Dreaming of the island life

You get this stuff and more in most of the 48 states on the US mainland.

 

Being also born and raised on Oahu, I would have to say....if you can afford it comfortably them do it. I've been visiting the mainland more frequently to see if it's worth the move. Yes my job pays around 68k a year and combined my wife and I almost make 140k combined but I find it to be almost nothing when it compares to the cost of living. Houses that aren't old/needing work/far from your job(lot of jobs in town) are going to run you around 500-600k+ Starting. That's talking a small house. Gas is more expensive, food and water is way more expensive, shipping here takes forever and is expensive, etc. It's the price of parsdise. Many many families are living in multi generational homes because no me can afford their own places or have ridiculous mortgages. Either that or you inherit property when your parents pass and you rebuild or remodel.

Example....my wife and I were looking to buy A'alii condo in town soon to be built. When we went there we wanted the 2 bedroom unit(think it was like 675 sq ft)/2bsth/2 parking, maint fee around 420. They showed us the pricing and the cheapest was 950k and the high end 1.3 mil. I know it's Vegas but we went there and found an awesome 1700+ sq foot 3bd/2bsth/2 parking, gated community, 24 hr security guard, monthly maint fee was around 300, etc for 265k. Both of these places were comparable to safety of the area.

Also, after a while you start to see that the roads are congested and there are so many stupid drivers here. After 2 weeks on the mainland driving, Hawaii drivers are way more stupid imho.

I can go on ranting at how much I hate most things about Hawaii. But in the end if I can afford to live comfortably here I would love to stay. I do not mean be ultra rich, but able to pay the mortgage, put a nice amount away for retirement, and not be always penny pinching at the market.

Ultimately its up to you. Just because it's paradise doesn't mean it will stay that way for your lifestyle. A beautiful view will not pay the bills.

 

Best poke I've ever had was from Fresh Catch in Kaneohe! It was even on Diner's, Drive-ins, and Dives. If it's the island life you're after I do think you'd prefer a neighbor island, but if you're into a Los Angeles-y lifestyle then Oahu, specifically Waikiki, would be great for you. I've lived here on Oahu my entire life and I personally would move to the Big Island if I didn't have family obligations here. I live in town, but I feel much more at home out in Kaneohe or Waianae. I'd feel a little out of place in Kailua or North Shore since I'm not white, but I like the people there. Some of the realest people I've met were from outer island. Over here it seems like a constant dick measuring contest from the clothes you wear to car you drive.

 

And this is why I like my little island of Kauai! Going to Oahu is a nice little get away but then again since inter-island flights are so damn expensive makes more sense to pay a little more and go to the mainland!

 

I actually prefer an area like Kaneohe or kaaawa.... I actually never went into the downtown area and I stayed happily on the east side... I did snorkel at Makaha which was awesome... I’ve been told the other islands are a lot more laid back which I would love. Still I figured I could rent in Oahu and then visit the other islands and see what is perfect for me... Costco is nice to have in an expensive area like hawaii it would suck not to have those types of ammenities lol

 

Well Kauai is a lot laid back but so is lanai and molokai I’m assuming, though I’ve not been to either island! I don’t think either has a Costco but I know we do! Lol

 

No Costco on Lanai or Molokai. Not even a McDonalds. There are variety stores and even a NAPA and Ace Hardware on both islands, local markets and hole in the wall restaurants. If you really want to live the island life, these are the islands for you, just keep in mind, prices are even higher on Lanai and Molokai. All the other islands have a Costco. I live on Oahu and have been to Maui, Kauai and Big Island in the past week (I travel for work) and each island has its pluses and minuses. I personally like Hilo the best, but Maui would be my second choice. You mentioned that you wouldn’t mind living on the east side of Oahu. Houses average in the 1mil range in the Aina Haina to Hawaii Kai areas. Kaneohe is on the windward side and homes average in the 8-900k range. Pay unfortunately is not on par with the mainland, that’s why a lot of my friends have move away.

 

I'm stationed there now and they told me when I got here to avoid places starting with W if I'm white.

 

never heard that one before!

 

Lol. That has some partial truth. If you're white and not doing business, don't be hanging around Waianae The other Ws tend to be a lil ghetto at times.

 

I was born and raised on Maui. Lived on Oahu for over 20 years. I finally got sick of it. Sold my house and moved to the Big island back in December. Love it out here. Not much work tho. But since you are a truck driver and probably have a CDL, I'm sure you'd find something.
Oahu is just too crowded to enjoy. I lived in Hawaii Kai, worked at Pearl Harbor. 15 minutes to get to work at 5am, 1 hour to get home at 2:30pm. On my days off I didn't want to go anywhere cause traffic, malls are too crowded, and so are the beaches if you can even find parking. I sold my 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 1500 sq ft townhouse for $720K. I bought a beautiful 5 bedroom, 4 full baths, 3000 sq ft home with a 650 sq ft garage on the big island. I do kinda miss having a Costco 5 minutes away, lots of great restaurants, and we had 3 Starbucks within 5 minutes of my house.
We also moved here because my daughter will be starting high school, and we got her into Hawaii preparatory academy. 5 day boarding school.

 

Not all...Waikiki, Waialae....of course, sometimes i feel Waikiki is getting alittle ghetto. Lol

 

Wahiawa comes to mind right off the bat, don't get caught at the Jack N the Box there after dark.

 

Lol. I’m white and I go wherever. It comes down to attitude. If you’re a dick or got an attitude then you’ll have problems wherever you go, even in Kailuafornia. If you’re a mellow guy with an open attitude then you can fit it wherever you go. Whitey is the minority, whitey took advantage of Hawaii, military shits all over like they own the place and lots of mainland people come from the mentality that Hawaii owes America for saving us from Japan. Many mainlanders have little respect for the locals and zero respect for the culture. There is some really deep seeded emotions between locals and foreigners (even people from America are considered foreigners to true locals) when you move to Hawaii you aren’t just moving to another state in the union(technically you are but in practicality you’re not), you are in effect moving to another country that is ruled by America. Come correct and with respect and you’ll never want to leave, come with a mainland attitude and you’ll probably leave here crying about how racist the locals are and how unsafe it was to go around certain areas.
Construction is big down here right now so you can make enough to survive. You won’t get rich by any means but you’ll be able to afford rent and buy parts for the truck every few months when you can afford shipping.
Oh ya, “free shipping anywhere in America” won’t apply to you anymore, you’ll pay $15 to ship a $3 part to you and think you scored a great deal. Lol

 

Your right about the "other country"part we should just annex it and be done. Funny thing is if it wasn't for it being a state it would be a third world island like Micronesia.

 

I was born and raised on Molokai, my wife was born and raised in Maui. We’ve been living on Oahu since 2008. We hate Oahu, but we’re stuck here. Lol

 

This is true,but with all that being said you still will get racism. I lived on the big island twice, my in-laws live there. When we were there we made sure to be respectful and humble, and you know who treated us the worst? The Asians! Most Hawaiian/Pacific islander were cool and some of the best people on the planet, but the asians seem to dislike me the most. I mean I encountered some racism from Hawaiians,but it was less then I can count on one hand. And I'm not saying all Asians are racist, but in my experience it seemed more so from them. Also the Schools are hard for Haole's cuz kids can be really mean. But the Big Island is amazing, I think I would move back in the future, but also think I would get bored with it. I also didn't like some of their gun laws, and they are following Komifornia's example of going full retard with guns.

But with all that said, You can move there and People aren't going to start anything with you unless you start things with them. I do think that you have to be ready to pay 2-4 dollars more for just about anything. Make use of Costco and buy bulk! And if you move into a condo talk to people who live there and ask about management to see if they are Nazi's about the rules. We got a $50 fine for leaving a Inflatable tube outside in our yard -_-

Also check out my Youtube channel for Moving help I posted some Vlogs up there when I moved.

 

I wouldn't mind living on Oahu , my Brother lives in Kailua in the Bluffs

This is his view from his house

 

Being here the majority of my life my wife an I just decided recently to move to Oregon in 2020 spring time. Cost of living is just too high. If you think Seattle is exspensive then Hawaii will be really bad. Almost all of our jobs here are under paid compared to the mainland and that’s not even factoring in cost of living. Getting into any union jobs are extremely hard to do, you have to have connections. A one bedroom shack is 300k or more. My 3bd town house cost me 470k three years ago. My neighbor just sold his for 580. Traffic is shitty like really shitty. The economy is solely based on tourism so any natural disaster you’re screwed. Honestly don’t do it you’ll regret it

 

Best poke in oahu taniokas
Broke da mouth
Da baga so good
Gotta try em

I my self cant even begin to imagine living anywhere else but this island
I moved here when i was 14 yrs old
Came from philippines
We came here as whole family to have a better life
At first i hated everyminute of me being on this island
Didnt know nobody
Cant speak english
Missed friends back home
Couple months later
I have forgoten where i came from
Thats untill 2005
My first vacation to my home town
I love this island
My home away from home