Moving to Oahu

[kbeefy]

Large Single Family Home 3/2/2 - 95-1028 Haalohi St.
$2000/mo 2 story house w/ 2 car garage. This one is about a block from one of the rec centers, theres a community pool there.

3/2/2, End Unit, Renovated, Hillsdale
$1900/mo for a condo, a little closer to middle school.

[MovingAloha]

Ya know on the mainland, Middle Schools have their own teams (Soccer, Volleyball, Football, Baseball, etc.); to be honest, my youngest son went to Pearl City High School and my grandson was in elementary so I really don't know or recall even seeing Middle School Sport Programs. I know here in Pennsylvania and where we lived in San Diego and in Austin the Middle Schools all had full sports programs and large areas with tracks and football fields; they were primarily feeders to the High School programs.

Now that I think a little more on this, Pearl Highland Middle has an activie sports program; I recall a friends son playing football there and making it immediately onto the Pearl City High team. Also both Pearl City and Campbell have excellent music programs!

I know there are neighborhood sport programs; just not so sure about Volleyball, but definitely Soccer, Softball and Swimming.

If you decide to look in Pearl City as well, look at a community called Wailuna. It is a combination of both Townhomes and Single Family Homes. They are located all the way up the top of the hill on Kaahumanu Street. The community is split between Aiea and Pearl City by Kaahumanu, so be mindful of which side of the street you're looking at, because you could either attend P.C. schools or Aiea schools.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by kbeefy

Large Single Family Home 3/2/2 - 95-1028 Haalohi St.
$2000/mo 2 story house w/ 2 car garage. This one is about a block from one of the rec centers, theres a community pool there.

This place looks awful! You can't live in Mililani on that budget and expect anything decent.

[kbeefy]

I don't think theres enough info in those picture to make such a rash decision. Places rent so fast around here I make it a point to check them out in person.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by kbeefy

I don't think theres enough info in those picture to make such a rash decision. Places rent so fast around here I make it a point to check them out in person.

Did you see the mold/mildew layered in the bath, check out that tub - disgusting.

[kbeefy]

I did, definately needs a better cleaning. Real estate people are horrible photographers.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by newby0123

What is Pearl City like? I have never been fortunate enough to step foot on Hawaii. I hear it is beautiful and expensive. I have heard there are some excellent Pearl City schools, but the area looked kind of downtownish? Is Pearl City more like a walk/cab everywhere vs driving? That could be a laughable question- I really do not know. I'm really just looking for a family friendly area for my kids to enjoy playing outside, making friends and participating in sports and getting a good education.

I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned it yet in this thread... Why do you want to move to Hawaii without ever visiting Hawaii? Shouldn't you think about taking at least a couple 'scouting' trips to check out the area first?

Oahu has the most expensive cost of living of all the Hawaiian Islands, the medium housing price is $850K, although it is less expense in the areas you are looking. Electricity, food, gasoline, and other items are much more expensive there. I assume that you are still in your working years since you have children going to middle school. I also assume you are not independently wealthy since you have a monthly budget of about $2,700. What is your profession? Do you have a job lined up in Oahu or can you work remotely doing your current job? Do you have a spouse that is also working?

If you are gainfully employed now, do you want to risk your financial future to move to an uncertain job in Hawaii? Many jobs in Hawaii pay much less than on the mainland. If you don't have specific job skills, you could be limited to about $8 an hour, working up to 19 hours a week so your employer does not have to pay you any benefits. You'd then have to work two or three jobs just to get by, plus have no benefits. If there are unexpected medical issues, you may be in deep trouble.

Maybe there's more to the financial side that you haven't mentioned yet, where your income stream or net worth is high enough that living in a high cost area will be OK. It can easily cost $10K to $20K just to move to Hawaii, so it's an expensive. Have you been saving for retirement? The majority of Americans save very little to nothing for retirement. It's much harder to save for retirement in Hawaii if you don't have a pretty high income because the cost of living is so high there.

Even if your finances are not a problem, I think a little more caution should be taken before you seriously consider moving to Hawaii. First taken a couple weeks to visit the area. You might want to do that a couple times at different times of the year. Get a 'feel' for the area. Visit grocery stores and check out the prices. Talk to people who live there. Drive in the rush hour traffic to see if you can tolerate it. You'll have a much better picture of what it is like in Hawaii by visiting the area. If you can't afford a couple 'scouting' trips, then you certainly can't afford to move and live there.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by newby0123

Is it true it rains more and is cooler in Mililani than Ewa Beach?

City-Data Profiles have good historical weather information for the whole year for different communities. Some people miss it because the charts are all the way down at the bottom...

Here's the one for Ewa Beach: https://www.city-data.com/city/Ewa-Beach-Hawaii.html

And here's the one for Mililani: https://www.city-data.com/city/Mililani-Town-Hawaii.html

Comparing these side by side, one can see that Mililani runs about 5 degrees cooler than Ewa, and gets about twice as much rain.