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  • Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

    ...Yes it is. I've been reading threads on this site, and see that you all provide very realisitic advice. Perhaps you could help me with some questions that I have.

    I am a Coast Guard officer, and will be moving to Oahu in/around October. I will be working at Barbers Point. My wife will probably try to get a job downtown, retail management... she may be able to get back working at her old employer.

    Here's how I see it so far:
    I see that the housing market is very expensive, but we are still thinking about trying to buy a townhome/condo. Renting is an option, but we have one dog. I've read about that. Military housing is an option (although now it's privatized), but we live in housing now and want to save that as a latter option. For buying, it looks like Ewa Beach and Makakilo and much less expensive than downtown. Also looks like $350-400 doesn't buy too much. Townhomes in Ocean Pointe look nice.

    I have heard that if we live close to base, my wife's commute to downtown will be horrible. Reallistically, how bad is it? She drove 45-60 minutes in Miami... so if it's like that she could deal with it, but obviously she could do without. If we lived closer to Honolulu, or somewhere in the middle (Pearl City, Salt Lake?) I have heard that my commute will be against traffic, so it's not bad. Others say it still is. Any opinions?

    Finally, I have never even been to Hawaii, so I don't want to make decisions about where to live without even coming over there. We plan on spending a week or two getting to as many places as we can, and driving in traffic. Still, it's not a lot of time.

    One of our concerns is that although we will live and WORK in Hawaii, we still want to have fun, go to the beach, and shop. We live in a small town now that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, so we have to drive 30-45 minutes to go to a half-decent restaraunt or shopping. Living here almost makes us want to live near Honolulu for all of the entertainment, but that's a bad reason on it's own. Perhaps it's a better reason if the commute works out for both of us. Is there a lot to do in the areas like Ewa and Kapolei, maybe even so much that there isn't much need to drive to Honolulu? Is the drive only bad during commute and fairly easy on the weekends?

    We're relatively young and are hoping to enjoy some time in Hawaii before having children. So with all of this in mind... any recommendations?
    (I know I've asked a lot of questions, but I've been trying to do so much research, and it's hard to find good information... Thanks!

  • #2
    Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

    Originally posted by CGDaveMac
    We plan on spending a week or two getting to as many places as we can, and driving in traffic.
    yea. that's about the amount of time per day we spend. a week or two in traffic... and yes, that is spent getting to places.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

      Maybe your wife can get a job in Kapolei or Waikele. There are plenty of retailers over there, and such jobs are probably more plentiful. Of course, maybe you can arrange for the HH-65 Dolphin to assist with your commutes!
      Aloha from Lavagal

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

        Shopping at CostCo might help cut down on your cost of living. Does Coast Guard get the military commissary access?

        As for your dog, there are many helpful threads on getting your dog through quarantine with either minimal or NO stay at the quarantine station. I would humbly suggest to you to do the homework for that ASAP (it involves doing bloodtests within 180 or so days of departure, I believe).

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

          Thanks... in fact, the dog should be good to go. We had his blood test done back in June, so when we move the four months will be up. All of his paperwork is in order as well.

          I'll read those threads to make sure I am not missing anything.

          Yes, we can use all commissaries and exchanges.

          lavagal... although I'll be flying the 65, I don't think I can use it for personal reasons.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

            I Love the 65! Man that thing is so distinct! We love the USCG here in Hawaii. And their public affairs dept is TOP NOTCH compared to other DOD branches here.
            Aloha from Lavagal

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

              Aloha e CGDaveMac, welcome to the 'Threads. Glad you've found some value to the distinctly realistic advice handed out here. It certainly sounds like you're planning well and above all, I hope your move goes well and you find Hawaii as great as many of us do.
              Originally posted by CGDaveMac
              For buying, it looks like Ewa Beach and Makakilo and much less expensive than downtown. Also looks like $350-400 doesn't buy too much. Townhomes in Ocean Pointe look nice.
              If you can afford to buy, and plan to be here for a while, go for it. Rentals are scarce and more expensive by the day as inventories dwindle, and who really wants to put up with fickle landlords if you can avoid it? $350-$400k would get you something livable, believe it or not, just not fantastic. While median single-family home resale prices can hit over $900,000 in Hawaii Kai, in Leeward Oahu the median is right in your sweet spot.
              I have heard that if we live close to base, my wife's commute to downtown will be horrible. Reallistically, how bad is it? She drove 45-60 minutes in Miami... so if it's like that she could deal with it, but obviously she could do without. If we lived closer to Honolulu, or somewhere in the middle (Pearl City, Salt Lake?) I have heard that my commute will be against traffic, so it's not bad. Others say it still is. Any opinions?
              Traffic from the Ewa side into urban Honolulu is horrific by local standards, but probably not by, say, L.A. standards. I drive daily from central Oahu to downtown every morning, but because of the traffic I leave before 6 a.m. -- that way, there's rarely any stop-and-go and I'm at my desk in 40 minutes. On the days I've ended up in the thick of things, say, leaving closer to 7 a.m., it can take an hour, yes. Throw in a bad accident, for either morning or afternoon peak times? Anything goes.

              The drive home, for me, takes closer to an hour, but that's because I leave dowtown about when everyone else does.

              If you lived "in the middle," you'd have a decent commute heading Ewa (although it can still back up, given the Zipper Lane cuts the number of west-bound lanes by half at some places), and avoid some of the east-bound bottleneck at Waipahu/Pearl City. That's probably better than living in town (Makiki, Kaimuki, etc.), actually... traffic within the urban core itself is awful in both directions, sometimes all day!
              One of our concerns is that although we will live and WORK in Hawaii, we still want to have fun, go to the beach, and shop. We live in a small town now that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, so we have to drive 30-45 minutes to go to a half-decent restaraunt or shopping. Living here almost makes us want to live near Honolulu for all of the entertainment, but that's a bad reason on it's own.
              From what you've written, I think you'll like Honolulu life, as you can get away from it all but also have all the hustle and bustle you want. I don't think you have to live "in town" to have fun. We live in Mililani, the suburban boonies by some accounts, but can just as easily head up to the North Shore for the beach or some shave ice in Haleiwa as we can head into town for a parade or some retail spelunking. Not too many major neighborhoods are too far out of the way from anywhere else. Isn't there a Kailua dealership whose ads claim, "40 minutes from anywhere on Oahu!"
              Is there a lot to do in the areas like Ewa and Kapolei, maybe even so much that there isn't much need to drive to Honolulu? Is the drive only bad during commute and fairly easy on the weekends?
              There's more and more to do in Ewa and Kapolei, as the city moves full steam ahead in its attempt to build a second urban core out there. You definitely have lots of shopping options, a big theater complex, more restaurants... It all has its downsides and critics, of course, as the area has grown faster than the infrastructure, and even moving around within Kapolei can be a challenge. A story in today's Advertiser, in fact, has a woman saying it can take her 30 minutes to go a mile!

              As for traffic peaks for various times of day and days of the week? Frankly, "rush hour" is getting longer and longer. For Ewa-downtown commuters, it's six-lanes of congestion from 6:30 a.m. to almost 9 a.m., then 4:30 p.m. to well past 6 p.m. the other way. (Coming into Honolulu from Hawaii Kai or the Windward side is better, but still a mess... and heaven help you if there's a wreck on Pali or Likelike Highways!) And as I said above, in the heart of Honolulu, between University Ave. and the Likelike Highway offramps, traffic on the freeway is bad all day.

              And weekends aren't the travel "safe zone" they used to be. I've often hit bumper-to-bumper at the usual weekday crunch points at 10 a.m. on a Saturday.
              So with all of this in mind... any recommendations?
              You mean as to where to live? Sounds like you have a good idea of the pluses and minuses of some neighborhoods. Definitely try to live like a work-a-day wage slave during your visit rather than a tourist. And maybe meet up with some friendly strangers you met on a message board for lunch one day!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                Check your e-mail, Dave. I sent you a link to a property that has been popular with Coast Guard folks, and it's pet-friendly.
                .
                .

                That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                  Originally posted by pzarquon
                  And as I said above, in the heart of Honolulu, between University Ave. and the Likelike Highway offramps, traffic on the freeway is bad all day.
                  Sorry... gotta call bullsheet on this one.

                  Yeah, traffic is bad in town, but it's not bumper-to-bumper traffic ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

                  I just took the freeway back to Palolo from downtown. No problem. And it's generally that way every weekday between 10 a.m. and about 2 p.m.

                  The surface streets are definitely worse, but you can still get around during the day.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                    A fair point. I guess I'd instead say, "heavy."

                    I mean, it can be flowing along pretty good -- tight platoons of cars zipping along -- but there are several reliable choke points and it doesn't take much to create a river of brake lights. I frequently make mid-day runs from downtown to the University area, and while sometimes it's zip-a-dee-doo-dah (to the point where the 45 m.p.h. stretch near University is surpassed with gusto), both ways, sometimes it's a crawl.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                      Originally posted by pzarquon
                      [...]in the heart of Honolulu, between University Ave. and the Likelike Highway offramps, traffic on the freeway is bad all day.

                      And weekends aren't the travel "safe zone" they used to be. I've often hit bumper-to-bumper at the usual weekday crunch points at 10 a.m. on a Saturday.[...]
                      With regard to traffic, I've learned to expect the unexpected. There's just no predicting it beyond the rush hours. If I leave downtown headed towards Makaha at 6:15p one night it'll be bumper to bumper with no accidents and the next night it'll be a breeze. Go figure. When I house sit on Waialae Iki I can leave my office, safely, at 5p as long as I take King St. to the freeway onramp in Moiliili. I don't know what the traffic is like beyond Laukahi St. at that time but I'd guess it starts backing up, somewhere not too far down the line.

                      It still surprises me to see week-end freeway traffic. I can understand an accident causing a back-up but, for the most part, it's just a whole buncha cars on the road at the same time. It never used to be that way. Oooooh, for the good ol' days!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                        Tutusue:
                        I know I'm spoiled because I live in Hawaii Kai and my commute takes me to Oceanic Institute at Makapuu. And I also get to telecommute! But for weekends, we used to make an 8:30 a.m. dance class at The Movement Center in Kaimuki every Saturday. The traffic was amazing! I think people just need to get things done early, head into town and get there first. We don't do dance class anymore; Saturdays are dedicated to locally taught swimming lessons (a better survival skill), and the girls get hula at school and take piano from the girl up the street. I'm all for paring down activities to save on gas, or finding ways to avoid driving!
                        Aloha from Lavagal

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                          Hi again. Thanks for all the info.

                          I am sure I won't be able to really decide until I get to Hawaii, but I've been told that a good place to live is the Aeia area, since there is a 15-20 minute drive to both Barber's Point and to Honlulu. (Although I am sure traffic will effect those numbers at times.) I am told that there is good proximity to the highway, as well as the Navy Exchange and Commissary.

                          So, can anyone give me the lowdown on this area?

                          Thanks!
                          Last edited by CGDaveMac; August 19, 2006, 05:35 AM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                            Aiea ... the only town in the USA spelled solely with vowels, according to one edition of Trivial Pursuit.

                            You're right on the money about its proximity to the Navy Exchange and Commissary. The NEX facility is relatively new, having undergone a huge, multi-million dollar renovation in recent years. The commissary is, I'm told, the biggest and best on Oahu. In a previous life, I lived out that way and used to shop there, pre-renovation -- and I loved it.

                            Now that my eldest is in the Army Guard, I'll be going out there from time to time again -- woo hoo!

                            But I digress.

                            I lived in Aiea, right above Pearlridge Center, the first time I had two kids in diapers -- and it was super-convenient.

                            Aiea has Pearlridge Center ... http://www.pearlridgeonline.com/

                            Pearl Kai Shopping Center ... for which I couldn't find a URL quickly, but here's a review of one of the restaurants:
                            http://starbulletin.com/2004/02/29/features/eater.html
                            (Disclosure -- I also work at the Star-Bulletin.)

                            ... and not too far away, Waikele Premium Outlets:
                            http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=29

                            For those moments when going to the commissary's not convenient, there are other grocery stores in the area, as it's a pretty major population center:
                            Safeway, Times and Star ... For some reason I can't visualize where Foodland is -- is the closest location in Pearl City?

                            There are good local hardware stores and a Home Depot and a Wal-Mart in the vicinity ...

                            You won't find beaches in Aiea/Pearl City, but you don't have to drive too far/or long to get to great beaches on the West Side, South Shore, East Side, North Shore, or Windward Side.

                            Additional thoughts, guys?
                            Last edited by Erika Engle; August 19, 2006, 09:00 AM. Reason: Clarity, as usual.
                            **************************************
                            I know a lot less than what there is to be known.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Not another "moving to oahu thread" is it?

                              It has the only ice skating rink in Hawaii?

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