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.
1) There is a wealth of the kind of information you are looking for in the archives here. For every comment you get in this thread, there are maybe 100 previously posted. Use the Search function to tap the specific areas you want to dig into.
2) A grain of salt may be required here and there. Some of the "locals" who post here are not really.
Good luck!
Thanks! I'm getting a little better at researching the archives here...you are right, there is a wealth of info, but some of it is so outdated! Also, I do believe you about the grain of salt. I've only been reading things on here for a few weeks. This City-Data Forum was recommended to me by a friend who recently relocated to Austin, TX after spending 2 years doing the research and loving the people she interacted with on the Austin forum during that time.
Thanks! I'm getting a little better at researching the archives here...you are right, there is a wealth of info, but some of it is so outdated!
I believe that the most important information you will find here... the things that will most impact your day to day life in Hawai'i... those things are timeless. While the price of Spam may change, the fact that you will see more kinds of Spam on the shelf at the supermarket than you ever knew existed probably never will.
But just to pursue that theme a little... there are grocery items which are familiar to you that you will simply not find in the supermarket. It's hard to say what they will be, because everybody's preferences are different. But while most major mainland brands are represented in some way or another, there are holes in many lines. That's not a life-crisis kinda thing for most people, but it is something that a lot of recent refugees from the mainland complain about.
And there is a peculiarity to shopping in the islands that I never encountered anyplace else before I moved to Volcano (and I've lived many places) ... the "there were plenty here yesterday, where are they now?" experience. Because of the long supply chain and the way a lot of things only get shipped in on specific schedules, when a supermarket or drug store or hardware store or auto parts store runs out of something, it can sometimes leave an empty slot on the shelf for weeks. And as a result there's kind of a "siege mentality" that sometimes sets in when shoppers perceive the possibility of shortage of something, so instead of buying a can or two of something they like, they buy a case. And then somebody else does, and soon a completely artificial shortage is created, and suddenly you can't find that can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup you need for your favorite green bean casserole for the better part of a month.
Not a big deal? Probably not. But multiply that one funny little local quirk by a hundred more, and you'll start to understand the differences in the daily fabric of life in Hawai'i that some people are comfortable with, but many others are not. Mainland banks have no offices on the islands. That one alone makes a lot of people crazy. In some ways it is like more like moving to a third world country than it is like moving to another state on the mainland.
Quote:
Also, I do believe you about the grain of salt. I've only been reading things on here for a few weeks. This City-Data Forum was recommended to me by a friend who recently relocated to Austin, TX after spending 2 years doing the research and loving the people she interacted with on the Austin forum during that time.
Small world. I was in Boston (rhymes with Austin) when I first started my research about moving to Hawai'i for retirement.
Then I found this forum while I was working in Austin and getting more serious about making the move to the property I owned on the Big Island, when I needing local advice. Then once I had moved and had something to contribute, I started sharing it, in a kind of payback for all the valuable help I had gotten. After I moved to Volcano, ironically, I started contributing to the Austin forum, at least in part because I still owned property there and I was missing some good friends. That and the BBQ. It was very hard on me leaving that good BBQ behind, harder than i thought it would be. Then after I had moved to the Big Island, while working on a project in San Francisco, I found myself contributing to both forums and referring to each location as "here." Ah, well, my heart seems to be able to sort out where "home" is, even when I'm changing planes somewhere entirely different.
But what I was talking about is the fact that the same moon factor that has some dreamers blindly pointing themselves towards Hawai'i without actually having a clue about what it will take to make it here, has other dreamers giving very authoritative advice about what it's like in Hawai'i without actually having a clue what they are talking about. It's just another one of those little quirks about island life I was talking about earlier. I call it "aspirational advice"... folks telling you how they think it will be once they get to the islands themselves (which they hope will be reall soon, now) because they read it somewhere once.
The electricity is now 39 cents kw/hr, my car ins was more expensive by about 30% & they want an Insane $50 to get a drivers lic here but will honor your current one till it expires.
The food is just about the same cost for us but we chase those sales & do buy some stuff at CostCo, Lipton tea bags, 2 pound blocks of cheese, etc - my advice is be sure your rental has a full size frig so you can take advantage of sales & have freezer space!
Housing is no big deal, sure a bit smaller but for 950$ we have a nice, clean, bug-free one bedroom with nice patio, full size frig, gas stove and washer/(gas)dryer included & gas, water & trash paid so just have electric to pay AND can walk to beaches Kam I, II, etc. so housing is reasonable I think - only one month rent as deposit.
Also no electric deposit if you have current letter of good standing with your old company.
The electricity is now 39 cents kw/hr, my car ins was more expensive by about 30% & they want an Insane $50 to get a drivers lic here but will honor your current one till it expires.
The food is just about the same cost for us but we chase those sales & do buy some stuff at CostCo, Lipton tea bags, 2 pound blocks of cheese, etc - my advice is be sure your rental has a full size frig so you can take advantage of sales & have freezer space!
Housing is no big deal, sure a bit smaller but for 950$ we have a nice, clean, bug-free one bedroom with nice patio, full size frig, gas stove and washer/(gas)dryer included & gas, water & trash paid so just have electric to pay AND can walk to beaches Kam I, II, etc. so housing is reasonable I think - only one month rent as deposit.
Also no electric deposit if you have current letter of good standing with your old company.
What you have posted here sounds really good! I hope I am as fortunate when I make "the move".
Glad things are going well!
I know, I can't believe how cheap it is here!!! It was more than twice that where we moved from (after the fuel surcharge was added)...and here, we don't even need AC.
Quote:
my car ins was more expensive by about 30% & they want an Insane $50 to get a drivers lic here but will honor your current one till it expires.
Wow, only $50 for a DL? That's a bargain.
Quote:
The food is just about the same cost for us but we chase those sales & do buy some stuff at CostCo, Lipton tea bags, 2 pound blocks of cheese, etc - my advice is be sure your rental has a full size frig so you can take advantage of sales & have freezer space!
Not sure where you moved from, but we are finding local food to be unbelievably cheap here. Food from the mainland...about what we are used to...but here they have sales, what a concept!!! Just stocked up on some mainland foods today from KTA, and feelin' thrifty!
DISCLAIMER: moved here from the Caribbean. We can't believe how cheap it is to live here. So why do I post? To put some perspective into the thread. Our standard of living rose a LOT when we moved to Hawai'i. YMMV.
OP asked about finding the rentals too, we found ours in the paper 'maui news', yeah Craigslist mostly bites, a lot of rentals here are thru real estate agents & management companies since so many are condos with owners on the mainland, just check the yellow pages & make a few calls, some handle long term rentals but some just waste your time trying to get you to buy so be specific.
Mahalo Futuremauian, hope all goes well when you're able to come!
Note: we have lived in St Thomas USVI, no it is not super cheap here in comparison.
My friend just moved from Vegas to here in Kihei, and hasn't really felt the difference in prices. Gas a few cents here and there, electricity is a big one, but a small house with no ac, and a gas burner isn't going to be more than $250/month range. People with central air complain about 400-600/month easy alot of times though.
Biggest price change my friend noticed was the price for lemons for their drinks. It costs about $1 per lemon at the supermarket. Though you can probly find it for 50 cents at a farmers market.
I've never experienced the shelves being bare at the super market unless it was matson going on strike, or we had a big hurricane coming in. Then water/paper products/batteries are the first to go. Gas prices used to be alot higher than the mainland US, but its been pretty stable in recent years.
As for rentals I know Bello Realty does vacation rentals, and Pali Kai Realty does long term in the Kihei areas.
The biggest concern isn't really the prices, but the jobs. Prices are bigger city prices, but the average wages here lower than city wages. Thus the complaints about prices being 'high'. I dunno prices are just something your used to once you're here for long enough, and its no longer a concern. It becomes more of a where can I get a job that pays better in a limited job market, and jobs are probly the biggest reasons that many of my friends who have come from the mainland always leave.
New to the boards and we are considering Maui as our next place to live, although we have no idea what region in Maui yet - have only been to Lahaina to visit. We've lived in a suburb of Phoenix for 20 years, but are originally from the coastal area in SoCal, have lived in Dallas and also Las Vegas. I've been reading these boards for the last few weeks, but have found that many of the posts are really quite old, and I wouldn't think the info from, say, 2008 is current???
I have some questions relative to living costs in Maui because I read on here about how expensive it is to live in Hawaii; however, unless I'm totally overlooking some important cost of living categories, I can't see that it is much different than several places I've lived on the mainland. We'd be renting, not buying (we are mature adults and are finding the older we get, the less we want the responsibility of owing a home so we are selling ours!!!) - It seems from my research that the studios, ohanas or 1 bedroom places go from $750 to $1200. The house around the corner from me just rented out their "casita" (similar to what an ohana is) for $900. It's basically one room with a bathroom and small kitchenette.
I've been following the local Safeway grocery ad online (using Kihei as the city) and also the Whole Foods ads, and frankly, the costs are comparable to where I live now. I realize that these are advertised savings specials, but that's how I shop here anyway - from the weekly store ads. I did note that dairy products seem consistently higher - i.e. the yogurt brand I like is 70 cents vs. 58 cents at my local Safeway. I'd bet the farmers' markets on Maui are cheaper, with better produce? I hope?
I keep reading posts about electricity being high. I'm assuming because the weather is fairly consistent there, that the electric bills don't really go up or down. Where I live, I pay $247/month - my bill is on what is called an "even pay plan" - the $400+ summer bills vs. the $150 spring bills all average out annually to the $247/month. So $200 to $250 sounds pretty good to me, even for a 1 bedroom apartment. Granted, my house here is 2500 square feet, but I also have to run the filter on my pool 8 hours a day, we have security lights around our property on all night, and other things that I wouldn't have to deal with or pay electricity for while renting in Maui. I don't think we'd need air conditioning - a fan would work just fine - anything under 95 degrees is heaven to us...
So is it car insurance that is high? Or gas? Right now I'm paying $3.78 for regular. If it's, for example, $4.78/gallon in Maui, that means that my 11-gallon car would cost $11.00 more to fill up. I can live with that. Are doctor visits and rx's really high? Also - I've looked through Fodor's 2012 travel guide for Maui, and I've found many restaurants, sandwich shops and local diners in that guide that are really fairly priced! Is it the clothing that is expensive, or maybe the cable/internet costs? I guess it's all what one is used to.
I've been looking very slightly on Craigslist at rentals, but just like almost every other Craigslist region in the country, the ads are now mostly come-ons or bogus or phising for info. I miss the old Craigslist!!! Any ideas or links or websites or rental agencies you can recommend for long-term rental properties?
Any current information you could give me would be greatly appreciated!
Hi guys... After 62 trips, I too have decided to finally move to Maui...Also from Arizona ...Phoenix/Surprise/Sun City Grand. Spent a month in June and because of my Dog cannot move with him until April 1 2013(120 day wait after blood tests). In Process of selling everything I can. Moderator cut: For your safety, please do not post personal info here or anywhere on the net, for that matter.
Last edited by 7th generation; 11-29-2012 at 02:56 PM..
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.
Sounds Great!
Costs in Maui
I miss the old Craigslist!!! Any ideas or links or websites or rental agencies you can recommend for long-term rental properties?
