Lei greetings for everyone!

[turtlegirl]

Hi eveybody!
This is my first posting on HawaiiThreads, but I've been reading around the forums for a little while.
My boyfriend and I are moving to Oahu on March 11, and we're very excited and a little nervous. We have some old friends in Kaneohe and Kaaawa, so of course we are looking to find an apartment where we can be close to them. And hopefully close enough to whatever our new jobs may be. We both work consistantly in the film industry here in LA, so I assume we'll be looking for new jobs in new fields sometime soon after arriving. Fortunately, Sven is an excellent artist and he hopes to be selling his paintings to the tourists. He is also an excellent actor, and it would be great if he could continue to act, maybe in theater or commercials. Me, well I haven't had a 'normal' job in 8 years, but I'd like to learn Japanese, and think that becoming a translator sounds pretty neat!
Of course, we are in moving hell lately. Boxes up to our necks! What to keep, what to sell, what to give away?! Selling our furniture on craigslist has been...wierd! The weather here has been awful! And some of our friends are mad at us for leaving! I bet this might sound familiar to some of you, huh.
Ha! And I'm moving my turtle with us! Her name is Ninja, and she gets to be a big girl and fly all by herself on a separate flight from me. I can just imagine her in her box on the flight, completely unaware that she's thousands of miles above the Pacific. Tee hee!
Well, it seems that the hardest part about talking about yourself is knowing when to stop. So, there - I'm done. For now.

[tutusue]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

With all due respect, may I ask what is motivating the 2 of you to move to Hawaii with no jobs? That's a very scary prospect should you not be financially independent.

It appears neither of you is counting on employment in the film industry. That's a good thing! It's a roller coaster ride in Hawaii. I've been lucky during my 30 years in Hawaii's film industry (14 years prior to that in LA). However, luck doesn't equal ease! I recently received an email from a colleague on Maui. He said Oahu crew members are currently calling him looking for jobs. It's kind of quiet right now. I suppose advertisers are waiting to see what shakes out with the economy.

Film acting here is an avocation only. There are very few commercials for SAG actors but more for non-union actors. The non-union, local talent rate does not include residuals, altho' there is usually a one year cycle, and the session fee is about 75% of SAG's.

And, you're absolutely right...working in the film industry is not a "normal" job!

Welcome to Hawaii Threads.

[turtlegirl]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

Thanks for your concern! It's tough to 'depend on' film industry
employment, but we've been very fortunate that people like working
with us, and we get a lot of work from references, and word of mouth,
and right place/right time, and loads of luck. But that's in CA not
HI, so we'll be testing our luck again, it would seem.
Our current situation is that we have to move out of our low rent
house here in North Hollywood, and with the enormous cost of housing
in LA, we pretty much are looking at moving into something tiny and
unhealthy for us. So we thought, why not move to a tiny place in
Hawaii. We have wanted to live in Hawaii since our first visit almost
2 years ago, and we have several very good friends who have been
trying to convince us to move to Oahu for years. It is true that it is
expensive and jobs are tricky to find on Oahu, but the same is true in
LA, where the people are much less friendly.
We have been saving up for this move, and now is the best time, as we
just wrapped work on one of the last features to have started up here
in LA before the Writers' strike began, so at this point, the longer
we stay here, the less money we will have to get us started on Oahu.
My boyfriend definitely wants to continue acting, but most likely in
community theater, not to make a living, although we are both open to
any industry work which may come our way once in a while. As well as
being a painter and an actor, he has many skills in various
occupations from accounting to biology to computers to secretarial and
waiting experience, and I also have worked in many fields outside of
(and near the edges of) the industry, and we hope that we will find
something to keep us in poi and keep a roof over our head, as long as
we keep our options open. And we also have a small but very good group
of friends who are eager to help us get settled in. So we are hopeful
that things will work out fine for us.
You ask why move to Hawaii without jobs, I guess the short answer is,
why stay in LA without jobs? Mahalo for your advice, we definitely
anticipate a bit of difficulty getting started, but by keeping our
options open, we are confident that we will find a situation that
works for us, and Ninja.

[tutusue]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

[...]You ask why move to Hawaii without jobs, I guess the short answer is, why stay in LA without jobs?[...]

I definitely understand that altho' when I moved to Hawaii in 1978 I was at the top of my game in LA...I was working all the time. I just got tired of the LA grind so I decided to move on. I'm so glad I did. That was also a busy time in Hawaii film production and even with my credentials it took me a good 3 years to get accepted into the filmmaking community here. Times might've changed in that regard, esp. with the UH's Academy of Creative Media program, but the ups and downs of the industry haven't changed. It's feast or famine for so many filmmakers in Hawaii and during famine times even the ol'-timers aren't working. One thing is definite...Hawaii doesn't come anywhere close to LA in number of productions.

And, this dang writer's strike isn't helping anyone! I was dumbstruck yesterday to receive a royalty check from the WGA for my late dad. It cost the guild 41¢ to mail that 70¢ check!

You might be able to get yourselves known by working on some of the pro bono indies that are produced by local filmmakers. Check out yahoo groups hawaii-filmmakers.

My unsolicited advice is to have one year's worth of living expenses in the bank and an "escape plan" for lack of a better term so that you don't end up stranded on an island with no way back to the mainland should our economy go haywire for awhile.

[pzarquon]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

Why stay in L.A. without jobs? Because it's easier to get jobs in the film industry in L.A. Because you know L.A. Because you can easily relocate out of L.A. should you end up with only a few bucks in your pocket.

Coming to Hawaii on a wing and a prayer is a bad bet. Does it work for some people? Sure. But I (and tutusue and many of the other long-time Hawaii netizens here) have seen more than a few preventable disasters as well. We have more affection for Hawaii than you can imagine, but we also know firsthand what it takes to live here. Many of us barely do.

I suppose if you're willing to live in a 400 sq. ft. bedroom in a shared apartment, and work two entry-level service-industry jobs, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It does sound like you both have some skills outside of film and TV, so at least you won't be flipping burgers.

But I agree, your best bet is to start networking and lining up work before you get on that plane, have a place to stay before you get on that plane, and have a few months' worth of living money saved up (five figures, if you have the patience) before you get on that plane. It sounds like you have savings, but if it's dwindling by L.A. standards, I'm not sure how long it will last you here.

A solid landing in the islands will make it much more likely you will eventually find what you think you'll find in Hawaii.

[OahuGirl]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

Nordstrom is opening next month..

[tutusue]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

[...]I suppose if you're willing to live in a 400 sq. ft. bedroom in a shared apartment, [...]

That's a big bedroom by Hawaii standards, PZ! My one bedroom condo in Makaha is 400 sq. ft...total!!! But your point is well taken. Sharing an apartment or home is fairly common here and bedrooms are, for the most part, under 200 sq. ft. Sometimes that's what it takes to make it in Hawaii.

You pretty much said what I wanted to say but, for some reason, I was feeling empathetic for a fellow filmmaker.

Did I ever tell you folks about the time I received an email from a wannabee 'actress'. She was living in London and really wanted to move to Hawaii. I discouraged her but was nice about it. We exchanged a number of emails, all during a very busy time. Email and the internet were still novel to me so I didn't get snarky or ignore her communications. At one point she even called me!

Fast forward about 2 years. I'm in the midst of a job with my biggest and longest standing client. The creative dept. walked into my office for a casting session. And, there was a new face. I was introduced to the new asst. to the creative director....yep...the gal from London! She was now my client!

She knew she was going to meet me but I didn't know I was going to meet her. She was introduced by name and as soon as she spoke...I knew!!! I was sooooo glad I'd behaved appropriately a couple of years earlier.

[turtlegirl]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

I am certainly not averse to having a service industry job or two. I figure I'll have to start out with that, because I can't imagine that anyone would seriously consider interviewing me for a job if I'm not already settled in in HI. Maybe Nordstrom could hire me as a perfume sprayer girl? Tee Hee!
And I'll have to wait til I arrive (March 11) to find us a tiny apartment, because I don't want to rent something sight unseen. I suppose I could have my friends check out apartments for me, but I'd really rather see them for myself. Especially since our friends have offered to put us up in their spare rooms until we find the place that is just right for us, at the right price.
So we're not losing sleep over that just yet. Thanks so much for your advice!!

PS - Yeah, we know LA. It's LAme.

[akrauth]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

E komo mai!

[turtlegirl]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

Mahalo!! I appreciate it!!

[Amati]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

Don't overlook the temp agencies for employment to hold you over while you look for a permanent position. A temp job (or a string of 1 or 2 day assignments) allows time for house-hunting and job interviews, while helping to keep you from dipping into your savings.

[turtlegirl]

Re: Lei greetings for everyone!

oooh! That is SUCH a great idea! Thanks, I think I'll try that.

[turtlegirl]

Aloha update

Moving day is coming up fast! And we're pretty relaxed about it! Here's an update....
This past weekend we had an "Aloha Luau" for all our california friends, and it was awesome!! The hangover has finally gone away, but I wish I could say the same for all these mystery bruises I got!
Ninja's permit is in the works at Plant Quarantine, and I expect that to go smoothly. Yay!
Our crates ship on Tuesday, and that's gonna be a long day of backbreaking work. Aaaargh! Goodbye and good luck to all our stuff.
Then the week after, Sven's car ships. After that, we get to relax with our friends, and hopefully do a lot of sailing (had to say goodbye to the boat last week - lotsa crying!), and some surfing, and hopefully a camping trip to baja, until our flight on the 11th.
Wow. Aside from a few random nightmares (about forgetting important stuff, etc. ) we are really excited and everything seems to be going great! Only 19 more days! I hope I'm not forgetting any important stuff....

[turtlegirl]

Aloha!! We made it!!

YaY!!!
Sven, Ninja, and I are currently sitting on our friends' porch looking at Kaneohe Bay!! The weather is great and we are SO happy to be here!! Today we will be looking at apartments, as operating out of a suitcase is getting messy already. Will keep you all updated soon!

Mahalo for all of everyone's helpful advice - We Made It!!

[tutusue]

Re: Aloha!! We made it!!

YaY!!![...]We Made It!!

I remember that feeling, circa 1978! Sheer exhilaration! It's now time to pound the pavement! Welcome and good luck to both of you.