HAWAII

[april71rn]

Ok, DH and DD have been to Hawaii 3 times in the past 7 years. Once to Maui and twice to Kauai. We would really like to move there in 4 years after DD graduates high school and hopefully still wants to go to collage in Hawaii! We LOVE Kauai but realistically cannot afford to live here. Very expensive and smaller island=less jobs! We are gonna go back this winter and check out the Big Island because through numerous internet searches it seems to be cheaper there and more job opportunities. I am an RN and hopefully could find a job, preferably in dialysis. But to get to the point just wanna hear from anyone who lives there on any island, especially if you have moved from the mainland. how you like it, how expensive to live, etc. Most people laugh at our dream but if we wanna do it, I think we can make a go of it.

 

[lkl]

i wish i could move there.

 

[kgalas]

We have a girl in the Clean and Tidy check in who lives in Hawaii-her name is Lisa. She usually posts late at night or early evening due to the time difference. Not sure if she reads the OD much, so try posting this over there!

On a side note, how cool is that! I love your attitude and say go for it!

 

[janiejoey]

I would say to think about it hard and debate everything. Remember it's expensive to commute/visit off the Island. Can you afford to go whenever you want? You are stuck there for long periods of time, you only have a certain amount of travel you can do on the Island. You are surrounded by water, if anything should happen, (tsunami, storms like hurricanes...) to evacuate would be treacherous. Tourism may bother you. It sounds romantic, but I must say that I would feel so enclosed. And for me, I would very soon get bored. There are only a certain amount of things to do on an island, and to do it is very expensive. You are so limited.

Things I would think about.

Janie

 

[Tamrahan]

We had a guy that worked here who lived in Hawaii. I asked him WHY would you move here. I mean Hawaii/Iowa=no comparison. He said he hated it there. Very confining. He said many people that live there feel the same way-they want to get OFF the island and get to the mainland. He also said they have a lot of centipedes and thier bite is painful and they can grow up to 10 inches. I guess they are all over the place and get in your bed. ewww. He had nothing but complaints about Hawaii- there is no place to go.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/452655/are_centipedes_poisonous_in_hawaii_pg2.html?cat=5

 

[dlandkk808]

Life on the Big Island would be very different, but if you like slow paced areas, you would probably love it. Think long and hard though because Hawaii is a really expensive place to live. Everything costs more including day to day things like groceries and gas and even more so outside of Oahu. But hey, if it's your dream, go for it and don't hesitate. Hawaii is a beautiful place and if you can afford it or make it work, why not? I've lived here all my life and my family is here so it's a bit different from your situation, but if you and your husband really want it, do your research and go from there. Oh and jobs pay way less here than on the mainland esp. compared to the high cost of living.

Regarding the centipedes, they are in some areas. I never saw one growing up until I moved where I live now and had two centipedes crawl on me while sleeping in my bed on two different occasions. Yeah, real nice. Didn't get bit though because I felt them so I picked them up and threw them off of me.

Lisa

 

[runninggal]

Many people who come here on vacation, dream of moving here. Unfortunately, the reality of living in Hawaii is FAR different than the euphoric feeling that you have when you are on vacation. Unless you are extremely wealthy, the cost of living makes it a struggle to make ends meet here. We have lived here on Oahu for over 20 years and when my husband retires, we will move back to the Mainland...not because we want to, but it will be cost prohibitive to stay here without his substantial income.
BTW~ My 3 children were born here and my oldest is headed to college on the Mainland where he can get a superior education.
Sorry I can't paint a rosier picture, but this is reality.
Sarah