# Big Move



## Kauai Kid (Jul 30, 2011)

We're relaxing this afternoon listening to Hawaiian music from Pandora Radio.

We'd sure like to hear from someone who has actually moved from the Mainland to Hawaii.  Objective --good points, bad points, cost of living, medical care, taxes, condo rental, condo purchase, home purchase,  etc.

The two islands I'd be most interested in are Kauai and Maui.

There is a book out on moving to Hawaii that only shows moving to the Big Island.

Mahalo nui loa,


Sterling, Kelina


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## DeniseM (Jul 30, 2011)

Sterling - We haven't moved, but we have looked at both home and condos in Hawaii and what we found is that with the condos, the monthly maintenance fees are so high, that you could hire the same services done at your private home for far less.  We decided that if we moved, we'd buy a home.


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## lynne (Jul 30, 2011)

Sterling,

We moved to the Big Island in 2006 but purchased our home here in 2001.  We had narrowed our search down to either Kauai or the Big Island.  Maui was out for us due to the fact that you could not navigate around the island and if a road was closed, you were stuck.  Also, home prices and congestion played into our decision.  We almost purchased a condo in Princeville in 1997, but after reading the HOA rules and regulations, we backed out prior to closing.  

After a week of real estate tours, we found a two homes in Kauai that were in our price range that we loved - one in Kapaa and one in Princeville.   We had one day in Hawaii to look at home and also found two that were potential retirement homes.  We then really took stock at both Islands and determined that Hawaii was right for us.   As we were moving here permanently, we wanted a home that we would feel part of the community and would not get 'island fever'.  Now that we have been living here for 5 years, we know that we made the correct choice.  

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me and I will try to answer them.   It is a life changing experience, and we are so happy that we went for it  - Lynn


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## humuhumu nukunukuapua'a (Jul 30, 2011)

*Check on Tripadvisor Forum*

Sterling,

I suggest that you post your inquiry on Tripadvisor Forums, probably separately on the Kauai and Maui Boards.  It appears to me that several of the Maui Forum moderators currently live on Maui...and would probably love to chat about their experiences.  Make certain that your post is specifically on the island-wide Forums (rather than than any limited subset of small districts, i.e., Lahaina or Kihei ), to ensure that the query gets the widest circulation.

I would also guess that your interest in moving has been previously asked (and answered) on various TA Forums:  Perhaps by asking, others will point you to those previous threads.


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## barefootnAR (Jul 30, 2011)

Posting a moving to Hawaii question on trip advisor is prohibited and the post will probably be closed, but not before you will be guided to several good books. 
Last week there was a post about moving. Two big red flags to consider. 1) Medical care. The Islands are limited and many doctor visits mean a flight to Oahu sometimes with an over night stay. 2) energy cost. If you need a/c. Elec on Maui is tied to gas prices and moves up and down each month. a 2300sft home on the coast can range from $400 to $800 per mo.
Job market on Maui is really hurting. Don't know about the medical field.
You may already have Polancy's book..So you want to live in Hawaii.
Another one in   Maui 101 - Your Guide to Island Life by Jill Engledow


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## Kona Lovers (Jul 31, 2011)

Hey Sterling!

DW and I have been discussing this same thing a bit.  Ours has been about the Big Island, and on www.konaweb.com there is info about moving to the BI, which may or may not help seeing you're talking about Kauai or Maui.

Thanks for posting this, as I'm going to look into some of the above mentioned information that has been recommended.

Aloha,

Marty


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## tompalm (Jul 31, 2011)

barefootnAR said:


> Posting a moving to Hawaii question on trip advisor is prohibited and the post will probably be closed, but not before you will be guided to several good books.
> Last week there was a post about moving. Two big red flags to consider. 1) Medical care. The Islands are limited and many doctor visits mean a flight to Oahu sometimes with an over night stay. 2) energy cost. If you need a/c. Elec on Maui is tied to gas prices and moves up and down each month. a 2300sft home on the coast can range from $400 to $800 per mo.
> Job market on Maui is really hurting. Don't know about the medical field.
> You may already have Polancy's book..So you want to live in Hawaii.
> Another one in   Maui 101 - Your Guide to Island Life by Jill Engledow



Concur with the above.  I use to fly for Hawaii Air Ambulance and was really surprised about how limited the service was at the hospitals on the outer islands.  The housing is a lot cheaper on Maui and Kauai, but everything else has to be imported from Honolulu or the mainland, so it is more expensive.  Hawaii has the highest utility cost in the country and you pay a high price to live here in just about everything you do.  

A week ago, I went to a seminar on buying a home in Hawaii and the speaker gave a presentation on the economy and buying homes.  A lot of places will start making a rebound in 2012, but he thought that Maui would be low for a lot longer.  So, don't rush to buy and maybe rent for six months to ensure the move is right for you.


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## tompalm (Jul 31, 2011)

Kauai Kid said:


> We're relaxing this afternoon listening to Hawaiian music from Pandora Radio.
> 
> Sterling, Kelina



I don't want to high jack this thread, but I just found out that Pandora has Woodstock, Neil Young, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and all the others that I use to listen too.  I am loving Pandora more and more.


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Jul 31, 2011)

We moved to Maui from Colorado in 2004, with our dog and cat. 

I don't know if you have pets, but I can help you with that process if you need. The quarantine restrictions have been lifted, but you have to do some careful planning to move them (and pay a bunch of money).

We rented a house, and looked into buying a condo, but in hindsight, it would have been in the height of the bubble so I am very happy we didn't.

We didn't get a container to move things. We packed our belongings in several plastic crates, screwed and duct taped them, and shipped them.  Once we were there, we hit up several of the MANY great garage sales that happen year round and acquired the rest of our belongings. I sold my condo in Colorado furnished, so we didn't have any special furniture to move.

In Hawaii, all employees, even part time, are offered health insurance. While I did have a great OB doc that help us tremendously with the loss of our first pregnancy, it is rare to find quality care outside of the Kaiser Permanente network. Even if you pay for Kaiser, it was only about $180/month vs. close to $300 a month here in Colorado for the same plan.

The bad...Hawaii is wrought with a drug problem. They refer to it as "ice" but it is basically smoking crystal meth. As a result, petty crime is rampant. And when I say petty, I mean petty. My coworker had someone come into her home while she was in the shower and steal her costume jewelry. Losing the plastic jewels was not upsetting, but having someone come into your home certainly is!  There is also somewhat of a problem of crime on the beach. I have witnessed wallets being stolen on Baldwin beach, but had to wait to let the person know their wallet was stolen until the thief was out of sight. The reason: several people have been hospitalized for injuries for turning someone in.  In other words, you will have the crap beaten out of you if you do something. Was common knowledge on Baldwin at the time. Hopefully it is changing.

I lived upcountry, but worked on Kapalua. All of my current friends live on the West side, with the exception of one, who just bought a house in Wailuku Heights and she is LOVING it. This is surprising, because she was very very leery about leaving the west side.

I was an independent contractor, even though I worked for a resort. This meant I had to pay the lovely 4.5% excise tax, on top of self employment tax. Hawaii loves to tax and collect money, but to be fair, I did make much more money (3x more) when I lived there than when I moved back to Colorado doing the same job.

Hope some if this info helps.  Let me know if you have more questions.


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## Kauai Kid (Jul 31, 2011)

In scanning all your interesting comments the single thing that concerns me the most is lack of medical care on the outer islands.  Yet Hawaiians live the longest of people in all 50 states.

We wouldn't leave our 15 yr old dog but his time is fast approaching.  We also have a cat, Leilani. I understand cats are pretty easy to import.

I'd certainly keep our home in Texas until we were really ready to commit (or be committed).  :hysterical: 

Princeville area would be our number one choice.  More laid back for us old 
folks and not so frantic as Maui.  Upcountry Maui is extremely appealing too.

More the week after next--I have a nursing exam I should be studying for.


My Hawaiian friends tell me that I am a Hawaiian wrapped in Haole skin.  How is that for a nice complement? 


Mahalo,

Sterling


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## tompalm (Aug 1, 2011)

ThreeLittleBirds said:


> We moved to Maui from Colorado in 2004, with our dog and cat.
> 
> The bad...Hawaii is wrought with a drug problem. They refer to it as "ice" but it is basically smoking crystal meth. As a result, petty crime is rampant. And when I say petty, I mean petty. My coworker had someone come into her home while she was in the shower and steal her costume jewelry. Losing the plastic jewels was not upsetting, but having someone come into your home certainly is!  There is also somewhat of a problem of crime on the beach. I have witnessed wallets being stolen on Baldwin beach, but had to wait to let the person know their wallet was stolen until the thief was out of sight. The reason: several people have been hospitalized for injuries for turning someone in.  In other words, you will have the crap beaten out of you if you do something. Was common knowledge on Baldwin at the time. Hopefully it is changing.
> 
> Hope some if this info helps.  Let me know if you have more questions.



Location, location, location.  In Hawaii, you pay for the neighborhood, not the house.  The same thing is probably true in most places about where you live, but it is more important in Hawaii.


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Aug 1, 2011)

Kauai Kid said:


> In scanning all your interesting comments the single thing that concerns me the most is lack of medical care on the outer islands.  Yet Hawaiians live the longest of people in all 50 states.
> 
> We wouldn't leave our 15 yr old dog but his time is fast approaching.  We also have a cat, Leilani. I understand cats are pretty easy to import.
> 
> ...



I wouldn't go so far to say there is a lack of medical care on Maui, just not an abundance of quality care, with the exception of the Kaiser network, which is quite large. Non-western medical care is also abundant on the island.

Importing a dog and cat are the same exact process. You have to have a rabies titer done, wait for the results to be posted on the State's website, then there is a (4 month?) waiting period before you can come on the island. They must receive their rabies shots within 10 days of flying in as well. All pets must be flown into the quarantine station in Honolulu, where they are "inspected" (i.e., make sure you paid your $250 per pet entry fee -- our pets were never even looked at). You cannot fly directly to another island.

Good luck on your test!


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## lynne (Aug 1, 2011)

ThreeLittleBirds said:


> I wouldn't go so far to say there is a lack of medical care on Maui, just not an abundance of quality care, with the exception of the Kaiser network, which is quite large. Non-western medical care is also abundant on the island.
> 
> Importing a dog and cat are the same exact process. You have to have a rabies titer done, wait for the results to be posted on the State's website, then there is a (4 month?) waiting period before you can come on the island. They must receive their rabies shots within 10 days of flying in as well. All pets must be flown into the quarantine station in Honolulu, where they are "inspected" (i.e., make sure you paid your $250 per pet entry fee -- our pets were never even looked at). You cannot fly directly to another island.
> 
> Good luck on your test!



We find our medical care quite good on the Big Island - our physicians are caring and they spend time getting to know you, very unlike the 2 minutes we would get in NY speaking with our PCP.  We are also very lucky to have good state of the art facilities at North Hawaii Hospital.  

As to pets, Kona does have an instant release without the need to fly into Honolulu.  We also have a satellite quarantine center outside of Hilo.    Our two cats came over without any problems (with the exception of the 10 hour delay on our flight from the mainland).  

And yes, life is healthier here ... fresh fruits and vegetable, local grass fed beef and clean air (we live on the east side so no VOG).


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## lprstn (Aug 4, 2011)

Crime as you mentioned is VERY mild compared to what I see in the city where I live. I mean very mild. Everyday I go to the mall, to the grocery, I have in the back of my mind that anything could happen. I guess folks that live in the major cities would feel that way. I would be prepared for crime no matter what the dressing up of the place was that I live. I guess that is a side effect of growing up in the inner city.


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## hgjames (Aug 6, 2011)

Kauai Kid said:


> In scanning all your interesting comments the single thing that concerns me the most is lack of medical care on the outer islands.  Yet Hawaiians live the longest of people in all 50 states.
> 
> We wouldn't leave our 15 yr old dog but his time is fast approaching.  We also have a cat, Leilani. I understand cats are pretty easy to import.
> 
> ...



There's an extensive discussion about moving to Hawaii on city-data.com's Hawaii forums. 

IMO nothing in Hawaii compares to Kauai's north shore. The vibe, pace, scenery, and people are wonderful. But before you make a commitment consider staying for an extended period of time, especially if you have your eye on Princeville. Someone already mentioned the off-putting community regulations. Another problem with living there, as opposed to vacationing, is pollution from the two golf courses - both noise pollution and more importantly pesticide pollution (the courses are sprayed heavily and the wind direction means the spray drifts over most of the community). Just one example of something you perhaps wouldn't think about unless you spent several months there..


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## Kauai Kid (Aug 7, 2011)

tompalm said:


> I don't want to high jack this thread, but I just found out that Pandora has Woodstock, Neil Young, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and all the others that I use to listen too.  I am loving Pandora more and more.



Boy, you must really be old :hysterical: 

But they don't have any Lawrence Welk for me.  :hysterical: :hysterical: 

Sterling


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## Cathyb (Aug 7, 2011)

*If I may add...*



lynne said:


> Sterling,
> 
> We moved to the Big Island in 2006 but purchased our home here in 2001.  We had narrowed our search down to either Kauai or the Big Island.  Maui was out for us due to the fact that you could not navigate around the island and if a road was closed, you were stuck.  Also, home prices and congestion played into our decision.  We almost purchased a condo in Princeville in 1997, but after reading the HOA rules and regulations, we backed out prior to closing.
> 
> ...



...and a beautiful home it is!  A little hard to find  but space galore, surrounded by Mother Nature.


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## Cathyb (Aug 7, 2011)

*Great subject!*



Kauai Kid said:


> We're relaxing this afternoon listening to Hawaiian music from Pandora Radio.
> 
> We'd sure like to hear from someone who has actually moved from the Mainland to Hawaii.  Objective --good points, bad points, cost of living, medical care, taxes, condo rental, condo purchase, home purchase,  etc.
> 
> ...



Sterling -- I have enjoyed all the information shared here, great question and thank you for asking it!  Years ago when I wanted to move to either Maui or Kauai my husband said he would get island fever -- not being able to drive 100 miles or more, etc.   Have any of the posters suffered that?


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## lynne (Aug 7, 2011)

Cathyb said:


> ...and a beautiful home it is!  A little hard to find  but space galore, surrounded by Mother Nature.



Thank you Cathy - we look forward to seeing you on your next visit!


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## fnover (Aug 7, 2011)

*Island fever*



Cathyb said:


> Sterling -- I have enjoyed all the information shared here, great question and thank you for asking it!  Years ago when I wanted to move to either Maui or Kauai my husband said he would get island fever -- not being able to drive 100 miles or more, etc.   Have any of the posters suffered that?



I live in Honolulu almost 50 years ago and it didn't take very long to get island fever, but I was in my mid 20's, I don't know if it would be a problem at 73.
For what it's worth a few years ago I was talking to a friend that lived in Honolulu about retiring on Maui and he felt that cumming from NY originally my wife and I would get board very quickly because of the lack of entertainment etc. He suggested that if we were serious we would be better off on Ohau.


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## Hawaii123 (Aug 8, 2011)

*Island Fever?*



Cathyb said:


> Sterling -- I have enjoyed all the information shared here, great question and thank you for asking it!  Years ago when I wanted to move to either Maui or Kauai my husband said he would get island fever -- not being able to drive 100 miles or more, etc.   Have any of the posters suffered that?



I moved to Hawaii  in 1977 (from Northern CA) when I was 19, 1st to Maui for 2 years, then moved to the Big Island.  I've never had island fever.


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## pianodinosaur (Aug 8, 2011)

Kaui Kid:

Hawaii is a beautiful place to visit.  It is also a very expensive place to live.  The medical care in Hawaii is as up to date as anywhere on the mainland.  However, I would rather live in Texas.  

During a vacation at the Hale Koa, I was told never to shoot a Hawaiian three times because after the third time, he gets mad.


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## ThreeLittleBirds (Aug 9, 2011)

We never had island fever either. I'm also just not prone to such a thing. Having lived in remote resort areas most of my adult life, I find I enjoy not having or wanting to leave where I live. I do believe it is a personal choice.

I definitely came from a very very low crime area. Keys are left in cars if you go into a store, and good luck finding the key to your front door, if you even have a lock on it. 

Fortunately, I cannot speak very much about the medical care as I did not need much. However, the lack of compassion for during a pregnancy going awry was astonishing. Hopefully things are changing in that area, but fortunately the access to quality midwives is also there. Sounds like giving birth is not on your list of plans for your move, though


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## lprstn (Aug 9, 2011)

We love Hawaii also, but figured it'll work out best for us if we just got enough timeshare weeks to stay for 2-3 months out of the year. So far, we are able to do 1.5 months-2.5 months timesharing with our points and extra vacations.


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## slip (Aug 9, 2011)

My goal is a month. 
We'll see how it goes after that.


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## philemer (Aug 13, 2011)

Kauai Kid said:


> We're relaxing this afternoon listening to Hawaiian music from Pandora Radio.
> 
> We'd sure like to hear from someone who has actually moved from the Mainland to Hawaii.  Objective --good points, bad points, cost of living, medical care, taxes, condo rental, condo purchase, home purchase,  etc.
> 
> ...



Maybe we can buy a duplex together! 

Aloha,
Phil


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