Anyone Live in Hawaii? Thinking about moving there and need some info.

[Schnieds]

Hey,

The wife and I are thinking about moving to Oahu from the mainland. If any of you has any advice about moving, or can answer the following questions I would realy appreciate the info!!!

- What is the best way to ship your stuff over there ( cars and general posessions.) I have looked into a few different crate shipping services, but I don't know anyone who has done this, so some first hand experience would be great.

- How is the job market in Oahu? I am a computer technical guy and my wife is a teacher.

- What are some good suburbs of Oahu to try to get into?

- What are some good intermediate level surf spots that aren't subject to "local" mentality?

- Any other comments, info, or experiences would be most appreciated.

-Schnieds

 

[Ameesh]

its hot in hawaii.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Ameesh
its hot in hawaii.

And crowed. And expensive.

 

[Schnieds]

Hmmm... both comments are true, but I am hoping for a little more detailed info.

 

[vi edit]

I dunno if she still hangs around, but Jfur lives in Hawaii. You could maybe try PM'ing her.

 

[Atrail]

Nitrofish lives in Hawaii.
You could try PM him...

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: Schnieds
Hmmm... both comments are true, but I am hoping for a little more detailed info.

its hot most of the year? maybe thats too detailed.


haha


joking aside i think pretty much anywhere is better then portland, good luck!

 

[newbiepcuser]

Originally posted by: Schnieds
Hey,

The wife and I are thinking about moving to Oahu from Portland, Or. If any of you has any advice about moving, or can answer the following questions I would realy appreciate the info!!!

- What is the best way to ship your stuff over there ( cars and general posessions.) I have looked into a few different crate shipping services, but I don't know anyone who has done this, so some first hand experience would be great.

- How is the job market in Oahu? I am a computer technical guy and my wife is a teacher.

- What are some good suburbs of Oahu to try to get into?

- What are some good intermediate level surf spots that are subject to "local" mentality?

- Any other comments, info, or experiences would be most appreciated.

-Schnieds

1. My friend had to go work in Japan cause the computer/IT field was so bad. You're probably looking at working for hotel's IT department. I would start scanning the major hotels there and see if they need "computer technical guy".
2. don't know, real estate is expensive.
3. you kidding right? When I was college, one of my classmates got back from Hawaii, he got punched in the face for not being a local. He was Caucasian person. Those spots are off limits for non locals. You're looking at the crowded tourist traps unless you can make friends with one of the locals.

Good luck.

 

[Schnieds]

I will try PM'ing both members... thanks for the references!

 

[vegetation]

- How is the job market in Oahu? I am a computer technical guy and my wife is a teacher.

Your wife will be able to find employment easily, especially if she teaches in a math or scientific field. You will not find it so easy, however. Tech jobs are pretty rare around here and are snatched up through connections more than qualifications.

- What are some good suburbs of Oahu to try to get into?

Hawaii is very different than the mainland. We don't have ghetto neighborhoods around here, and all towns are ethnically mixed. Neighborhoods centering around Honolulu are significantly more expensive to rent and purchase ($500k+) than the outskirts of the island. The farther out you go from the city center, the cheaper it gets. Places like Mililani, Ewa beach, and Kapolei allow you to find a decent house at an affordable price ($200 - $300k), but the major downside is facing brutal daily work traffic into and out of town. Another issue is one with weather -- certain areas of the island get a lot more rain than others. For instance, Kapolei might only get 15 inches a year, but Pearl City, just 10 miles away, easy gets twice to three times as much. This microclimate effect extends with temperature variances as well. It can get really hot on the Ewa plain during the summer, 90s and above. That may not seem like much but you have to realize that few homes here have any central air system, and electric rates are among the highest in the nation. In contrast, homes in Mililani seldom go over 80 degrees even in the summer, due to the higher elevation.

 

[ROTC1983]

I am currently going to UH at Manoa in Hawaii. If you got any questions, just PM me. I will be home in a couple of hours.

 

[Schnieds]

First off, thank you very much for your input Vegetation!

Your wife will be able to find employment easily, especially if she teaches in a math or scientific field. You will not find it so easy, however. Tech jobs are pretty rare around here and are snatched up through connections more than qualifications.

Interesting. Tech jobs being rare surprises me. I have been looking at the Honolulu Advertiser online for the past few months and there have been an average of 50 current open jobs every week. Some get filled, but new ones always pop up to replace them. Of the 50 jobs posted on average I qualify for 33% to 50% of them. Because of this I was thinking that the job market for tech people wouldn't be that bad. I am a little confused.

Hawaii is very different than the mainland. We don't have ghetto neighborhoods around here, and all towns are ethnically mixed. Neighborhoods centering around Honolulu are significantly more expensive to rent and purchase ($500k+) than the outskirts of the island. The farther out you go from the city center, the cheaper it gets. Places like Mililani, Ewa beach, and Kapolei allow you to find a decent house at an affordable price ($200 - $300k), but the major downside is facing brutal daily work traffic into and out of town. Another issue is one with weather -- certain areas of the island get a lot more rain than others. For instance, Kapolei might only get 15 inches a year, but Pearl City, just 10 miles away, easy gets twice to three times as much. This microclimate effect extends with temperature variances as well. It can get really hot on the Ewa plain during the summer, 90s and above. That may not seem like much but you have to realize that few homes here have any central air system, and electric rates are among the highest in the nation. In contrast, homes in Mililani seldom go over 80 degrees even in the summer, due to the higher elevation.

Thanks for the very detailed info! Could you give me a ballpark time estimate of how long the commute usually takes from one of the burbs into town? I was actually looking at some apartments online in Ewa Beach and Kailua. We were thinking about moving into an apartment at first until we get a feel for the area.

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: ROTC1983
I am currently going to UH at Manoa in Hawaii. If you got any questions, just PM me. I will be home in a couple of hours.

You have PM

 

[Kung Lau]

Hot relative to what?

I moved from Georgia to Oahu and it was a very nice change in climate. Less humidity and less heat. More breezes. Less rain. Best weather I could ever hope for.

Being military I can't advise moving options as it's all taken care of for us.
Oahu is the whole island, nearer to Honolulu, it's definitely more expensive.

Obviously, the beaches on Waikiki have more tourists than locals, but they are still extremely nice. Where they filmed Bay Watch (i forget the beach name) is a moderate surf beach imo. North shore, well, you know about that I'm sure.

I'd estimate 45-120 mins to get from Ewa Beach to downtown Honolulu, depending on time of morning.
From Kailua, it would be longer, since you'd have to go around the eastern perimeter or take Pali Hwy to downtown.

Kailua is the rainy side (windward) of the island, but has nice beaches, less tourists.

 

[dethman]

i'm still trying to figure out where the interstates in Hawaii go to...

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: Kung Lau
Hot relative to what?

I moved from Georgia to Oahu and it was a very nice change in climate. Less humidity and less heat. More breezes. Less rain. Best weather I could ever hope for.

Being military I can't advise moving options as it's all taken care of for us.
Oahu is the whole island, nearer to Honolulu, it's definitely more expensive.

Obviously, the beaches on Waikiki have more tourists than locals, but they are still extremely nice. Where they filmed Bay Watch (i forget the beach name) is a moderate surf beach imo. North shore, well, you know about that I'm sure.

I'd estimate 45-120 mins to get from Ewa Beach to downtown Honolulu, depending on time of morning.
From Kailua, it would be longer, since you'd have to go around the eastern perimeter or take Pali Hwy to downtown.

Kailua is the rainy side (windward) of the island, but has nice beaches, less tourists.

Holy moly, that is a long commute! Thanks for the info on the island in general. I agree with you about the climate, I grew up in So. Cal, so Hawaii weather seemed perfect to me.

 

[jorken]

Moving to Hawaii I did that! Probably the craziest and most fullfilling thing i've done in my life so far. I scrooged every penny and knew when I was ready to go, i didn't have nearly the amount of money I should have had. I didn't know anyone on the island, i didn't know anything about anything other then what I read on the internet. But I managed to get on the plane, fly myself and the 2 bags of stuff 6000 miles away from everything. I've still only been here for about 3 months now, and i'm still learning a lot, meeting new people and doing things i would have never even thought about if I were back home in Jersey.

As to some of your questions:

The job market, specially for techy stuff, can be rough but its not like its any better anywhere else. By the end of the second month I had myself a full-time tech job in downtown Honolulu. If you're willing to work with temp agencies to try and get your foot in the door thats always a good start. There are quite a few government contract positions, most of which require you to have a secret clearance. Some temp agencies will sponser you for that though. When you're in an interview here, you better make sure you have a good answer when they ask you about your commitment to staying here.

It was a little rough when I first got here, but I couldn't be happier now that everything is coming together. But if you want to know more about my experiences i'll be glad to share, its a story i'm pretty proud of and don't mind telling over and over

-dkg

 

[everman]

Great fishing in Hawaii, that's all I really know or care about

 

[DurocShark]

My wife's been wanting to move to HI. Can't afford it tho...

A friend lived there and came back with a Hawiian/polinesian wife. He said trading with the locals can be frustrating at best, dangerous at worst. Being a "howie" he would be ignored by vendors and if he tried to sell anything, virtually only other "howies" would buy.

There are great aspects to living there, and horrible aspects as well. I guess just like living anywhere (being from SoCal myself, I'm used to a lot of them).

If you don't have kids, I say go for it. If you do, I suggest you hook up a job BEFORE moving the family out there. Get there and get working, then bring the rest out. That way you've only risked your own sanity, and not messed with the kids.

Good luck! Being a photographer and a surfer I'd love to go. But with a family, and no way to make enough $$ to live there, I couldn't make it happen.

 

[mztykal]

Hawaii isn't as bad as vegetation made it out to be. Houses in Kaneohe and Kailua can range from 290k+ for a nice house in a nice quiet neighborhood. And no, locals don't go around beating up tourists. Some do, just remember not to venture into Waianae with a camera and a rental car.

Other than it, it's lax. Tech jobs aren't that hard to find, you just have to know where to look.

Sorry for the lack of response, but I'm late for school.

 

[phatcow]

The wife and I are thinking about moving to Oahu from the mainland. If any of you has any advice about moving, or can answer the following questions I would realy appreciate the info!!!

- What is the best way to ship your stuff over there ( cars and general posessions.) I have looked into a few different crate shipping services, but I don't know anyone who has done this, so some first hand experience would be great.
--------- Matson charges about 800 bucks from the west coast ports. Might be more now because of the fuel crisis


- How is the job market in Oahu? I am a computer technical guy and my wife is a teacher.
--------- THe job market here sucks alot if you are anything into IT or technology. Tourism is obviously popular and marketable, but the money isnt there. Your wife is a teacher? Sucks to be her, cause the DOE pays pretty low here. A mid career teacher gets in the 40s.

- What are some good suburbs of Oahu to try to get into?
------- Most young couples like to move into the "mainland" style suburbs, like Mililani(Mauka is the upscale), Kapolei, Waikele. Those are pretty decent areas also.

- What are some good intermediate level surf spots that aren't subject to "local" mentality?
------- North Shore, of course

- Any other comments, info, or experiences would be most appreciated.
------ I live here, so if you have any questions about this place, PM me or post here.


Note: Hawaii gets tiring after a while. You run out of things to do.

 

[mztykal]

Note: Hawaii gets tiring after a while. You run out of things to do.

This is something I totally agree with.

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: jorken
Moving to Hawaii I did that! Probably the craziest and most fullfilling thing i've done in my life so far. I scrooged every penny and knew when I was ready to go, i didn't have nearly the amount of money I should have had. I didn't know anyone on the island, i didn't know anything about anything other then what I read on the internet. But I managed to get on the plane, fly myself and the 2 bags of stuff 6000 miles away from everything. I've still only been here for about 3 months now, and i'm still learning a lot, meeting new people and doing things i would have never even thought about if I were back home in Jersey.

As to some of your questions:

The job market, specially for techy stuff, can be rough but its not like its any better anywhere else. By the end of the second month I had myself a full-time tech job in downtown Honolulu. If you're willing to work with temp agencies to try and get your foot in the door thats always a good start. There are quite a few government contract positions, most of which require you to have a secret clearance. Some temp agencies will sponser you for that though. When you're in an interview here, you better make sure you have a good answer when they ask you about your commitment to staying here.

It was a little rough when I first got here, but I couldn't be happier now that everything is coming together. But if you want to know more about my experiences i'll be glad to share, its a story i'm pretty proud of and don't mind telling over and over

-dkg

Thanks for your info and perspective on Hawaii... would you mind if I e-mailed you?

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: DurocShark
My wife's been wanting to move to HI. Can't afford it tho...

A friend lived there and came back with a Hawiian/polinesian wife. He said trading with the locals can be frustrating at best, dangerous at worst. Being a "howie" he would be ignored by vendors and if he tried to sell anything, virtually only other "howies" would buy.

There are great aspects to living there, and horrible aspects as well. I guess just like living anywhere (being from SoCal myself, I'm used to a lot of them).

If you don't have kids, I say go for it. If you do, I suggest you hook up a job BEFORE moving the family out there. Get there and get working, then bring the rest out. That way you've only risked your own sanity, and not messed with the kids.

Good luck! Being a photographer and a surfer I'd love to go. But with a family, and no way to make enough $$ to live there, I couldn't make it happen.

Both my wife and I are 25 and have no kids at the moment. We have a few years of experience in our respective areas of employment and both have a good education. We are thinking that this is the ideal time for us to do something nutty and move to Hawaii at least for a couple of years. We made a good investment in a home, and have decent amount of savings built up, so we can move over there and look for jobs comfortably for months without worrying about funding.

What I am planning right now is to fly over there again this April and spec out an apartment for us. Then, come June when my wife gets out of school, start applying to jobs a couple of weeks before we go and then take the plunge!

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: mztykal
Hawaii isn't as bad as vegetation made it out to be. Houses in Kaneohe and Kailua can range from 290k+ for a nice house in a nice quiet neighborhood. And no, locals don't go around beating up tourists. Some do, just remember not to venture into Waianae with a camera and a rental car.

Other than it, it's lax. Tech jobs aren't that hard to find, you just have to know where to look.

Sorry for the lack of response, but I'm late for school.

I would love to hear more details about your opinion of the questions I asked and living in Hawaii in general if you get a chance.

Thanks again!