Slight chance we could move to Hawaii...would like more info!

[Chicago526]

Anyone here who lives or has lived in Hawaii?

DH is unhappy with his current company, and works in an industry and at a level that he can move ANYWHERE in the US and find good paying employment. He's said a couple of times "We should just pick up and move to Hawaii". I never took him seriously, but yesterday I asked him, "Are you serious?". He said he sort of was, we aren't tied to anything or anyone here in IL, we don't have kids so that's not a factor either. And these Chicago winters are getting pretty cold!

We wouldn't move for at least two years since DH wants to get a full five years in at his current company to qualify for the pension. Plus we just moved into a new house and neither of us really want to pack again anytime soon!!!

IF we did move, we would rent out our home here in IL and rent a home in Oahu (in or near Hononlulu) since A) we don't want to buy if it turns out we hate it and want to move back and B) From what we understand, real estate is extremly expensive, and even with the pay bump DH would get, I doubt we could afford anything (but I'm still researching that).

Anyway, I guess I'm looking for advice on living in Hawaii (Oahu). How big is the cost of living differance (according to the online calculator I used, it's higher if we buy a house but LOWER if we rent, is that right?)? How hard is it to find an apartment? How do you like living there? How are the schools, how is crime, does paradise get boring after a while?

Oh, and one more BIG question. We have a dog, is there any type of quarantine required for bringing a dog over to Hawaii from mainland US? I know Hawaii has to be very strict on that kind of thing, but I'm not sure what (if any) requirements they might have for dogs.

Any tips, advice, or info is greatly appreciated. It's a long way off, and may never happen, but I'm one of those people that needs to research EVERYTHING in order to feel comfortable with a big decision like this!

 

[Rex Rules]

DH's brother and his family lived there for 2 years, but courtesy of the US Navy. They lived in base housing and could use the base exchange for shopping. It is VERY expensive to live there. ON the other hand, the stress level is so much different, just a completely different attitude. It is wonderful. I could handle dropping everything and just going there.

 

[wilderness01]

My friends lived there about 10 years ago and their dog was quarantined for 6 months.

 

[Laura]

http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai_aqs_info.htm
Hawaii's Animal Quarantine Laws

 

[grlpwrd]

Here are the links to the 2 major newspapers on O'ahu:

www.honolulustarbulletin.com
www.honoluluadvertiser.com

You might want to read and check out the current news of the islands. Here is the link to the Advertiser's Living in Hawaii Guide: http://newcomers.honoluluadvertiser.com/guide05

I'll post more later...

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Go check out Realtor.com. It is our favorite site when DH and I say maybe we can go here......

 

[macraven]

my brother has lived in hawaii since 1989 and has owned property since 1995 in honolulu.

i have visited him there so i have some knowledge besides what he tells me.

it is a great place to visit, but i would never want to live there.
it is crowded, hot when the trade winds stop blowing, and expensive.

my brothers condo is 1100 sq ft and cost over $300,000 when he bought it.
prices have increased for rentals and ownership in the past 2 years. more of a demand than supply for housing now there.

i enjoyed spending 2 weeks on the beach, and another 2 weeks site seeing and shopping. after that, i about saw all i could see on that island.

hopping to another island like mauii is expensive, not something you would want to do reguarly. my brother does but it is due to his employment.

maybe you should visit there first before taking the plunge to permanently relocate there. just a thought.
i always thought how kewl to live in hawaii......that was before my many visits there and i realized how limited it is compared to state side.

 

[mrsv98]

Having been many times, I would humbly suggest looking somewhere other than Oahu. Maui is my favorite and many people love the Big Island. Oahu is very crowded and getting worse. I was there twice and both times I thought it wasn't much different from Chicago except for the palm trees. The other islands are beautiful and not nearly as crowded.

It is very expensive to live and if you are by any of th etourist areas, it is worse. Try looking in some of the smaller areas, it is much more likely to be affordable. I would really spend some time on each of the islands before I made the commitment, each has its own charm.

My dream is to retire on Maui....ah well, a girl can dream can't she!