A couple wanting MUCH needed info and opinons on moving (minimum wage, living)

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

Excuuuuuuse me, but I have the honorable "old" designation here!

e kala mai ia'u, ko'u mana'o keia ha'ole makule nui!!!

Urrrpppp

[CyberCity]

You made me bust out my Pukui dictionary.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Jungjohann

e kala mai ia'u, ko'u mana'o keia ha'ole makule nui!!!

Urrrpppp

For those wondering, I'm a bit rusty on Hawaiian - or my google is, but I think that translates to I'm sorry, I thought the haole was the old guy

That's my best shot at it.

I don't know if that is directed at me or the op - but funny either way.

Urrrpppp didn't translate well.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Jungjohann

e kala mai ia'u, ko'u mana'o keia ha'ole makule nui!!!

Could you clarify? Are you referring to "old" as a count of the years, or as an attitude toward life?

If the latter, then I'm thinking the "old" guy has the youngest attitude, while the chronologically younger guy has the most ancient attitudes.

Funny, isn't it, that the most respected elders in Hawaiian culture are the ones with the most accepting attitude toward others. We are all ohana! E komo mai.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Funny, isn't it, that the most respected elders in Hawaiian culture are the ones with the most accepting attitude toward others. We are all ohana! E komo mai.

I had to read that a couple of times - are you serious? Like who? In my experience - island wide - true Hawaian elders across the board (not people who moved here - you said Hawaiian) aren't generally welcoming of newcomers or the attitude of others. The extended family here in Hawaii - yep. Newcomers, absolutely not. No way.

Heck - they loved Captain Cook so much they killed him. Wasn't a grear welcome. The annexation - that wasn't via a welcome. In fact most Hawaiians have been burned across the board by "newcomers". Death - disease - poverty - land grab.

Hawaiian elders tend to always hang with their own crowd (other Hawaiians) - they don't bring out the welcome mat to outsiders - at least from what I've seen.

We are all Ohana - wow, wishfull thinking. I'm sure the Hawaiians don't share that view very often.

I've yet to see a Hawaiian raise their hand and say, Yep, we can use more min wage outsiders. Come on down.

Or, do you consider yourself a "Hawaiian" elder????

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

... kapuna

Sorry, I caught my typo of kupuna.

Kupuna is an ancestor, or grandparent, or relative of grandfather's generation. It is not defined by race, sex (unless you say kupuna kane or kupuna wahine), culture, religion, etc. It is a word related to generations or ancestral standing.

[MauiPartTimer]

Originally Posted by TwoByFour

But the debate here is over 10 years, and over the last 10 years your return on investment in the broad stock market would be negative.

I'm not sure what you're basing this on. In April of 2003, the Dow was at about 11,000 and now it's at about 14,500. Looking at the S&P will give you similar growth.

[MauiPartTimer]

Question for Jus10x,
Is renting out the home you own out at a positive cash-flow (as opposed to selling it) an option? That would help slow down the burn rate through your savings while you look for work and make it easier to unwind your move if you decide it wasn't the right decision.

Everyone is different, but personally, $30K doesn't sound like a lot to me. Especially if you haven't done any long-term (retirement) saving.

The other advice already given about building up more savings is sound. At a minimum, I'd suggest building it to $50K and get the car loan paid off.

I know you're getting offended by whtviper1's opinions, but I work in the financial services and a lot of what he's saying is true. (His personal style of sharing advice isn't very congenial, but there's some good nuggets in between the "Get off my lawn!" rants.) As said earlier, there's a spectrum of how much risk people are willingto take in life. You came here asking for advice and you're going to get opinions all along that spectrum. If you accuse people who give you opinions you weren't looking for of "trolling", then it really looks like your original question wasn't very genuine.

[TwoByFour]

Originally Posted by MauiPartTimer

I'm not sure what you're basing this on. In April of 2003, the Dow was at about 11,000 and now it's at about 14,500. Looking at the S&P will give you similar growth.

To determine true return on investment, you need to look at the Dow adjusted for inflation. If you do that the return is flat to slightly negative.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I had to read that a couple of times - are you serious? Like who? In my experience - island wide - true Hawaian elders across the board (not people who moved here - you said Hawaiian) aren't generally welcoming of newcomers or the attitude of others.

Yeah, I'm talking about native Hawaiian elders I've met. What can I say? I have found them to be open and welcoming, while you have not. I suspect that the differences of our experiences might have something to do with differences in our personalities. I can only speak for myself, but personally I am very open and accepting with people, and I express gratitude and appreciation freely. All I know is that with me, at least, they have always responded in kind. I give aloha, I get aloha.

Hawaiian elders tend to always hang with their own crowd (other Hawaiians) - they don't bring out the welcome mat to outsiders - at least from what I've seen.

Again, different folks, different experiences. My first weekend in Volcano, years ago, an elder who was familiar to everyone at the Farmer's Market said hello to me and welcomed me and asked me to talk story for a bit. By the time we were done with our chat I had apparently been sized up and approved of and given a blessing. And that's when I first was told, "We are all ohana."

We are all Ohana - wow, wishfull thinking. I'm sure the Hawaiians don't share that view very often.

Maybe not with you, but my experience is my own.

And I've had many more along that same vein since then. About two years ago I accidentally crashed a celebration that a bunch of native hunters were having after a successful wild pig hunt, and while their first reaction to me was cold and suspicious, I was just myself with them and within a few minutes we were all laughing together and they were handing me beers. I'm also a big fan of Hawaiian music, and I've been fortunate enough to spend some time hanging out with a couple of the top native musicians, and then being invited to various parties and weekends and an authentic, non-commercial luau. Then in January this year I was introduced to an important kahuna, one who is a living library of the native Huna spiritual practices, and he appreciated what I had to say and welcomed my friendship. I give aloha, I get aloha.

Obviously YMMV.