Advice needed for moving to Hawaii

[DebbyDiver]

It's official, we are signing a lease on an awesome furnished home near Hilo effective August 1!!!

If for some reason it doesn't work out, we're only renting...can find another place somewhere else and move, no big deal...but I can't imagine why it wouldn't.

We're already finding homes for many of our belongings that we don't want to bring. In middle age, we are really excited about getting down to bare bones and starting over. We're bringing dogs, laptop computers, dive gear, cameras, and not much else.

A huge pile of clothing and boxes of books are ready to be donated locally to shelters with thrift shops.

Decided that if we can sell our vehicles here, we will, and just buy a nice used one there (or in L.A. and ship it over perhaps). We only need one car there...we think. Can always buy a second one later. The idea of shipping vehicles from an island to the mainland, then on a car hauler from So. Florida all the way to California, then another ship from mainland to HI, seems foolhardy.

Dogs had their titers drawn on Monday, DOD lab received it Tuesday, we're on the 120-day countdown to get the dogs in.

We have a LOT TO DO between now and August 1. :shocked2:

 

[Steve Eady]

Your so lucky, wish I could say i'm on my way already LOL

 

[DebbyDiver]

Actually, we turned bad luck into opportunity. My spouse and over 2,000 other people all lost their jobs on our tiny island...bad luck indeed, you can't even get a food server job here now. We're getting rid of everything and starting over. I can't tell you how many people have told us that they could "never do that."

OK, I'll admit it, we're lucky.

 

[justleesa]

Good for you! Enjoy every last moment on your Island and look out Big Island - Here they come!

 

[DebbyDiver]

Thank you, Leesa!!!

It just occurred to me what a crazy dog lady I am. My partner is leaving for HI 90 days before I am as his new job is desperate for him to begin. I'm staying behind another three months just so that the dogs don't have to suffer quarantine. DOD received their titers on Tuesday, and the countdown has begun. Who else would stay behind for three months for their DOGS? Yup, crazy dog lady.

 

[Thalassamania]

Books are really cheap to ship. Media rate. The one thing I really, really regret is getting rid of most of my library. The take a while, if you find that you don't want them when you're here, there are some really good used book stores that will buy/trade for more than you pay for shipping.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Thanks, Thal! I think Tom has about ten books he's keeping, I might have 15. (He's since said he's not bringing any. None! lol) We can probably send all of them in the same media mail box. Any and all of them can be replaced cheap on Alibris.com if something happens to them.

Can you believe that I'm a retired librarian and I got rid of most of my books when I moved to STX and I'm getting rid of almost all of the rest soon? Like I said, they can mostly be replaced on Alibris. My Paul Humann critter books and a few of my collectible books are coming...not much else. I mean, how could I discard my Suzan Meldonian-signed "Under The Bridge" or my Janet York-signed "Corneel the Cavalier"? (Which will ship for what, $5 at most?)

Pet peeve: I was an active buyer and seller on half.com until I moved to America's Third World. Used and loved Media Mail. Half.com cut me off. Can't buy or sell through them anymore. Stinkers! That's when I found Alibris. Awesome. We bought a huge box of books about Hawaii and relocating to Hawaii and they were mostly about $1 or so in great shape. Media mail shipping got the big box up to about $25 (I'd have to look). Even if Half.com permits me to buy/sell in HI they can kiss my :debby:.

---------- Post added at 01:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:52 AM ----------

Thal, another thought, I'm also on the Hawaii portion of the city-data forum and everyone screams at me "DON'T BRING YOUR BOOKS THEY WILL BE COVERED IN MOLD WITHIN SECONDS!!!"

 

[Thalassamania]

When you land and have rested a bit please come to dinner, we'll make it early so you get home to the doggies.

 

[knotical]

Books are really cheap to ship. Media rate.

Good point, Thal. And not just books. Search the USPS website and find out what the Media Mail rules really are. Many USPS counter employees don't know.

 

[Thalassamania]

CDs, records, tapes, hard drives, games, any printed material, it covers a lot of ground. I hope you'll join us too ... but then you're only a block away.