What does food really cost in Hawaii? (Honolulu, Hilo: apartments, renters)

[jessiesma]

Originally Posted by MSJones

Not in Texas, it's not.

I'm curious where in TX? are you near a beach? What do fresh fruits and veggies cost? can you grow them year round? what does electric cost? what's the average income to expense ratio? can you rent a good apartment for around 1K even if it's small?

You can't choose individual items and say Hawaii is the most expensive place in the country. If you did then I think Florida, grower of oranges, might come in on top since our oranges are the juice variety and if you want a navel one it'll cost $1.29. Yes, for 1 orange!

Curious, what does a pound of Organic Kona blend run in Honolulu? Here it's $12.

If you can't live without navel oranges, cheerios and coffee (breakfast! yum) you make cuts someplace else. IMHO

[MSJones]

You can't choose individual items and say Hawaii is the most expensive place in the country.

I didn't. You said:

BTW milk is the same price on the Mainland.

And I said:

Not in Texas, it's not.

I merely responded to your statement.

[jessiesma]

NO, I understand, sorry if I wasn't clear here, but I AM wondering about the cost of some specific items like coffee that's grown there.
I'm also surprised that things are cheaper in TX but curious as to where and ho wthe salaries are in that place.

[Brav989]

Well, anyone who says Hawaii isn't expensive probably knows nothing about it (or is wealthy). I've never heard a local or transplant say it's cheap.

Is store bought food more expensive? Yes.
Gasoline? Yes.
Electricity bills? Highest in the nation at over 20 cents per KWH.
Taxed? Third highest in the nation I believe.
Are the incomes low in Hawaii compared to the mainland? Yes. From all the jobs I've seen compared to the mainland, they are underpaid based on the cost of everything. (doctors are leaving en masse because of low pay), as are a lot of professions. A 'brain drain' as they call it.
Is housing expensive? Avg. price is over half a million, over 800k on Oahu (I believe). Which, according to zillow.com, is the most expensive state for housing (not to say you can't find cheaper houses)

However I'm sure if you limited store bought items and bought locally grown produce or grew your own, limited driving/buying of fuels, conserved electricity, and shopped around for other items, most could make it no worries. But I wouldn't go to Hawaii expecting to blast your home A/C 24/7 and not have an electric bill more than your rent

[jessiesma]

need to use the a/c 24/7 throughout the year? In FL we use the HVAC system 24/7 most days. either for a/c or if we need a bit of heat on chilly days. However I don't blast it either way. I just use it on chilly days to take the edge off and wear a couple of layers if I need to and keep the thermostat at about 72 for a/c. @.10/kwh. If I can reduce that by half I'm even. Someone posted their utility bill was $125. Mine in a 1br, no w/d, not a lot of electronics, runs just about $100/mo. Dec. has been about 10º above normal so A/c every day all day and even at night.

You're right about store bought food which we don't eat here either.
Gas in FL is running about 3.01/gal so not a huge diff. except here we are absolutely dependent on the car to go anywhere. I think running the Beetle won't be a whole lot more when I can alternate with the bus and we only have one car anyway.

House? what house? I can't buy one in FL at $250K so I'm not worried about buying one there.

If a doc or other prof can't manage a decent life on professional pay in Hawaii, (s)he won't manage on the mainland because it means they're living at the level they THINK they deserve, not at the one they can afford. Doctors here are struggling also thanks to manged care.
As for other salaries I don't know, but my husband researched substitute teacher pay and it is TWICE what it is here.

The American dream is gone. We live in a very different world than our parents did back in the 50's and all the *Leave it to Beaver* reruns in the world won't bring that back.
It takes real grit, imagination, willingness to get one's hands dirty and the honest admission that all those college degrees that we were sold, didn't result in the uniformly high pay that we were told they would. Y'all will be a lot happier if you start thinking outside the box and figure out if there is a better way to live than the *coast to coast* Walmartian society we've created.

[Brav989]

Originally Posted by jessiesma

need to use the a/c 24/7 throughout the year? In FL we use the HVAC system 24/7 most days. either for a/c or if we need a bit of heat on chilly days. However I don't blast it either way. I just use it on chilly days to take the edge off and wear a couple of layers if I need to and keep the thermostat at about 72 for a/c. @.10/kwh. If I can reduce that by half I'm even. Someone posted their utility bill was $125. Mine in a 1br, no w/d, not a lot of electronics, runs just about $100/mo. Dec. has been about 10º above normal so A/c every day all day and even at night.

You're right about store bought food which we don't eat here either.
Gas in FL is running about 3.01/gal so not a huge diff. except here we are absolutely dependent on the car to go anywhere. I think running the Beetle won't be a whole lot more when I can alternate with the bus and we only have one car anyway.

House? what house? I can't buy one in FL at $250K so I'm not worried about buying one there.

If a doc or other prof can't manage a decent life on professional pay in Hawaii, (s)he won't manage on the mainland because it means they're living at the level they THINK they deserve, not at the one they can afford. Doctors here are struggling also thanks to manged care.
As for other salaries I don't know, but my husband researched substitute teacher pay and it is TWICE what it is here.

The American dream is gone. We live in a very different world than our parents did back in the 50's and all the *Leave it to Beaver* reruns in the world won't bring that back.
It takes real grit, imagination, willingness to get one's hands dirty and the honest admission that all those college degrees that we were sold, didn't result in the uniformly high pay that we were told they would. Y'all will be a lot happier if you start thinking outside the box and figure out if there is a better way to live than the *coast to coast* Walmartian society we've created.

Doctors are (apparently) getting paid 20% less than they do on the mainland, based on how much the insurance pays out. The Big Island is hit hardest. Having only 4 primary care doctors for all of the Kona districts, compared to 13 of them 20 years ago. From what I read there are zero doctors on the Big Island accepting new patients.

And again if you rent it depends where you live. You can rent a full house on the big island for as cheap at 800 a month. Or you may find some for as much as 4,000 or so per month (of course the more expensive you go, the closer to town(s) and nicer they will be.)

As for A/C, I was there in the summer and after a couple days I adjusted to the heat. Never used AC anywhere in the house. Just left the windows open and had a couple fans going. Temperature was never lower than 70 around the house day or night.

Again...with you saying Bus I'm guessing you're looking at Oahu? Which is basically the only island with any sort of a constant public transport system. Last I looked fuel was around 3.20 - 3.90 per gallon depending on where you buy it.

Unless you live in high elevations you won't need heating. The record lows around the islands (at or around sea level) is only around mid - high 50s.

[Norhjerseygirl]

I get honey nut cheerios for 6.89 at safeway when they're not on sale (small box). Every community on Oahu has a decent farmer's market 1x a week. Don Quixote has good prices on produce. We do have costco but it's $300- 400 for a family of 4 each week no matter what you do. You can't get all you need at Costco anyway. There is a bakery outlet in Kaneohe for cheap bread and Love's donuts. No matter where I live I gotta shop around. We don't eat as much meat as we used to, it's bad for you anyway.

[jessiesma]

we're used to paying premium for food because we keep kosher. Here in CW FL *fish* means the non-kosher stuff like shrimp. Just got some FROZEN mahi mahi yesterday, not bad considering but it was $6/lb. and we're ON the Gulf. Hard to find a real seafood market. We're giving up meat anyway. Lots of fish and fresh produce with few carbs is our preference so we'll be fine in HI. The warehouse clubs don't work for just 2 people with limited space especially when we don't use a lot of pkg. stuff anyway. If I want to carb out I bake it myself with kosher flour or sometimes treat to a kosher mix. It's all bad for you anyway but sometimes you just have to indulge. ;{

[jessiesma]

[quote=Brav989;2236715]Doctors are (apparently) getting paid 20% less than they do on the mainland, based on how much the insurance pays out. The Big Island is hit hardest. Having only 4 primary care doctors for all of the Kona districts, compared to 13 of them 20 years ago. From what I read there are zero doctors on the Big Island accepting new patients.

[quote=Brav989;2236715]As for A/C, I was there in the summer and after a couple days I adjusted to the heat. Never used AC anywhere in the house. Just left the windows open and had a couple fans going. Temperature was never lower than 70 around the house day or night.

Again...with you saying Bus I'm guessing you're looking at Oahu? Which is basically the only island with any sort of a constant public transport system. Last I looked fuel was around 3.20 - 3.90 per gallon depending on where you buy it.

Jessiesma reply:What you are saying about the insurance is just what I meant about managed care. The Hawiian med. society needs demand the insurance Cos. pay the usual and prevailing fees for their area. I think that's how it's supposed to work. My daughter is going to The Big Island but shuns traditional med. In fact she wants become a homeopathic practitioner. We too take the Wellness approach rather than the allopathic route. Acupuncture has done more for my MS than anything the traditional western discipline can offer. Ditto my husband's ADHD/anxiety. Traditional Chinese medicine works best with no reliance on pharmaceutical concoctions. For 61, I'm in fantastic shape and active despite having a chronic disease. Everything else works well.

Yes, we're looking at Honolulu, understanding how expensive rents are. But if offers the things we need. A big house not being one of them although I wouldn't complain about getting one in a safe area for 1K or less. The only time we'll use the car is if we want to go horseback riding (not frequent) or other activities away from Hono. Or if my husband is substitute teaching and he gets called to a school out of the city. BUT at $140/day I think a couple of gallons of gas won't kill us.

I've gotten used to hot here in FL and it is a problem with MS however my experience supports the new theories that lots of SUN (vit.D) works wonders. I never felt better. Since it's mostly my legs that are affected, I can't manage snow and ice anymore and less Sun up north is a problem. My understanding is that in doesn't get above the 80's there. Here high 90's are not uncommon June thru Oct. I hate a/c so 70's with windows open is just fine.

We are adaptable and lived in Israel (not Tel Aviv) for 6 years. This was a number of years ago and very people had or used their cars. Every town had an open air mkt. but living on the shekel was expensive. WE learned we can live an alternative lifestyle.

[Brav989]

[quote=jessiesma;2243080][quote=Brav989;2236715]Doctors are (apparently) getting paid 20% less than they do on the mainland, based on how much the insurance pays out. The Big Island is hit hardest. Having only 4 primary care doctors for all of the Kona districts, compared to 13 of them 20 years ago. From what I read there are zero doctors on the Big Island accepting new patients.

Originally Posted by Brav989

As for A/C, I was there in the summer and after a couple days I adjusted to the heat. Never used AC anywhere in the house. Just left the windows open and had a couple fans going. Temperature was never lower than 70 around the house day or night.

Again...with you saying Bus I'm guessing you're looking at Oahu? Which is basically the only island with any sort of a constant public transport system. Last I looked fuel was around 3.20 - 3.90 per gallon depending on where you buy it.

Jessiesma reply:What you are saying about the insurance is just what I meant about managed care. The Hawiian med. society needs demand the insurance Cos. pay the usual and prevailing fees for their area. I think that's how it's supposed to work. My daughter is going to The Big Island but shuns traditional med. In fact she wants become a homeopathic practitioner. We too take the Wellness approach rather than the allopathic route. Acupuncture has done more for my MS than anything the traditional western discipline can offer. Ditto my husband's ADHD/anxiety. Traditional Chinese medicine works best with no reliance on pharmaceutical concoctions. For 61, I'm in fantastic shape and active despite having a chronic disease. Everything else works well.

Yes, we're looking at Honolulu, understanding how expensive rents are. But if offers the things we need. A big house not being one of them although I wouldn't complain about getting one in a safe area for 1K or less. The only time we'll use the car is if we want to go horseback riding (not frequent) or other activities away from Hono. Or if my husband is substitute teaching and he gets called to a school out of the city. BUT at $140/day I think a couple of gallons of gas won't kill us.

I've gotten used to hot here in FL and it is a problem with MS however my experience supports the new theories that lots of SUN (vit.D) works wonders. I never felt better. Since it's mostly my legs that are affected, I can't manage snow and ice anymore and less Sun up north is a problem. My understanding is that in doesn't get above the 80's there. Here high 90's are not uncommon June thru Oct. I hate a/c so 70's with windows open is just fine.

We are adaptable and lived in Israel (not Tel Aviv) for 6 years. This was a number of years ago and very people had or used their cars. Every town had an open air mkt. but living on the shekel was expensive. WE learned we can live an alternative lifestyle.

According to weather.com the average highs in Honolulu are never lower than 80 degrees. With 89 being the highest 'average high'. It will get into the 90s but the record high there was 95 in 1994