Hawaii bound (Honolulu: lease, how much, hotels)

[spacekadet1000]

Another moving to honolulu blog 2012

Posted 03-09-2012 at 11:19 PM by spacekadet1000
Updated 03-09-2012 at 02:28 AM by spacekadet1000
Hello all, this is my first time on here. I appreciate any help. My fiance and I are thinking about moving to Honolulu . We both have college educations. B.S. in Management for us both. I work for Hilton hotels currently she has hotel experience and current is a waitress while she finishes up the end of her last class for college. We plan to have between 7 to 12 thousand in saving before we go and I will most likely have a job at the Waikiki Hilton in Honolulu making roughly 18-22/hr. I also sell imports from Indonesia and India such as necklaces, sarongs, wooden jewelry and other misc items. She has lived on Kona and I have visited Honolulu. We currently live in the Mid West and are more than ready to leave. We are adventurous and do not get homesick easily. We both know how to live on a budget (and still have fun....We are looking for general advice and more specifically looking for nice safe areas to live with easy commute to Honolulu or even nice areas within Honolulu. I would like rent to be between 1000-1350 but may be able to swing 1500-1600 eventually. P.S. Im afraid of sharks

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by spacekadet1000

Another moving to honolulu blog 2012

Posted 03-09-2012 at 11:19 PM by spacekadet1000
Updated 03-09-2012 at 02:28 AM by spacekadet1000
Hello all, this is my first time on here. I appreciate any help. My fiance and I are thinking about moving to Honolulu . We both have college educations. B.S. in Management for us both. I work for Hilton hotels currently she has hotel experience and current is a waitress while she finishes up the end of her last class for college. We plan to have between 7 to 12 thousand in saving before we go and I will most likely have a job at the Waikiki Hilton in Honolulu making roughly 18-22/hr. I also sell imports from Indonesia and India such as necklaces, sarongs, wooden jewelry and other misc items. She has lived on Kona and I have visited Honolulu. We currently live in the Mid West and are more than ready to leave. We are adventurous and do not get homesick easily. We both know how to live on a budget (and still have fun....We are looking for general advice and more specifically looking for nice safe areas to live with easy commute to Honolulu or even nice areas within Honolulu. I would like rent to be between 1000-1350 but may be able to swing 1500-1600 eventually. P.S. Im afraid of sharks

Well - since you've asked for general advice I'll take the bait. You need to rethink your strategy of moving to Hawaii. Your income is woefully inadequate and you'll blow thru all of your savings. Why bother going to college to make under $40K a year and live on one of the most expensive places in the United States?

[Caraseun]

What I would recommend you to do is to secure a job position with the Hilton prior your arrival. The job market is pretty bad right now. Getting a job in hospitality isn't as easy as everyone seem to think unless you speak Japanese. Most 5 star hotels and restaurants much rather hire someone bilingual in Japanese, Korean or even Chinese. If you do not speak any of those as second language you are behind your game regardless how much experience in the field you have. You can go on craigslist and look at the job ads in hospitality, you will find that 90% of ads will emphasize the headline "Japanese preferred". But if you speak Japanese you will have a very easy time getting a job. I also have a degree in business and used to work for the Wyndham time shares in ST Pete Florida, I had a hard time getting a job in Hawaii for my inability to speak Japanese. I did have some job offers that I turned down because I wasn't willing to work for so little, about that I forgot to mention you get paid less in Hawaii than any other state in the mainland and consider the coat of living maybe twice as much depending on where you come from. Do some more research and good luck!

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by spacekadet1000

We are looking for general advice and more specifically looking for nice safe areas to live with easy commute to Honolulu or even nice areas within Honolulu. I would like rent to be between 1000-1350

I'd recommend that you only sign a short term (no more than 3 months) lease, or better yet, go month-to-month, until you have a chance to look around.

[Manarii_HNL]

I cannot imagine why othes do not think you'd have a chance.. According to you, you'll have a job at the hilton, that salary for one person seems perfectly fine (not even counting the other potential salary). Heck, there are always apts avail at the Marin Tower downtown going for $1100 one bedroom, I walk by there every day. Lots of non japanese speaking people live and work here and I see white faces all the time working in the restaurants and in the hotels.. lol.

I think the other responses are great and everybody replies based on how they see things... If I made 40K I'd be over the moon!! But yes, 10 years ago in San Francisco I made 49K and I have never even remotely apprached that amount of salary here, but i still live here and get by...