Oahu life?

Ok guys, I have been offered a place at the University of Hawaii, Manoa on Oahu and I am trying to make a decision about accepting the place or not. What advise would yo give me about life on the island. I would be a student at the university, but my husband would need a job- are they difficult to find for a 'professional'?

any comments wil lbe appreciated

munkispank:

Ok guys, I have been offered a place at the University of Hawaii, Manoa on Oahu and I am trying to make a decision about accepting the place or not. What advise would yo give me about life on the island. I would be a student at the university, but my husband would need a job- are they difficult to find for a 'professional'?

any comments wil lbe appreciated

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I am currently in a position where I have to make a decision regarding a job promotion in Hawaii-Oahu. I have been there several times and may take the promotion. As far as jobs it depends what your husband does...My other half is a nurse and already has offers on Oahu. The only pain that I have found is bringing my dog and bird. Animals have to go through a big ordeal to be transported to Hawaii! Shipping furniture is costly even though my company will pay for the relocation I have decided IF I go that I will sell everything and buy new when I get there. I have some friends that live in Oahu and they love it, the diving is great and the weather. The only downside is that they feel isolated from the mainland and family. It is not like they can do a road trip to see their family on the mainland.

And the cost of living is quite high - from milk to rent or purchasing property.

Personally, I'd love living there. My cousin recently moved back to the midwest from Aiea (sp?) in Honolulu and is very much considering moving back soon. She says the lifestyle is great and the island is beautiful.

Dunno about the prospects for jobs...there should be a Hawaii site regarding jobs somewhere - I just got back from a few days there and they have a cable channel that lists new jobs so I have to believe that is online too. Good luck!

thanks for the comments- I am pretty much sold, it is just selling it to the ohter half that will be tough!!! from random searches in his field it looks as if jobs would be available, but you never know with online searches if the jobs exist, or if there are 1000 people applying for the job!!!

I will keep the board updated wih my progress.

One thing I hear that a lot of people new to the island say they have a hard time adjusting to is the lack of space to “get away”. They get a version of “island fever” – you just can’t get in your car and drive for a weekend getaway. Our version is going to the neighbor islands, but with the increase in inter-island airfares, it’s gotten to be pretty expensive.

You’ve heard how expensive the cost of living is. As an example, a gallon of milk is over $5 – unless it’s on sale. Gallon of the cheapest grade of gas at Costco is about $2.20. Traffic is bad. The rental housing market is really tight, and to purchase is very expensive. However, the cost of living and housing issues can be said about many areas in the U.S.

I can’t really say about your husband’s job prospects, as I don’t know what field he’s in. Actually, even if I did know, I don’t know if I could say. However, a recent topic of discussion is what the local papers have described as the “brain drain” – referring to college graduates originally from Hawaii that decide to stay on the mainland or relocate to the mainland for better job prospects. It’s probably a more complex issue of cost of living vs. job prospects.

I believe the people here to be friendly and welcoming. Hawaii is a true melting pot of many cultures – and there’s also the “island culture” that really doesn’t have to do anything with one particular ethnic group. At first you may notice some things that are different than from the mainland – and some of these things may be a little frustrating. Just be open and accepting of these differences and you’ll be fine.

If you’ve considered all these points and still decide to make the move – it’s a great place to live. Weather’s great and the diving is easy. I grew up here, then lived on the mainland for about 8 years. Now that I’m back, I can’t think of anywhere else that I’d rather be.

chepar,
thanks for sharing the advice. i was wondering if you had any imput on the arena of public education...
i myself am in a transitional period--finishing my masters--and am considering a move out to Hawaii. i am finishing graduate degree in education, including a single subject credential to teach middle or high school. from this side of the water (california), the state really seems to be on the look out to high mainlanders to come and teach, so i'm taking that as a good sign.
i would be greatful for any input you or anyone else may have.

lindsayjp - I'm not too familiar with the issues of teaching here, but I have relatives and friends that teach in the public school system. Not that we talk much about the particulars of their jobs, but the impression I get (also combined with what is reported in the newspapers) is that while Hawaii is always in need of teachers in the public school system, there are many aspects frustrating to the teachers once they start the job.

I suppose pay is a big one - a few years ago the teachers went on strike right before the fall term started and were out for somewhere between a few weeks to perhaps a month. I believe their contract was renegotiated and they received some sort of increase, but since then the newpapers have been reporting that they are again looking for a greater pay increase. I'm not familiar with teacher's rate of pay, so I can't say if the salaries here are low or not.

Another issue is the shortage of materials/textbooks to use in the classroom. Corollary to that is the physical condition of some of the schools - some are in severe disrepair and I suppose it's always an issue of getting the funds to fix them.

I've heard mention (and this is purely subjective to the people telling me this) that dealing with the DOE in general can be frustrating as everything is so political and bureaucratized.

Now that I've read over what I've just said, I realize that this can be said of probably any state's Dept. of Education. Sorry it's so general.

Hey chepar,
thanks for the input! I had to laugh at your last night... yes, it sounds just like the situation here in California. the lovely Arnold is spending a quarter of the state's education budge on things other than education, and so the state is really suffering. I guess I will take some comfort in knowing that have the relavent experience if I do end up heading out there.
Thanks again.
lindsay

Oh, let's see here how I can stir the pot ... Well, I taught at Honolulu Community College for a year - part-time lecturer --->pure absolute hell. Nurses do ok - the standard union contract when I left 4 years ago was $56K per annum - more if you had a specialty. Must be over $60K by now.
I would not have gone out of my way to be a student at UH, although they have many excellent program there. As is true of all state universities, the are vast political fiefdoms there. Some departments excel...some uh..., well, do not excel.
They were supposed to have overhauled the animal quarantine policy by now, but I guess that got lost in the shuffle.
There's lots of professional-level jobs there - I always had people calling me to hire me for computing and accounting stuff, but they knew me - I did live there for 20 years until I finally left. They can be tough for outsiders to break into - no one knows who you are.
I worked in the dive business on Oahu for a lot of years - that was fun, even though it was the same routine day after day. How many jobs do you get to wear a Speedo to the office?
I don't know about moving there cold. The Navy sent me there back in 1981 - they paid for everything and I had some good times. I just stayed on after I got out. And when I left, I was glad to go.
Good luck with all that whatever you do. I'd still opt for the Pacific Northwest over Hawaii in a second, although I live exceedingly comfortably in Florida now.

I have to agree with everything mentioned by Chepar and Tom. There's good and bad; dreams and nightmares. But I think the one personal quality needed to live here is to have a complete curiousity/involvement with the your immediate environment. That is, if you're the type to "see what's over the horizon", whether that means a restlessness in ambition, economics, or physical adventure, then living here for the longterm might not work. This doesn't imply a level of ignorance of the "outside" world or small-mindedness or isolationism or stagnation or lower expectations or anything anti-societal. It's just a frame of reference; a level of satisfaction. There's a certain "small town" mindset to living here. I think a lot of this is due to the strong traditional Asian influence (circa. the plantation era) here which tends to be conservative; this is different with the new wave of Asian immigration which is much more restless. A philosophical sense is required; a sense of "changing the things you can, accepting the things you cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference".

I've thumbed through this book, "So You Want to Live in Hawaii" by Toni Polancy and it seems ok; the prices are outdated and it's fairly Oahu-centric, but it's a decent start. Mixed reviews at Amazon.com.