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Look at the online version of the Honolulu newspaper to see the range of rental prices to see if $1K will work or not, I'm suspecting it might be a bit on the low side, although perhaps prices have come down lately. Also check Craig's List. Don't actually rent any of them, though, until you can see it in person. A week or two's worth of a vacation rental will give you time to find a nice spot to rent.
Electric rates are roughly forty cents per kilowatt hour and mainland electric rates run somewhere around ten to twenty five cents a kilowatt hour, so electricity is expensive.
Ask your employer if they know of anywhere, most of the good rentals are never advertised and are always transferred by word of mouth.
Thanks for the suggestions hotzcatz! I briefly mentioned rentals to my employer and he said they would definitely help me find one. The prices of the faculty housing at UHM are fantastic but I know that the waiting list is huge so I have no hopes of getting in there. I have found some rentals for 1K when I search on-line, however, I don't know the area so I don't know if they are in a safe place for a single woman to live.
Hyperbole aside, yes, you can live on what you propose but it will be a frugal lifestyle. The worry would come with emergencies: what if you have a family or other emergency (as we have had before) that requires you to fly to the mainland on short notice several times (and some of those times are at the worst time to buy tickets). Or you have a medical issue that is so big that even with good insurance your other out-of-pocket expenses are enormous. One of the traps of Hawai`i is having to borrow money for such things and you get more and more behind on credit card debt, even with an okay cash flow.
You'll probably be fine. But you need to think about this in terms of your own risk-aversion style.
This is something that I have definitely thought about. I'm in my 30s and healthy right now so hopefully no major medical issues for me (of course one cannot know). As for family, I think they would help me out if I couldn't afford the flight home in an emergency. Right now they are all fairly healthy without major issues so again, I'm hoping that all would be well for the next 2 years. This would be a much bigger issue for me if I was moving there permanently.
Location: Was in Western New York but now in Hilo Hawaii
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Yes Hotcatz is correct about craigslist but please dont sign any lease until you see it. We were looking for Hilo and saw a place on craigslist started talking to the owner after 3 emails we realized it was a scam!
Yes Hotcatz is correct about craigslist but please dont sign any lease until you see it. We were looking for Hilo and saw a place on craigslist started talking to the owner after 3 emails we realized it was a scam!
Thanks for the warning KoaKine. Such a shame that such a great service as Craig's List gets contaminated by scammers.
I'm starting my second year at UHM. Are you coming for a postdoc or some other position?
A couple of things to be aware of:
- You can definitely find a small rental for $1000, but it will be really small and probably not that nice. You might be better off with a shared place, but as everyone says, don't sign up for stuff sight unseen. Instead, come over with something temporary and look for something more permanent while you're here. $500 is way too much for utilities. We pay about $150/month for a big (by Honolulu standards) place. We never run A/C, but we have lots of electronics and cook a lot.
- Yes, there are farmer's markets. The veggies are good, but they're not cheap. Cheaper than a grocery store, maybe. Better quality, certainly. But probably close to double what you're used to paying for most things. (Except mangoes and pineapple, but you can't live just on that!
- If you are eligible for faculty housing, you should try to get it. I don't pretend to understand their system, but I was led to believe I could get in when I moved here despite the long waiting list. (However, I have pets, and the housing is not pet-friendly.)
- You can also check this out: University of Hawai'i Off-Campus Housing Referral Program. You'll need a UH login to look at the listings, but they gave me a temporary one after I accepted the job offer so I could use it to look for housing.
- My dept has a "kokua" program, where someone is assigned to help me with logistics and getting settled. That person actually helped me find a place to live before I arrived. It makes a huge difference to have a local person show up to look at a place and write a local check as a deposit (we sent her some money ahead of time for this purpose). You could ask about any such help.
- If you are in a faculty position, you should be aware that we are likely looking at pay cuts over the next couple of years, so don't believe the salary you were offered. Things are very up in the air, budget-wise. Ask what kinds of assurances you will have against lay-offs, "bumping" (if you are a staff position... retrenchment if you are faculty), and salary cuts. (If you're on a federal grant, for example, it might not be an issue. For any other position, it will be.) For example, my husband and I settled into a place that was a little bit of a stretch for us, thinking that in a year or two we'd both get raises and be able to live more comfortably. Well, we're both getting cuts, more than likely, for the next two years at least. And there are no raises on the horizon at all. So we're really going to be struggling financially for the foreseeable future.
- IMO: Yes, you can make it on that salary. But I would strongly advise anyone against taking a job at UH or anywhere in the HI state government right now. Things are too uncertain to have any kind of real job or salary security. I am very happy here, and I hope to stay. But quite honestly, if I knew two years ago what I know now, I would not be here. I would have taken another job.
I have a job offer in Oahu with a pay for 60K. After reading so many posts, I'm concerned about the cost of everything there. The job is only for 2 years so I would not be there long term. I can live frugally but I know that taxes are high and apartment rents are even higher! I'm a single gal so it would just be me. Can anyone offer insights if this salary is enough to live there? I have never been there so I don't know the area at all. What are good places for a single woman to live and which ones should I avoid? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read my post!
Hello, 60k is pretty good pay for someone that will be here and single, truthfully there are alot of families out here that make that much or less with two people working and keikis, so it is do-able, you could live in the area of your job, you said UHM right? there are alot of places catered to students for living wise and you could easily take advantage of that, places under $1000 a month some way under, it is a pretty decent area down there in Manoa in the University area, alot of places to eat, choke stores for everything located all around there, just about everything you would need is in that area, if your a person that has to shop shop shop then you would be in the right area but at the same time you would be spending unwisely, it is do-able with that salary if anyone says it isnt then they have a higher cost of living and that isnt necessarily how everyone lives here in Hawaii, cause alot of people do it, my family and i do.
I'm starting my second year at UHM. Are you coming for a postdoc or some other position?
- IMO: Yes, you can make it on that salary. But I would strongly advise anyone against taking a job at UH or anywhere in the HI state government right now. Things are too uncertain to have any kind of real job or salary security. I am very happy here, and I hope to stay. But quite honestly, if I knew two years ago what I know now, I would not be here. I would have taken another job.
Thanks so much for this informative post. I really appreciate all your input. My job is for 2 years only. It is a grant funded project and they have the funding for my salary for 2 years. So I don't think I have to worry about all the issues that you do. I don't expect to get a raise during this time. I expect that I would probably move back to the mainland after the 2 years unless some great opportunity comes up. Thanks for the housing suggestions. I will mention both the website and program to my prospective employer. I asked about the faculty housing but was told that waiting lists are huge, although they could try to expedite the process. I think it's worth trying as they are significantly cheaper than apartments and look pretty decent. I'm OK with living in a tiny little place as I'm alone and I do not need much space. I don't plan on bringing much with me except for some clothes and books. I do want to live in a safe area though so if you have any suggestions of the safest places for a woman to live, that would be wonderful. I currently live in a place where produce is expensive (I'm sure not as much as there but more than in any other place that I've ever lived before) so hopefully it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see the prices there . Thanks again!
Hello, 60k is pretty good pay for someone that will be here and single, truthfully there are alot of families out here that make that much or less with two people working and keikis, so it is do-able, you could live in the area of your job, you said UHM right? there are alot of places catered to students for living wise and you could easily take advantage of that, places under $1000 a month some way under, it is a pretty decent area down there in Manoa in the University area, alot of places to eat, choke stores for everything located all around there, just about everything you would need is in that area, if your a person that has to shop shop shop then you would be in the right area but at the same time you would be spending unwisely, it is do-able with that salary if anyone says it isnt then they have a higher cost of living and that isnt necessarily how everyone lives here in Hawaii, cause alot of people do it, my family and i do.
Tigahshark808 - thanks for your honesty. I really appreciate it and am so glad to hear this from you. I think I can do it and it would be crazy not to take such a great opportunity. I love the idea of living in such a diverse place too and can't wait to learn more about the different cultures. I've seen some lower priced apartments for students but I assumed that they are for students only? I've seen a fair amount of $1000 a month apts but a lot of them don't have photos and since I don't know the area, it's difficult to judge. I think I'll have to do a short term rental when I first get there and search for apts so I can go see them. I'm open to a roommate too but when I've looked on-line, it appears that for just one other roommate, rents are around $1000 too so I'm thinking I might be better off getting my own studio and then I don't have to worry if we don't get along. I like to shop sometimes but know my limits. Although I'm sure that I will want to get some local artwork to take back with me to the mainland. Cheers!
Thanks so much for this informative post. I really appreciate all your input. My job is for 2 years only. It is a grant funded project and they have the funding for my salary for 2 years. So I don't think I have to worry about all the issues that you do.
The issue with the UH funding situation is not just the risk of your salary being cut. Everyone's salary is being cut, or they're being laid off, or bumped, or... There's a general unease. Everyone around you will be stressed out / unhappy / looking for other work / constantly complaining. My salary hasn't been cut (yet). But the janitor for my building (who is great) is terrified she's going to get bumped because she doesn't have much seniority. The woman who ran the department retired, and we are not allowed to hire anyone to replace her. So lots of stuff doesn't get done, or gets lost, or you have to do it yourself but no one is around who knows how to even tell you what to do. How will you feel knowing that you're not getting a pay cut but the secretaries and janitors are? That the students are paying more for less?
The upshot is that it's just not a nice place to work right now. Everyone is miserable and worried and pissed. I wouldn't want to work in such a place, especially during what is likely to be the worst two years ever.
The issue with the UH funding situation is not just the risk of your salary being cut. Everyone's salary is being cut, or they're being laid off, or bumped, or... There's a general unease. Everyone around you will be stressed out / unhappy / looking for other work / constantly complaining. My salary hasn't been cut (yet). But the janitor for my building (who is great) is terrified she's going to get bumped because she doesn't have much seniority. The woman who ran the department retired, and we are not allowed to hire anyone to replace her. So lots of stuff doesn't get done, or gets lost, or you have to do it yourself but no one is around who knows how to even tell you what to do. How will you feel knowing that you're not getting a pay cut but the secretaries and janitors are? That the students are paying more for less?
The upshot is that it's just not a nice place to work right now. Everyone is miserable and worried and pissed. I wouldn't want to work in such a place, especially during what is likely to be the worst two years ever.
New UH prof: It's been a few years since this post. In retrospect has it been better or worse? What's your impression of the employment environment (faculty positions) today?
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