Reconsidering settling in Oahu.

[pj737]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Perhaps you failed English, so I won't come down hard on you for not understanding what MOST means to MOST people. But I think the Merriam Webster-Dictionary captures that widely accepted meaning in their definition: Almost all.

I find most people would not agree with that at all. Most people (the majority of people) will agree that most means THE MAJORITY. I'm sure you've heard similar...

"To win an election, you must win the MOST votes" (i.e. 50% PLUS ONE). Not ALMOST ALL.

"MOST businesses fail in the first 5 years in business" (i.e. 52% per SBA stats) - Not ALMOST ALL.

The majority of people will agree that "most" is defined as more than half NOT ALMOST ALL. Take a poll, if you will.

I'm prepared for more nonsense from the forum gang

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by pj737

You guys are having way too much fun for your own good. Clearly no point in arguing logic here with illogical forum dwellers. Now I know why people don't stick around very long. It's like a popularity contest in here. LOL. I feel like I'm back in high school!

Here again you're blaming us rather than taking responsibility for being aggressive and insulting, which always riles up the cannibals. I see much the same is going on in your discourse elsewhere. But of course you're still blaming others.

I'll leave it at this -

-3,500 calories every day.

But that's atypical and not normal. That's one of the places your logic ran off the rails, because the OP didn't specify a 3,500 calorie diet, and most people don't eat that much.

If you could proportionately reduce your current spending percentages (I'm not saying you can) to an average 180 pound adult male's requirement of 2,700 calories, then your monthly food bill would be about $578 a month. That's still high, compared to what most people spend.

But lets look at what would happen to your food bill if you continued eating exactly the same way you say you do now but ate (or at least prepared) all your meals at home. You said the 2/3 you eat at home now costs $300 a month, so 3/3 would cost roughly $450. For you, on 3,500 calories.

And if we reduced that to 2,700 calories a day for the OP it calculates out to $346.50 a month... for the exact same *healthy* food... for an average person on a frugal budget. And that, finally, seems reasonable for the OP's budget. Add a bit more for a few restaurant meals a month and it still seems within reason.

Especially when you folks state $300/mo can provide 3,500 healthy calories a day - it's so far off it's not even funny. Even eating out once a week. That's 100% impossible here; 100% hilarious.

Again, nobody else asked about a 3,500 calorie diet. And not everybody has the luxury of buying the most expensive food. According to a Civilbeat article last fall, an average family of four in Honolulu spends $632 a month on food. That's for four people. And that's why your $750 for one person figure seemed so hilarious to so many of us.

Originally Posted by pj737

I find most people would not agree with that at all. Most people (the majority of people) will agree that most means THE MAJORITY.

Are you sure? Are you sure you're sure?

When somebody says "I spent most of the winter in Hawai'i," do you think they mean 51% or better? Of course not. They mean almost all, as evidenced by inclusion of this sentence in the Oxford Dictonary, under the meaning: The majority of; nearly all of:

Or another example from the Oxford, "Most oranges are sweeter than these." Is the speaker implying that the sweet ones are in a small majority, or that almost all oranges are sweet? Obviously the latter.

And the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Most this way: "almost all : the majority of." Matter of fact, it's no coincidence the word "most" shows up in the colloquial expression "most all."

In any case, if you really wanted us slow-witted cave dwellers here on the forum to understand what you meant, you could easily have said, accurately, that you prepare and eat two thirds of your meals at home, then there would have been no confusion. So actually, reading comprehension had nothing at all to do with it.

[pj737]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Here again you're blaming us rather than taking responsibility for being aggressive and insulting, which always riles up the cannibals. I see much the same is going on in your discourse elsewhere. But of course you're still blaming others.

Maybe you should look back to the responses before you speak -


Here is what I FIRST wrote -

"For $750/mo per head you can eat wonderfully and healthfully every day as long as you're willing to cook most your meals."

And here are the responses from the forum regulars -

Originally Posted by McFrostyJ

Originally Posted by honobob

$25 a day per person for home cooked food?!!

Then here is my response clarifying what I meant -

Originally Posted by pj737

If you read the initial post, this is combined with eating out as well. If we just stayed home and cooked it would be substantially less but who only eats at home???

Then the next response from yet another regular who can't read -

Originally Posted by manoa_quesadilla

$25 a day per person for home cooked food?!! (honbob) Damn! I would very much like to see a breakdown.

We average about $700 for 2 not counting eating out and think we eat pretty good. Locally grown CSA veggies for ~$130/mo, ~$200 for meat and seafood (buy in bulk from costco/sam's and split with another couple, steaks, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, etc, may not seem like it, but $50 worth of meat per week is already more than what we can eat (male 170lbs female 120lbs); and ~$100 for fruits, and we also grow some herbs and green onions ourselves so there's some savings there, and it's not like we can't afford to treat ourselves with a little fancy stuff here and there either with that budget. Pardon my cheap ass, but I am just really curious as to what one would cook at home for $25 a day per person.

Then here is my response defending myself from the "sensible ones" yet again! -

Originally Posted by pj737

Again and to reiterate, the $750/mo is including eating out (eating out HEALTHY, not fast food garbage). I stated that if you cook at home MOST of the time (i.e. more than 50%) $750 allows you to eat very well and still eat out at least 1 in 3 meals. If you really think you can eat one in three meals OUT (NOT fast food but restaurants and higher end/healthier plate lunch places like Kakaako Kitchen or Nico's) and cook HEALTHY for well under $750/mo, I'd be surprised. I'm also a high-metabolism 180 lbs and my gf has a voracious appetite for her size so we consume a lot of food. It's all relative. The OP wanted to know if $5K/mo for two people would suffice and my argument is yes, it's fine even if you dropped $1,500/mo on food and dining out.

And yet it keeps getting better with more poor reading skills from the forum regulars (the best part is the link is for GROCERIES - does NOT include any meals out!) -

Originally Posted by OpenD

Ohmigard, what are you eating? According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion you're spending about twice as much as the average Hawaiian resident.

Are you really sure you couldn't get by with a cheaper brand of caviar?

average amount spent on groceries for one person per month

Here I am stubbornly reiterating my position -

Originally Posted by pj737

Good grief what's wrong with people's reading comprehension on these forums? I specifically stated $750 month covers EATING OUT AS WELL. I eat most my meals at home but still enjoy roughly 1 in 3 meals out. If I eat three meals a day, one meal is eaten out somewhere and I spend an average of $15 on that meal out (average for lunch or dinner), that comes to $450/mo on eating out and $300 on groceries and eating at home. Hence $750.

And the average citizen in Hawaii eats horribly. 90% of what I prepare at home is fresh... not frozen and I can pronounce every ingredient that's in virtually every meal I prepare. I also consume 3,500 calories a day... which is 50% more than the average person. $750/month for someone that consumes 3,500 cals a day, eats out 1/3 and cooks at home 2/3 is actually very reasonable.

You see the pattern here? Over and over the responses were related to ALL HOME COOKED/PREPARED FOOD ONLY and completely ignores that I clearly included EATING OUT as part of the monthly bill. Not just once or twice... but FOUR times... yet you guys just keep on going. I even received a link for grocery spending. LOL. I don't mind... these forums aren't popularity contests to me. Alienating myself from illogical people is the best part of these forums. It will mean more heated debates later Arguing and debating is fun and often educational - I learn a lot. But people that can't comprehend can zap the fun out of debates. The big picture is that I simply told the OP that he can eat WONDERFULLY AND HEALTHFULLY for $750/head. I did not say you NEED AT LEAST $750/mo to eat well here in Hawaii. I said $750 will serve you just fine. Was a right? YES!!! All of you agreed that it is indeed enough (thank you!). If you can do it for half then great for you. I just gave the OP some ideas on what he MIGHT spend in an offer to help. In fact, I was actually one of only a few that felt his $5K budget was enough to live well here. I'll waive the white flag just so you guys can have more time to spend with your family and friends. This has gone well beyond ridiculous. Have a nice day!

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by pj737

I'll waive the white flag just so you guys can have more time to spend with your family and friends.

On the topic of writing for comprehension...

waive = to give up or forego, to skip "I waive my right to demand a recount."

wave = to move to and fro as a signal "I wave the white flag of surrender."

[seoulja]

This has become too funny. I love it when it comes to the grammar police coming out.

[pj737]

Originally Posted by OpenD

On the topic of writing for comprehension...

waive = to give up or forego, to skip "I waive my right to demand a recount."

wave = to move to and fro as a signal "I wave the white flag of surrender."

Those with good reading comprehension skills can interpret and understand what the poster meant to say without the need to police "there" grammar.

[FCStraight]

Originally Posted by MovingAloha

FCStraight, Congrats on making a great choice for your retirement home. I and my husband are also retired (Military-Navy) and we too were stationed on Guam 1982 to 1985, when were you there?

It will help you that there are very good Commissaries on island (Pearl Harbor area and at Schofield and Fort shafter) as well as Costco.

I like the western end (Ewa Plain), but based on what you've stated The Pearlridge, Aiea and Salt Lake areas may fit you and your wife. Close to transportation, shopping and fairly reasonable prices.

Good Luck to you.

Mahalo for the words of encouragement, MovingAloha! Terribly sorry...I missed your post...I know it's been several months since you posted it. I hope you're still around checking this forum. Yes, we were at Andersen AFB where I worked in Civilian HRO. I didn't retire in the military...I only served 12 years and got a job with DOD. Have since retired from DOD as a civilian....so no commissary privs for us. No problem, we always go to the open markets to do our fresh food shopping. I'll be checking out those areas you mentioned. Latest now is that VA in Honolulu interviewed me for an HR position there...just waiting for their decision. I am also on the shortlist for two other positions on Oahu. I'm sure we can manage to survive in Oahu on my pension...but it might be tight; and I really don't mind going back to work...in fact, it would do me good! I just don't too well being retired. I like being active and challenged....no, I don't mean playing golf. I don't even care for golf, or watching tv, or just hanging around with old timers at a pub getting drunk. I'm just using the period of unemployment to reassess and re-invent myself. I'm ready now to take on whatever's out there to challenge!

[hotzcatz]

Aloha FCStraight,

Since it's been quite awhile since you've visited or lived on Oahu, you may want to revisit the island before deciding. It has become much more congested than it had been before. Traffic is constant anymore, it just gets worse than bad during commuting hours. Everywhere you go there's a line to get in, Byodo In temple now charges admission to get in. It's a whole lot of little nibbles taken everywhere but Oahu is vastly changed in the past decade, so it may not be like you remember it at all.

I'd suggest a look at Hilo or somewhere on the Big Island. Your money would go a lot further, you'd not need the job although you could still work or volunteer your time as you saw fit. There's a new VA hospital in Hilo, too. For $5K a month in Hilo, you could live VERY well. No scrimping about it unless you started lusting after a Lamborghini or something outre.

You could still visit Oahu for any sort of opera or other event that didn't come to Hilo and it would just be a hop and skip to get there instead of the expensive mainland airfare. For the amount you'd save each month by living on the Big Island instead of living on Oahu, you'd have all sorts of options.

[whtviper1]

I'll 2nd Hotzcatz recommendation for a cheaper island than Oahu. $5K/month for a young single person is already tight on Oahu. Being older or having more in the household just won't make for a comfortable lifestyle.