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If the poster wasn't 1 and done - it would be more interesting. I really wish we would get a poster with a history who posted before the move and after who came in financial difficulties besides our buddy who moved back to Houston because it didn't work out.
If the poster wasn't 1 and done - it would be more interesting. I really wish we would get a poster with a history who posted before the move and after who came in financial difficulties besides our buddy who moved back to Houston because it didn't work out.
I feel like any young and single person can make it out there, it isn't that big of a deal, but as you age most people start valuing things like security, career prospects, schools, savings, houses, etc... that are honestly a lot more easily attainable many places in the mainland. Most of my friends in Hawaii were others like myself that moved out there in their 20's. We all lasted between 5 and 10 years before we got older, settled down, and were ready to leave. A few of them are still there but most had gone back to where we came from by age 30. Most didn't have to leave (were scraping by OK) but decided to leave.
I moved out there after finishing my bachelors degree with nothing but a duffle bag full of clothes and about $1500 in my savings account... no job, no friends, never even been on vacation. Year around surf and 60% of the women being asian was enough for me to give it a go. haha! I stayed in a youth hostel for a month while I looked for apartments and work. I found two minimum wage jobs selling snorkel gear and picking up golf balls at the driving range and stayed in a week to week apartment complex that was occupied by mostly ex-cons and other folks that couldn't get a real lease anywhere else.
There were a few times I was close to having to leave but managed to squeak by using 0% balance transfers on credit cards and eating mostly rice, fruit I found, and a bunch of 99cent jack in the box to get some protein. I never took public assistance, never got money wired to me from my family, and didn't make over $18k any of my first 3 years there. It was a very basic existence where I paid my bills and used to rest to eat. I didn't party, rarely drank, and did mostly free things for fun. I gotta say though, they were 3 of the best years of my life! I surfed almost daily, played basketball a ton, hooked up with "exotic" women (perk of working in Waikiki), made good friends, and learned a lot about myself.
After making some connections and "paying my dues" I finally got a real job 3 years in and was getting by pretty well. Soon after I met a local girl (through that job) and we eventually got married. We talked about raising a family and how hard it would be for us financially in Hawaii even with her having lots of family there. It was a conscious decision to leave, not because we were forced to (we were making it fine on $100k combined income), but because we thought out prospects were better elsewhere in the big picture for what we found important in life (travel, financial security, a house of our own, educational options for kids). We can afford to visit often since we can stay with my wife's parents (only pay airfare).
The moral of this story is that moving there can be done and it is pretty easy if you are young, single, adaptable, and have something to fall back on if things get tough. But also that what is great when you are 23 and single might not seem so great when you are 35 and trying to raise a couple of kids. So assess your situation and decide what is right for you based on your priorities in life. I got a wife, a masters degree, good work experience, and some of the best memories of my life out of it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if I was 22 and single again.
I feel like any young and single person can make it out there, it isn't that big of a deal, but as you age most people start valuing things like security, career prospects, schools, savings, houses, etc... that are honestly a lot more easily attainable many places in the mainland. Most of my friends in Hawaii were others like myself that moved out there in their 20's. We all lasted between 5 and 10 years before we got older, settled down, and were ready to leave. A few of them are still there but most had gone back to where we came from by age 30. Most didn't have to leave (were scraping by OK) but decided to leave.
I moved out there after finishing my bachelors degree with nothing but a duffle bag full of clothes and about $1500 in my savings account... no job, no friends, never even been on vacation. Year around surf and 60% of the women being asian was enough for me to give it a go. haha! I stayed in a youth hostel for a month while I looked for apartments and work. I found two minimum wage jobs selling snorkel gear and picking up golf balls at the driving range and stayed in a week to week apartment complex that was occupied by mostly ex-cons and other folks that couldn't get a real lease anywhere else.
There were a few times I was close to having to leave but managed to squeak by using 0% balance transfers on credit cards and eating mostly rice, fruit I found, and a bunch of 99cent jack in the box to get some protein. I never took public assistance, never got money wired to me from my family, and didn't make over $18k any of my first 3 years there. It was a very basic existence where I paid my bills and used to rest to eat. I didn't party, rarely drank, and did mostly free things for fun. I gotta say though, they were 3 of the best years of my life! I surfed almost daily, played basketball a ton, hooked up with "exotic" women (perk of working in Waikiki), made good friends, and learned a lot about myself.
After making some connections and "paying my dues" I finally got a real job 3 years in and was getting by pretty well. Soon after I met a local girl (through that job) and we eventually got married. We talked about raising a family and how hard it would be for us financially in Hawaii even with her having lots of family there. It was a conscious decision to leave, not because we were forced to (we were making it fine on $100k combined income), but because we thought out prospects were better elsewhere in the big picture for what we found important in life (travel, financial security, a house of our own, educational options for kids). We can afford to visit often since we can stay with my wife's parents (only pay airfare).
The moral of this story is that moving there can be done and it is pretty easy if you are young, single, adaptable, and have something to fall back on if things get tough. But also that what is great when you are 23 and single might not seem so great when you are 35 and trying to raise a couple of kids. So assess your situation and decide what is right for you based on your priorities in life. I got a wife, a masters degree, good work experience, and some of the best memories of my life out of it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if I was 22 and single again.
Good story. I wish I'd done the same when I was young.
Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks for sharing UHGrad. You bring up some great points about how people have to look at the big areas of their life, and at different times in their life, as part of their decision to move to or from Hawai'i.
My story is slightly different from young, penniless and carefree: I was in my 30's already, and had a great job on the mainland that I left to come to Hawaii. My girlfriend and I decided to leave the rat race and move closer to nature. We got engaged and married our first year here. So we were established financially, but the common thread is: no kids yet. Key point is that I really took a sabbatical and was able to go back to work by telecommuting after a year. That allowed us to buy a house (though given the price, still very risky), settle in, and decide to start a family. My wife doesn't work, so we're not earning 6 figures--but we keep other costs low to (almost) make up for it.
We have no other relatives here, just made a few friends over the years. Having kids of our own made us meet a lot of other families and expand our social circle. We came and we stay here for the outdoorsy lifestyle, the lower-stress mode of living, and the natural beauty. Some things that make it work for us:
- We don't come from very tight families, so seeing them once a year is great. Sometimes they come to visit (the grandchildren), and that's great too.
- We, our relatives, and our mainland friends are all (mostly) professionals, so fortunately, we can all afford to fly around to see each other. Friends come and visit us once or twice a year, and we visit the mainland once or twice (for my work) in addition to the family trip. We also go to Honolulu sometimes for a bit of big-city fix or the Big Island for a "road trip" (change of scenery).
- We're not surfers, so in a sense we're free from that "addiction," and we don't need nightlife or lots of activities. We do like get out to the beaches or trails for an hour or two, even in the afternoons after work. This is one of the reasons we are here. In the more crowded and congested mainland cities, access to spectacular nature is just not that easy (SF Bay area is a close second if you live in the right town). Weekend getaways (camping generally) are closer and less hectic than they would be on the mainland.
- My career is stalled but I'm not really concerned because I'm not a career person. I'm happy to do good work and get a good salary, I don't need to advance or want to play office politics. I'm lucky to be with a company where this is feasible.
- Raising kids in a generally safe environment with lots of outdoor time has been great. We've solved the school problem by home schooling and finding a homeschool study group several times a week. Unless we lived in the country and telecommuted as well, I can't imagine having as much quality family time on the mainland.
- The one real problem is savings: with the cost of a basic house and keeping up the travel (to avoid island fever one might say), we don't have the savings we should have. Some but not enough.
As UHgrad said, it really is a compromise between "security, career prospects, schools, savings, houses," and I'd add family, travel, activities, and outdoors. We've compromised on one set of things and the rewards in other areas make it worthwhile for us. Others may make different compromise for different rewards, and still others may not like the compromises and either not move or realize later and move back. People have different goals, different needs, and they grow and change over time, nothing wrong with that. We're not sure what the future holds, with regards to employment and kids growing up, but we feel blessed to have this life for now and hope to keep it.
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