What annual salary would be sufficient to live in Maui? (Honolulu: insurance, student loan)
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And that, my forum friends, is EXACTLY why it is so silly that one forum member continues to throw Wink's story at every forum newbie as an example of how nobody can make it. Wink's story is not typical.
Wink, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you and I do hope things are better now. And I hope for your sake that the one member who continues to invoke your name in every new thread gets a clue and quits doing it.
Wink had a job lined up more than twice the minimum wage in Hawaii - he has a college degree and was working from the day he arrived here.
He worked a full time job - working more jobs isn't really feasible.
He brought a paid off Jeep. 20 somethings don't normally have a Prius to bring over.
He lived frugally. Small Ohana housing.
Everyone wants to talk about his mistakes - but so far, it is his Jeep and bad planning or he didn't work more jobs.
In the last 2 years, no other poster has a documented history of less than "10K in savings" and how they "made it". None.
There is no other success story. We may get a new poster story now for the heck of it now - but, no long term posters can describe the above scenario and say - oh yeah, it was no big deal for me.........
Grown up adults post on here from the mainland and concede it isn't possible to move here....
Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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That's right! And precisely the reason why no one, and I mean NO ONE, lives in Hawaii. It's too expensive, too remote, too hot, too windy. The only people you see in Hawaii that may actually look like they live here, are really folks working 2 or 3 jobs so they can afford airfare to get away from this god forsaken hell hole in the middle of the pacific ocean.
He worked a full time job - working more jobs isn't really feasible.
Whtviper1, even you told Wink back on 11/14/2011, after he explained that he was already working 40 hours a week, "...I'd recommend trying to get a second job..."
During my 20's and 30's I worked more than one 40 hour a week job at a time and I know many people who currently do so to either help themselves get out of debt or reach their goals faster. Many people here offered suggestions of possible second jobs for Wink. He turned down every idea with excuses that he couldn't physically do the job or didn't want to because of his Germaphobia and his fear of getting HIV through "service jobs".
See what I mean? The posters on this forum think you should have to work more jobs in addition to your full time professional government union job... As if the problem isn't low pay, it's expecting a living wage. I don't know if you guys realize this, but most county and state jobs pay enough for you to be able to live well without living with your parents.
But once they ended the furloughs I was doing a little better than breaking even, I just couldn't afford extra costs like car repairs etc. In fact if it wasn't for the pay freeze (to save tourists a few tax dollars), I would have been at $43k right now on Maui, which would have been great. I would have been waiting for a promotion opportunity to get to $50k, and then I'd have been a few years away from $67k which is enough to start thinking about buying a house. If I didn't want to move back to Houston to make more $ to help my mom after she left my dad last year, I would have stuck around longer and kept building my photography business (I wasn't looking for a job actively when I got this offer and I didn't even interview). Photographing rodeos was a good experience but was probably a waste of time as far as making money. I spent a lot of hours on that, probably 20 a week, but people didn't follow through and buy photos. If they did I would have made probably $1000 during rodeo season. Tourists are the ones to target because they're more willing to spend. The rodeo crowd has a lot of wealth but don't like to give it up.
BTW I found out recently Costco pays $17/hr... if I had known that I would have gotten a 2nd job there. But no I couldn't make it in service. I know they accept unsanitary conditions, but I would never serve food to a customer that was prepared by somebody who didn't wash his hands after using the restroom, so I'd get fired.
Last edited by winkosmosis; 02-22-2013 at 08:36 AM..
Whtviper1, even you told Wink back on 11/14/2011, after he explained that he was already working 40 hours a week, "...I'd recommend trying to get a second job..."
During my 20's and 30's I worked more than one 40 hour a week job at a time and I know many people who currently do so to either help themselves get out of debt or reach their goals faster. Many people here offered suggestions of possible second jobs for Wink. He turned down every idea with excuses that he couldn't physically do the job or didn't want to because of his Germaphobia and his fear of getting HIV through "service jobs".
Of course I told him to get another job - he made the move and was flat broke. The move wasn't terribly bright to begin with. Had I been on the forum I would have told him no way $35K is enough money. I consistently say $50K is the starting point to be able to make it. But, that's the point, he was making twice the minimum wage and needed another job just to make ends meet. Yep, he didn't work the other jobs and couldn't dig out of the hole - but that is the lesson for the under $10K, no degree, 20 something crowd, the math doesn't work.
He was a degreed professional making $35K - how is someone who has no degree, no real skills, going to jump off the plane in Hawaii and realistically survive - you can't. It is weird to me that people want to say on the one hand Wink didn't make enough money, didn't work another job above and beyond his full time job and concede it cant work but then in other threads tell another 20 something with no money and no skills to go for it - be adventurous!! That is just odd to me.
It would at least be interesting to see some kind of recent story to counteract Wink's - but everyone wants to quote their 70's, 80's, or 90's "adventures" as if it relates to present day. Well, I had $3,000 in 1982 and I blah blah blah - gosh, what does that have to do with 2013?
So far, the problem is:
Had an older Jeep. Had less than $10K in savings. Didn't work another job beyond his full-time job. Didn't have a round trip ticket.
Wink had a job lined up more than twice the minimum wage in Hawaii - he has a college degree and was working from the day he arrived here.
Another way of looking at it is that he took an entry level government position long distance, without doing the proper research and without planning well for what it would really take to live on it. He started work two weeks later than necessary, even though he was totally depending on that first paycheck to pay his rent. He was unaware of the budget difficulties the county was experiencing and of the furloughs that were being used to lower expenses, even though they had been all over the news for a long time.
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He worked a full time job - working more jobs isn't really feasible.
Many software developers his age work 80 hours a week or more. At his age I worked 2 full-time jobs to support a family, and both jobs involved more "work" than sitting at a desk using a computer.
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He brought a paid off Jeep. 20 somethings don't normally have a Prius to bring over.
Still stuck on that? He didn't need to bring any car over at all, and he obviously couldn't afford to drive a car in Hawai'i that only got 16 mpg. Sorry, there are many other ways that could have been handled.
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He lived frugally. Small Ohana housing.
He had less expensive options available that he chose not to take, including roommate and house sharing opportunities. I don't know how much his germaphobia influenced how he made that choice, but clearly other people are able to manage on even less money. Social Security benefits are less than what he netted, just to mention one group of people who do find a way to manage.
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Everyone wants to talk about his mistakes - but so far, it is his Jeep and bad planning or he didn't work more jobs.
Reading through all his posts I get a different picture. From that first rant onward it was a bit like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Other posters were very generous with suggestions and advice about what he could do to better his situation, none of which made any difference, because he rejected all of it. Someone else with a more flexible attitude could have made corrections once they saw what wasn't working.
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In the last 2 years, no other poster has a documented history of less than "10K in savings" and how they "made it". None.
Proves nothing except that nobody else posted anything. It's not a random sample.
And let's not forget, he didn't leave Maui because he couldn't make it, as he just reminded us. He left because his mother's situation changed back in Texas and he wanted to be there to help her in a tough transition. In that case I think he made a good decision.
Another way of looking at it is that he took an entry level government position long distance,
Many software developers his age work 80 hours a week or more.
Still stuck on that? He didn't need to bring any car over at all, and he obviously couldn't afford to drive a car in Hawai'i that only got 16 mpg. Sorry, there are many other ways that could have been handled.
Reading through all his posts I get a different picture. From that first rant onward it was a bit like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Other posters were very generous with suggestions and advice about what he could do to better his situation, none of which made any difference, because he rejected all of it. Someone else with a more flexible attitude could have made corrections once they saw what wasn't working.
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Another way to look at it is he had a job right away, unlike 90% of the dreamers.
Many of those software developers working 80 hours a week - still get paid for 40 hours a week. There isn't any upside to that although I guess you could argue that if you are working 80 hours a week you aren't spending any money.
Have you been to Maui? Of course he needed a car.
Could he have mitigated the situation better sure, but what would a roommate share buy him, a few hundred bucks a month (or less, I seem to recall he was in ridiculously low rental unit that seemed barely habitable).
I guess I don't understand why people would encourage people who are clearly broke - coming by themselves and don't know a soul - have no good prospects to be sucessful - and are almost giddy with the encouragement to go. Nobody benefits from that - not the pour soul who made the move - not the people in Hawaii when resources get strained - I don't understand why people don't want to give honest and realistic advice.
Fine, don't like Wink's story - I would have told him no way no how move to Hawaii - but several others would have just egged him on and on and on - I don't get it.
Last edited by whtviper1; 02-22-2013 at 11:34 AM..
I wonder how many of you actually know people who live in Maui.
I have a number of friends who live in Lahaina. They work a variety of jobs, from waitressing to retail to whale watch crew to jetski crew, etc. They all make enough money to get by there. Some obviously make more than others. All of them have kids. Some are married and have two incomes, some are single parents.
Yes, most live in apartments or ohanas and/or have roommates. Yes, most drive hoopdi cars. Yes, most have little money beyond bills. But that's not why they're there - they aren't there to have a stable, luxurious, financially secure life. They're there to have a slower, simpler, happier life. The enjoy the beach, the ocean, and picnics. They enjoy hikes and seeing things that most the world doesn't get to see. They enjoy sunsets.
Yes, they struggle. But they still make it. Nothing special or lucky about it... it's different a different state of mind.
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