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I will be moving to Oahu from Connecticut in about 4 to 5 months to live with my boyfriend who will be moving to report for duty at Schofield Barracks in the middle of December 2008. I do not have the usual problem of securing housing and paying for it since the Army will be paying around $2000 a month for housing and to ship the majority of our items in November. I am leaning towards selling my car to save money because shipping it from Connecticut or driving to LA to ship it would be around $2500.00 We also have a rabbit and a daschund, my boyfriend is going to try and take the rabbit in December and I have already downloaded and set to work on the 5 days or less checklist for the dog. Right now I work in an insurance call center and hope to work insurance on the island (perhaps Geico). My boyfriend will be making around $60,000 to $70,000 and I hope to make at least $30,000 to $40,000. Will that be enough to live comfortably on the island considering we do not have to worry about housing costs or any children? We are looking into Honolulu, Waikiki and Salt Lake. My questions are am I on the right path? Is there anything I should do differently? Should I sell my car (2008 yaris) and get a little junker in Hawaii or will I even need a car? Are they many insurance jobs to be had on the island? ANY guidance, suggestions, or advice would be MUCH appreciated!! THANK YOU!!
Its funny because my husband is in the military (Air Force) and I also work for insurance. The thing is, we'll be leaving Hawaii in a month, while you folks will be coming in, so it's like we're trading places..ha! =p..
Anyway you'll definitely be fine with your household income. The BAH (basic housing allowance) you'll get from the military is a life saver, especially since rent in Hawaii is so expensive. My husband and I don't have any kids as well, so that leaves us with extra money to play with, and of course save.
As for your car, I would probably keep it. Since you're looking for work in the insurance field, you'll probably have to work in town. You'll probably have to travel at least 25 miles. Even though that's not a far commute, traffic can be bad, so you'll be on the road a lot. You'll need reliable transportation, and I know the Toyota Yaris is known to be good on gas, so that's a plus.
As for housing, since your bf will be stationed in Schofield, I wouldn't look as far as Waikiki. I would look around Kunia to Pearl City, so you folks can meet in the middle, since you'll most likely have to live in town. You folks will definitely be able to get a decent place. If you're looking at one bedrooms, they probably start around $1200. The thing is, there isn't a lot of pet-friendly rentals around here, so I would definitely start looking now.
When it comes to other living costs, I would definitely stick with shopping in the COMMISSARY for groceries. A gallon of milk can cost $8 in a regular grocery store, when you could probably get it for around $4-5 in the commissary. You will save so much money by doing this.
As for insurance jobs, there's plenty available. The biggest insurer here in Hawaii is Geico. There's also Progressive, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Allstate, Dtric, AIG Hawaii (might want to stay away with all their financial struggles) and a couple of other local agencies. Btw, I actually work for Geico, your preferred employer. Since you have insurance experience already, I'm sure they'll highly take you into consideration. Did you put in an application yet?
As for the pets part, I never had any pets shipped to Hawaii. We purchased our dog here, so I can't really help you with that. I'm sure that the military relocation center can help you out though as far as figuring out what's required for your pets to be transported to Hawaii.
Anyway, I hope this helped. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns!
Sorry, his duty station will be Fort Shafter. It originally was Schofield, but he was reassigned to Shafter. Does that change where we should look? I had the understanding that Salt Lake was relatively close to Shafter.
Oh okay, Fort Shafter. That's actually a good thing since it's closer to town, if you work in town. But yes, Salt Lake is just a couple minutes away, so that would be a good location.
aloha sara I would sell the car. I think with your housing taken care of and both of you working with out kids you should do fine. my only other suggestion is to not bring a bunch of stuff. but if your move is paid for then that really isn't an issue. it sounds like you guys will do fine. cross all you T's and dot all your I's with the stuff for the dog that is the biggest trick
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