What annual salary would be sufficient to live in Maui? (Hilo: house, buying)

[serenity67]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

We had a very prolific poster on here awhile back make in the neighborhood of the upper $30's in Maui - and he well chronicled how broke he was - he lived in a small Ohana rental - lived check to check - often couldn't get things like his car fixed - eat what he wanted - couldn't afford anything - he documented his tale from his excited pre-move to living here - to the move back - a little searching and you'll find his multi-year tale.

Oh my goodness! That sounds a bit tragic! So sorry to hear that this person had such a difficult journey. I will search for their posts and see if I can learn a thing or two. Thanks so much!

[HiloDiver]

That one person's story is not representative of most. It has been recommended ad nauseum, but I absolutely could not relate to it and neither can many others who poke holes in that individual's many errors. To each their own. I know that one forum member is going to totally rebut my opinion on this, but I stand firm. Edited to add that I HIGHLY doubt that you two would accept an offer to move so far for that low salary. That's poverty level every place I've ever lived.

Hidden costs...for me, the electricity is extremely cheap but I come from where it is really horrific. We are powering a 3/3 house, no air conditioning, all electric appliances, we don't own a TV but run computers most of the day, solar water heater for average of about $140/month. To us that is CHEAP. To you that may be expensive.

No TV means no cable/satellite, I don't know what they cost. We find the phone/internet to be very reasonable here.

Gasoline is very expensive, I think about $4.29/gallon today in Hilo. On the other hand we don't drive as much as we did in the Caribbean or in Florida.

Prepared foods are also very expensive, and although I don't drink it I've been told milk is as well. We find that buying most of what we eat at the farmer's markets is very inexpensive. If you eat healthy you'll be fine. If you must eat prepared foods, prepare for shock.

I don't smoke but I hear people whining that ciggies are very spendy here.

Many big box stores are a bit higher priced than on the mainland. We have an Amazon Prime membership and pretty much buy everything from them and it tends to get here in just 2-3 days with free shipping. We don't need or buy much but your needs may vary. We rented a fully furnished home; if you rent unfurnished and have to obtain things it may cost you a pretty penny.

Other people will pipe in with things as well. Best of luck, you are being smart to research before you accept the offer.

[serenity67]

Originally Posted by HiloDiver

That one person's story is not representative of most. It has been recommended ad nauseum, but I absolutely could not relate to it and neither can many others who poke holes in that individual's many errors. To each their own. I know that one forum member is going to totally rebut my opinion on this, but I stand firm.

Hidden costs...for me, the electricity is extremely cheap but I come from where it is really horrific. We are powering a 3/3 house, no air conditioning, all electric appliances, we don't own a TV but run computers most of the day, solar water heater for average of about $140/month. To us that is CHEAP. To you that may be expensive.

No TV means no cable/satellite, I don't know what they cost. We find the phone/internet to be very reasonable here.

Gasoline is very expensive, I think about $4.29/gallon today in Hilo. On the other hand we don't drive as much as we did in the Caribbean or in Florida.

Prepared foods are also very expensive, and although I don't drink it I've been told milk is as well. We find that buying most of what we eat at the farmer's markets is very inexpensive. If you eat healthy you'll be fine. If you must eat prepared foods, prepare for shock.

I don't smoke but I hear people whining that ciggies are very spendy here.

Many big box stores are a bit higher priced than on the mainland. We have an Amazon Prime membership and pretty much buy everything from them and it tends to get here in just 2-3 days with free shipping. We don't need or buy much but your needs may vary. We rented a fully furnished home; if you rent unfurnished and have to obtain things it may cost you a pretty penny.

Other people will pipe in with things as well. Best of luck, you are being smart to research before you accept the offer.

BINGO!!! That is exactly what I needed! :-) Funny you mentioned Amazon... I had already researched shipping to Maui, and was figuring I would definitely be doing a good deal of shopping online. I also researched a few other stores I frequent for hard-to-find items and was thrilled to hear they also ship to Maui. Here, where we live now, gas is nearing th $4.00 mark again (and often is over $4.00), so I'm pretty used to that. Our electric is outrageous... it reaches near the $300/month mark from lat May through Sept. when our AC is in use (100+ sufficatingly hot, humid summers here). I love fresh fruits and veggies and look forward to our Farmers Markets here, so that would be ideal for me there. I much prefer fresh over processed food. I don't smoke, so no worries there! Your information has been incredibly helpful! Thank you soooooo much!

PS- you are soooo right about the $30K salary comment... lol! We wouldn't ever be able to consider that. Not here, and definitely not in Maui.

[whtviper1]

Here are some threads - there are more, it is easily the most documented tale of a twentysomething moving to Maui on this forum.

Moving to Maui soon

County of Maui always holds one of my paychecks??

Is Hawaii end game?

Are these things normal? Working for Maui County

What do you do once you get stuck in Hawaii?

This is just some of them.....

[HiloDiver]

I have a suspicion that those threads will not ring a bell with the OP. LMAO

Originally Posted by serenity67

you are soooo right about the $30K salary comment... lol! We wouldn't ever be able to consider that. Not here, and definitely not in Maui.

Wink's story is WAAAY over-quoted. One guy who made a series of bad choices...lol. And not relateable to this thread.

[whtviper1]

His only bad choice was moving to Maui without sufficient income and savings. He had a college degree and a job upon arrival in Maui. What should he have done differently?

It is pretty well documented that at his income and savings under $10K it wasn't possible to make it in Maui - what were his other bad choices? He was very excited about the move - started his job and the realities set in and the honeymoon was over. And then, he had a very diffcult time getting off island.

Wink's story is "over-quoted" because there is no other similar story on the forum (under $10K in savings and a mid $30's job) - there isn't anything else to quote.

[HiloDiver]

And none of his story has anything to do with this thread....but you just can't help yourself, LOL!!!

[whtviper1]

Last I checked this is the thread title: What annual salary would be sufficient to live in Maui

His tale is all about he didn't make enough money to survive in Maui - he goes into detail on budgeting income and expenses, how is that not relevant?

[HiloDiver]

The fact that you dog his story so much, lol!!! You could have simply posted "$40K is not enough". Instead you spent a lot of keystrokes posting something irrelevant...I would have made a sure bet from the OP's first post that they would not consider relocating on such a small amount of money. You continue to make me literally laugh out loud.

[whtviper1]

I don't know why a newcomer wouldn't be interested in his actual moving costs, his rent and issues for a very small place, electric bills over $150/month, take home pay amounts, his budgeting, unforseen issues like car repair and the costs, the details of how the $6K or so rapidly disintigrated and then literally couldn't afford to get off of the island.

That was the point of the thread. And of course $40K is not enough.