I'm moving from Denver! (Honolulu: rental car, transplants, apartment)
OahuIncludes Honolulu
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After 2 years of contemplating moving to Honolulu, I've finally pulled the trigger. I recently graduated with a BS degree in Environmental Science and feel that this is the one time in my life where I'm allowed to do something to this extent . I am chasing my dream and I'm only a month away from making the move! I've been to the main island, never Oahu, but since I'm a city guy I figured this is the best fit for me to try something new and the best opportunity for a job. I am going to try and work in the tourism industry and rent or share a room/apartment. If anybody else has a similar story please let me know, or just say hi!
Good Luck...
I moved hear in 1987, with $700 and a friend. Found a job driving shuttle busses for rental car co. then the tour co. One of the best decisions of my life. Their is a paradise tax, need to work two jobs or 55+ hrs/week or live at home with parents.
I've been to the main island, never Oahu, but since I'm a city guy I figured this is the best fit for me to try something new and the best opportunity for a job.
Hi Mike, it sounds like you are prepared for a fun adventure! You are right that Oahu will have the most opportunities, since it is the most populated by far.
By the way, Oahu IS "the main island", since it has the most population, businesses, and the state legislature. About your previous visit, you might be thinking of the "Big Island" (not "main" island), which is Hawaii Island?
Read read read, BUT LIVE YOUR DREAMS. Everybody will hve an opinion on how you should live your life journey. Thank them and make an informed decision that is best for you.
Lots of shares on craigslist with many under $700 including in Waikiki. Lots of transient people here, and many of them young and many from abroad, so someone is always coming or going. I could not think of anything more exhilarating than grabbing life by the horns, taking a chance and going for it. Starting anew, seeing what comes up. Just at least try to have 'some' backup plan, but I will tell you, many many many of the food establishments, good to well restaurants, are staffed with light skinned non asian faces. And before somebody gets their panties in a twist, Im just trying to reiterate that you really don't have to be Asian or Hawaiian to work in many of the service jobs. I'd be hard pressed to go to Waikiki and find an overwhelming amount of hawaiian'ness there. Even many of the tour busses, haoles are working them. Now they very well may speak Japanese, and I will definately say if you DO speak Japanese, it is the biggest feather in your cap that will open MANY doors for you, but there definately must be a shortage of Japanese and Hawaiian workers seeing all the shops, food places, restaurants, grocery stores etc. that are staffed with 'other' ethnicities...
Hi Mike, it sounds like you are prepared for a fun adventure! You are right that Oahu will have the most opportunities, since it is the most populated by far.
By the way, Oahu IS "the main island", since it has the most population, businesses, and the state legislature. About your previous visit, you might be thinking of the "Big Island" (not "main" island), which is Hawaii Island?
Hi Mike. I moved to Oahu shortly after college too. Enjoy the adventure! I have met many transplants with college degrees who decided to come live in Oahu and work in the tourism industry. I moved to Oahu shortly after college too, and it really shaped the person I have become today.
Here's my story...
A few years after I graduated college, I moved to Oahu after going on vacation (like so many others). I worked part-time at a credit union, which luckily offered me full health and dental benefits. My boyfriend at the time also had a job downtown. We had a great time making new friends, hiking new trails, going to the beach, visiting other islands, etc. After about a year and half, I kind of decided I wanted to do more with my life than work at a credit union (because we really were living paycheck to paycheck, which can get old).
So I went to VIPS (Volunteers in Public Services) and asked if I could volunteer in the HI Supreme Court's library. (I was thinking about going to law school.) The guy in charge, after I learning that I was contemplating law school, communicated with a judge who allowed me to be his Judge's Aide. Really, that entailed me hanging out with him a couple of times a week to observe court time and talking to him about what I saw. Long story short, I left Oahu to go to law school on the mainland, but I was able to get volunteer positions in Hawaii each summer during law school because of the legal connections I made on the island. Last summer, I externed for a different judge, and I will now be his Law Clerk come July (about 5 years after I first moved to the island with nothing but two suitcases). I have a room share in Hawaii Kai lined up that is taking my cat (despite the post saying "no pets"), and I am so excited to be returning to Oahu (as are the many friends that I have made there). I also have a sister whose husband is a helicopter pilot that just happened to get stationed in Hawaii, so I am lucky to now have family there as well. But in any case, I feel very lucky to have met so many people who have helped me and not forgotten me over the years. Most of my local friends forget that I am not from there.
With the right attitude and expectations, you too can have a wonderful "adventure" on Oahu even if only for a short time. Enjoy it while you're young. It's the best time to do it.
With the right attitude and expectations, you too can have a wonderful "adventure" on Oahu even if only for a short time. Enjoy it while you're young. It's the best time to do it.
Congratulations, bittersweet! A great story with a lot of invaluable lessons...for kamaaina and malihini alike.
Aloha and all very best for a great future here.
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. I am chasing my dream and I'm only a month away from making the move! I've been to the main island, never Oahu, but since I'm a city guy I figured this is the best fit for me to try something new and the best opportunity for a job. I am going to try and work in the tourism industry and rent or share a room/apartment. If anybody else has a similar story please let me know, or just say hi!
You are right that Oahu will have the most opportunities, since it is the most populated by far.
