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

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: 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.

First off, thanks for all of the info. I hadn't heard about Matson before, they look pretty good. I will have to give them a call and get an estimate for shipping personal effects. The pointers on the decent burbs is great, it gives me a better idea of where to target my apartment search. Much appreciated.

Are the average housing prices for a nice home in the 200K-300K range as suggested in a previous post?

What is your experience with commute traffic / average times?

Now about running out of things to do, I have a couple more questions. My wife and I are ocean / beach nuts. We love pretty much anything to do with the water, snorkelling, kayaking, and most importantly surfing ( I go surf almost every weekend it is sunny, even in Oregon.) I am probably being naive, but I can't imagine running out of things to do for a couple of years. Could you elaborate a bit?

I will probably think of more to ask later....

Thanks a bunch!

 

[MuffD]

Hawaii is a great place to be especially if you like to surf. I would give anything if I could take my family and raise my children there. Only thing is, I can't find a good enough job around there that would pay the bills.

Another bad thing about going there is if I want to take my kids to see their grandparents, it's not like we can hop in the car and go drive there. We have to fork out at least a 1k for 4 people to fly back to san diego.

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: muffstah
Hawaii is a great place to be especially if you like to surf. I would give anything if I could take my family and raise my children there. Only thing is, I can't find a good enough job around there that would pay the bills.

Another bad thing about going there is if I want to take my kids to see their grandparents, it's not like we can hop in the car and go drive there. We have to fork out at least a 1k for 4 people to fly back to san diego.

Yeah, our thinking is that we should be able to find work in our professions there, and if so paying bills won't be a problem. And with no kids it makes it really easy right now.

I haven't heard any information that has really scared or shocked me, so at this point I think that we are still going to go for it.

 

[SCSIfreek]

Hi there,

Lived in Honolulu for the past 18 years, 2 years ago moved to Northern California.

I'll try to provide any information you might find interesting about Oahu.

1) Job Market in Oahu relied heavily on tourism and please keep in mind the pay rates aren't as high as the mainland.

2) People in general are much more friendlier than those in the west coast due to the mixed ethnicity.

3) Cost of living is slightly high but with 2 pay checks you shouldn't have any problem.

4) Cost of housing greatly depends on your interest. I would suggest living in town as you could get everything you wanted in matters of minutes. plus beautiful beaches are every where you go. Here are couple nice areas you might find interesting: Makiki(my parents live there), Hawaii Kai, Pali, Kahala, and Manoa.

5) Traffic is horrorible!!! I repeat traffic is horrorible. there's only 3 major highway/freeway in the entire island of Oahu and you'll soon figure that everyone uses H-1 as their morning commute. Because of the traffic,thats why I recommended housing in town. see 4).

6) If you're a outdoor type of person and you have mentioned that you are. Hawaii would be the best place to live. There are tons and tons of things to do if you love the outdoor. Hiking, biking, Swimming, Surfing, Shopping(for your wife), all kinds of water sports, lots of parks and picnic area, and anything you could think of. Also at night you could take a drive to sandy beach and look at stars. If you find Oahu isn't enough for your outdoor craving, you could always catch a flight over to the Big Island and see the Volcanoes, or relax on the white sands of other outter islands. You'll love Hawaii. Just keep yourself from driving into Kalihi, waipahu, and waianea at night . try out Hawaiian foods, you'll love the Kailua pig and Lau Lau!!! Yummmyyy!!!! Although I dont dig Poi, maybe you do.

dang it, have to go home post here if you have any more questions.

 

[davee]

i dunno much about it i used to watch hawaii five 0 though i can remember bits what do you wanna know

 

[jorken]

Originally posted by: 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?

Wouldn't mind at all... email away The email in my profile, or dkgildea@yahoo.com will work just fine.

 

[Zugzwang152]

also live in hawaii, and will be going back for good at the end of next month, and attending UH as well. (ROTC1983 and me are making the UH ATOT club!!!!

 

[Keego]

I'm not interested at all about moving there, but the first thing that popped into my head was how is Hawaii connected to the internet, under water Fiber?

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: Keego
I'm not interested at all about moving there, but the first thing that popped into my head was how is Hawaii connected to the internet, under water Fiber?

yeah. fiber and satellite as well.

 

[Schnieds]

SCSIfreek,

Dude, you rule! Thank you very much for all of the info, that was awesome! If you get some spare time and want to jot down anything else that comes to mind I would love to read!

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
also live in hawaii, and will be going back for good at the end of next month, and attending UH as well. (ROTC1983 and me are making the UH ATOT club!!!!

If I make it over there I might just have to join.

 

[Omegachi]

hey, i live in hawaii. its great here, lots of chicks and lots of waves.

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: Omegachi
hey, i live in hawaii. its great here, lots of chicks and lots of waves.

The waves sound great, I have already married a hot chick thought, so I am gonna pass on those. Surfing in Oregon straight up sucks. I hate having to wear a wet suit, freezing, and competing with the locals for a bunch of crappy sets. I can't wait to be able to surf in warm water all the time on some nice waves...

 

[Schnieds]

bump

 

[SCSIfreek]

I'm back ,


couple more things to add about Oahu:

the weather is perfect all year round. I mean all you need is T-shirts and shorts . Temperature ranges from 62 - 85 all day long. It is one of the main reason why my parents love staying in Hawaii.

Also, might want to invest some money on Aloha shirts, Aloha shirts are considered the appropriate attire as business wear. So purchasing couple aloha shirt won't hurt ya. You'll soon to notice that everyone at work wears aloha shrits.

If you're polite and get along with others, I'm sure you'll have a great time sharing the beaches with the local boys. From the way you have presented yourself, it shouldn't be much of a problem surfing in the beaches of Oahu. Keep in mind that everyone in the water just wanted to have fun and nothing else.

Lastly, the bus system in Oahu is considered the best among the entire United States. It is quite convene to catch the bus due to the fact that many tourists use public transportations as their main source of travel. while you're riding the bus, keep in mind front seats are for elderlies.

If i think of more stuff I'll let ya know.


--Scsi

 

[Sundog]

Originally posted by: SCSIfreek
I'm back ,


couple more things to add about Oahu:

the weather is perfect all year round. I mean all you need is T-shirts and shorts . Temperature ranges from 62 - 85 all day long. It is one of the main reason why my parents love staying in Hawaii.

Also, might want to invest some money on Aloha shirts, Aloha shirts are considered the appropriate attire as business wear. So purchasing couple aloha shirt won't hurt ya. You'll soon to notice that everyone at work wears aloha shrits.

If you're polite and get along with others, I'm sure you'll have a great time sharing the beaches with the local boys. From the way you have presented yourself, it shouldn't be much of a problem surfing in the beaches of Oahu. Keep in mind that everyone in the water just wanted to have fun and nothing else.

Lastly, the bus system in Oahu is considered the best among the entire United States. It is quite convene to catch the bus due to the fact that many tourists use public transportations as their main source of travel. while you're riding the bus, keep in mind front seats are for elderlies.

If i think of more stuff I'll let ya know.


--Scsi

OK, sign me up!

 

[Schnieds]

Originally posted by: SCSIfreek
I'm back ,


couple more things to add about Oahu:

the weather is perfect all year round. I mean all you need is T-shirts and shorts . Temperature ranges from 62 - 85 all day long. It is one of the main reason why my parents love staying in Hawaii.

Also, might want to invest some money on Aloha shirts, Aloha shirts are considered the appropriate attire as business wear. So purchasing couple aloha shirt won't hurt ya. You'll soon to notice that everyone at work wears aloha shrits.

If you're polite and get along with others, I'm sure you'll have a great time sharing the beaches with the local boys. From the way you have presented yourself, it shouldn't be much of a problem surfing in the beaches of Oahu. Keep in mind that everyone in the water just wanted to have fun and nothing else.

Lastly, the bus system in Oahu is considered the best among the entire United States. It is quite convene to catch the bus due to the fact that many tourists use public transportations as their main source of travel. while you're riding the bus, keep in mind front seats are for elderlies.

If i think of more stuff I'll let ya know.


--Scsi

Once again, thanks for the great info!

I'm down with the Aloha shirts for business casual dress. I already have a couple, so I at least don't have to start from scratch.

Thanks for the info on the surfing. I am an intermediate surfer that loves the water to surf, not to show off, so I don't usually have problems with others. In fact, I was in Maui over Christmas and shared some of the nicer breaks with some locals without any problems at all.

Thanks for the info on the bus system. I would much rather take a bus than sit in an hour of traffic everyday. That is a very helpful piece of information to know because I probably woudn't have thought of that on my own.

 

[wjones]

Bump for you.

Heading to Honolulu tomorrow for a week vacation

 

[milagro]

Had no idea there were so many hawaii peeps on the board....we might have to have one of those nerd parties soon.

Yeah man, come to hawaii w/ your wife. Hawaii always needs more teachers in the math and sciences. While she could get a good paying job in the private schools, she would really be appreciated int he public schools.

 

[ROTC1983]

Originally posted by: dethman
i'm still trying to figure out where the interstates in Hawaii go to...

Into the ocean, duh...

 

[ROTC1983]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
also live in hawaii, and will be going back for good at the end of next month, and attending UH as well. (ROTC1983 and me are making the UH ATOT club!!!!

Hey, that sounds cool

 

[wjones]

Just found out that Onesuite.com doesn't work in Hawaii (only works in continental US). Is there any phone cards that works in HI?