Our move to Maui-info for those who are planning to move (Kailua: lease, home)

[JuliaHuff]

Freebird, as I stated in the beginning of my thread-this thread is not for people who are already here-they obviously like it, if they are still here. I am writing for people who are planning their move-so they would not repeat our mistakes. we did visit Maui before moving here-but you dont have the full picture until you move.
remember people from the mainland, hot weather gets old! it is hard to believe, but it does! you will be missing fall and cool weather, and cheap mainland prices, and you WILL feel locked up-it is a small island, you will see everything ten times in two months tops. it is not worth the cost of living and relocation-come visit as tourist. When we were here as tourists, we absolutely loved it! visiting has NOTHING to do with the reality of living here. thats why so many people move back.


Oh, by the way-people in NY ARE nice, very nice, accepting and open. I met plenty of cool people on the subway-and I talked to strangers all the time on my way to work. it is a complete misconseption that NY people are cold and mean. In fact it is completely the opposite-everyone wants to talk to you-everywhere-subway, cab drivers, restaurants. you make friends everywhere. When i call my pharmacy in NY, my pharmacist is asking me when i am coming back. The post office people know me personally, so is the laundry place, dry cleaners, local restaurants. i feels like having a big family.
it is not a cold and lonely place like it is pictured-it i pretty awesome, people of completely different cultures are interacting constantly and learning from each other.
it is not true-remember September 11-total strangers were helping each other. I moved there knowing noone, in a month i had a ton of great friends, who helped me tremendously-to find an apartment, job, furniture. I did not have to bend over backwards or learn their culture.

[JuliaHuff]

Calico, yes, i will, but it will not make me any happier-my husband will have to sty here, alone. and it breaks my heart. thats why i am telling everyone to think twice. We wasted thousands of dollars, it probably would be enough for a down payment in NY. this is the money we will not return, and have to pay back. Plus i will be separated from my husband, we will have to pay double rent-in NY and here, in Hawaii, it is a big mess-there is really no got way to get out of it. it is not as simple as just move back.

Again, I started this thread not to offend people who are already on Maui--everyone is different. I started it for people who are thinking about moving, like MadRussian.
When you live on Mainland-you are stressed, and tired, and you think that when you get to Maui, you will be more relaxed, and have more time to enjoy other activities. it is not necessarily true. It was an argument my husband made-he is tired, he wants to work less, no commute, bigger house. but somehow we are more tired and stressed then we were on the mainland, everything takes longer, much longer, I have not watched tv ones, have not been to the movies, we are constantly driving around, which eats all our free time-to the bank, to the stores, hospital, to other parts of the island. Somehow we had much more free time in NY, as well as out of town trips. And many times were are advised that we should fly to Oahu, for one reason or another-to see a doctor, or something else.

[NOTAM]

Freebird-excellent post.

another thought, something i dont think anyone has ever written about on these forums.....
now, i am just basing this on Kauai, where my sister has lived for 22 years and i have been visiting all of my life and have lived there for a short period myself...dont know if it's the same on other islands, certainly probably not on the very populated Oahu, but it seems like you always have to walk on "egg shells"-you have to be VERY careful about what you say, how you say it etc. and TRUST ME, i KNOW southern hospitality-i have spent most of my adult life in the South, Mississippi and Georgia, but mostly Texas....and i am a KIND person...but it drives me nuts that you have to be very GUARDED with your opinions and feelings and words, as not to "rub someone the wrong way". and it could even be something that is simply impersonal (nothing directly related to the people around you)...e.g. political views. if you are a conservative republican, FORGET IT, you will not fit in very easily. if you are not liberal in terms of homosexuals and pakalolo smokin', FORGET IT, you definitely wont fit in. it seems like the ones who have the most active social life, seem to be the ones that are either into the "NEW AGE" thang, or smoke pakalolo. ok ok...dont give me long distance stink eye! from what my sister experiences, in terms of having to walk on egg-shells, it is a HUNDRED times worse than dealing with some of the nosy intrusive judgemental Baptists in small town Texas.

[JuliaHuff]

newUNproof-exactly my point. Hawaii will work for you, if you are: Single, have a hobby that is related to the beach-like surfing, diving, have lots of money, like isolated life and not very ambitious, and will be happy if they dont achieve much in life-lets face it-there are not that many career opportunities here, besides having your own business. I see many young people in their 30ies working at resorts, as guides, instructors, etc. if you are fine with it-you will be happy. If you dont expect much from your life-you will be fine, if all you need is frolicking on the beach and hiking to waterfalls.
But many people are not like this-they want to grow, learn something new every day, have a career, have children and family, and be able to give good life to their kids-with good schools, colleges, ability to see the world.

I seriously doubt that any of the people in those big rich houses i see on the island, made their money here-they made it elsewhere and came here to enjoy their success...and it works. Otherwise it does not-there are really not that many places you can apply yourself.

[JuliaHuff]

oh come on, bellestar, I lived in Texas, dont even get me started! not much better in terms of trying to fit in! unless you are in a big city, small texas towns-the same thing, if you are different, you wont fit in-you have to be christian, go to church, pray at dinner, smile all the time. I am russian, we dont smile all the time, i was sick of people making me smile! it felt completely fake. All small and isolated places are the same-it is very hard to it in, because everyone is the same

[NOTAM]

it's unbelievable, the amount of folks who move to Hawaii unprepared, without a solid plan and bank account, and end up homeless on the beach and on state assistance. my sister went to HUD housing orientation and she said there were many people there who live in tents on the beach, just like she has for many years on and off in her 22 years. cuz if you move out there, and end up broke, you're stuck like chuck-with no money to move back to the mainland. on the other hand, it's probably the best place to be on welfare-you even get flown, at state's expense to Oahu from outer islands just for appointments with specialists. amazing

[PacificFlights]

Nothing about Hawaii changed. Cost didn't go up just because you came. Nobody said hey Julia is coming so lets make the medical care worse. The utility companies weren't waiting around for your plane to land to raise rates. The speed limit wasn't reduced because you arrived and started driving. They didn't remove produce from the farmers market because you went there to buy stuff. God didn't change Hawaiis weather just because you arrived.

Everything that you are seeing was here before you came and will be here long after you leave. Everyone told you what to expect. This is what Hawaii is!

I don't understand why you came to begin with since you didn't want to be here. Everything you compalinned about was based on your feeling that you should have things your way, that everything should change to fit your need. Thats not the way things are here or anywhere. You wanted to hate Hawaii and you just couldn't wait to show that hatred.

[kaiser100]

Ok I am planning on taking a job At Maui Medical Center. On a fixed budget with a small house. 800 sqare feet. How much is electric and gas? I was under the impression of $200.00 max. Julia says it is $700.00 a month. That is definetly not in my budget. I have been looking at adds all along, and I really don't see that food is that much more than in Phoenix. you have to just buy things when they are on sale, or utilize the farmers markets. Am I dillusional or wearing rose colored glassed when I think I can live on a budget there?

[Sweetbeet]

Our family (actually 2+ families - sis and her daughter live in a 2BR/1ba apt. with kitchenette; me, hubby and son have 2 BR/2Ba, LR, full kitchen and laundry; and grandma has a 1BR/1Ba studio with a sink, fridge and microwave; all are attached) has a total of almost 3,000 square feet (I think it's like 2887). We have 3 full refrigerators (2 new, one with icemaker), two washers and dryers (though we mostly hang our clothes out and one of the dryers is gas), and a gas water heater (we're going to solar soon). We mostly eat at home, so we cook a lot. No A/C, but we run fans a lot. We have a solar attic fan that keeps the house bearable. We have 5 computers and 2 TVs (one TV is on rarely, one a lot; 2 of the computers are on a lot, the other 3 only in the evenings).

Our electric bill last month was $260, for all of us. One service fee, and the actual cost of 'trons is .45/kWh here on Kauai. YMMV.

Can't say about the gas (propane), as they haven't filled the tank since we've all been here (three of us arrived in August). Water bill is about $50 every two months.

[hotzcatz]

It isn't so much the size of the house as the equipment and appliances in it. If you have a swimming pool that can add hundreds onto your electric bill. Electric stoves, water heaters, dryers, etc., can really rack up the electric bills too. There are sneaky ghost loads if electronics aren't turned onto an off switch.

Met a couple from Hilo last week who have a $500 a month electric bill. They have a swimming pool, though.