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I will be starting a job in Honolulu in a few weeks, and I'm trying to plan the timing of my move. How early (prior to starting my new job) should I arrive in Honolulu to ensure that I am properly situated as far as housing, etc? I am currently planning for arrival 1 week prior to starting work. Would this be sufficient time?
I plan to look for housing on craigslist. Would this be the best place to look? I'm most likely looking to rent a place and share with roommates. I plan to contact people on craigslist and have several places lined up to check out upon arrival. Also where would be a good place to stay prior to securing housing?
I plan on using the bus initially to gauge how necessary it will be for me to have a car here, but will likely be shipping my car later on.
How early (prior to starting my new job) should I arrive in Honolulu to ensure that I am properly situated as far as housing, etc? I am currently planning for arrival 1 week prior to starting work. Would this be sufficient time?
I plan to look for housing on craigslist. Would this be the best place to look? I'm most likely looking to rent a place and share with roommates. I plan to contact people on craigslist and have several places lined up to check out upon arrival. Also where would be a good place to stay prior to securing housing?
Well - I arrived in Honolulu on a Sunday - and started work the next day. So, it really depends on your comfort level.
I found a temp place here which I found on a weekend trip 2 weeks prior to moving. Make sure you see any place in person prior to renting.
Oahu Beach Rentals, Oahu Condo Rentals, Vacation Rentals by Owner Oahu, Vacation Home Rentals, VRBO Oahu (http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/hawaii/oahu - broken link)
Before I bought my place - I had no problems finding long-term rentals on craigslist - some people on this forum aren't a fan of it but it worked for me.
If you can give yourself more time, I would recommend it. You might get lucky right away, but getting around on the bus will eat up a lot of your time.
Well - I arrived in Honolulu on a Sunday - and started work the next day. So, it really depends on your comfort level.
I found a temp place here which I found on a weekend trip 2 weeks prior to moving. Make sure you see any place in person prior to renting.
Oahu Beach Rentals, Oahu Condo Rentals, Vacation Rentals by Owner Oahu, Vacation Home Rentals, VRBO Oahu (http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/hawaii/oahu - broken link)
Before I bought my place - I had no problems finding long-term rentals on craigslist - some people on this forum aren't a fan of it but it worked for me.
Only because listing fake rooms/apt/houses then asking for a credit report used to be a great way to get paid $50+ by affiliates, now they pay only about $20 per sign up, so maybe more listings on cl are real today.
How would you generally be able to tell if a posting is real or not on craigslist?
If craigslist is not a great source then the classified ads on the starbulletin, as posted by OpenD, is the next best source?
I wouldn't personally respond to an ad that didn't have any pictures whatsoever. I also wouldn't try to do this remotely - get a temp place first and make appointments. I just flipped thru some ads for places to rent and they seem legit to me.
Don't send money ahead of time. Do everything in person.
And don't pay application fees - that is a total waste of money. I've never ever paid an application fee. Run your own credit and have a copy available to give them. Tell the potential landlord you have a recent copy of your credit.
The key thing is, don't rent housing without actually seeing it, and don't give money in advance. The most common scam is posting pictures swiped from somewhere else, and offering to rent the property, without owning it. In other words, it LOOKS completely legit, but is not.
And the worse scam is offering a place for rent, asking for an application in order to show it, then doing an identity theft with the credit information supplied.
For very short "vacation" rentals, go through an agency that guarantees the rental.
Ah I see.. Well these points are fairly obvious and common sense I was afraid that more elaborate schemes were common.
For temporary housing I just ended up renting a hostel on Waikiki for $30 a night, and I will plan to rent a car to get around quicker for viewing apartments and what not.
Last edited by lonelytraveler; 05-08-2012 at 06:16 PM..
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I was afraid that more elaborate schemes were common. 
