For months I have been thinking of moving me and the family from here in northeast Pa to Hawaii. I am just in the tire kicking stages so I haven’t decided on an island or anything else yet. My wife is an RN bsn so she could easily get a job and I am sales Rep for Hyster Company, I could really work for a number of forklift dealers beside for Hyster (competitors). The wife has spent the last week browsing at houses on-line (cant recall were they were all at) from what I can see the property taxes were low $785 annual- compared to what I pay now ($6,200) Am I missing something, :-) lol I know some of house are crazy just like they would be in certain areas here in Pa.

I guess my biggest problem is my extensive military firearms collection - my papered machine guns are a no- no so I would have to sell them what about me collection of AK's & Ar's etc?

Living here in Pa for 36 years it really bothers me any more how 4+ months of the year I come home from work its dark and have to stay inside!:-) (Cant garden – ride my Harley, burn a stick outside etc) I love being outside and since my vacation to Maui & Lani in October I have only physically left and find my self thinking of going back dozen of times a day and decide I don’t want to wait till retirement to move like many do I want to enjoy it now, the awesome weather that it is.

Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.
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Im not too sure about the property taxes part as Im pretty sure my taxes are higher than that. As far as real estate is concerned, the prices vary depending on the island you are on. I would say that most of the commerce is on Oahu however. Not to mention the majority of the cigar scene! hehe.:-) In addition to the island that you want to buy on, also the part of the island matters too. On oahu, the general rule of thumb is the further from honolulu the lower the prices. The trade off is the traffic you have to drive in to get to town if your job is there. As with anywhere else, if children are involved then the schools they will go to will impact where you want to live as well. If you get an idea of where you have narrowed your choices, I would be happy to give you thoughts on those areas such as if the schools are good or not, etc.

The thing that catches you a lot in hawaii is our cost of living. As a general rule of thumb you will probably take a pay cut for most jobs here compared to the mainland plus have higher cost of living. Makes it really hard unless you have a lot of coin. Most people make it here by leaning on family. People who move from the mainland dont have that luxury and it can be tough. We always recruit teachers from the mainland (Many from PA and NY). They will stay a few years and then bail when they realize its too expensive to raise a family (no family to lean on). We have the highest electricity rates in the nation, highest gasoline prices, etc, etc. Some places that have good prices on houses are in very hot areas and require ACs running all the time. I have friends whose electricity bill is 600.00 a month. OTOH I live on a mountain where it is much cooler and dont need to use my AC very much. We are pretty efficient with our electricity use (solar water heater, hang dry clothes, etc) and my bill is around 200.00 a month for a family of 4. Just put in a PV system so that will cut down my bill big time once I pay off the upfront costs.

Nursing: If your wife has experience, then it could be easier to land a job. If not and she is a recent graduate, good luck!!! Most of the nurses who graduate from our local colleges cant find jobs and have to move to the mainland to get experience before coming back home. I had a friend whose wife had 15+ years experience of nursing on the mainland and was snapped up pretty quick with a base pay of 75K and probably would make over 100K with the expected OT.

I cant say much about the job you are in since I dont know much about that area.

Lots of hard things about living here. However, we do have great weather, great people, clean air, lots of outdoor activities and a slower pace of life even on Oahu. I guess it boils down to what you value.
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I have a friend in the Navy over there and his wife has been looking for a job as a Nurse for over a year. The cost of living is insane, it will give you a mild stroke the first time you walk into a grocery store. I didn't like Oahu because of how crowded it is and the tiny area just made me feel trapped all the time. Other islands may be better. A lot of my friends really love it there, but for me the nice weather and scenery didn't make up for all the things that drove me crazy when I lived there.

California has nice weather, so does florida and most of the south, you don't have to move to the middle of the pacific ocean for that. Ultimately if you aren't stationed there in the military and weren't born there or offered a crazy good job there, I'd recommend thinking about whether there is really any good reason to move to Hawaii. It is a much better place to visit then to live IMO.
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I lived on Oahu for a few years and I wish I still could live there. Only reason we left is my wife wanted to get back to her family after her brother had their first kid. Yes the cost of living is higher, but just like anywhere else, you simply adjust. Make sure you have a Costco membership and shop smart. There are a lot of places that don't need the A/C running all the time, there's a lot of cool breeze that can run through houses/apartments as long as there is good placement of windows and sliding doors.

It sounds like from above nursing isn't a sure thing in Hawaii unless your wife has a lot of experience. One thing I will say is that it's not the easiest for a white guy from the mainland to find a job. The Aloha Spirit is alive and well with great genuine people there, but locals don't take too kindly to mainlanders coming over and taking jobs. Nothing personal, but they would much rather hire a local than a haole that might move back to the mainland in a couple years after getting island fever.

If I were you, I would do some major research on the warm places of the continental US and Hawaii and make your move. Like you said... move now and enjoy the nice weather!

Good luck brother!
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Some good points made. Then again it depends on what a person values. I grew up in San Diego county. I miss certain things about California but to this day dont regret my move to Hawaii over staying in Cali. There are things that drive me crazy about Cali too. Too many people are in a rush, too many people are up in your business if you know what I mean, too many people are inconsiderate, too crowded, etc. No one single place will be perfect IMO.


There is some truth to that. Locals can be wary of someone coming over taking a job, getting trained and digging out after a short period of time. Then again I know many Haoles from the mainland that have come to hawaii, found jobs and did well for themselves. There in another mindset from many employers is they could care less where you from as long as you are a reliable, good worker. My father moved to Hawaii to work construction in the late 80s, early 90s and they loved him. Why? Cause he showed up to work every day!!! LOL
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I think my wife will be ok; she has 15+ years and is the 3rd shift nurse manager for the stroke unit. I have heard that the work ethic isn’t quite as strong as some parts of the “mainland" I have heard that it’s a lot like the south? (Cant blame them I too would rather be at the beach on a Friday, ha-ha)Growing up my parents had a home in Sanibel Island Florida so I spent some time in the warmer parts of the country, I don’t know brother I haven’t seen any place on the mainland that comes close - climate wise or scenery.

I keep hearing that the cost of living is higher, I live in northeast pa my bills look similar monthly electric bill is $150-$275 per months, $100-$450 per month for gas, $850 per year for my supplement heater - pellet stove, $6200 per year property tax (or aprox $515 per month in mortgage) $100 - $125 per month for water & sewer.....+ trash a $100 per quarter, etc.
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Very true. If a haole is a good genuine person and locals get to know these people, they are treated like family. But, it's hard for a local to learn the true person and if they have a strong work ethic in a simple interview. It can be very tough for a haole to get a job. But once they do get a job and if they do it well showing respect, you are set and can live like a local. I have many haole friends that have lived there a long time... wish I would be one of them! LOL
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If I hadn't watched NorthShore just the other day, I would've had no idea what a haole was (or how to pronounce it).

"Living here in Pa for 36 years it really bothers me any more how 4+ months of the year I come home from work its dark and have to stay inside!"
Totally understand that. I hate driving home when it's 5:00 and dark out.
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That movie is a crack up. Worst pidgin ever!!!
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Jon how many premium cigars shops close to you?

Right now either leaning toward the Big Island or Oahu!
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If your thinking of the Big Island, you need to do your home work. The big concern there is the vog, created by the volcano. On the flip side, land is cheeper on the Hilo side and it does rain a lot.
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Jay, I have read about the vog but never experienced it since my last visit I was on Maui & Lanai. Hilo looks nice but the wife doesn’t like all the rain don’t bother me because I am into gardening all the rain will do wonders.

I do like the home prices on Big Island :-)
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Yes, home prices in Hilo and surrounding area's are good. Realize some area's are water catchment and septic.

Oahu is the big city with more hospitals and industrial area's for work. Better schools and shopping and cost less to live on Oahu than Maui or Big Island. Fuel and Electric cost more on Maui than Oahu and the Big Island.

Hope this info helps:-)
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There are a few cigar shops on Oahu with one a full tobacconist with a small private lounge, etc. Most of the cigar business on Oahu is through boutique wine and liquor retailers who have cabinet humidors. I do know of another that is looking at opening a shop. We have a high cigar tax in Hawaii at 50% so it is not easy to run a cigar shop when most of the sales are lost to internet/catalog sales. However, we are working towards getting a .50 cent tax cap put in place and if that happens the cigar shop scene could improve a lot.

On the Big Island there are a couple cigar shops - Tobaccos of Hawaii - Kamuela and Mothers Antiques and Fine Cigars in Hawi. In Hilo there is a place called Kadota Liquor that has a small selection but all good cigars.
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Dennis

As an Army haole I can tell you that there are some locals that won't warm up to you right off but I blame how our young military act for that. What I can tell you is if you make the effort to get to know the locals then you become part of the family. I have more "cousins" and some how became "uncle" to a bunch of kids :-) When I was on my last deployment my wife and son were basically adopted by some good local friends.

The cost of living is high, but you get used to it. I will admit there are some things I have put off till I PCS again to purchase.
We love Hawaii, love the people and love the beach year round
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Jay - I kind of like that unless I am missing something. Here in Pa my monthly water & sewer bill for this month was $180!!! The local water/sewer co. will raise the rates at will! Is there a draw back to catchment & septic?
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How often do you go from island to island, assuming you use a ferry what does that cost?
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No more ferry, it went away. Back in the day you could travel inter Island for $80 to $100 round trip. Now, $180 and up. The running joke was it was cheaper to fly to Las Vegas than fly inter Island.

Nothing wrong with septic, water catchment is ok, but need to buy drinking water. If there is a drought, then you need to buy water and have a tanker bring it in. Not sure what the cost of that is. The 180 you pay is about what I hear it cost for water & sewage on a bi-monthly billing cycle. Depending on your water use.
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