Thursday, August 14, 2008

Moving to Hawaii

Our regular Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors know that we occasionally answer questions in the Honololu Answers section of Yahoo Travel. Why not share our knowledge with all of you interested in Hawaii and desperate for helpful answers. I noticed though, not everybody who answers, is giving well researched or experienced advice. Keep an open mind and judge with common sense when reading Yahoo's Hawaii answers.

One of the most frequent asked question is about 'moving to Hawaii': which island is best to move to, what does it cost to live in Hawaii, available jobs in Hawaii and housing market are reoccurring questions. If those questions interest you, keep reading, what I think you should know about 'Moving to Hawaii'.

Hawaiian Leis, Tropical Flowers, Orchids, Wedding Leis, Hawaiian Gift Baskets, Kona CoffeeIn all my years of living in Hawaii, I have come across many people playing with the idea of moving to Hawaii 'for good', so they think. Some never made it here, it always stayed the dream. Some did and from those who did, I'd say half of them packed their cases again after approximately 2 years trying. Hawaii has the biggest fluctuation rate of all the states.

That being said does not mean you cannot make it. Anyhow, when you are young and motivated and/or have a job fitting right into our Hawaii tourist industry with lots of hotels and hotel service associated jobs, chances are you will be making it in Hawaii.

Here are a few 'Moving to Hawaii' tips:

1. Easiest way to start Hawaii life is Honolulu on Oahu

-No need to buy a private car as you can rely on affordable public bus transportation system till you got settled in.

-Affordable housing in downtown Honolulu by sharing a condo with room-mates, which you still need to find.

-Plenty of Hawaii hotels offer all kinds of service jobs. Good chances to find a job there.

-No need to drive far to relax after work on Waikiki's beaches!

Homeworks to do for Moving to Hawaii:
1.
Read all the classifieds of 'Honolulu Advertiser' on a regular basis for job offers matching your training and finding affordable housing. I encourage the idea of using Craigslist as well. The more resources you use, the better.
2.
Write your resume and put all your certificates together with it. Make copies of originals. As soon as you are ready, get job applications from hotel where you intend to work and mail application with your resume to hotels. Don't give your originals (certificates) away.
3.
Read everything about Hawaii, island life and of course Honolulu, so you have an idea what to expect in your new life.

If you consider moving to Maui, Big Island or Kauai, be aware of the following:

There is no public transportation system.
Regular housing in the hotel areas is not available or very expensive and beyond your means. For example, most Big Island hotels are on the Kohala Coast, west coast. However employees cannot afford to live there. They live on the East coast, Hilo side. There are buses for them which are free but in order to get to their job in time, they have to get on a bus like 4am in the morning.

Bottom line, I still think the easiest way to start out when moving to the islands is Honolulu. I have seen families moving kids + all their belongings to the Big Island without having a secure job or an affordable house lease. They ended up spending double the money relocating everything from the Big Island to Honolulu.

When doing your homework thoroughly, you may enjoy island life in the end and never look back as many other Hawaii residents! One has to make a living, if not independently wealthy, so why not at the best location in the world!

Last but not least, when you found that place in Hawaii where you would like to move to, plan a Hawaii vacation (September and October are perfect months to do that) there for a longer period. Talk to as many locals as possible and get a feel for the weather, climate, community, housing and job situation in the area. Hawaii is so diversified in all these aspects. Make sure beaches are not too far away. When working hard, you want to relax too and enjoy the Hawaiian island life, which made you move to Hawaii.

Good luck for your moving to Hawaii project. Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

Resources for Moving to Hawaii

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