Work is hinting that I will be "needed" in Hawaii for a permanent relocation of my work. I am very able to say no. But my family and I are interested.
Does anyone on here live in Hawaii? Work would likely be centered around Hilo and Honolulu. Wife and kids initial look seems to point us to Honolulu for the children's hospital and schools.
I have a house in Hawaii. Everything is expensive as it is shipped in, and it gets old quick. Most people last @3 years, then move back. It's a nice place to vacation, or live part time, but full time is hard. Locals will always see you as an outsider.
Pretty much what Steve says. My daughter loved living there and says she would go back, but I feel she is not remembering the reality.
There was a thread on this very topic a little while ago:
In reply to GameboyRMH :
Thanks for that link. I did searches for "Hilo" "Honolulu" "Hawaii" and got no results so I figured the search function wasn't working.
After living in very expensive places, my price checking of Hawaii is not shocking. I do think I couldn't get my Evo through the emissions so it could be left behind. So a car will have to be purchased.
I can't seem to find any details on good neighborhoods on the big island. Only complaints.
We have and can in the future live with the four of us in a two bedroom apartment. Even lived without a tv for a few years, but needed internet for working from home.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
I think it is more about changing ourselves to enjoy where we would end up. I know almost everything I like will be different there. It is fair that many don't like how it ends up. That's fine. We are realistic that we may end up the same.
Yes, our family lived in Hawaii many years ago but I would focus on the schools your kids will be potentially attending. The impact of being a " Haole"( how le ) on the islands is for real.
We were a military family and had a circle of friends in the same nomadic life. Do you have any family or friends you can connect with?
I do remember that milk and Christmas Trees where treated with the same reverence. That and embrace " island time" for getting things done.
The emissions thing is interesting to hear. My understanding is they are a bit lax on policing cars there. My uncle who was prone to doing silly things drove on an expired Jersey tag for years on the big island without issues. The Haole thing was interesting for me to experience as a 19yo visitor many years ago. I had multiple low level hassles like kids trying to run me over while I was boogie boarding and getting fireworks shot at us while we were at the beach, but I hear you may not want to visit the average local dive bar if not a local. I also heard my nephew who lived there got some grief from his local classmates when his visiting haole grandmother took him to soccer practice.
That said it is an Incredibly beautiful place with every possible cool natural feature you could ever want to enjoy.
Oh-don't let your car sit. If you drive around and see 10' high batches of super dense growth on someones lawn in Hilo-that's a car. A car with grass and vines growing up through the shifter hole and out the windows.
You also have to learn to like Spam. The real Spam.
spitfirebill said:You also have to learn to like Spam. The real Spam.
Preferably when served as sushi or other things that Hormel's Minnesota cooks could never have imagined.
Also, lychees. Develop a taste for those too.
I don't think Hawaii is an emissions state. Is it? A friend lived on the Big Island (Kona side) for a number of years and I am pretty sure he did not do any emissions testing. In fact, he was rather concerned getting the car back into CA (where it was previously registered / tested). It would be VERY hypocritical for them to test on the Big Island, that damn volcano makes more smog (and I mean old school smog) than most large cities every could.
From my time spend on the Big Island, there is definitely a hot rod culture there (mostly transplants of course). We even randomly ran across a hot rod show while driving around near Hilo.
Honolulu is very much big city, with all the associated problems issues. Hilo is very much "Hawaii" in a bit of an old school way (it is pretty moist though). I honestly suspect you would tire of Honolulu faster the Hilo (depending on your personality of course), but yes, Honolulu has a lot more resources.
If you can do the "live there for a few years" thing, which is very common. It would certainly be a experience you would unlikely regret. My friend still misses the ability to get up in the morning and go paddling in the bay.
One thing you should consider is moving expenses. Is work going to pay for that? Who will pay when you leave? That might determine if you bring a car, it can be pretty expensive to ship a car over or back. He worked for the federal government (parks) so his moving expences where paid both ways.
I will get moving expenses covered or my answer will be no.
I was mistaken about emissions testing. It is a safety test. In my old state of Virginia the safety inspection included a search for emissions codes that somehow caught out many, including me. I wrongly assumed the HI safety inspection was the same.
Honestly my adjustment will be tough, mostly a city guy. I am more chill than average though. My wife lived in many places of the world before meeting me. She will likely slide right into the local culture. Me, I would have to figure out how to adapt mostly to not having winter. I like snow.
The management are going to deliberate over the next few months. My immediate supervisor is excited that I was even remotely interested. The last three programs run remotely were just break even at best. Me being on-site for this one would be major risk avoidance.
Advan046 said:I will get moving expenses covered or my answer will be no.
I was mistaken about emissions testing. It is a safety test. In my old state of Virginia the safety inspection included a search for emissions codes that somehow caught out many, including me. I wrongly assumed the HI safety inspection was the same.
Honestly my adjustment will be tough, mostly a city guy. I am more chill than average though. My wife lived in many places of the world before meeting me. She will likely slide right into the local culture. Me, I would have to figure out how to adapt mostly to not having winter. I like snow.
The management are going to deliberate over the next few months. My immediate supervisor is excited that I was even remotely interested. The last three programs run remotely were just break even at best. Me being on-site for this one would be major risk avoidance.
Sounds like they need you. Time to negotiate. Figure out what the cost of living difference is - say 20%. They'll have to pay you to make up that difference. Then you'll need a raise - make it a big one. I'd shoot real high - like 40-60% after your COLA. If they balk, tell them "I'm gonna have to pay for a flight home for the whole family, and a week+ in hotels, that I never would have had to before, boss. This is a huge change for us, and we need the income to reflect that"
In reply to Advan046 :
My Navy buddies who live there adapt to the islands. Forget gas powered cars. EV’s are very realistic solutions. A lot of homes use solar or if allowed Wind generators.
However real estate is a double edged sword High price to purchase and hopefully higher price selling. Buy wise. Check for termites, on everything made off wood. Serious problem. Plumbing, electrical, heck any worthwhile contractor is brutal as are materials.
Rents go up, sometimes monthly. Or start out really high. Food is brutally expensive compared to Midwest prices, more in line with expensive urban cities.
Navy buddies get by using Groceries/ supplies purchased on the bases. Plus sailors/ friends who do work off the books etc.
Island fever is very real. Some deal with it by sailing fishing etc others travel. Relatively easy for retired military. Others get so frustrated they move back to mainland 3 years is about max
Interesting about the EV incentive efforts for the islands. I just haven't really shopped EVs yet. I only got interested in a Volt for a while. I will take a deeper look into that.
I guess I am curious how the non super rich are able to live on island. Many seem to point out you need mega funds but the median income is in the $70,000-$80,000 range. How do the people making $75,000 per year live?
I assume they can survive without stealing food or something. I just need a clean home not a big one. Like just bigger than tiny house style. A safe neighborhood. Good school for my kids and access to kids healthcare.
WIn reply to Advan046 :
It’s super important to network. That network could be family or friends, fellow workers. etc. obviously not everyone is part of a network. Some agree to buy and when it arrives back out leaving others holding. Obviously that kills their participation. Someone does a bulk buy and shares it within the network. A chicken or lpig become available and locals work out who gets what for how much. A big freezer efficiently run along with a safe* panty is very important. Others trade labor, I’ll work on your car you fix my plumbing sorta thing. *safe from insects, vermin, and pests.
My Navy Friends and their families are mostly retired or very near retirement. They network extensively but not exclusively with Navy. Those that remain working report wages are seriously higher than mainland. Plus benefits in Hawaii are much more generous than Mainland.
With with regard a EV you won’t need the IC back up. Island driving seldom will require even 50 mile range. You would do better with a Bolt than a Volt. A Leaf is usually sufficient. Prices on the Island reflect transportation costs to the islands plus a premium for the money saving effect.
Expect to shop for others or give others your shopping list. Especially if returning to the mainland. Yes they have Amazon Prime plus alibaba.
Fish is a regular staple. However a lot of it comes through the black market. Thus there may be some question about its quality.
Watch where you live. Networking doesn’t work in high rental neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods are owned by absentee landlords who rent through agents. More of an investment than a neighborhood.
If you have kids Apparently there is real mixed results from various schools , even various teachers in a school. More than a few I’ve talked to send their children to school and then home school them at night/ over the weekend in an attempt to not fall behind mainland children.
I had a work connection who lived there for a few years. He married a local and moved from Minnesota or someplace like that. He said it was a big adjustment, but he liked raising his kids in paradise. They eventually moved back to the mainland for better schools and a lower cost of living.
Regarding EV's on the islands (I have not been in a few years, but I don't remember seeing a lot). One very important thing to consider is that electricity is VERY expensive there. If I remember correctly my friend in Kona (Big Island) was paying over 40 cents a KW! Average in US is more around 10. Doing a quick lookup shows average in Hawaii is 30 cents. This is the reason solar is so popular there. I am doubt you could put in enough solar to cover the charging of an EV, especially if you expect you use AC (and you will of course).
You may ask... why, on islands that are almost an optimal place of energy sources such as solar, wind, wave, and of course geothermal... why is electricity so expensive (from what I here)? Because they want it that way. If energy was cheap, more people could afford to live there, and there would be more people there. I think there is also a lot of resistance to the "blight" that such sites bring. They even removed a wind farm from one of the windiest places in the US (also the southern most spot).
Regarding "how do they survive". Well, as with other places, there are good places to live and not so good places. The not so good are a lot cheaper. There are of course, a good number of homeless, some of which might more be classified as "beach bums" (living marginally).
In reply to frenchyd :
Regarding the schools. I went to all private school through 12th grade. So my first public school experience was with my oldest daughter in Loudon County VA. It was rated the best school district of the country one of those years but I was still stunned by how little they taught. While I performed actual chemistry processes to make a salt and distill various liquids from a solution and "dissolved" aluminum. In my junior year of High School she barely learned the periodic table.
I guess my point us even in the "best" public school system I felt the need to supplement a lot at home. I know it can get way worse. And for an island state I am sure getting a good replacement teacher is very hard.
So any neighborhoods to avoid?
In reply to Advan046 :
I’ll ask but my contacts are all Vietnam era. Their school children are in college or in the work force.
Edit.
Most responses were costs are high on all the islands but especially Hawaii and Oahu. The further from them the more affordable the real estate, Molokai is probably your best bet for costs. It’s reputation as a former leper colony really seems to pour cold water on prices.
Since they are retired or near retirement they focus on health care especially Navy Bases with good healthcare.
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