It is official!

[ScubaSteve]

Well, she hasn't been my fiance' for THAT long, but it has been a while, ha!

ScubaSteve! Bro! Whatup man? Yeah, not sure when i'll be going to another Bonaire trip but it isn't out of the question... ever! You ever want to come out that direction (Oahu) all ya gotta do is let me know. I think we are going to have to have a 4 bedroom house for all the potential visitors, lol. Just kidding, I know it is EX-pensive to live there. The good news is I have a move package so i'll have help getting there, LOTS of help.

Great to hear things are moving (no pun intended) along for you guys. Say HI to the better half and hopefully someday soon we can find ourself in your neck of the woods. Hopefully you can find yourself out this way again on business.

Keep in touch.

 

[Lopaka]

Small word of advice, if you have not previously checked it out: Research where you want to live on the island carefully. Weather, type of neighborhood, cost of rent/buy, and most importantly, commute time vary enormously around the island.

 

[scuba_drum]

Good advice, but you have me puzzled... weather? I will be working on Hickam AFB but do NOT want to live in Honolulu proper. Been a telecommuter for 12+ years, actaully looking forward to a bit of a commute on my Harley every day (or a convertible... never lived somewhere that a convertible was actually a sensible choice). How is the weather different on an island like Oahu? I live in Colorado and it can be snowing out the front door and the sun shining out the back... but on Oahu? Can you elaborate a little?
We *do* get a week to come on-island for a house hunting trip. Once things get going they are going to help us sell this house, and they have real estate agents who will start looking for what we might be looking for (open for suggestions also!). They are wanting to line something up so when we come out for that week we can pick something.
We have a black lab (already on that, been to the vet, etc), so we need a place to run her. I know the word "exclusive" isn't something that applies to an island but something out of the way. Here in Colorado, a 25-30 minute commute is a short one, so hopefully we can keep it to that or less.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Man, I can only imagine how psyched you and Julie are.

 

[Lopaka]

Good advice, but you have me puzzled... weather?

Rain mostly, and heat. Much more rain on the Windward side, Kaneohe, etc. but quite a bit cooler. Air conditioning is expensive as hell to run, so depending on heat tolerance, picking a cooler area can be a good thing. But with cool comes rain, and possibly mold issues that I am told some are sensitive to, and riding a Harley or having the top down when rain hits could be interesting.

I will be working on Hickam AFB but do NOT want to live in Honolulu proper.

You will have a decent spread of areas to choose from with good access to Hickam. Leeward side: Makakilo/Kapolei, central: Mililani, or even over in Kaneohe/Kailua with a quick commute over H3. All avoid Honolulu.

If you can adjust your work day to get in early and leave early, you can avoid the traffic crunch. Am told the traffic to and from the Leeward side is grim during usual commute times. I live out on the southeast side and have to commute through Honolulu to Ford Island. Not bad traffic if I hit the road no later than 0545, and head home before 1430. About 24 miles, takes 35-40 min. coming in, 45-50 min. going home.

Here in Colorado, a 25-30 minute commute is a short one, so hopefully we can keep it to that or less.

Good luck with that. Some spend 1.5 hours creeping through traffic each way if stuck with normal working hours. I made the mistake of heading in for a normal 0800 first day, and spent almost 2 hours creeping along. Last time I did that...........

Am sure other locals can give their perspective, I have only been here a bit over three years.

Edit: the areas I mention are about as far out as you want to go, after that the roads drop from multi-lane to two lane mostly and can get very clogged. My experience anyway, ask anyone heading to the North Shore on a weekend..............

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

Lopaka is dead-on. about weather and commuting. The weather varies greatly according to location and even time-of-day. If you don't like the weather where you're at...wait five minutes, as it will change! (Well, it does on the windward side of the island, where we are.)

My fiance and I loathed Honolulu upon sight, especially after living for a month in the grace-and-favor apartment in Punchbowl my boss provided. We took one look at the windward side/north shore and fell in love with it. "What the hell?", we figured. The commute to Kailua (fiance) and Manoa (me) would be real pretty, even if it did take an hour each way. But 10-months later, and it is slowly wearing on us. Pick somewhere where you won't get beaten to death by traffic , and that leaves you time to be with your partner. Be warned that housing is funky here - one can pay a lot, but not necessarily get high quality in return. I'm used to expensive living - heck, New York City is home for me - but Oahu is truly a different ballgame.

The diving here is very different to the Caribbean, make no mistake about that. But there's so much to appreciate. I was very non-plussed by the diving here at first ("Is this it?!") until local divers took me to the sites that THEY dive for pleasure, rather than the same-old-same-old that appears on the chalkboard at the dive shop. I also started studying about the critters that live in these waters as well as the islands' geology and geography. It helps me really appreciate the animals (many of which are endemic to HI) and the topography I encounter during my dives. I hope you'll grow to love diving here as much as I have. And I haven't even explored the neighbor islands yet!

 

[scuba_drum]

So, windward = north side? Yeah, I figured there were the touristy dive spots, and then there are the spots the locals hit... which is what we're into.

Thanks for the great information, this is going to be an adventure, that is for sure!

 

[Lopaka]

So, windward = north side? Yeah, I figured there were the touristy dive spots, and then there are the spots the locals hit... which is what we're into.

Thanks for the great information, this is going to be an adventure, that is for sure!

Windward = east side (NE really), at the foot of the Koolau mountains. Tradewinds come in that side, hit the mountain, dump rain. Righteous waterfalls when rain is heavy.

 

[bevansmw]

Traffic definately sucks if you're heading into Honolulu from Pearl Harbor where Hickam and the Navy base is. I work at Pearl Harbor and live in Waikiki, I have about a 10 mile commute from base to home which takes about 45 minutes if there is traffic, I can make it in about 15 mins if there is no traffic. I have staked out 3 routes with some variation and taking city streets is faster than taking the highway if there is traffic. Traffic is similar going West from Hickam/Pearl Harbor as well around 3pm-7pm.

The traffic here sucks, my trip computer on my car has my average speed at 20mph from combined city/highway driving. Gets even worse when they do construction and cone off the freeway seemingly unneccessarily. They'll drop H1 to 1 lane and have like 2 guys working doing what looks like absolutely nothing.:cussing:

 

[mussels]

er, please ignore. cant figure out how to remove....

M