considering moving to oahu

[alexjp]

OK guys...i need your encouragement. I am wanting to move to oahu in a year. I am a teacher moving with a roomate (who happens to be my best friend). However, I am plagued by some things. First of all, the expense of moving my car (atleast a grand) and moving my three dogs (another grand). Not to mention the added expense of having to buy house furnishings (new bed, sofas, all that house stuff), and the stress of finding an apartment that will suite my roomate, me, and my three dogs. However, my heart aches to live in Hawaii. So, please tell me all the "start" up expenses are worth it!!!

[kimo55]

Re: considering moving to oahu

pzarq, look away...

"apartment that will suite my roomate, me,"

well, aren't we accustomed to being choosy.
lose that expectation. now.
" and my three dogs. "



apartment. Dogs.
oh. wait.
THREE dogs.

haaahahaha.

" I am a teacher moving with a roomate who happens to be my best friend"

well, ain't dat nice. I am SURE if you convey that close association to yer average landlord, she or he will certainly then, in turn allow three dogs, also in the apartment.


"However, my heart aches to live in Hawaii. So, please tell me all the "start" up expenses are worth it!!!"

No. Ain't worth it. Others who grew up here are aching to make it here, too. In an ever shrinking living space situation.
finite space can not handle infinite people. thus; please to go get heart pains for another locale.
thengew vurrymush.

[alexjp]

Re: considering moving to oahu

Wow...when I wrote that I didn't think I was sounding choosing at all...just being real. And no...I am not accustomed to being choosy. I struggle immensly to make ends meet on a teacher salary. And for me, my dear, my dogs are my kids. Finding a place for them is just as important as finding a place for me.

[kimo55]

Re: considering moving to oahu

alex, it's goin be reaaalll hard finding a place for dogs. and three? wow. i love animals too. Too much. ya goin haveta buy yer own place, man. Or check countryside. Get planny li'dat out there.
better choices. Not so at all Honolulu side.

whew. 3 dogs.
I feel yer pain. in advance.

[alexjp]

Re: considering moving to oahu

Thanks man...by the way...I'm a girl (alexzandrea). I am hoping that if I plan, plan, and plan some more...it will work out for me. Like I tell my students..."where there is a will..."

[damontucker]

Re: considering moving to oahu

You know... I haven't heard of 3 dogs and two teachers in an apartment hear on oahu before....

Honestly tita...If you can find affordable housing for just you and your friend... then you would be fairly fortunate...

If you need to be with the dogs... I would suggest another state.

Not trying to joke around... however unless you and your buddy got a bank load of money... and I'm talking at least 20,000 starting banked... your not gonna find anything that will allow 2 and 3 dogs...

Have to agree with Kimo here...

[pzarquon]

Re: considering moving to oahu

Alex, don't mind Kimo. He speaks the truth, but in his own, distinct way!

Bringing animals to Hawaii? A major undertaking that requires lots of planning, unless you want your dogs to be kept in quarantine for months. Finding an apartment that will accept pets? Almost impossible. The Hawaii Humane Society does maintain a list of pet-friendly landlords, but demand far, far exceeds supply.

Rentals for anyone -- single, married, kids, no kids, roommates, pets, no pets -- are tough to come by. Rents are going through the roof ($1,000 a month for a nice studio, meaning under 500 sq. feet) as more and more properties go condo and as other expenses rise. One listed apartment will have 50 applicants, easy, many of whom paid non-refundable deposits and won't even get to see the place before it's gone. Landlords can be choosy, can evict on a whim, and can charge whatever they like, because someone, somewhere, will always be willing to put up with it.

You say, "I struggle immensly to make ends meet on a teacher salary." If that's the case, wherever you are now, I don't think anyone here will be out of line to send up a few red flags.

If you've got savings, if you've got a plan, if you've got a job lined up, maybe even a place... if you've got your dogs shots in order and well documented... excellent. Happy travels. But if you're throwing caution to the wind, if you're saying, "If I'm going to struggle, I might as well struggle in Hawaii," then I don't think anyone's going to encourage that.

Hawaii, unlike other random destinations, is not a place you can easily leave if things don't work out. Meanwhile, we're already struggling to serve those already here who've fallen between the cracks. We have families with kids, with both parents with full-time jobs, still living on the beach. It's scary. And I'd hate for you, or anyone, to end up there, too.

There's nothing wrong with a dream, but we're just trying to help you keep at least one foot grounded in reality.

As an aside...

There was just a story on KHON tonight that some schools are having to recruit directly from the Mainland for general teaching positions, given the worsening teacher shortage. I do wonder, though, what the DOE is doing to help these newcomers adjust to a new world on such short notice (one teacher profiled was already in the classroom, having arrived here only three weeks ago)... and if they're paying enough for them to find a place to stay.

[lavagal]

Re: considering moving to oahu

I'm a school board mom. I'm all for getting smart and strong teachers in our classes. But I gotta tell ya, teaching in Hawaii is pretty low-wrung stuff. Not that it should be. No. Such an honorable profession deserves much more than it gets. The pay here is marginal. The classes are a mess. Teachers have to buy their own supplies. Without a parent group at the school, teachers would have no sense of support. Each time the school year begins, the newspapers all do stories about the newly transplanted teachers, those teachers scraping to buy supplies for their classes, the conditions of the schools. Not much of it is pineapples and sunshine.

My favorite kindergarten teacher has a big ole dog, a boyfriend she lives with, and another roommate. I do believe she and the boyfriend own their home, but to make ends meet, they have a roommate.

If your heart aches to come to Hawaii, then find some soul to love your dogs while you test the waters here for a year. You will then know if this is indeed what your heart is telling you to do. Then you'll also be better prepared to bring your dogs and put them through quarantine.

Face it. A life-altering move to Hawaii is traumatic enough for the person who comes along. Don't compound it by adding more to the mix than you should.

I wish you the best.

[tutusue]

Re: considering moving to oahu

Thanks man...by the way...I'm a girl (alexzandrea). I am hoping that if I plan, plan, and plan some more...it will work out for me. Like I tell my students..."where there is a will..."

A dude and a man you're not!

I wish I could offer you some encouragement, Alex, but...well...err...ummm...renting with 3 animals will take a miracle. My thoughts are to find a single family dwelling in the country and offer a huge (as huge as you can make it) DDD (doggie damage deposit) as good faith.

What size are your dogs? I know a couple who rents a small one bedroom condo in town and they have 4 dogs ...3 chihuahuas and 1 maltese...all very small. I have no idea if the condo owner knows it and I do know the couple has resided in that rental for years and years. I know another couple with a very small dog who never tells a prospective landlord about it! They even sneaked the dog on a plane *with them* from the mainland to Hawaii! And, no, I don't advocate any of the above!

[alexjp]

Re: considering moving to oahu

Thanks for all the info guys. I am trying to plan ahead as far as possible. I am a realist, and would not just drop in on an island and expect to get by with my smile and charm (joke...) I am looking to move in a year (this time next year), and I would get all my ducks in a row before making the big move. Thats why I posted the thread, to get everyones insight and valuable information. I have two small lap dogs and a medium- small mix breed. I am aware of the quaratine process, and will do all the proper steps to get the dogs immediatly released. I would be willing to live anywhere on the island, and actually would prefer to live away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu.

[Jonah K]

Re: considering moving to oahu

Thanks for all the info guys. I am trying to plan ahead as far as possible. I am a realist, and would not just drop in on an island and expect to get by with my smile and charm (joke...) I am looking to move in a year (this time next year), and I would get all my ducks in a row before making the big move. Thats why I posted the thread, to get everyones insight and valuable information. I have two small lap dogs and a medium- small mix breed. I am aware of the quaratine process, and will do all the proper steps to get the dogs immediatly released. I would be willing to live anywhere on the island, and actually would prefer to live away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu.

Instead of O'ahu, you might want to consider moving to the Hilo side of the Big Island.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: considering moving to oahu

Try the Big Island. Go to Hilo, head out towards the fern forest area. The schools might give you lots of heartache, but there's lots of good, too.