Moving to Hawaii

mrgonz · Jan 20, 2006

Good day everyone!

After much pondering, I decided I will be relocating to Hawaii. Now, I want to get the straight scoop from the locals. Which island has better employment? lower rent? all of that good stuff. Any advice, more than welcome!

Thanks,
GR

chepar · Jan 20, 2006

mrgonz:
After much pondering, I decided I will be relocating to Hawaii. Now, I want to get the straight scoop from the locals. Which island has better employment? lower rent? all of that good stuff. Any advice, more than welcome!

Oahu will have a wider range of employment opportunities. Not sure of the rental market on the neighbor islands, but on Oahu the rental market is very tight.

A lot of your success in finding employment quickly depends on what field you are in, I think. There is always a demand for teachers, nurses or other skilled health care providers. There are always positions open in the hotel/tourism industry.

It's expensive to live here. If you don't already have a job or a place to live lined up, I think you might want to consider a trip down here to assess the situation (housing search/job search) before you completely commit. If you can't do that, then I guess make sure you have plenty of funds to draw from if you can't find employment/housing right away.

As far as transportation, if you had to, I guess you could do without a car and use the Bus on Oahu - but it's not optimal as far as convenience. That really wouldn't work on the neighbor islands, though. I think Maui has a bus system, but it's limited in the areas it covers.

mrgonz · Jan 20, 2006

I already have a place to live... roomate lined up, not too expensive... enough to survive and that's all I ask for!

I plan to go there with at least one or two months worth of rent + "survival" money.

I am a certified EMT-B (trying to become a Paramedic before going), USSF Referee, and have plenty of experience in fields such as retail, photography lab work, costumer service, clerical, etc... Im not going there in hopes to get rich or anything such, but merely to start a new life, even if it's based on a ramen noodle diet.

By the time I leave, I'll also have my Divemaster cert. Hopefully become an Instructor over there, and who knows... hopefully land a job in the future.

Al Mialkovsky · Jan 20, 2006

If you don't have jobs lined up I'd suggest doing a couple of things. First visit the island of your choice for extended stays. Don't stay at the resort condo, rent something in town in a real neighborhood. Don't show up with mainland debt.

A fun book to read is "So You Want To Move To Hawaii"

mrgonz · Jan 20, 2006

Al Mialkovsky:
If you don't have jobs lined up I'd suggest doing a couple of things. First visit the island of your choice for extended stays. Don't stay at the resort condo, rent something in town in a real neighborhood. Don't show up with mainland debt.

A fun book to read is "So You Want To Move To Hawaii"

Roger... That's the reason why i'm not there yet, getting rid of debt before going

As far as jobs, I'm already looking and inquiring... Interested in getting either a clerical job with the govt. or work as an EMT. We'll see how the search goes.

Now, I live in NY. NYC Is expensive... quite expensive to live. I hear hawai'i is expensive, but how? Expensive compared to middle America?

Al Mialkovsky · Jan 20, 2006

Hawaii is expensive compared to most of the mainland. Median price of homes are double what they are here in Oregon and I live in an area where the median is high for Oregon. Food is more, fuel is more, boat dives are more, it just costs more.

A gallon of regular costs more than 3 bucks a gallon today. Just wait til spring gets here, as it goes up on the mainland, it shoots up in the islands.

Car insurance costs plenty too. People usually don't move there thinking they'll hit it big, it's more of a calling.

Police corruption is amazing there also. You'll be shocked.

But I love it

Wildcard · Jan 20, 2006

The EMS market is limited to a single third service in Oahu and AMR on all isleands. I might suggest you get hired by AMR else where then transfer. Also getting your Paramedic lic. here is a legendary headache, worse than most places.
If you like big city, Oahu is your isle, if not Maui or Big Isle. The out lying islands are tough to get into for living, just not much work.
Finaly, consider buying a van when you get here, ride and a bed if you need it. It can be rough to make it here on $12/hr. That also allows you to move from Isle to Isle if you don't like where your at. Good luck!
Aloha

chepar · Jan 20, 2006

If you've already got a place to live lined up, then that takes away a lot of pressure. If you currently live in NYC, then the cost of living here shouldn't be a stretch.

How much it costs for a place to live is probably the main thing for people to adjust to when they move to Hawaii. Since you already know how much your rent is, now you only have to adjust to how much groceries cost.

Let's see - gas is currently around $2.60 per gallon for regular at Costco. Costco typically is between $0.10 - $0.20 less per gallon than a "regular" gas station. Gas on the neighbor islands is more.

A gallon of milk at Costco is under $5. A gallon of milk at a regular supermarket is closer to $6. When I moved back home after living in Texas for several years, it took a while for me to get used to the fact that I could go into Safeway, spend $50 and walk out with one small plastic bag of groceries.

I've also heard that the book Al recommended is a good read.

mrgonz · Jan 20, 2006

Al:

Police corruption? Delightful. How much does it cost to buy a cop for a speeding ticket?

Wildcard:

Thanks for the information. As far as the van, that would sound like a great Idea (one of my "in case" plans). But wouldn't I need a address of residence in order to get a job at most places? Also, do you know anything about the procedure to transfer a Paramedic license from another state to Hawaii?

Chepar:

I'm safe... I don't drink milk

The gas is about 2.65/75 for regular here... Pretty outrageous, but can be done. Last night, I spent a good $30 in a small box of corndogs, a bag of pasta sides, a bag of shredded chicken (yuck) and some soy crisps. I am making it so far with $9/hr here in NY, and I don't live bad at all... But I have to stretch my dollar all the way!

Hank49 · Jan 20, 2006

Go for it dude. I lived there for 10 years and kick myself in the *** for leaving quite often. But now I have bills to pay for a couple kids and well.....I'm stuck in Belize, which does kind of suck because there's no surf....at all. If you want to, you can make it anywhere when you're young and single. But the life style....I used to catch the Bus to Makapu'u to learn to body surf...than graduated to an old beat up VW and made it around to Sandy's....then met some guys who got me into board surfing and was off to Crouching Lion and Bowls, and Rainbows....aaahhhhh, the life.

Moving to Hawaii

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