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We homeschool except for the boys once they get to high school.
Aren't the public schools free? Or did I miss the memo?
Public schools are, with a few exceptions, atrocious. There's a reason that private school is so popular in Oahu. You may want to consider homeschooling all the way through-but I guess in high school wouldn't be quite as bad as going the whole way through.
"Since DoD civilians do not receive basic allowance for housing (BAH), AHFH charges them a monthly rent fee that is commensurate to the BAH paid by Soldiers."
GS-12 is usually equated to an O-3/O-4. Let's assume it's a Captain (Major would be a little bit more). Your "commensurate" rent would be about the BAH for a Captain in Hawaii, about $2,517 a month. You'll be dropping about $25,000 a year to live in that on-base housing.
Only you can tell if that's doable on a $75K a year job. I was actually able to make money off my housing allowance in Hawaii, but I was willing to drive quite a ways to do so.
So you're a Step 3, since you're saying about $75/yr.
Not to sound like a broken record but The Waterfront at Pu'uola isn't a bad deal and it's a straight shot to Schofield. There's a beach on property and playgrounds, fitness center, etc. The local public HS is Campbell. Ewa Beach isn't the best nor the worst but the Waterfront is its own community, it's so far away from everything.
Gas, food, EVERYTHING costs more. I relocated from the Memphis area to CT, then to Oahu. Some prices are comparable to CT.
One good thing, you can establish the pay grade and transfer elsewhere. Plane fare is a good chunk of change I bet!
So you're a Step 3, since you're saying about $75/yr.
Not to sound like a broken record but The Waterfront at Pu'uola isn't a bad deal and it's a straight shot to Schofield. There's a beach on property and playgrounds, fitness center, etc. The local public HS is Campbell. Ewa Beach isn't the best nor the worst but the Waterfront is its own community, it's so far away from everything.
Gas, food, EVERYTHING costs more. I relocated from the Memphis area to CT, then to Oahu. Some prices are comparable to CT.
One good thing, you can establish the pay grade and transfer elsewhere. Plane fare is a good chunk of change I bet!
Thank you. That was very helpful.
How loud is the noise from the airport from Pu'uola?
I'm waiting to hear back on my official job offer and any incentives or PCS. Hopefully I won't have to negotiate.
My son will be a freshman in high school 2013-2014 and has a knack for baseball and football. What high school has the best program?
Good luck on negotiating with the gov't. My relocation expenses weren't paid. I didn't interview for this one, either, just got the offer off my resume. (strange)
Not sure about the school sports questions. It occurred to me there was sports/scholarship thoughts involved. Coworker (Hawaiian) has 2 sons who both got sports scholarships.
My place is in the flight path. Closer to the beach is quieter, according to a friend who has lived in both locations.
I have at least 4 applications out there that I'll probably get interviews for. I've applied for dozens of USAJobs positions, interviewed for about a dozen and have gotten about a half-dozen. Been gub'ment about 18 yrs. Don't count your chickens!
I'm going to second the "reconsider the move". The only thing that's made this worth it to me is getting to know Hawaii especially the beaches. An extended vacation might be a better way to do that. It's a crap shoot whether your kids will get a fair shake at a public school.
My kids are grown. There's a female teen in my home who has managed to discover the wanna-be tattoo artists and is now covered in what look like jail tattoos. She's dating a druggee (supposedly recovering) who's missing his front teeth from his habit - who lost his dad to a drug OD. She was 16 when we got here, 17 now and has accomplished all this in the 7 excruciatingly long months that she's been here. Ah well. If they want to find it, it really doesn't matter where you live.
Knowing what I know now, I have to agree with the posts I've seen on this board advising not to drag children over here. Have you considered coming over alone for a length of time to be established in your pay grade then get a different location? It would enable you to really think hard and investigate the pro's and con's (sorry about the apostrophic pluralization - can't help myself) of bringing children over here.
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