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Hey everyone! Got a few questions and I appreciate all of the feedback and help.
My wife and I are in our mid-20's with one daughter and another on the way. I am a police officer and she is a nurse. I know that she can find a job pretty easily and I am applying for Honolulu PD (i know some people say the cops in Hawaii are corrupt but its what I know). Together even with a slight pay cut on my end we would probably make about $100,000 a year, maybe a little more. I am just currious if that is enough for a family of four to live comfortably. This includes buying a house, eating out a couple times a week, and enjoying some of the activities the islands have to offer.
The other question is where to live on Oahu. We are nice people who get along with other people. We just want a place that is a little lower on the crime side. We are from California in a medium sized town. We don't have a ton of really fancy things so we aren't real "upity" people.
We are going to try and make a trip in March to see some different areas and what it would be like to live there.
Once again thanks for all the help.
Tyler
Last edited by tkinney1016; 01-26-2010 at 05:13 PM..
Reason: forgot a line
At the top of the navigation bar on thi page, go to "Search." It's between "New Posts" and "Quick Links." Use the pull-down menu and search various keywords from your post: Hawaii nursing, Hawaii police, Oahu neighborhoods, etc.
I would also suggest an extended-stay visit before you move. That way, you can visit potential employers, talk to people in your lines of work, and see the neighborhoods in-person. That said, living here is never the same as visiting, and the forum has many informative threads on the pros and cons of making such a big move.
Just today, the HPD announced they are hiring, again. Starting pay for new recruits (those accepted into the academy) is about $48k annual. Nurses are always in high demand, even here and in this economy. Assuming your wife is an RN, you 2 should be OK. The problem is housing costs. Oahu homes cost a lot. A whole lot.
whynot?- Thanks for the input. I have searched several things and found tons of information, sometimes you just can't seem to find a post with your same scenario though. I will read some of those news articles for more info too. I wasn't trying to say it would be a piece of cake for my wife to find a job I just know nursing is easier than other lines of work, usually. Unfortunatelly an extended stay would not work for us due to our busy lives, however that would be ideal.
And you are right I didn't ask for advise in my initial post so I'll ask now if you don't mind.
mdand3boys- your right about the housing costs, I've looked online a bit and it's a bit steep. And I did see that HPD is hiring and already have the app done.
My advice to people with children is slightly different than my advice to people who are not uprooting their kids from family, friends, schools, etc., just so you know. It was not clear in your post whether/how many times you have visited Oahu, so my first piece of advice would be to do so well before your planned move. It's far less expensive to visit and do your research first-hand than to make the investment in time, money, and emotional distress and move only to find out things are not what you expected. This is not meant to be negative; it's meant to be practical.
Second, on your visit -- as is often recommended here, but hard once you get here -- I'd try to spend my time as much like I lived here as possible, renting a condo in a residential area, spending my days learning my way around, visiting potential employers, schools and/or childcare facilities, and other neighborhoods, etc. Try to meet people who live here and who work in your fields. Check out police stations and hospitals (or clinics or places where your wife might work). Talk to their HR people if you can, and be organized and professional -- not like you're sick of the mainland and desperate to get away. Have a good, responsible reason for wanting to move your family to the middle of the Pacific. Read the papers and watch the local news every day to get a sense of what's important on-island, and what's going on where. (This will also be useful for looking at neighborhoods.)
And third, don't do anything rash. It is likely you will fall in love with the place when you are here, but remember: it's different when you live here. Just as different as Disneyland is when you go there. When you get back home, make rational comparisons, THEN decide whether to move forward. Don't come over having already decided, then go back home and put your pre-visit vision in hyperdrive. Pay close attention to the standards of living, to the ages and conditions of homes you can afford and facilities you'll be working in -- these will not change. Remember anything that annoys you, whether it's that all of the parking spaces are compact and all of the vehicles are SUVs or whether the family-size condo reminds you of the first apartment you ever rented by yourself. The things that bother you on your visit will be the same when you move. And they will be permanent. If -- after sifting through that -- Oahu still looks like a better option than anywhere in 49 other states, territories, districts, and the rest of the world, I'd start making the decision and making real plans.
Only then can you really start looking for jobs, houses, etc. This would take some time, no doubt, and most people want to *do something* right away. I would urge you not to be impetuous, but be realistic. Make lists of pros and cons, and be really honest. When you remember Oahu from your current home, don't think about Diamond Head, the blue skies, and the Pacific first. Remember it as a real place, an island with a metropolitan area in the middle of a giant ocean. Try to stay in contact with the people you meet and like -- Hawaiians are notoriously friendly -- and this can be a help if you decide to move. They can help answer your questions, remind you of things you've forgotten, update you on how the economy and hiring are going.
I really don't mean to sound negative at all, it's just a very big move -- financially and culturally -- for a young family to take on, even when things are grim where you are now. There are easier places to move to and to be happy in -- it's gorgeous here, but it isn't nirvana, especially with kids, budgets, and family support far away.
Best of luck.
Last edited by whynot?; 01-27-2010 at 11:52 AM..
Reason: Removed quotation marks from the word "real" because I was afraid they implied "unreal." Purely semantic.
Thanks for the reply, not taken negative at all. I know that no matter where you live there are possitives and negatives, no one place is perfect. I am just trying to find a place that has good weather (Bakersfield is cold a few months and really hot, not a lot of "nice weather in between the two), lower crime rate, more family oriented activities, and just something different from where I live. Those are not in order of priority either, family comes first.
Luckily our daughter isn't in school so that is one less change. I know this would be a BIG change but there aren't many other places in the U.S. that I would want to live. My parents live in Virginia and that was a thought for my wife and I but other that my parents and it being a prettier/nicer place than Bakersfield, there just isn't much that draws me there. We like the out doors, activities, and things to do.
We are planning a trip and plan to see, research, and find out as much as we can in the short time we have. Thank you again for your input, it is very usefull and I don't take it negative.
Every year for the past hundred or so, military families about your age, with kids about the age of yours, are assigned to Hawaii.
From reading posts here on THAT subject, I would say that way more than half of those families love their time here. Mine was one. (Use the search feature to check for yourself).
A few (very few) hate it.
Hank
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