Hello,

Currently live in Ohio. From November through March we suffer pretty severely from SAD. I am a dentist and my wife is a dental hygienist. We hate the hustle and bustle of our city of 2 million and are looking for a more outdoors and slower life. I had open heart surgery for a congenital heart defect last year and we're reevaluating everything. We've been to Kona as well as Hilo, Maui, Kauai and Oahu and feel that the "vibe" of Kona is awesome.

It appears to be "relatively" easy for me to work in Kona but my concern is the things outside of work. My 2 sons are elementary school age and play competitive soccer and it is their "life" in many ways. Does the soccer academy in Kona fly to the other islands for games?

We would prefer to live at slight elevation to avoid some of the most severe heat. What neighborhoods would you suggest? We would not just move permanently to Hawaii. We would rent out our house in Ohio for a year and rent in Kona for a year as a test run. We are not in to night life. My wife is big into workout classes and socializing with other moms who have similar interests. Is that common on Kona?

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Mahalo

Aloha everyone! I’m moving to the north shore in a month and was wondering what necessities I would need that aren’t the basics. Example- Am I going to need to buy proper hiking shoes etc. Just want to kind of get an idea of things that will make life more comfortable. I plan to be doing everything and any thing outside so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated :))

Hello everyone, I’m moving to the North Shore in a month I make about $2200 a month and my rent would be $750. I have about 25k in savings. Would I be able to afford it? I am not planning on having a car as soon as I get there, but thinking about buying a beater car. Any advice would be greatly appreciated:)

Update : I have health insurance with my remote job I don’t pay my own phone bill my dad does I don’t eat that much I spend 25$ a week in PA on food I will be living in waialua The room is a shared room

Hi all!

I am a student and secured an externship in the city. My fiance and I are moving from Philadelphia with our pup. Any advice on site/places/etc. that is dog friendly with at least 1bed1bath around 2500 per month? We have visited Hawaii and had friends live there for college, but don't know much about pet friendly places.

We appreciate the time and effort in advance!

Aloha! Moving back to Honolulu after too many years on the mainland. Trying to find a place for January 1. My husband toured the Marco Polo this morning. Eighth floor overlooking Ali Wai Canal. He said the view is beautiful and he really liked the apartment. I’m not there yet so I thought I’d reach out to this community to see if people had thoughts either good or bad on living there. My husband took a job at Civil Beat in Kaimukī and considering the traffic it would be really nice to live close to work. I know about the terrible fire from 2017. I have lived through 5 years of wild fires in Northern California. Mahalo for your thoughts if you have lived there.

Hi! I’m moving in January. I already have a job and my husband as well. I was wondering about “side gigs”. My husband is a professional clown and Santa on the side and I was wondering if there are opportunities for children’s entertainment like that perhaps in Honolulu? I know it’s an odd question but I don’t know how to “google” that

I live in Maui, but UH Maui doesn’t offer the course that I want so I’m considering applying to a university in Oahu.

Is it better to fix my schedule so I can only go to classes 2-3 times a week then go an a flight each time for my classes or to move in Oahu?

Ticket is about 100-140 roundtrip + transportation cost.

Flying every time I have a class for each day is for sure tiring but I think it can save me more money.

I am a licensed powerline employee, have passed testing for HECO and will hopefully be working there beginning of 2025 on oahu with my wife. Was wondering what the best options for finding apartments are, as well as a moving company like pods? What the cost of pods are from phoenix az. What should a price point be for a 1 bedroom apartment

Hi, any suggestion at all is welcome; this is a bit of a tricky situation.

My partner is moving to Hawaii for a year long contract job in Honolulu (late 2025-2026). The timing works for me because I’ll ready to leave my current job regardless for unrelated reasons.

I would love more than anything to join her, but I know how tough the job market and COL is, especially since she only plans to be there for exactly one year.

I’m a graphic designer and intend to supplement a lower salary with freelance gigs that i already have lined up. I am willing to pivot into other industries to make this work.

Is there ANY market of temp agencies / jobs where it is feasible for me to move with her? I know there are always hospitality jobs but I’m trying to gather as many options for myself as possible.

EDIT TO ADD: obviously an ideal scenario would be a remote job in a compatible time zone but from my experience, remote jobs are getting fewer and far between and are extremely oversaturated with applications so I am trying to weigh other options.

Thanks in advance

Basically, things right now are constantly changing about the date when we will be flying out to Hawaii (it’s a military move).

At this point, I just need to get all the paperwork over to Hawaii so when we do actually get there that the dogs will at least be set up. However, on the form it does ask for the date the dogs will be arriving.

Does this date have to be held to or can you put in an approximate date in case it changes? Because I wish I could have an exact date but I likely wont have it early enough for me to get the paperwork there in time.

Amy help or thoughts are appreciated

Any tips on the best way to move with an e-bike? My battery way exceeds what's allowed on a plane and I'm assuming I can't just put it in the Pod with my other stuff and hope for the best. TIA

Currently in my 4th year teaching, last 3 as a high school math teacher. I understand teacher pay is low, it's low everywhere, I have VA disability to supplement my income. I'm wondering if there's still a real need for high school math teachers in Hawaii or if recent pay increases have helped alleviate the shortage. I currently hold a masters in education, bachelors is physics and political science, a full math certification in Rhode Island, and a temporary ESL certification as I work toward a masters in TESOL.

Additional question: Any areas I should concentrate on applying to as an Army veteran that has high populations of military dependent students?

Hello. We are relocating to Oahu in early January and have received quotes from several movers, however, I have heard derogatory things about most of them. Reviews have complained that companies "pad" the pricing or add hidden costs at the end to make the final amount more than what was quoted, or have lost or broken items in transit, that communication was poor, etc. For those of you who have done a long distance move to Oahu, who did you use and do recommend them? Why or why not? Also, it's crazy expensive. We have been quoted between $19K and $34K. FWIW, we are moving from the east coast of the US. TIA!

I’m moving to Hawaii in 2 months from Canada as part of a three year work contract in healthcare, I’m just wondering if anyone knows of any queer groups or ways to meet friends?

I’m likely going to be in Honolulu or Oahu.

I have a great (albeit small) crowd of queer friends here and am a bit nervous for such a big move, and would love to find ways to socialize and connect beforehand.

If you have any leads, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Moving to Oahu next year and looking at shipping a car from San Diego to Honolulu. I've read a lot of good reviews of Matson but not so much for Pasha. Matson doesn’t ship from San Diego, only Pasha does. Anyone have experience with shipping a Tesla with Pasha from San Diego? Or should I drive to Long Beach to ship with Matson? Appreciate the answers

My daughter is moving to the island late next spring for a new job. We know all about the housing shortage and are already looking, but I’m having some difficulties finding reliable info on average utility costs for apartments in the area. What should she expect? Her apartment size will be a Studio. Two people.

Aloha we are moving back to the islands with our cat (she moved with us when we moved away). However, it's more complicated moving back with a cat as opposed to away from Hawaii with a cat. I already spoke to my vet about the titer tests needed to avoid quarantine. Does anyone have a recommended airline that accepts cats in cabin? We flew Hawaiian to Hawaii but my partner may need to fly first class back to hawaii (they need special accommodations). I'm curious which airlines allow pets in first class? I saw that Alaska allows for pets in first class. Does anyone know if they accept Hawaiian miles? We are looking for a direct flight from Oakland, San Jose, or San Francisco. My partner might move with the cat before I do, otherwise I'd just take her with me on a regular economy or comfort seat. Also would love any advice people have for moving with a cat. She's old, shy, and nervous but very sweet. Probably the most stressful thing about the move is making sure she's okay. Mahalo!

Hello, would it be difficult to find a part time gig driving trucks as a black woman? I didn't think this would be an issue till I received a lot of pushback from truck drivers on another platform.

Some told me that I wouldn't get hire because I'm not a local but I've already made a few calls to some companies and the people I talked to seemed very nice. I just got my CDL and would like to gain experience driving a manual transmission, as that is what most companies use in Oahu.

I’m not one to take others’ opinions at face value, but I’m curious to hear from locals, aside from the cost of living.

Ps: I’ve already purchased my ticket, so I’m going regardless, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.

My fiancée and I, both early 30s, are interested in moving to Oahu. She works in the medical field. I work remotely. We currently live with family in the San Diego area. We’ve been thinking of moving out of CA for a while. I do feel some concern about pushing the locals out but my partner really loves the tropical vibe as she likes Florida. Our pre tax combined income is a little over 300k. If we do move over, we would start by looking for an apartment first before looking for a house to buy. We are both homebodies but like to do outdoor activities and aren’t really city people so we’d be more interested in living outside of Waikiki or further out. We have a couple of friends out there so we wouldn’t be completely alone. We have two dogs and a cat. The past few times we’ve been there, we really liked it. We plan on going again in December to visit and participate in the Honolulu marathon and to also try to view it as less of a tourist and more as someone who lives there.

We have two cars, would probably sell one of them. We don’t have too many belongings, maybe enough stuff to fit in a bedroom (bed, dressers, tv, clothes etc) and wouldn’t mind selling stuff before we move.

Is there anything we need to know before we make any more decisions?

TLDR: moving from San Diego to Oahu, any regrets? Also a little ethical concern over pushing out locals. Any advice?

Edit: someone is downvoting all my responses. Doesn’t look like they want us to move lol.

Moving to Oahu beginning of January and looking at shipping a car from LA/Long Beach to Honolulu. I’ve read a lot of good reviews of Matson or Pasha…anyone have experience with either one of these? One over the other? Appreciate the answers

I've googled that its safe/legal to sleep in a vehicle only during the day, but is it legal to be living in a motor home?

Moving to Hawaii (specifically Oahu) for university and I need a good bank that doesn't have monthly fees and I have easy access to. Closing my main bank account on the mainland for security reasons and I need any and all advice for banks that is friendly to students, etc.

Any and all ideas, advice, etc with explanation is welcomed!

My husband and I (and our golden retriever) are about to sell our house in Virginia and we’re entertaining the idea of residing on Oahu for 3 months in a furnished apartment before we buy another house in VA. We visited 4 years in a row from 2014-2017 and got engaged out in Yokohama Bay, so we have some knowledge of the island, areas and highways. We’ve stayed in Ko Olina and Waikiki. I’m looking for recommendations on which city to stay in where I would be able to get the most out of our time there. Prefer to be no more than 5-15 mins from water, I’ve saved a place in Kapolei, but 100% open to suggestions. We love to hike, go to the beach, fish, go out to bars (dive or club vibe), go out to eat/street food, and explore and meet new people. We plan to primarily work remote, but I can bartend/serve, so perhaps some place within 20 minutes of where I could do that, if needed. Also, if anyone has better recs on long term car rentals, I have a few saved on turo (around $750/month). And anything else you’d like to share, suggest or recommend! Mahalo!

Can anyone recommend a real estate agent they trust on the island of Oahu? I tried finding one through Zillow but that was a nightmare. Also I'm not sure if this is the right sub so if not please redirect me :)

Both my wife and I are in our mid-30s now and our families have a long history of living on Oahu. We were one of the first in our families to experience life living in the continental US for 10+ years (our parents went to college there, but they returned home afterwards). We recently decided we’d like to move back home to raise our first kiddo near family, but one of the things that is a bit of a mental block for us is regarding the shikataganai (仕方がない) culture that we grew up around.

Growing up, I think I believed that this type of mindset was a good thing and it helped me ‘get over’ hardships more quickly and just focus on things in my control. After moving to NYC and making a lot of activist-type of friends who were super outspoken about not accepting the status quo for what it is, I was pretty culture shocked. I really loved emotionally connecting with so many people and I met so many passionate and compassionate people who cared about the world (regardless of industry) and lead pretty courageous lifestyles.

I’ve visited back home multiple times, and I have been feeling a disconnect between my friends and family for several years. They’re aware of some of the social causes I care about and some of them will vote, but almost all of the conversations we’ll have is about food, sports, the weather, or the newest tv show. Don’t get me wrong - I like all of those topics, but when discussing what’s going on locally, nationally, or internationally, they seem to just not really invest much energy into any of these topics.

I used to just kind of accept this difference and move on with my life, but as we’re moving back home it seems like it’s going to be a point of contention for us. I’ll try to bring up really relevant topics to their daily lives (not just things happening far away from them) like the red hill fuel spill, Mauna Kea, the housing and homelessness crisis, and etc…. they’ll MAYBE share what they think, but they generally just pass the buck and just focus on their own lives. While not everything can be contributed to just the culture, I just feel like shikataganai culture in Hawaii is more learned helplessness.

Now that I have a newborn daughter and am getting a bit hypervigilant with all the changes happening with the US federal government, I not only want to protect her but I also want her to fight back and resist messaging that she is not in control of her own life. My deepest fear is not for myself, but that my daughter will just let things just happen to her, not fight back, and move on with her life. After living in nyc, I realized I had just been letting things happen to me when I grew up and I felt so empowered after my experience living in the city.

I understand that my experience is my own, but I’ve talked to other friends who’ve moved away from home who feel the exact same way and worry about moving back. I love all my friends and family, but I think I need to figure out how to respond to this a bit more for my and my family’s sake. I’ve tried bringing this up with friends, but I’m often met with either apathy or some resentment/pushback (e.g. ‘don’t try to change your home just because you don’t like it - Hawaii is not the mainland and if you don’t like it, stay away’). Most of my friends and family members are more townies, but typical locals ethnically (mixed Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Korean, Portuguese, etc.).

I’d really love to hear locals’ perspectives on the issue, but also love to hear how others (namely POC) also have adapted to moving to Hawaii.

Hello. Family of 3 looking to move to the Big Island and hopefully creating a nice community. I am a CNA, my mother does offgrid work, and my aunt is retired looking for peace and community. I am looking at the area around Hilo, Mountain View general area. I hear it’s nice with lots of variable temperatures. Some say high crime, though like any rural place it seems dependent. We are used to living offgrid and like living in tiny homes. I plan to continue my work as a CNA and was wondering if I could support my mother, aunt and myself off of a probably 15/hour pay with a house fully paid for with off grid utilities, growing our veggies and potentially livestock. (If its permitted, livestock can be hazardous, but I raise rabbits and chickens currently). We will soon be visiting the area but this was my most pressing question. We have about 300k in savings for land purchase and house building, is that enough to build housing for that area? Wondering if one big house or 3 tiny houses is cheaper…Permits will take a while from what I understand which is ok. Curious about insurance rates in the Hilo/Mountain View area aswell…Thank you in advance. I’m sorry if this breaks the no COL rule, I just didnt see this specific question as we have no wants to live big or proud. Just our current quaint lifestyle, but in Hawaii.

Also…any CNAs willing let me know the general PRN pay differential in that area? If theyre hiring aswell? Im working in a level 1 trauma center, have about a years experience.

Shipping a leased car to Oahu, BMW requires Marine Transport Insurance. None of the insurance companies know what this is. Has anyone ever ran into this? Any suggestions?

I’m moving at the end of this month from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Putting my expensive furniture pieces in storage until I can figure out how I could efficiently and affordably move them.

Please comment or PM me if you have container access and would like to potentially share space!

Mahalo!

My husband and I will be PCSing and it’s going to take a month and a half for our stuff to arrive after we do. What should we bring with us in our suitcases that may be beneficial? We’re going to bring an air mattress but is there anything you wish you would’ve taken with you to have while you wait for your stuff to arrive? We’ll go to Costco and purchase things like pots and pans and any other necessities like that.

Hello everyone,

I am moving from the mainland to Honolulu in the next few months. I need some advice. My car is not paid off; I still owe a little over $15,000 on it. I bought it last year cause my previous vehicle broke down completely and I had to have a car where I live currently. Also, shipping would cost $1,600. I could do it though. Alternatively, I have looked into selling it, but have not gotten any offers from dealerships that would cover the full payoff amount. So basically I would still have to owe a few grand on it if I sold it. Even so, I would save money in the long run. Then I would move to Oahu and be using public transportation or bicycling, moped, etc.

Given this info, would you ship or sell? TIA :)