Guam

[tracydr]

Please tell me everything there is to know about Guam, both above and below the water. I just got my full medical retirement from the army and we're trying to decide where to live that has diving and a military base. Also considering Hawaii,Puerto Rico and Panama if anyone has input on those as well.

 

[BEACHBUM885]

It is actually first rate. It is a territory of the United States so no passport is necessary. US dollar is the currency of choice. Same with Puerto Rico. Try to reside on the west or windward side of the island due to unlikelyhood that the storms will be worse than other parts. However like any other South Pacific island paradise Guam is susseptible to typhoons. As a student involved in the Travel Industry I doubt you will encounter any complications. Enjoy and have fun I wish I was in your position.

As for Puerto Rico I would probably not want to relocate there. Due to the hostility that the locals have toward the military due to some kids getting killed near a live fire training site some years ago. They have been protesting ever since.

 

[chepar]

As far as living in Hawaii . . .

I was born and raised here - lived in NC and TX for about 8 years, then moved back to Hawaii - there's nothing like home.

As far as living here, we have both diving and MANY military bases. The positives are kind of self evident (great weather, beaches, etc.), the negatives are along the lines of the cost to live here. Everything's a trade off, I guess - but be prepared to pay a high amount (in mainland standards) for housing here. As an example, my sister bought her 850 sq. foot 2 bedroom condo/apartment downtown for $320,000. Houses close to town will cost you at least $500,000 for anything halfway decent.

Other things are correspondingly expensive - currently the lowest price for a gallon of gas is $1.65, a gallon of milk will cost you anywhere between $5 to $7. I had a severe case of sticker shock when I first came home - but I've gotten used to it.

Of course, if you choose to live on a neighbor island, the cost is a little less than living on Oahu, and the lifestyle is a little more laid back.

 

[AliKat]

I am familiar with Guam and Hawaii (Oahu). I lived on Guam from March 92 to December 94. I am currently on Okinawa and visit Hawaii for business a couple times a year. I am looking for orders to Hawaii the first of the year and plan on retiring there myself.

Both can be on the expensive side, but, if you have that ID card, you won't notice it quite as much. Guam is a bit more isolated. I would consider retiring there myself if I got re-married, but I wouldn't do it single. They do have a K-mart now, but not much else in the way of shopping as we are used to in the states. Also, the exchanges and commisaries (2 each, as compared to 3 large ones on Oahu) tend to be out of stock a lot. I think you will find the medical care a little better in Hawaii as well. The Navy Hospital on Guam gives great care, but they are small, and service is limited. I don't recommend the civilian hospital there. And while Guam is a territory, it is not a state, so their medical care does not fall under JACHO and FDA.

Guam also gets more (and more severe) typhoons than Hawaii does hurricanes! And for some reason they can't seem to get their infrastructure up to par. They just got hit with a pretty nasty typhoon and they are predicting to have full power restored...in 8 weeks! Also, at least when I was there 10 years ago, they could not power the entire island 24 hours a day, so they did rotating "load shedding" where certain parts of the island would be without power at certain times of the day. But honestly, that was part of the fun of living on a tropical island!

On the other hand, Guam has by far the better diving as compared to Hawaii. And the water temps are much warmer (82-84 year 'round). And the diving and dive gear are MUCH cheaper than I've found on Hawaii.

Also, when I was there, there was no income or sales tax, although, I think that may have changed. I was there on business last Dec, and the housing prices had really dropped since I had lived there, so it wouldn't be a bad time to buy a place there. Beware renting though. I arrived at the time the Subic role back was happening. Housing prices had doubled in a couple months time. I think there are going to be some subs homeporting there in the near future, which means prices will be on the rise again.

As I am expecting orders to Hawaii for the first of the year and having been checking out housing there. To buy, it is actually cheaper than San Diego, and about the same as DC right now, plus, they have about the lowest property taxes of any state (not sure how that compares to Guam).

I guess between Guam and Hawaii, you would be doing more "roughing it" on Guam!

Good luck, and enjoy retirement.

 

[TJA1950]

I lived in Guam for a year, that is where I got certified. The diving in Guam is good. There are still alot of WWII wreaks you can dive.
There are a couple ships in the harbor that makes for good diving. The dive shops are top notch. You won't be dissappointed.

Happy diving
Terry

 

[tracydr]

Thanks very much, this is so helpful. I'm copying all the messages so my husband can read them. (he's allergic to the computer!) I'm leaning toward Hawaii but Guam sounds awfully appealing too. I think we may be able to spend a month on Oahu in Sept and maybe next year we can swing a trip to Guam. Are there any military hops from Oahu? Was thinking we could do it while in Hawaii if possible.
I would love to live on the big island but than that defeats the purpose of trying to be near a military base for commissary,gym,hospital, etc. I'm hoping I can find a good job, maybe even at Tripler.
Thanks everyone!!

 

[Rooster]

Tracydr,
Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but we have been without power since typhoon Chata'an hit us last week. I live on Guam, so I can answer any questions you may have. Guam is one of those places that you either hate it or love it. I have been here since 1990. The first five years I was stationed here with the Air Force. I was then sent to NC where I was there only 18 months. Missed the Island life so much, I retired and moved back. I now work for the US Postal Service. Right now the economy on Guam is in the toilet. This could be good if you're looking to buy property, bad if you're looking for a job. Since my wife and I both have federal jobs, and we have base privileges, we do OK. We are just about to buy a house down in Yona.
The diving here is great, not as good as Palau or Truk, but very, very good. Diving is also cheap here, in fact it's about the only thing that is cheap here. I can do a 2 tank boat dive any day of the week for $45 or less, plus there is some really good shore diving here.
Another great reason to live here is you're really close to places like Palau, Yap, and Truk.
I read some of our other posts and have some other info that may be of interest to you. Guam is always hurting for quality healthcare providers. I could almost guarantee that you would be employed as soon as you got here. In fact you might even get GMH (the Guam hospital), or some other healthcare provider to pay for your move. As far as military hops from Oahu go, piece of cake. There are routine flights from Hickam AFB HI to Andersen AFB Guam. We have taken a couple of hops from Guam to Oahu and back with no problems. In fact if you can get yourself to the west coast, you can hop from Travis AFB CA, to Honolulu, and then to Guam. You can also hop from other Conus bases as long as the flight is manifested to Hickam or Guam. If you have any questions about Guam, either living or diving here, feel free to drop me a line.

 

[Guam_Diver]

As Rooster says about Guam...you either love it or hate it! Right now I hate it. We just got hit by 2 typhoons a week apart!!! The second one wasn't nearly as bad & was on the verge between typhoon & tropical storm when it hit us.....either way, they stink. I am one of the lucky ones and have electricity after only 10 days! Parts of the island don't expect power for weeks to come and some haven't had running water either. I was very disappointed with Guam when I got here. It's not really a tropical paradise. Very tropical, yes, but unless your idea of paradise is wading through trash to get into the water on a beach dive, then your out of luck in that department. I'm appalled at the amount of trash everywhere. I would think that an island that depends so much on tourism, would put a little effort into keeping it clean. It disgusts me to drive down the road & see it all along the edge of the roads, which by the way, really suck...not well maintained. I plan on organizing an "adopt a road" program, where people clean up certain sections. And another thing is the cost of living here. I can't imagine why it's so high.....well, I can imagine it has to do with the government corruption I've heard about. And then there's the earthquakes. Since I arrived on the island 9 months ago, we've had two major earthquakes (over7.0) and several smaller ones. I'm sorry, but I just don't have the island mentality. Others may love it, but it's just not for me...give me civilization!

The diving is really good here! I think the average year-round water temp is 84! And the vis is great! I've seen well over 100ft vis!

 

[Jonathan]

I took part in the beach cleanup whilst on holiday in Guam last year - what an eye opener!! And what a real shame....

Jonathan

 

[tracydr]

Thank you. This is all very helpful. If anyone would like to email me privately my email is tracydr@fullnet.net. I'd love to hear more good and bad about both islands.