Moving to Hawaii - Can We Make it in Hawaii?

Lisa I recently (today) read some of the entries with your advice about moving to Hawaii. My family. one son, my husband and myself are seriously considering it. I mean selling everything here and starting over. We have had a very hard two years and are really wanting to change. We love sand and beaches and surf, etc. However even though I am ready for a life change I don’t want to fall on my face. My son is smart and 12. My husband has been the foreman of his father’s construction business for 7 years. I am about to finsih the courses for real estate appraisal.

Can we make it? I know that things are much more expensive. I also know that we can not afford to buy a home right away we would be renting, either a house or apartment. What island should we be looking at. I want serenity and comfort, not crazy. But I do want to survive. I want my son to continue to play sports and grow into a wonderful person. He is a straight a student a superb athlete.

We really want this, but I need help on the ins and outs and the best way to do things.

Construction and real estate are both in a tiny downturn right now due to the depressed housing market.

I can’t tell you if you can make it or not. My very good friends right now are selling everything they own and moving back to the mainland because they don’t feel they can make it here. She is a massage therapist and homeschools their 3 kids. He is in construction. Their max income is about $3000 a month, and even though they live in the cheapest area in all of Hawaii (Puna on the Big Island) they still would have a minimum rent of about $1000-$1200 for a three bedroom home, or a minimum mortgage of about $1800 per month.

Here in the cheapest areas (Hilo/Puna) there aren’t any real sandy beaches. We have a few beach areas that are mostly black sand or lava rock but if we want to go to the really nice hawaii beaches we have to drive an 1.5 to 2 hours to get to the Kohala Beaches: Spencer’s, Hapuna, Kaunaoa. My son and I really enjoy this but we only do it once a month or so.

Any other island or area is going to cost you more. Look up Hawaii newspapers and start reading their classifieds for housing costs for whatever you might be looking for.

I have another friend who just moved from the mainland and her teenage son, once a compliant and sweet boy, now won’t even speak to her. He’s miserable because here in Hilo there is no opportunity for him to continue with his sport, competitive gymnastics. He hasn’t met any new friends and since they live in Puna all the houses are far apart and there is no opportunity to meet new friends outside of school (he’s home-schooled) or driving somewhere. Something to think about.

Also realize, the schools are generally considered sub-par out here in Hawaii. I don’t know much about this myself (my son is home-schooled) but I always hear people complaining about how bad the schools are. I hear about discrimination too. I don’t know your race, but I have heard there is discrimination against white and black children in school. I can’t personally verify this, and I don’t believe my white husband has been discriminated against in his job, but I hear stories all the time. I have another friend who moved back to the mainland months ago because her white husband said he couldn’t keep a teaching job due to discrimination. She hated it here. Se was very isolated while her husband had the car all day. She had no family here and they lived in a very small, low-income apartment and she and her young daughter had nothing to do all day and no-one to do it with.

So, it seems like all of these are negatives. Now onto the positive: I LOVE Hilo. I have lived in Puna for 12 years and have been in Hilo now for 6 months. We just bought a house (1456 sq foot, three-bedroom for $365,000) high up on a hill. We have a wonderfully quiet neighborhood, nice neighbors, a gorgeous view of the bay from our yard, and great weather. It is sooo quiet and cool here. We can go to the ocean any time we want and swim. We can go to the pool or ocean in December if we want. It doesn’t snow or get cold. We are far enough from family that their drama has no effect on us (probably one of the best reasons I like it here, but someone who loves to be around family would have a hard time being so far from them).

I have friends who live right on the beach in Ewa Beach on Oahu in a large, two-story, converted barracks that they bought several years back for $300,000. You couldn’t get it for less than a million today. They have a great 180 degree view of the ocean and hear the waves every night. They are happy there. I couldn’t live there because of the traffic - and the heat. They home-school their kids and time all their trips to try to stay out of the bulk of the traffic. It’s hot, hot, hot there - and electricity is so expensive they don’t have air conditioning. My electric bill is consistently $300+ a month. All south and west sides will be hot and dry and that’s not the kind of weather I like. I like Hilo’s cool and rainy .

Basically, I would never, ever advise someone to move out here or not, because I can’t tell you if you will like it. You can’t even tell you if you will like it or be able to make it. You have to live it to find out. Either you make the leap or you don’t. I would find some good resources - read all you can on the Internet. Decide on an island/area you like and read up on living there. You are welcome to e-mail me with any more *specific* questions you have. See if your library has any books on moving to Hawaii. I think there is one called So you want to Live in Hawaii that people talk about. Get on some moving to hawaii forums and read a lot: try this one make a list of pros and cons and see which makes more sense.

Please don’t move to Hawaii because you think it is some paradise-like panacea from the problems you currently have. A vacation here in a hotel on a beach may free you from those problems for a week, but moving here to escape them will probably just bring them with.

I wish you all the luck in the world. Keep me updated - e-mail me again. I’ll help if I can. Aloha, Lisa

12 October 2007 | More like this: Moving to Hawaii

• Most Popular Articles
• Current Hawaii Deals Newsletter
• Hawaii Lodging Reviews, Lists, and Booking