Move to Maui from Cali? I've never even been there. (condo, home)

[trouble7285]

I know a lot of you will tell me about how crazy I am but here goes...
I live in Ca and have my whole life, only 2 different cities that are right next to each other. I have never been to Hawaii but know how beautiful/expensive it is I have done some research on that. My husband and I are in our mid 30's and we have 2 kids 8 and 17. We have been talking for years about moving away from here in general and a friend of mine has a condo and visits Hawaii often and never stops talking about it.

The good and bad of possibly moving:

My husband has a good possibility for a wonderful and very good paying job (we won't move there if he doesn't get it)
We love the idea of the beauty and relaxed feeling of Hawaii, it seems like an amazing place to live as long as you have a good paying job.
I home school so what I have heard about the school systems isn't a huge concern for me right now.

We have never been to Hawaii, we have barely ever been out of Ca.
I do have family here
I am scared to death of flying, but want to get over it one day I hope



So much in me says it is the stupidest, craziest idea ever but I can't help feeling it is what we are supposed to be doing. I have heard stories of people who go there can't hack it and come right back and I don't want to be one of them.

Can some of you please, be honest (not mean) and tell me a couple things:

1.How long have you lived there and how long did it take to adjust
2.Has anyone actually moved there sight unseen and loved it
3.Are there ways other that flying to get there reasonably priced? (My mother who I want to visit me will not enter a plane... :-( )
4.Things you thought you couldn't live without on the mainland that you found you couldn't get on the islands?
5.I'm not sure what else to ask really, advice, honest opinions, things that were different you never expected etc.

Thank you so much!

[OpenD]

Aloha, and welcome

As you might be able to guess, these are not new questions. There is a wealth of information already posted here on these very topics . Use the Search function to tap the archives for a lot of fast answers.

But to start with the first two things that jumped out for me...

Sorry, flying is the only practical way to get to Hawai'i. Look at a world map. Hawai'i is one of the most remote places on earth. Everything that does not come by air has to come by ship, and those ships don't take passengers.

No, I don't recommend anyone move to Hawai'i without having visited first, especially if you have kids. You might love it. Some do. But even more people can't take something about it and turn around and leave within a year or two, and that can be a ruinous expense for many.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Having enough money to live is a big issue and if your husband has a good paying job, especially one that he enjoys, that takes care of that problem.

How is your spirit of adventure? How difficult will it be for you to be separated from your family? How many tranquilizers will it take to get you into a plane? Because if your mother won't fly, it will be you doing the flying back and forth to visit.

Do you enjoy the sorts of outdoor activities that Hawaii is famous for? Hiking? Swimming? Surfing or sailing? Sightseeing?

Will you be happy? Let me get out my Ouija board and ask for you. Just because I have moved to unfamiliar places several times, fit myself in, and prospered, doesn't mean anything about you.

Do you love an adventure? Or do you prefer security and routine?

Since nobody here knows you, nobody here knows how you will react to a big move like that.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I cannot imagine uprooting my family, moving to a strange place that I know nothing about, and relying on a few anonymous people to tell me what it will be like.

You have a friend who loves to come visit, and you've heard all the hype about how beautiful Hawaii is. That's nothing like reality! There's a wealth of information on this forum with people's experiences and you need to spend a lot of time reading through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Read a book by Tony Polancy called "So You Want to Live in Hawaii". And most importantly, you need to come visit for at least two weeks and live like a local. That means looking for want kind of housing you could afford, driving to your husband's job, shopping at the local stores, etc. Check out medical facilities. These are all important because living in Hawaii is very different than anywhere on the mainland.

Look at plane fares and calculate the cost to fly the four of you to CA to visit family a couple of times a year.

[trouble7285]

Yes, I do love the adventure of it. I will be able to hit the plane with a zanax just fine I think. I have been researching and will continue to do so, I wasn't only relying on the opinion of a couple of strangers, this isn't the only place I have gone looking for advice/opinions. We have decided to do a 2 week to a month trip over before making a full commitment on a move, it just makes the most sense. Thank you for the book recommendation I will go check it out.

[trouble7285]

I also would like to thank you all for the polite replies, I know I typed up my post in kind of an excited flurry at the whole idea and probably sounded like a nut job who wouldn't make it 6 months and you could have easily gotten down on me for that but we are putting more and more thought and research into it every day and will not take the possibility of a move like this lightly.

[winkosmosis]

It's not that big a move. If you have the money, why not? The only issue I think is education, especially for the 8 year old. The 17 yo is almost done with school anyway.

I moved to Maui sight unseen and I love it, except for being poor.

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by trouble7285

...we have 2 kids 8 and 17.... I home school so what I have heard about the school systems isn't a huge concern for me right now.

Do not Do not Do not underestimate the importance of the educational component in your planning.

Oh, and did I mention to carefully consider the educational needs of your children when doing your research?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

It's not that big a move. If you have the money, why not? The only issue I think is education, especially for the 8 year old. The 17 yo is almost done with school anyway. I moved to Maui sight unseen and I love it, except for being poor.

No disrespect meant, Wink, but you are a 20-something single guy with no responsibilities other than yourself. I don't remember you even mentioning a pet. You simply have no clue whatsoever what life in Hawai'i is like for a parent with kids.

The BIGGEST issue may be education, yes, because the educational system in Hawai'i is so deeply challenged. And no, a 17 year old in today's economy is nowhere near being done with school. And it can be a huge issue for a family to send someone back to the mainland for college, or for other higher level education, if their chosen field is outside what Hawaiian education has to offer.

But simply feeding and housing those kids and caring for their other needs, like medical care, can be a challenge if you don't have a rock-solid income, adequate for the circumstances. And when you start mapping out your planning for worst-case scenarios, having kids in the matrix causes an exponential increase in the complexity.

It takes very careful consideration.

[CyberCity]

OpenD is right. It is one thing to "give it a chance" when it is just a single-free-to-roam adult. But it is very unfair to children to add them into the move without having done full planning on what their life (in this case schooling) will be in the future. And with children to consider, WHERE (the neighborhood) you reside takes on a whole step up in importance (and thus limitations on choices).

Is the 17 yr old home schooled? You better check carefully on the Hawaii DOE rules for graduating as a home-schooled student before you uproot what is maybe a senior (17 = senior?). Are they going to grad before you move? If they are college-bound, you might be exposed to out-of-state tuition. Not going to go to college? They'll join the ranks of unemployed high-school grads, and worse without any friends here or extended family .... sounds like that might not be doing them a favor in life.