by chance, do any of you / have you lived in Hawaii?

[jazer80]

if anyone has, i have a few questions that you coudl help me a lot with

[crzy4reefs]

BrianD goes there alot, he maybe able to help you out.

[BrianD]

I can try.

[jazer80]

me and my gf will be moving there for ~6mo to a year, and want to move somewhere:
1) not overpacked with tourists
2) has waves we could learn to surf on
3) has awesome local scuba spots

(also, i see you have a dog in your avatar so i wll pop one of my trickier questions: we have a hybrid cat that cannot get a rabies vaccination, what kinds of problems will we have getting him over there?)

[BrianD]

Which island are you moving to? Oahu is the more "touristy" island, but there are plenty of places on the island you can get away from them. Oauh also have plenty of big-time surfing spots, as well as places for beginners.

Oahu is an island, so everything is pretty much "local" You can drive from Waikiki to the North Shore in an hour or so, very dependent on traffic. Housing is ungodly expensive right now, and keeps going up.

As for your cat, you can check here for pet info.

[PUGroyale]

Originally posted by BrianD
Oahu is an island

Are any of the non-island ones less expensive?

[Dolfan0925]

I lived on the peninsula of Okaka, HI and it was very nice. Attached to the mainland of the US, you don't have to worry about flying there, or $4 Big Macs. Also because most people are under the impression that Hawaii is only islands very few people know about it. So the tourist population is low. Nothing but the locals and beautiful beaches.

[BrianD]

Say what? Part of Hawaii attached to the mainland? Please explain.

[Hoggn]

This should be good!

[jazer80]

ya i thought hawaii was way far from mainland.

we haven't decided on a specific island... we don't even know the names of the islands; as a matter of fact hawaii may not even be where we end up. we basically need somewhere that is:

1)very tropical...gorgeous beaches, great weather, and not brutal humidity

2)has good local spots where i can learn to surf (somewhere accessible, maybe 10-25 minutes away)

3)has outstanding scuba diving within a reasonable (maybe 45 minutes) ride

4)has an english speaking vet within an hour tops (my cat is a hybrid and sometimes needs special care).

5) is a good, chill, laid back type of life/area. like i wouldn't want to live in a 'tourist trap' type area.

We are waiting for me to graduate from UMASS, and then moving to CA, but we decided to take a 6month-1 year break before doing that and just relax somewhere tropical, get easy jobs to pay our rent, and have some fun

[corndogg]

I lived on Oahu for five years. If you are moving there, I would suggest the "windward" side of the island. Two nice areas are Kailua and Kaneohe. No tourist but still close enough to get into honolulu in about 15 minutes. Also keeps you out of the traffic. Probably an hour from Northshore but you won't be starting out learning to surf there. This side of the island also has more non-local people living there. In other words if you are a haole, you won't be in the middle of the hawaiian hood.

[pad]

I liked Maui. Near Kihei would be my preferece. Still some stuff to do but not too expensive some of the other resort areas. Molokini http://www.molokini.us/ is an awesome dive. site. Just a little expensive for tourists. Give it a few weeks to become Kama'aina, then they will give you a deal.

[corndogg]

you mention easy jobs. anywhere in hawaii is harder to get by because the pay sucks unless you have a career lined up. I was in the military and we (my girlfriend & I) decided to move back to California when I got out because finding a good paying job is difficult. I had local friends that were in their thirties still living at home because they couldn't afford to buy a house.

It just depends on what lifestyle you want. If you want to be a surfah boy and live in a little studio with your girl and just enjoy life with a little 9 to 5 and surf 5 times a week then this is where you want to move. If your looking to start a career and raise kids then, hawaii isn't the place.

Eventually we plan on moving back once our finacial goals have been achieved so that you be comfortable out there.

[opihi]

i was born & raised in Honolulu. most people i know that moved from the mainland lived in Waikiki first, then move to different parts of the island once they became more familiar with the place. seems to work out best because Waikiki has modern conveniences in walking distance, is close to the beach, and is central. plus you'll have the best chances of finding short-term housing there.

please check the pet info link, HI's crazy strict about quarantining incoming animals. it might be better for you and your pet to find it a happy home instead of putting it through the quarantine process (especially since it can't get a rabies shot).

btw, 99% of the people in HI do speak english. lots of us speak pidgin english, but you'll encounter more of that on the street, and not in a professional setting like a vet's office. my mainland friends have told me that they could not understand pidgin at all. you might want to take a look at Pidgin to da max to get familar w/ some of the local slangs. if you do, "no act" 'cause we can definitely tell.

i hope you have lots of $$ saved up. living in HI is quite expensive,
but it is definitely a beautiful place to live in.

GL

[BrianD]

jazer, you definitely need to vacation in Hawaii before you make a decision. I know that before I went to Hawaii, I had all sorts of preconceived notions about what it was like. You have to experience it to understand it.

[Dolfan0925]

Originally posted by BrianD
Say what? Part of Hawaii attached to the mainland? Please explain.

Do you realize how bad the tourist population would get if word of the peninsula got out!? It's a secret.

[BrianD]

?????

[Caryliss]

Having helped a few clients import their pets to Hawaii, I can guarantee you that without rabies vaccines and blood tests documenting protective immunity to rabies it is highly unlikely that you will be able to take your cat. They may also restrict the import of hybrids because they are "exotic." Sorry to give you the bad news.

For anyone contemplating taking a pet to Hawaii, see your vet months in advance. There are vaccines and blood tests that must be carefully timed over several months. It gets expensive too. There will still be a 30 day quarantine for them once they get there.

[BrianD]

Caryliss, the rules have been changed. I don't think the 30 day quarantine is still accurate.

[Caryliss]

I see now that there are situations that allow a 5 day or less quarantine for older animals with multiple rabies vaccinations. The requirements for titer testing 4-6 months before arrival still stands though. It's been a little over 2 yrs since I had to go through that process and things have changed a bit (thanks for the link).

It looks like a rabies vaccine would still be required, even for the 120 day quarantine.

[redFishblue]

Hawaii might be fun when you're young but it's no place to wing it if you want to raise a family and have no money in the bank. That's why so many Hawaiian's are moving to Las Vegas and Cali so they can afford to live in a decent sized place.
And if you're wanting to learn to surf, make sure you know the etiquette of the place.
You're more likely to encounter surfing the locals who take a dim view of statesiders crowding them on 'their' small island

[BrianD]

RFB, are you a native?

[ADBtie]

I lived there for about 4 years..1.5 in Kaneohe and 2.5 in Waikiki....I am so glad I am living back in the mainland and in particular Santa Fe. PM me for any details.

[Kevin McG]

Originally posted by Dolfan0925
I lived on the peninsula of Okaka, HI and it was very nice. Attached to the mainland of the US

HUH???


Where is OKAKA is it near OPUPU or OPEPE

[redFishblue]

Originally posted by BrianD
RFB, are you a native?

From Guam, an even smaller US island in the pacific.
Not as many people from the mainland move to Guam but we have similar issues to Hawaii but on a smaller scale.
When I came to the mainland for college, I hung around a lot of Hawaiians/Pacific islanders and some of them would say stuff that could be perceived as prejudiced against white people. But white guys who grew up in Hawaii would say the same things. So its actually not racial but more like they are differentiating between people born in Hawaii and outsiders/statesider.