat fish 3X a week. I thought moving here, I would eat more. I think I've eaten fish (cooked at home) like 3 times the whole year. You think fish would be cheap and abundant here. NO. The cheapest fish I have found was at Choice mart in S. Kona. A whole Ahi tuna which we had to filet ourselves (which, believe me, we do not have a problem with this). The weight was like 3lbs and it cost $26 dollars. It was a STEAL considering the only fish I can find for less than $20/lb is opelu which is suppose to taste like Mackerel, but really just tastes like poo.
Living in Hawaii means you have to shop the sales. We just stocked up on $2.49/pound butter and $1.99/16 ounce bacon. Both freeze well. I don't know what mainland prices are but I do know that both can be north of $6 in Hawaii if you buy it as a binge purchase instead of planning ahead. Canned vegetables are regularly around $0.88/can at Walmart. Bread $2.99/loaf. Yoplait yogurt 4 for $5. I would never buy papaya, it grows well virtually everywhere on the island and fruits year round. We have papaya trees we didn't even plant, I'm guessing the birds had something to do with it. We buy maybe 1-2 pineapples per year, the rest we grow ourselves. Generally if you stick to Longs, Target, and Walmart you can get some deals. If you go to Safeway or elsewhere you're going to get gouged. Not just on groceries. My contact lens solution is $9 at Target and Walmart (regular price) and it's over $18 at Safeway.
And then there is Amazon with free prime shipping to Hawaii.
As for fresh vegetables, again we do buy them on sale but try to stick to the farmers markets if its something we can't grow ourselves. And when we have excess, we share with neighbors. Our avocado tree gave us over 600 avocados. That is way too much guacamole for two people, so we gave them away. And in return people give back. We recently got over 40 pounds of tangerines for free. We juiced them and canned the juice.
I was at Safeway a few months ago and they had a fresh sprig of rosemary for like $7. So I went to Home Depot and bought an entire rosemary plant for $3.99 and it keeps making more sprigs faster than we can use them. Eating in Hawaii doesn't have to be expensive. It's rare we need an herb that has to come from a store.
dis was da kine post i was about to do haha...I received so much valuable info here, including how i found my first roof on my head. wanted to contribute back.
What made you decide to move to Hawaii
Asian society and the sea.
What did you bring with you (kid(s), car, furniture, dog)
wife kids and my truck.
Did you have a job already when you moved
i'm still doing the same job, just different location. I'm a product developer.
Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost
Condo on Pualei, $3k /mo all furnished
What was your anxiety level like when you moved here
none if you swim in saltwater everyday.
Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy
you mean compare to Atlanta? where do I start...
When did you start making friends
after my 1st surf lesson, the instructor is now my best local buddy
Did you move from your first place
Moved to a duplex w/ a garage (man cave)!
Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking
not looking for jobs but jobs are already looking for me. I did start teaching at my daughter's elementary as an afterschool teacher. Stop motion movie making! This semester I'll add "school of garagebands"
How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc.
I miss them but i barely had time miss them. within the first 5 months here we had 4 waves of visitors already. I guess they miss me more lol.
In retrospect was it a good decision and would you do it again
abso-f*-lutely, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm back to the water (I grew up on the seaside), my kids are enjoying their schools, wife is about to take her pilot exam, Asian food is everywhere and I lost 15 lb in 6 mo. Best of all it's the people here. Aloha was not just a tourism slogan, it still means a lot to locals. We made good friends from neighbors to surfers to other parents at school. We pay a looooot more for the rent but hey we got things money can't buy, health and aloha spirit.
I am hoping that this post will be very helpful (and maybe therapy for some of us) to those who want to move here and will provide them some real life experience of what to expect.
Cheers!
VanHa[/quote]
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