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So Glad I found this forum! And yes hotzcatz you are a wealth of information! Here's my story, I am 1/4 polynesian my Grandfather is 100% have never been to any of the islands, My husband works for Hilton and we are relocating for his job, I am online everyday trying to give myself a crash course of my heritage LOL We are moving on 04/03/2012 and I'm getting nervous because I haven't yet found a place to live/stay when we first get there, We are not teenagers in our 50's. I am selling both cars all furniture and rehoming my dog, So we will literally have just the bags we come with hence clothes on our backs, Our flight gets in at 9pm Hawaii time, Ive contacted a free lance rental car place in Oahu that said they will rent us a car for $35. a day until we can find one to purchase, I'm also looking online at rentals (on craigslist) short term until we get our bearings and decide where we would like to live, and I'm even a little nerves about that "site unseen" My husband works as an OPC off property consultant getting people to take a timeshare tour for hilton, does anybody know anyone in that business? We are coming from Florida Disney area where he did well 100k plus a year are OPC'S making that kind of money in Oahu? Also I was going to pack boxs of stuff for my son to send me USPS once I'm there my 40 and 50inch TV's Is that a good idea? any responce will be helpful Thank you
I think you can do better than $35/day for a car rental - just make sure you don't get the car rental at the airport - there are extra taxes and fees.
Skip craigslist for now on a short term rental - go to this site to find a furnished short term place - most places have a lot of photos, there are decent deals (find a place by the Hilton to not deal with traffic). Here is a link:
South Oahu VRBO® Vacation Rentals - Oahu Vacation Rental Condos & Vacation Homes (http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/hawaii/oahu/south-oahu - broken link)
To properly pack and ship your TV's is going to cost a lot of money. If you don't want to ship your TV's, Sear's at Ala Moana mall has a huge selection - they don't mark up their prices like Best Buy. I saw a 50" Zenith HD their yesterday for $499.
There aren't a lack of timeshares at the hilton - but have no idea how much the salespeople make.
Thank you for the info, I was actually thinking if we stay close to the Hilton we may not need a car right away, I also saw airport pick up for $55. I will check that web site Thank you again!
I'm sure there are nice apartments near the Geico call center, where ever that may be. However, they will probably be expensive. Depending on which part of the mainland you are coming from, they could be very expensive compared to what you are used to. They are likely going to be much much smaller than you are used to, as well.
Okay, the Geico Call Center is on Kapiolani Blvd, over near the Waikiki end of it. You'll be able to find apartments in Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kakaako, and possibly be able to walk to work. In any case, you'll want to see the apartment in person before signing a lease. There are vacation rentals you can stay in for several weeks to a month while you are looking for your long term apartment. Hawaii doesn't have homogenized neighborhoods, there will be a hovel directly next to a mansion, so just renting in a specific area isn't enough to guarantee a good place. You really need to see it in person before signing a lease. Also there are a lot of rental scams on Craig's List so contact a realty company or a property management company about rentals. They will be legal and valid.
There is a website for the quarantine: Animal Quarantine Information — Hawaii Department of Agriculture Follow all their rules exactly or your yorkie could end up in 120 day jail at your expense. There are also a lot of discussions about bringing pets into Hawaii on this forum with a "search" button up there on the blue bar.
Safeway has a website, you may be able to search it for prices in Hawaii. Use 96815 zip code to search since that's Waikiki and about as expensive as it's gonna get. There is also Foodland, Whole Foods, Costco, Sam's Club and a variety of other grocery stores. There is the whole Chinatown area in downtown Honolulu (which will be within walking distance of your employer if you don't mind a long walk) and they have a lot of inexpensive groceries. Interesting place to shop, too. A wheeled cart and a good pair of walking shoes may be some of your more useful items.
Honolulu is densely packed and parking is insane and driving is no fun because of the amount of traffic. The Bus system is pretty good and it's even better if you can live close enough to where you work to walk to work. Saves tons of money by not keeping a car and you can always rent one on the weekends to go places and do a major grocery run. It's probably cheaper to rent one on weekends than to keep one full time, especially when you factor in parking.
Yes, there is a state income tax although I don't think they tax retirement income. They do tax food and medicine at 4% unless Oahu has added a half percent or so to fund the light rail project. Basically, they tax everything and any time they can tax tourists more they go for it.
Aloha! so could a retired couple, w/ $4000k mth pension(3%annual COLA), on Medicare, no debt,own car, and modest (under 50,000k) savings, survive on Oahu for their golden years?
Aloha! so could a retired couple, w/ $4000k mth pension(3%annual COLA), on Medicare, no debt,own car, and modest (under 50,000k) savings, survive on Oahu for their golden years?
Anything is possible, I suppose, but the big question is, what are your expectations? Are you willing to live in a tiny little place in an uninspiring neighborhood, just to be living in Hawai'i, or are you expecting something more "comfortable"?
Let's start with the basics... did you follow the suggestions when you joined, and use the Search function to review the wealth of material in the archives here? Doing that will give you a background that will help you focus in on the specific items you need additional info on, in order to ask the right questions for you.
For example, a key factor for retirees moving to Hawai'i is determining whether or not their pension is subject to Hawai'i state income tax. Social Security benefits are exempt, but many private plan payments are not. That could be a significant factor in one's budgeting.
Another is, what's your motivation? Have you ever been here? If you've vacationed in Hawai'i many times and have decided it really is where you want to be in your retirement, you will be much more willing to make compromises and accept limitations on your lifestyle than someone who has never been to Hawai'i but loves the "idea" of Hawai'i. One possible compromise that comes to mind is choosing one of the neighbor islands where the cost of living, and in particular the cost of housing is much lower than it is on Oahu. But any of the islands will likely cost more than most places on the mainland would, so what are your priorities?
Another matter to take a hard look at is the shortage of physicians in Hawai'i who are accepting new Medicaire patients. There are a number of threads touching on this critical issue.
In other words, it's a lot more complicated than the simple question you asked, and nobody can really answer that question but you, so I recommend you spend some time in the archives here and then, if you're still interested in winding up in Hawai'i, ask for the details you need.
Also, is there any particular reason why you wish to live on Oahu? Just wondering if you have to be on that particular island.
There are a huge number of young retireds living here on Big Island, people who retired at 50-55 which of course means not only are pensions smaller than if they had waited, but they also need to source health insurance. Yet everyone is surviving and happy as Big Island can be extremely affordable depending upon your lifestyle needs and wants. We are renting a beautiful furnished home near Hilo; when we looked at what our rental dollar would get us in Honolulu, we'd get a condo at most. People dress casually, and we get a huge percentage of our foods from the farmers markets which are astoundlingly inexpensive. Healthcare is an issue for many, luckily we are very healthy but if we had some type of chronic health problem, we would be concerned.
If you don't mind renting, there are quite a few nice rentals in Ko'Olina in the $2000-$2500 range. No yard work and walk to the beach. The drawback for those who need to work is the drive into Honolulu, but if you're retired, no worries.
You probably wouldn't want to buy a home here. The condo prices are flat and the HOA fees are out of this world and single family home prices are rising and from our search, few builders offer a small ranch style, which is what most retirees want. Here, all the homes tend to be large, 2 story, 4-5 bedrooms to accomodate the multi-generational lifestyle. YMMV, though.
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