I am currently on the verge of moving to hawaii. I am graduating june and have a chance to go live there for my profession. I would just hate to relocate and hate living there. I had lived on island before and didn't mind it. I don't know much about hawaii and never even been there. What do I need to know ? is the cost of living High? What is an avg apartment ? Probably the hardest thing about moving from the Mainland to Hawaii would be the 'island fever.' If you're used to being able to just get into your car and drive, well the farthest you'll make it here is about 2 hours then you're at the end of the road (depending on what island you're on).
If you're from the west coast, you shouldn't be in for too much of a culture shock, but if you're from anywhere else, mid-west to the east coast, get ready. The biggest peice of advice I can give anyone moving from the mainland to here is to be RESPECTFUL OF THE LOCALS. We have a very different way of living here, which includes the way we interact with each other. Remember to be open to a new way of life and you should be just fine. My bf moved here from Ohio, and luckily he already knew me. Whenever he'd do something bad I'd let him know and he'd usually come back with a 'well that's the way we do it in Ohio,' to which I usually replied with 'well you're not in Ohio anymore, and unless you wanna get a beating, you'd better remember that.'
Yes, the cost of living is high, but if your work is willing to relocate you here, it usually means they'll pay you enough to get by. If you happened to know what island you were going to be on you could probably get a little more info. Oahu is a little cheaper than the other islands, about the same as southern Cali. Expect to pay about $0.10-0.20 more for gas (I pay $1.51 on Kauai). The first thing you should do is go to the nearest grocery store and sign up for their discount programs (Safeway has the Safeway club card and Foodland has the Maika'i program). First off learn to say 'the mainland' not 'the states' which is considered very rude as Hawaii is a state! FYI: Hawaii is part of the "states".
Hawaiians find this, not so much rude, but an extremely ignorant thing to say.
Yes Hawaii is expensive, I suggest you read a little bit on Hawaii from Wikipedia for info on demographics, history, population, etc.
Then go to the cnbc.com website. They have a link to "cost of livings" in different areas and cities. You enter how much you are making now, and they compare how you would do from where you live now. You got some good advice about evaluating cost of living issues & they are certainly worth some consideration. Some other things to think about...
Are you pretty independent from your family? Some folks just find it difficult to be away from "home", miss their families, & just have trouble with home sickness.
Can you handle being a minority? Everyone is a minority here. I actually find the multi-culturalism to be one of the nicest & most interesting things about living here. But you need to be tolerant of other peoples' ways & you need to be understanding about occasionally being on the receiving end of some "attitude" towards mainland haoles. Although it doesn't happen often, it would be naive to pretend it never happens.
Are your expectations realistic? Some folks come here expecting a tropical paradise, & for it to be just like being on vacation, except that you have to work. But when you are working 40 hours a week, it isn't a lot like vacation, even if you can look out the window & see palm trees.
There have actually been a couple of very similar questions that have been answered over the past week or so. You might want to surf through some of the questions that are resolved or up for voting to see if there is anything of interest. I came to Oahu for vacation in 2001 and fell in love with the island, the food, the people.
So in 2003 we moved to Oahu. The first year was awesome. We did all the tourists attractions, ate all the local foods, learned the culture. It was great!
Now 6 years later. I hate it here. the food is not quality foods. When i say foods I mean the meats...not the way its prepared. They prepare food good here with wonderful fIavors, just the qualtiy is not good, like you are used to on the mainland. I have gain over 70lbs being here (all the rice with everything).
The people are not as nice as they were when on vacation. Because they are being paid to treat you nice and make you feel welcomed.
If you are not born or raised here or have family here, you are not accepted as easily. Here it's who you know and not what you know.
If you know people and do not get along, and lose your job, trying to get another job at another place is really hard if there is a person there that knew someone you used to work with.
Also it is very expensive here. milk is $7 a gallon, bread is $4, eggs $4. Gas is $3.37 a gallon.
not to mention that its the same attractions over and over again every year. You can only drive around the island so many times. And see the same things.
Also you do not get to really enjoy the island...like boating, sailing, skiing, water sports..if you do not own those things, or even know anyone with that stuff to go out and enjoy it. they are expensive to keep.
Also you will be a minority here, and they know it and will treat you like one too. they will look down on you and make you feel worthless.
Also here, everyone lives with their parents and grandparents. and get this.... their grandparents are still working to support them and their babies.
The friends that I have made where all mainlanders from the military and they all but have since moved back to the mainland. I have no friend and no family. Its hard to handle since over here they are all about FAMILY. Holidays are the worse.
i have only gone back to the mainland 3 times since I have lived here. Too expensive to fly back home for the holidays.
Depression has set in, I can not enjoy the things here, because I dont have the moeny to, all my hard earn cash is going to pay for my rent...which is 2x the amount I paid back home and for less room. My 3br 1 ba house with no yard and only 1100sq ft is costing me 2500 a month. I was paying $750 for a 1200 sq ft 3br 2ba house with a huge yard on the mainland.
then there's the humidity. it sucks...even when it cools down, its still sticky, you sweat all the time...even when its not hot. It's gross. just gross.
Sorry I could go on and on.
Let's just put it this way....."Hawaii is a beautiful state, would not want to live there" Start following Craiglist housing for an idea of how high the cost of living is here in Hawaii. You will need to find a roommate, and that is easy on CL. It will be hard to find a place before you actually arrive. Salaries are lower, especially when compared to the cost of living, so the great weather has to mean a lot for you. You also have to like not being a majority (if you are Caucasian). There are many Asians of all types, and we all get along fairly well, but there are some important cultural considerations. There are also high state income taxes, so be prepared for that as well. Adjusting to Hawaii is like adjusting to other places. If you relocate to Oahu, then you will be in a city of approximately 1 million people. Neighbor islands are anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000.
Yes, we have our share of ignorant and close minded people, but the vast majority constitute a diverse and friendly population of peoples from different cultures and a significant population of folks who have relocated from the mainland. On Oahu, we have many military personnel and they contribute greatly to Hawaii's culture.
I feel badly for those who consider themselves alienated from our Hawaii culture, but we have tens of thousands (maybe 100,000 plus) folks from the mainland who have made Hawaii their home and love it here.
The main cultural fact that I think is significant to point out is that the term "Hawaiian" refers to a specific ethnic group that is made up of the original people that populated the islands. They are Hawaii's native people. So although I am a resident of Hawaii, I am not Hawaiian, as I am of Asian ethnicity.
The cost of living is fairly high and an average 500 sf one bedroom apartment in town would go for around $1500 per month. I assume you live on the mainland. Hawaii is another state, just because it is quite a few islands, doesn't mean that it is not a state!
Since you have lived on an island before, and you said that you didn't mind it at all, then I think you will do very well.
Yes, some things are very highly priced, but some things will be lower in price.
I think it all depends on the individuals. Why not go to Hawaii and "find out for yourself" to see if you would like it there (take a mini vacation)! Get the newspaper and look at the classified ads for apartment/house/condo! |
