Moving to hawaii...real life stories (Honolulu: rent, health insurance, credit)
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lauleahere&there -- do you mind divulging what company you shipped your vehicle with?
Have to agree with SweetBeet -- selection/variety/cost on general consumer items is not the best. Anything with a decent size/weight will not ship here, or won't be worth the cost.
Hibbity, We used Horizon to ship our vehicles. Despite the damage I mentioned, they were professional and helpful in getting us most of the cost of fixing it, eventually. We had planned to use Matson, which shipped our container (a 20') but Matson would not make the transfer of the vehicles to the local, inter-island carrier. Horizon offered that service, so we went with them. We would use them again.
Military, so I had to move somewhere! I asked for overseas, and they offered me San Diego or Kaua'i.
2. What did you bring with you (kid(s), car, furniture, dog)
One Jack Russell dog, 2 kids, most of what we owned (which was WAY too much!), and a 2001 Sienna minivan.
3. Did you have a job already when you moved
Yes, military.
4. Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost
Lived on base - housing allowance was $1800 a month, and 3BR/2BA off base were about $2800/mo in April 2007.
5. What was your anxiety level like when you moved here
Pretty low as far as Hawaii went, however, for my wife it was another story, because I flew here from CA, and she had to take care of all the military paperwork, packout, quarantine for the dog, etc, from Oklahoma.
6. Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy
I loved waking up to the sound of the ocean, but I didn't realize just how LOUD it would be in the winter! Also, it took 3-4 weeks to quit waking up at 5am!
Also, the sheer expense!!! I went from making $30k/yr in Oklahoma City to about $105k/yr in West Kaua'i, while at the same time going from having no credit card debt and $10k in savings in 2007 when we moved here to $15k in debt and no savings currently, all while dropping from a 5 person family in OKC to 4 people in Kaua'i. Anyone who blithely says "that's the price of paradise," or "but you get to live HERE!" doesn't know what they are talking about...
7. When did you start making friends
We HATED living on-base. They were the most back-stabbing, complaining people we'd ever met, so we really didn't start making good friends until we moved off base in June of 2008.
8. Did you move from your first place
YES! Although, if we had been able to rent where we are now for as little as we are now, we wouldn't have.
9. Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking
N/A
10. How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc.
Military, so goes with the territory...
11. In retrospect was it a good decision and would you do it again
YES YES YES!!! If it weren't for the expense and lack of engineering jobs on Kaua'i, I would seriously consider getting out of the military to stay here.
Aloha all. Wow great stories. And I noticed that depite the higher cost of living, most everyone is glad that they made the move. Im hoping to join you in the near future. Im a haole Michigan state government employee and my wife is a Filipina RN. We will be retired by the time we move there but hope to find part time jobs for a little extra spending money and to help meet people. We will be in Hawaii part time (about 4 months a year) at first because my wife doesnt want to totally leave her family and friends here, but who knows after awhile. Maybe we will get to meet some of you there someday. Malama pono. A hui hou...
Also, the sheer expense!!! I went from making $30k/yr in Oklahoma City to about $105k/yr in West Kaua'i, while at the same time going from having no credit card debt and $10k in savings in 2007 when we moved here to $15k in debt and no savings currently, all while dropping from a 5 person family in OKC to 4 people in Kaua'i. Anyone who blithely says "that's the price of paradise," or "but you get to live HERE!" doesn't know what they are talking about...
30K/year in Oklahoma City = 105K/year in Kauai'i?!?
That's just... nuts.
I wonder what is the "threshold" annual salary for a married couple to live comfortably (ie. enough not to stress over the bills too much)...
I separated from my wife with a pending divorce, my 2 girls where living with me in a 1 bedroom apartment in LA for $2000 a month. Life was dull and routine and driving everywhere then back to our little hole until the next day. I had a great childhood and wanted my girls to have one as well with out the feeling of being locked away. The freedom to ride their bikes to school and play in the neighborhood.
What did you bring with you (kid(s), car, furniture, dog)
Sold almost everything except for a few things that where family items. Came here with no car or furniture.
Did you have a job already when you moved
I have my own online business that I started almost 5 years ago so did not need a job here and never would of come if I had to find one.
Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost
Rented a 3 bedroom house for a little more then I paid for my apartment. Signed another 1 year lease and when it is over will most likely move to another place.
What was your anxiety level like when you moved here
None at all was looking forward to the change.
Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy
Pretty much everything I expected minus the racial thing have not experienced any since we have been here.
When did you start making friends
Meet tons of people and none I would say is a friend as of yet. For the most part busy raising a 9 and 7 year old girls and put their needs and desires first.
Did you move from your first place
Still here.
Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking
Same job.
How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc.
Stayed in touch with family and the friends that matter. The internet makes it easy to talk face to face. Joined facebook and got in touch with a lot of childhood friends that I have not seen in many years.
In retrospect was it a good decision and would you do it again
wow, i am planning to move to honolulu in june after i graduate from university. last night i had a panic attack thinking about everything! couldn't get to sleep for hours. well i got up this morning and checked this and your comments & responses have calmed me down and cheered me up! just wanted to say thanks for the stories (good & bad ones) and keep them coming!
I was dating someone at the time (now my wife) and she was from Napili, which is about 15-20 minutes NW of Lahaina on Maui. Since we were in Oregon for the two years we had been seeing each other, we thought it'd be great to move out there for a summer so I could meet the parents.
What did you bring with you (kid(s), car, furniture, dog)
computer, had it shipped
Did you have a job already when you moved
No job first- was a college student at the time, and only seeking seasonal work, ended up at the "place to be" for tourist teens and surfers on Front St in Lahaina
Where was the first place you lived in...how much did it cost
I am one of the lucky few whose wife's parents manage a hotel, so I got to bounce around between rooms or stay in a small special room. I would not have been able to make it out there with food/living costs with the job I had.
What was your anxiety level like when you moved here
I had only heard good things, so I was fearless, except for thinking about Tsunamis and sharks
Were there differences that you found interesting or noteworthy
Well I found out extremely fast that locals don't like white people from the mainland. And I was somewhat "shielded" because the family I was living with is respected in the community. I saw some of my friends get treated worse, but saw some of my friends treated better.
When did you start making friends
I normally make friends quickly, but the only people who wanted to hang out with me were some Irish people that were also there for the summer, the people I worked with, and family friends. I was friends with some people that had been there for 5 years and still got hassled/physically assaulted by local surfers and treated unfairly by police.
Did you move from your first place
no
Did you stay in your first job...or are you still looking
I stayed at my first job, and ended up becoming a supervisor in the short time I was there. I was even thinking about staying longer in the beginning.
How did you manage the first 3 months...being away from old friends etc.
It was fine, the beach becomes your friend very quickly =) However, I was seeing my girlfriend and her family so that probably voids any good answer to this question.
In retrospect was it a good decision and would you do it again
I've been debating this for quite a while, because my wife is from there and is homesick. However, unlike these other posters who felt the Aloha spirit, I didn't get any Aloha spirit. I was physically attacked at my own store (while I was working), I was pushed off a sidewalk by locals, constantly around fights and angry people. Obviously, I was only in a couple of places for four months. I worked on Front. St. at one of the busier stores in Lahaina, and also hung around the Lower Honoapiilani Road (The "Lower Road" in local terms), so I can't speak much for a quieter life in Paia or one of the other smaller towns.
The other main factor in my more negative review vs. other posters is the age group. If you have kids and have the money to move there, or have a respectable career, you're going to most likely have a better time. I was 21, and the age group I was mostly around was 18-25, and a lot of locals. I had to be extremely wary at night, had to say "no to drugs" multiple times daily (it gets annoying after a while), and put locals on a pedestal because they have the "right of way."
My father-in-law moved there to surf when he was 18 and took years to gain "cred." Now he's a surf coach and everyone loves him. But it took time.
So if you're middle-aged or around there, I would say give it a shot. If you're in your 20's it may be a little rough without some sort of community to take you in with open arms (work, church, family, club, row team, something).
Hopefully this doesn't scare you away, but raises a since of awareness that I wasn't warned about when I moved.
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