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If you're single with no kids and determined you can make it. If your health holds up and you're willing to budget, and enjoy simple things in life you can make it anywhere.
I'm struggling in California after moving here with next to no money but its also a blessing to see how much you can handle and accomplish.
Life is harder for me as someone with a child but if you put your mind to it, and your health allows, you can live anywhere you want.
Best wishes and keep us updated.
this might be too late.. but here's my 2 cents. i just moved here about 2 months ago....
"real jobs" that require degrees and pay well are pretty scarce to nonexistent in my opinion. education seems very underrated and uncommon (i had someone say "wait, you mean you studied for 4 years and got a college degree? wow!"
tourism jobs are pretty much what's available. many people do work many part time jobs because of the health care requirement that employers have to offer health insurance if you work more than 20 hours a week. many people take at least 4 months to find a job. some people won't hire you because the lifestyle is so different here that many people find it's not for them within a year or 2... no one wants to hire someone about to leave. on the other hand, the local workforce seems to be overly lazy and not so great with customer service, so others hire the newbies hoping that their work ethic hasn't been affected yet. i think pretty much every company has some ****ty employees and are always looking for hard workers... so if you either get lucky or get some connections, you'll get a job (they have a lot of problems with lazy people, drugs, people just not showing up for work, etc... but most companies seem to be either too lazy to hire new people, or just expect the new ones to be just as bad as the others). competition is stiff, even for "unskilled jobs" like serving or cooking for $9/hr. having contacts will probably get you a job before anything else (church might help with that)
i spent about a month or so looking for a job and then got 2 part-time jobs (for the summer.. i'll have to look again in the fall) and i like them. i will be living in a studio apartment with my boyfriend and should be paying about $400-500/month, everything included (the cheapest choice for a single person is to move in to a house with people you don't know.. you might be able to make it on 500-600/month.. or maybe 700-800 in a small studio). You can grow food all year-round to lighten the grocery bill and go to farmer's markets and costco for the rest. gas isn't too much above the rest of the country right now (it's about $4.05 at costco last time i checked) and while things are spread out, you probably wont' be commuting more than 20 miles so that's nice. the motorcycle might be a good idea to have with you. i think if you have nothing to hold you back, have some money to live on for a little while, and have a backup plan, GO FOR IT. worst case scenario you get here and hang out for a couple of months exploring and looking for jobs... don't get one.. and leave having spent a lot more time here than most people
By the way i'll give you a friendly tip on how to survive here: it's not what you know it's who you know ..... the locals really hate people that come over to work they feel as if we are stealing their jobs. When you go to other island other than Oahu you will find a lot of lazy Haole surfers (especially on Maui) that think the island belongs to them and they will stab you in the back as fast as a drunk would take to a drink bottle - especially if you are another Haole.
I've seen the way those Haole treated real Hawaiian and Japanese with underlying racism. It's really sad to see white people being so racist especially when i am white myself.
I've seen the way those Haole treated real Hawaiian and Japanese with underlying racism. It's really sad to see white people being so racist especially when i am white myself.
People move thousands of miles to find others to be racist?
Wow!
Poor guys. They have to wake up with themselves EVERY day, while I only got insulted by them once.
On the other hand, those who like everyone get to wake up with themselves every day.
When you go to other island other than Oahu you will find a lot of lazy Haole surfers (especially on Maui) that think the island belongs to them and they will stab you in the back as fast as a drunk would take to a drink bottle - especially if you are another Haole.
If your friends share your self-righteous, entitled, judgmental attitude, then I'm not surprised they were treated badly, because of their personal qualities, not their race. As a visitor, the island doesn't belong to you, and you should move about with respect. Lambasting people for being racist and then making negative stereotypes of large groups of people you don't know is quite hypocritical. In your other thread, you admitted you've only been to Maui and Oahu, so please don't speak with authority on the other islands.
i find this racism thing really odd. usually it's the haole's complaining about locals, but you seem to think it's the other way around... and it really bothers you.
for me, personally, the only way to fight racism is to be overly friendly and don't take things personal. i went to minot, north dakota for 3 weeks. can you imagine an asian woman that is 5' 10" walking around a mall full of white ppl. i could count on one hand how many asians i saw, we actually turned it into a joke. there were definitely weird looks, but i would smile and say hi. a lot of ppl would say hi back and some were surprised. i had fun, it's my life and it really didn't matter what ppl thought of me. at the end of the trip, i had fun and loved it there.
oh n btw, there are lazy ppl and back stabbers everywhere. that's human nature. i wouldn't worry about it.
I'm with Mokeanne...it's all about how you carry yourself, no matter where you are.
New2HawaiiOahu states she's white and her husband's a hapa. Think a lot of this racism might be her head, but more likely...her attitude and maybe his.
We've never had problems with locals or whites when visiting or in the last 3 weeks of living here. I would say we've met an equal amount of each, who are helpfull, open and friendly. Even exchanging e-mail addresses to stay in touch, especially if they are from the North Shore or Windward sides.
An attitude adjustment would go a long way to making your life better, whether you are in OC or HI.
everything is more expensive on the islands. Don't expect the money to last long. Stay where you are and work hard and plan to visit the islands when you can enjoy all they have to offer.
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youll do fine
