Am I crazy?? (Hilo: ski resort, home, public school)

[HiloDiver]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

Three of the rules to a successful move: Come with enough savings to make it stress free, have an "exit plan" in case you don't like it, and never rent or buy sight unseen.

This should be the subtitle of the Hawai'i forum!!!

I keep emphasizing that we cannot answer your question because before we arrived here, the forum regulars all had their opinions on what we would love or what we would hate about where we ended up.

Trouble is, they were all wrong. Because they don't know us. They gave us opinions on what THEY love or hate, but once we had feet on the ground all of those posts were irrelevant. A few POV warriers wouldn't back down on things that we were going to detest about Hawai'i. Turns out they were wrong then, and seven months later they are still wrong.

You already know what activities are available in Hawai'i, from the outdoor to the cultural to the gastronomical. If those are things you enjoy, you deserve to at least give it a try.

Edited to add that unlike OP, I never asked anyone if I would love or hate it here...but that didn't stop a few people from insisting that they knew exactly how we would feel about living here.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

Come with enough savings to make it stress free.

I totally agree - I an shocked there are people out there who may have savings less than $10K and consider a move to Hawaii - is it really that hard to save some money? Or, better yet - why blow meager savings on a move to the middle of the Pacific - less than 10K sounds like public assistance. 10K is walking around money. To live on with total savings, Yuck.

[chiguygo99]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

OK, here it is: Don't move here, you will hate it.

So, if that did not convince you, well, maybe you are just destined for Hawaii life. Three of the rules to a successful move: Come with enough savings to make it stress free, have an "exit plan" in case you don't like it, and never rent or buy sight unseen.

LOL, thanks. Regarding the three rules, we have savings, but having a steady income coming from both sides will (hopefully) negate some of the need for that. I am well aware of the cost of things there. Although Hawaii has expensive things in certain areas, I don't feel as if it is that much more expensive than Chicago. I know things like milk is about $4 more per gallon there, but Chicago has the highest sales tax in the nation. I believe everything may even out: Gas here is currently $4.39 a gallon. During the two weeks of the summer it's nice enough to go to the beach here, it costs $24 to park (if the lot's not full). Parking downtown is $6.50/hour. Four bags of groceries runs about $80. I have read numerous posts about how expensive things are in Hawaii, but I am not coming from Evansville, Indiana. The prices do not even make me flinch. Except when I was on the Big Island, where I saw a gallon of milk at an ABC store for $9.99!

As for the exit plan, if the move happens, we will have to commit to at least two years if the Gov't pays for the move. I think we could put up with the sun and surf for that long at least.

And having seen all sides of Oahu due to job, from Kahala to the super sketchy parts of Waianae, I know not to trust online photos. If this move happens, we will rent short term, likely on the windward side until we nail down a permanent place.

Edited to include I will have a work car with a gas card, so slightly higher HI gas prices will not effect my pocketbook at all.

[Futuremauian]

[quote]

Originally Posted by chiguygo99

LOL, thanks. Regarding the three rules, we have savings, but having a steady income coming from both sides will (hopefully) negate some of the need for that. I am well aware of the cost of things there. Although Hawaii has expensive things in certain areas, I don't feel as if it is that much more expensive than Chicago. I know things like milk is about $4 more per gallon there, but Chicago has the highest sales tax in the nation. I believe everything may even out: Gas here is currently $4.39 a gallon. During the two weeks of the summer it's nice enough to go to the beach here, it costs $24 to park (if the lot's not full). Parking downtown is $6.50/hour. Four bags of groceries runs about $80. I have read numerous posts about how expensive things are in Hawaii, but I am not coming from Evansville, Indiana. The prices do not even make me flinch. Except when I was on the Big Island, where I saw a gallon of milk at an ABC store for $9.99!

As for the exit plan, if the move happens, we will have to commit to at least two years if the Gov't pays for the move. I think we could put up with the sun and surf for that long at least.

It sounds like you pass the credibility test with flying colors. If you make the move, please update your thread on how it's working out for you. Personal testimony is probably the most credible information available to other potential transplants to Hawaii.
Best of luck.

[chiguygo99]

Thanks! Have to get the gears moving now.

Here is a link I found which has a plethora of information, from cost of living, to the job outlook, to how much it costs to run an individual appliance for the month. Forgive me if it has been linked before.

http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/pdfs/2011QOL.pdf

[Futuremauian]

Originally Posted by chiguygo99

Thanks! Have to get the gears moving now.

Here is a link I found which has a plethora of information, from cost of living, to the job outlook, to how much it costs to run an individual appliance for the month. Forgive me if it has been linked before.

http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/pdfs/2011QOL.pdf

Thanks for the link.
As a teacher, I went straight to page 12 to read the stats on Hi's schools. According to this report, education has improved dramatically since 2000, and is now (in 2011) equal to that offered on the mainland. Perhaps it is no longer as bad as C-D posters constantly report? Educational improvements seem to take more time to become "common knowledge".
I will go back and read the rest of this report. If you run across more items that would be helpful to a potential transplant, I would appreciate a heads up, as I am preparing for "the move" to Maui.
Mahalo

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by Futuremauian

As a teacher, I went straight to page 12 to read the stats on Hi's schools. According to this report, education has improved dramatically since 2000, and is now (in 2011) equal to that offered on the mainland. Perhaps it is no longer as bad as C-D posters constantly report?

I have a current perspective on the Hawaii school system because I've put my children through the system, in conjunction with private schools on the occasion(s) when the public school option was out due to that particular school's poor performance. I read the report, and did not find evidence presented in it that says there have been dramatic improvements, nor that our state's public school system is equal to a well performing public school on the mainland. I'm always open to learning new things, please point out the specifics if I've missed something that shows Hawaii's public school system is doing excellent, or even well, in overall performance.

What I gathered from the report is:
Page 13

While the latest results of standardized annual testing of grades 3 through 8 and 10 show increases in scores from a year ago, huge numbers of students still aren’t proficient in basic reading and math. Overall results showed 33 percent not proficient in reading and 51 percent not proficient in math. Even public charter schools, a positive alternative for many families, aren’t providing the testing results advocates expected.

So, while an increase is movement towards the better, the Hawaii school system still has a huge lacking in educating many of its students.

Page 15 shows that Hawaii has less students than the best performing states and the US average in four critical areas: High school graduation, and entering college, and still enrolled as sophomore, and graduating within 2-4 years.

The Hawaii public school system has a reputation of being underperforming because that is the sad reality. It continues to be lacking even into 2013.

What this shows is that a parent needs to be aware of the school choice challenges, and to be flexible and proactive in making sure their child gets the best education possible.

[Side note: When reading reports, it is useful to look at who provided the different stats and quotes. Sometimes you'll find that certain information can be biased.]

[whtviper1]

Until DOE changes compensation for teachers the outlook for Hawaii public school students is bleak - you can't pay teachers in the mid-40's and expect the best and brightest to take teaching positions with the cost of living we have here.

[Futuremauian]

[quote]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

I have a current perspective on the Hawaii school system because I've put my children through the system, in conjunction with private schools on the occasion(s) when the public school option was out due to that particular school's poor performance. I read the report, and did not find evidence presented in it that says there have been dramatic improvements, nor that our state's public school system is equal to a well performing public school on the mainland. I'm always open to learning new things, please point out the specifics if I've missed something that shows Hawaii's public school system is doing excellent, or even well, in overall performance

.

Sorry for the confusion. In the interest of brevity, I did not specify the location of the bar graphs I read first. I assumed anyone interested enough to look would find them. (My bad!) They are on page 3, right-hand side, under the topic: Hawaii 2011 INTRODUCTION. The first bar graph is titled: COMPARED TO NATION. The second one is titled: HAWAII NOW VS. 2000. Maybe I read them wrong? Maybe they're total BS? Sorry to hear that the schools have not improved.
BTW: pointing out that they're on par with the mainland schools is NOT suggesting excellence. I re-read my post and don't see where you got that impression? Enlighten me, please!

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by Futuremauian

As a teacher, I went straight to page 12 to read the stats on Hi's schools. According to this report, education has improved dramatically since 2000, and is now (in 2011) equal to that offered on the mainland. Perhaps it is no longer as bad as C-D posters constantly report?

Originally Posted by Futuremauian

Sorry for the confusion. In the interest of brevity, I did not specify the location of the bar graphs I read first. I assumed anyone interested enough to look would find them. (My bad!) They are on page 3, right-hand side,under the topic: Hawaii 2011 INTRODUCTION. The first bar graph is titled: COMPARED TO NATION. The second one is titled: HAWAII NOW VS. 2000. Maybe I read them wrong? Maybe they're total BS? Sorry to hear that the schools have not improved.
BTW: pointing out that they're on par with the mainland schools is NOT suggesting excellence. I re-read my post and don't see where you got that impression? Enlighten me, please!

Yes, I see the graph statement, "Education matched the U.S. average", not on p.12 but on p.3. I also see the other information in the report, which overall shows that Hawaii's educational system is lacking in fulfilling their obligations to provide an excellent education to the students. Of course, some people are satisfied with adequate, or even less, as long as they feel they are not the bottom of the barrel. But I expect excellence as the goal.

You may choose to rant a bit about a graph notation that you've seemingly interpreted to mean Hawaii's schools are in fine shape, but the reality is that it is still up to the C-D reader(s) to choose who they want to trust in sending them on a useful path to researching the situation of Hawaii's schools. I'll repeat my recommendations, and then I'll let the reader(s) take it or leave it:

Originally Posted by CyberCity

The Hawaii public school system has a reputation of being underperforming because that is the sad reality. It continues to be lacking even into 2013.

What this shows is that a parent needs to be aware of the school choice challenges, and to be flexible and proactive in making sure their child gets the best education possible.