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Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but there are so many great posts and responses, I've spent a lot of time searching through for moving advice.
It seems most people move to Hawaii from the West coast, and it's hard for me to translate that to what I need to do from the East Coast, maybe you can help.
I'm moving for work from Rhode Island. I'm 26, single, female, no pets to worry about. I'm an environmental consultant (geologist) transferring to an office near Ala Moana Center. I'm really excited about this move!
There's so much to think about! My company is providing me about $3000 plus cost of a plane ticket for the move. I'm planning on staying there at least a few years to indefinitely. I know it costs a lot to move and it costs a lot to live in Hawaii, here are my questions:
I have a 2003 car, looks like new, great little ride. I just paid off the title yesterday for $3,000. I could get about $6,000 for it, or ship it for about $2,500. Is it worth it? I hear traffic, parking, and cost of gas are bad, and that I could take the bus or walk (maybe bike) if I live downtown, which I plan to do. I wouldn't mind walking terribly much. I love the outdoors and want to explore. Are car rentals ridiculous?
As for my stuff...should I bring furniture?
Craigslist has a lot of inexpensive rooms (I'll get a roommate for sure) but they look small and a lot are already furnished.
I can either ship clothes and stuff through USPS at approximately $50 for a 50lb box, or get a shipment to take some furniture, like my queen bed, desk, drawers, plus boxes of stuff for around $3,500. I should mention that no matter what I'll be placing stuff (furniture and boxes) in storage near my family.
I'm tying myself in knots trying to figure out the best method from the complete opposite coast. Driving my car to California is not an option, unfortunately. I only have until March 25th to decide.
Should I ship my car? Ship my furniture? Mail boxes only? Help?!
Last edited by best.danie; 03-17-2010 at 04:32 PM..
Reason: Added information
If the car is in good condition I would recommend shipping it here. Unless you're the intercity/metro type you'll need wheels. Even if it's only worth $6K it might be considerable more to replace it in kind.
Put the furniture in storage until you know what your living situation will be; you can always ship it later, sell it or give it away.
Ship clothes and items that you'll need via USPS Parcel Post. One thing to keep in mind with this method is it take about 30 days to reach Hawaii by this means. From the East coast PP goes via truck to the west coast and then by ship to here. Be frugal and don’t ship a lot of junk.
$3K in moving expenses isn't a lot and there is no use going into the hole on the move. Will the company pony up some of the moving money up front? Otherwise you'll be waiting months to recoup your money
PS: This is the company the government uses to ship personal vehicles and they are legit; I believe they also ship civilan cars: https://www.whereismypov.com/index.asp
Not that Balad1 doesn't have good advice, but if it was me, I'd skip bringing the car. Keeping a car in Honolulu is expensive and if you live downtown and work downtown you will be able to walk or bicycle to work. Or take the bus. Parking downtown costs money and is a hassle. A moped or small motorcycle is also a good way to get around downtown Honolulu. Bicycle and moped theft is pretty high in Honolulu, so get a really good lock and keep it locked to some stationary object that it can't be lifted over. A parking meter isn't a good thing to cable a bicycle to since they can just lift it off.
Bring things that are specific to your work or hard to find. If you have any geological tools you need for work, bring them, they'd have to be ordered in from off island, no doubt otherwise. If you have special books or reference materials, those can be shipped book rate which is pretty inexpensive but it is slow and ONLY for books and media. If anything else, such as a pencil or dishtowel, was packed in the box with it, they can then claim it is "parcel post" which is much more expensive to ship. Anything which is hard to find on the mainland might be even harder to find around here, so anything in your life which you want which is hard to find, bring that and figure on replacing just about everything else once you get here. We have great yard and garage sales all year around as well as thrift and resale shops.
Ask your employer what sort of things the other employees wear to work. More than likely you won't need anywhere near the amount of wardrobe you have on the mainland. When selecting which clothes to bring, try to only bring natural fabrics. Cotton, silk, linen are great for the tropical weather around here. Polyester and poly blends are really miserable to wear. Bring small expensive to replace things and leave the large easy to replace things. May as well leave the furniture, most mainland furniture is too big to fit in well in island apartments and houses OR it is made of particle board which just turns into oatmeal in the humidity here.
If it were me, I'd rent a vacation rental for a month or longer while getting situated. That gives you time to find somewhere you want to rent as well as gather up stuff to put in it, get the utilities hooked up, etc. Talk directly with the vacation rental's owner and see if you can negotiate a lower fee. Tourism is in the pits at the moment so folks are willing to be flexible on prices.
bring car ...you will need it to drive around the island ...and go shopping etc ...ever thought how much fun it is to carry 6 bags of groceries ...heck i dont live in honolulu but i bet even shopping at off hours aint so bad ...
the only clothes you bring ... what you are wearing on da plane and a few extra thingies .... everything else buy on island ...you will have lots of places to buy hawaii type clothes ... summer is nearly here and you will wear clothes that feel comfortable in the south pacific ...
bring no furniture ....... between stores .... garage sales etc ... you will buy what you need depending on what you find to rent ...
as you have said you have read these forums ... most is true to reality ....
find a temporary place for a month or so to get your bearings ....living by a freeway or whatever might not be what serenity is
perhaps the peoples you will be working with ...can you e mail and make friends etc ...
back to shipping car if you desire ...probably be at least 3 to 5 weeks from the time you drop off car ...one reason is your car might miss the connection from west coast to honolulu and it sits ...
honolulu is a big city with most like 99 % of what you need or want ...
Wow you guys thanks for your help! originally I was going to sell my car and just use the bus or my own two feet to get around. But I've heard that a car is a good thing to have, even if i only use it once or twice a month. With the condition my car is in it might be smart to ship it over.
As for the furniture, it's nice stuff, but I know it'll be tough to squeeze a queen bed into most rooms in Honolulu.
I'm also toying with the idea of leaving everything except the basic essential with my parents at the storage unit and getting a vacation rental for a few weeks to see what kind of stuff I think I'll really need. It's so hard to make these decisions when I've never even been to Hawaii!
But if I get offered my asking price for the car...I might sell it anyway. >_< Tough call!
Wow you guys thanks for your help! originally I was going to sell my car and just use the bus or my own two feet to get around. But I've heard that a car is a good thing to have, even if i only use it once or twice a month. With the condition my car is in it might be smart to ship it over.
As for the furniture, it's nice stuff, but I know it'll be tough to squeeze a queen bed into most rooms in Honolulu.
I'm also toying with the idea of leaving everything except the basic essential with my parents at the storage unit and getting a vacation rental for a few weeks to see what kind of stuff I think I'll really need. It's so hard to make these decisions when I've never even been to Hawaii!
But if I get offered my asking price for the car...I might sell it anyway. >_< Tough call!
Good ideas
Check this website for vacation rentals: www.vrbo.com (http://www.vrbo.com - broken link)
Location: Was in Western New York but now in Hilo Hawaii
1,234 posts, read 4,588,922 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by best.danie
Wow you guys thanks for your help! originally I was going to sell my car and just use the bus or my own two feet to get around. But I've heard that a car is a good thing to have, even if i only use it once or twice a month. With the condition my car is in it might be smart to ship it over.
As for the furniture, it's nice stuff, but I know it'll be tough to squeeze a queen bed into most rooms in Honolulu.
I'm also toying with the idea of leaving everything except the basic essential with my parents at the storage unit and getting a vacation rental for a few weeks to see what kind of stuff I think I'll really need. It's so hard to make these decisions when I've never even been to Hawaii!
But if I get offered my asking price for the car...I might sell it anyway. >_< Tough call!
Yes good idea for the coming out for a few weeks to see what things you will need or want. If you have someone to pack and ship your things you might want to try AFB u pack and send 1 pod. With the car go on line to see the prices for the equivalent type car from your asking price add $2300 for shipping and don't forget the tax you will pay when buying a new car.
I moved to the island in October 2007 (have since moved back to the mainland) and was also working right by Ala Moana. Luckily for me, my company paid all moving expenses, so I did bring my car. It was a 2002 Hyundai Accent and still in great condition with low mileage. It was great to have, but in all honesty, I could've done without it. I was only spending about $50 in gas because I rarely used it. I used it to drive to work and if I was going around the island. I lived in an extremely walkable location behind Waikiki. I walked or rode my bike pretty much everywhere - to get groceries, run errands, visit friends, go hang out in Waikiki, whatever. I didn't use the bus much, but monthly bus passes are only $30-$40 and the bus is extremely reliable and goes just about everywhere on the island.
When I moved back to the mainland July 2009, I decided to leave my car in Hawaii. Like I said, good condition, low milage (less than 60,000) and the dealership only gave me $1500 - I was thinking more along the lines of $3,000 but my move was quickly approaching and I didn't want the stress of trying to sell the car myself. I really would've been better off selling it before I even moved to the island.
If it comes down to you saving money on the move, I'd think about selling your car. Really the only downside is that you can't just pick up, pile the car, and go somewhere whenever you want.
Balad1 and KoaKine, thanks for the additional info, I'll definitley check them out!
Becca8377 thanks for your input! You sound like you were in a similar work/living situation to what I'll be in. Can I ask why you decided to move back to the mainland?
I figure living in Honolulu without a car could be a slight inconvenience, but I'm young and i know i can adapt. I used to go to college in Boston where walking and the rail system is the way all students get around. Even there, having a car has it's occasional benefits but also a bunch of hassles.
Did you ever use your car to go around the island, like a road trip or camping? If i didn't bring my car, how convenient are rentals for things like weekend trips, or moving bulk items? I hear Costco is the place to buy inexpensive food (and gas).
Oh and a little more investigating and I found I can ship my car for a little less than $2,000...
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