Advice needed for moving to Hawaii

[Thalassamania]

One the Big Island, somewhere, we have every single biome of the world, except for tundra.

 

[scubahawk27]

Aloha Debbie,

Sounds like you guys are in for an upgrade to civilization. We live on Maui and have been for here for over 8 years. We love it. Oahu is very busy. A little too busy for us. Maui is just fast paced enough and has just enough in the way of amenities for us. We have Costco and a Wallmart. Lots of Resturants and activities. We have many incredible dive sites. My wife and I are currently doing the divemaster course. We have four dive scooters so we are exploring every weekend. If you need any help with Real Estate, thats we do for a living so check out our site at www.vicotryrealtymaui.com. Good luck to you.

 

[DebbyDiver]

We lived quite happily without AC. It got a bit much only for a few days of the year, like on days when the trade winds died. But it never lasted long. We would take meals outside to escape from the heat and sleep with a fan...it was enough.

There is no natural gas access on any island apart from Oahu, and even so, service is limited to the Waikiki area. The Gas Company has a pipeline that carries synthetic gas (derived from oil-all imported and consequently very expensive) to the city, as hotels and other places insist on gas for their kitchens. But that's pretty much it.

Propane was easily obtained on Oahu, but since there's not exactly a lot of competition among industrial gas suppers within the state (and again-the need to import propane is a huge factor), it's not cheap. But since life in the USVI would have made you familiar with the need for imports and the attendant high costs, I doubt you will be surprised about living costs and considerations on HI.

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Thank you for the good information. You're right, our island life here has probably well prepared us for HI. For cooking fuel, we'll just have to see what our future landlord has for us stove-wise. Unless...do homes come with appliances there? I grew up in the California desert, and I remember as a child that when we moved, my parents would take the appliances with them. Yet spending my adult life in Florida, people leave the appliances behind. We just bought a nice new gas stove down here, but I hate to pay to move it...unless tradition in HI is that you need to furnish your own appliances? Can you tell me about that?

 

[DebbyDiver]

Debby,

If the decision does come to Kona you might try looking up the coast a ways north. We live in Waikoloa, altitude about 1kft, no heat or AC in the house, temp controlled by opening and closing up. It does get a bit hot and muggy in the late summer and early fall when a small AC can be useful in the afternoon. We are directly up the hill from some of the best diving in the islands, the Puako reefs, about 15-20min away. Another benefit to the area is that we seldom get the vog like Kailua does, far enough north that the trade-winds keep us clear most of the year.

25min to the Kona airport, the same for the Costco on the hill above the airport. Another 5-10 minutes to most of downtown Kailua-Kona and many more shopping options. Current price of gas about $4.36. Traffic? Not worth mentioning.

I would suggest Waikoloa if you like it warmer or Waimea if you want a bit cooler, where you need a heater for a few cool days in winter. House prices and rents are still depressed from the downturn, not a bad time to move in. Some condos going really cheap in the area if you like that option.

With the resorts just below us on the coast we have a lot of good dining and entertianment options. Waimea, just up the hill has a great theater that brings in big names. Monthly lectures offered by Keck Observatory if you want to learn where state of the art astronomy is headed. Likewise monthly lectures by the UofH SeaGrant program on marine subjects. A decent hospital in Waimea for any health issues.

Good luck wherever you end up!

Thank you! Great to know there is an area without vog...we were unaware of that phenomenon until I started this thread. I see that HI is a lot more civilized than STX. People with health insurance here usually purchase a medical air evacuation plan. We were just talking about astronomy last night as we were gazing at the stars from the beach, and the monthly lectures sound great, I miss those from when I lived in SoFla where there are so many marine experts who give talks at the universities or go out to dive clubs. Our local entertainers are really great but...they are local, it will be nice to have big name acts to enjoy.

We're not condo people, we are looking to rent a house that has some privacy, we have that here and love it. We don't mind having to drive a little to have that. Although we don't want to buy a home, I suspect that the depressed housing prices will be helpful to us in renting.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Of of the nice things about the Big Island is the climate changes every time you change direction or elevation. Andrew points out Waikaloa, which I presonally think of as a windy version of parts of Arizona, and Waimea, which reminds me of parts of Wyoming, and they're maybe 15-20 minutes apart. Both are completely different from Kailua, which is different from Captain Cook, etc. You could explore here for quite a while and find the spot for your tastes.

One the Big Island, somewhere, we have every single biome of the world, except for tundra.

Wow, very, very exciting to us. Here we have changes we enjoy, desert on one end of the island, rainforest on the other...and the island is only 27 miles long. I can't wait to explore the big island!

 

[DebbyDiver]

Aloha Debby,

Sounds like you guys are in for an upgrade to civilization. We live on Maui and have been for here for over 8 years. We love it. Oahu is very busy. A little too busy for us. Maui is just fast paced enough and has just enough in the way of amenities for us. We have Costco and a Wallmart. Lots of Resturants and activities. We have many incredible dive sites. My wife and I are currently doing the divemaster course. We have four dive scooters so we are exploring every weekend. If you need any help with Real Estate, thats we do for a living so check out our site at www.vicotryrealtymaui.com. Good luck to you.

Yes indeed, HI will definitely be an upgrade to civilization! Although we really don't mind toughing it out down here, it will be refreshing to have access to more variety in life, from shopping to entertainment. Thanks for the link; do you do rentals also? We're at a point in our lives where we simply don't want to own real estate any more. If we end up moving to the Big Island, we'll look to you for a referral.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

Appliances come with even the unfurnished rental home - that is, a stove and fridge. Not all places have washers and dryers, though, in my experience. If you adore your existing stove and want to take it with you, you might be able to charm your landlord into making room for it...depends on the landlord and circumstances, I guess!


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[DebbyDiver]

Appliances come with even the unfurnished rental home - that is, a stove and fridge. Not all places have washers and dryers, though, in my experience. If you adore your existing stove and want to take it with you, you might be able to charm your landlord into making room for it...depends on the landlord and circumstances, I guess!


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Thanks! We love it, but not enough to pay to move it. I'm hoping to move as little stuff as possible. Glad to hear that homes come with 'frig and stove. We would not rent a home without a washer and dryer.

 

[Thalassamania]

Unless you live on the windward side you really do not need (or even want) a dryer.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Good morning, friends! We have another thing to chew on. Currently we have a 2007 Ram 1500 truck and a 1999 Mazda Miata, both have less than 60K miles on them and are paid off. We're trying to decide between trying to sell them here (which could be impossible, since the oil refinery is closing and everyone is leaving or broke!) and buying similar vehicles there, or shipping them. He bought his truck here on island, but it cost me about $2200 to get the Miata from Miami to STX. A quick look at Auto Trader makes it look as though vehicles are pretty expensive in HI. I'm thinking shipping could be the smarter choice. And, since we've have to sell our vehicles really cheaply in order to sell them at all during this time of economic crisis in the VI, I'm thinking that the difference between the loss here and buying there would more than cover the freight. Your thoughts?