Thinking of moving to the Big Island

[justawhispr]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

At least go visit your friend and check it out for yourself before deciding one way or another. One thing you will find in Hawai'i is the diversity of people. Another thing is the ocean (a big draw for lots of people). Hilo gets a lot of rain and would be more humid and hot than you're used to. Is the only reason you want to move because of the absence of Asian faces? Or is it also because Ashland is stuck in the middle of nowhere? If you also need a job, Honolulu would be a better bet than the Big Island for job opportunities, unless you want to work in the service industry. And at least you have a "home base" with your friend. Lots of people move to Hawai'i only on a hope and a prayer.

Miulang

I think I might try to...I'm a student and parent so I'm on a budget, but like Alaska it's not easy to get back and forth. I was considering Oahu. I am an urban person and I need a little hustle and bustle. San Francisco is actually pretty wet compared to the rest of California, and inland Oregon is drying me out. (I used to pretend I was a selkie when I was a kid)

But, yes Ashland is in the middle of nowhere. Ashland is a cool little town, but it is surrounded by horrible, culture barren nothingness. Only methamphetamines and mega-churches lay beyond it's borders. Besides, I can admit it....I'm freeezing. S.F. is around 70 degrees most of the year and I start shivering when it dips below that.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone

[flying snow]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

Ah, the ocean.

I adore the ocean. When we travelled cross country in 2004, I would have loved to live in Montana or Wyoming...except there's no ocean. Right now, where we live, I can get to the ocean in about 45 minutes...

My husband and I have both really enjoyed reading this thread...it's hella interesting. And it hasn't deterred me at all from wanting to move to the islands. I can't explain the draw I have to Hawaii, it's just there, urging me to go and live aloha. To get away from the east coast. To be completely surrounded by ocean, and in the remotest part of the world.

As long as I can find a job (closer to graduation) and as long as construction is going on (for the husband) we should be good.

I don't think anyone can make the decision for anyone else to move. You need to visit wherever it is that you wish to go and then decide. And hell, if you still don't know, there's nothing stopping you from moving again.

[flying snow]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

I should add: my mom is not pleased at all about this idea that we have. She seems to think I should stay near her...but I keep telling her she can come and live with us in the summer (when she's not working).

[Paul]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

It's always good to be the shark in a minnow pond.

We were just discussing this fact about you and other realestate people in general in another thread.

[tutusue]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

[...] And hell, if you still don't know, there's nothing stopping you from moving again.

You bring up a good point here. However many people move to Hawaii without the financial resources to move back...or they use up those resources faster than anticipated. A one year CD 'return fund' at a mainland financial institution or other fairly non-liquid fund might not be a bad idea!

[pzarquon]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

I don't want to be an unwelcome transplant, but want to be near my best friend. I can't yet go home, but I can't stand the "culture" (or lack of diversity) of "white" America. As a white girl who grew up with chinese culture, where else can I go? Are all non-natives so unwelcome? I have never been to Hawai'i but I know its my one and only second choice. I could use some advice, I suppose...

Just read, research, and study a lot. Join online communities, ask questions, and above all, listen.

Remember that no one experience is universal, no one response typical of everyone. Some people move to Hawaii and love it. Some people love it, but just can't make it work. And some people hate it. Likewise, you may find a group of people who say nothing but "go for it" and "follow your dream" and assure you nothing but success. Another group will say, "you're not wanted" or "it's not worth it" and will give you the impression you're making the biggest mistake of your life.

If you find a lack of diversity stifling, if you crave a multicultural community, Hawaii could work for you. But adapting to the people and culture is just a small part of the equation. Making ends meet, making a living, is a big question mark too. Sometimes you'll have it made on one side, but struggle with the other.

I definitely agree with the suggestions to commit to a long, tourist-goodies-free visit before ever committing to a move. Spend some good time with, and as, a local.

And if you do move, like tutusue, I always advise hiding $3,000-$5,000 somewhere as an escape hatch. Hadn't thought of non-liquid specifics like CDs -- clever! Something to keep you from spending it, or using it as your "last ditch fund to stay" rather than as a real way out. Basically, if you have to leave, you don't want it to be a struggle. The only thing worse than finding a move to be a mistake is being unable to move again, and in Hawaii, you can't just grab the next Greyhound out of state.

I love Hilo, and want to live there someday, but I also think it's probably a town that takes a bit more adjusting to than Honolulu. Opportunities are fewer, amenities are fewer, the weather is more finicky... a lot of people say they want to get away from the big city, that they'd love small town life... but find it's a little more different than they thought. So I'd agree with Miulang that Honolulu might be a better starting point. You can always move to a more rural area or island, but adapting to a new culture is hard enough without some of the "city things" you might want around you (even when you think initially you don't need them).

Finding a place to live and finding a job are the two biggies, so do whatever you you can get these settled before getting on a plane. Having a local support system is a big deal, too -- having a friend or friends here is a major plus.

[MadAzza]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

You sound like you are kind and enlightened, so you will have no problems enjoying the natural beauty and Aloha spirit in Hilo.

"Kind and enlightened"??

"White people have no culture" is not "enlightened." It's appallingly ignorant and bigoted. But typical of someone from San Francisco, I'm afraid. (Despite that attitude, it's still one of my favorite cities.) And of someone from Hawaii, which frustrates me to no end.

Irish is no culture? Scottish is no culture? German, Latvian, Swedish ... all the same? No diversity there? How about Austrian? Bohemian? Spanish? To the ignorant, yes, they're "just white people." Just "haoles."

I think I'd better go away for awhile. There's too much of this stuff in here lately. It's too depressing to read, and I can't fight it all. Life's too short.

[Mahi Waina]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

I don't want to be an unwelcome transplant, but want to be near my best friend. I can't yet go home, but I can't stand the "culture" (or lack of diversity) of "white" America. As a white girl who grew up with chinese culture, where else can I go? Are all non-natives so unwelcome? I have never been to Hawai'i but I know its my one and only second choice.

I could use some advice, I suppose...

Madazza,

Justawhispr doesn't say anywhere that "white people have no culture"

All I remember growing up in SoCal are shallow, bigoted, selfish, greedy morons, and that was before Yuppies. The redneck pieces of kukae in the Pacific Northwest are the worst of the lot. (Think Couer D'Alene.) White people do have culture - it just sucks! And I'm as white as they come.

[Miulang]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

Madazza,

Justawhispr doesn't say anywhere that "white people have no culture"

All I remember growing up in SoCal are shallow, bigoted, selfish, greedy morons, and that was before Yuppies. The redneck pieces of kukae in the Pacific Northwest are the worst of the lot. (Think Couer D'Alene.) White people do have culture - it just sucks! And I'm as white as they come.

Hey, not ALL people in the PNW are rednecks! The ones on the Coast (like Seattle and Portland) are more urbane and diverse and cosmopolitan, probably because they came from somewhere else. We still can't figure out how ID is considered Pacific NW. The Rogue River and the Snake River are the bastions of the survivalist and white supremacy culture, but as with anywhere else, to lump everybody into the same category (good or bad) is doing a great disservice to all the good people who may live in that area.

Miulang

[arturo_h]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

Haven't you done that with people who are from California or L.A. or even the Mainland for that matter in other posts, Miulang? To "lump everybody into the same category (good or bad)"? I think it's easy for people to judge or generalize a large group of people as long as they aren't part of that group. And usually ignorance is to blame. I'm not picking on you Miulang, just tired of people saying everyone from California or L.A. are monsters.
Arturo

[sinjin]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

Haven't you done that with people who are from California or L.A. or even the Mainland for that matter in other posts, Miulang? To "lump everybody into the same category (good or bad)"? I think it's easy for people to judge or generalize a large group of people as long as they aren't part of that group. And usually ignorance is to blame. I'm not picking on you Miulang, just tired of people saying everyone from California or L.A. are monsters.
Arturo

Only 1 in 4 Californians were born in California. We attract greedy aholes like flies to a steaming pile. Latest imports to Los Angeles are as bad or worse than those that came before and I'm not talking about Latinos.

[justawhispr]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

"Kind and enlightened"??

"White people have no culture" is not "enlightened." It's appallingly ignorant and bigoted. But typical of someone from San Francisco, I'm afraid. (Despite that attitude, it's still one of my favorite cities.) And of someone from Hawaii, which frustrates me to no end.

Irish is no culture? Scottish is no culture? German, Latvian, Swedish ... all the same? No diversity there? How about Austrian? Bohemian? Spanish? To the ignorant, yes, they're "just white people." Just "haoles."

I think I'd better go away for awhile. There's too much of this stuff in here lately. It's too depressing to read, and I can't fight it all. Life's too short.

I never said that. Besides the fact that my father moved to the U.S. from his native Scotland, I see no evidence of that kind of culture here in the Rogue Valley. I'm not an ignorant or angry person.
The "culture" I was referring to has more to do with the bigoted and blatently racist attitudes that are so predominent where I live than white people as a race themselves. Hicks. Is that diversity? I have heard people here say "I ain't a racist but we got too many spics movin' up here, next thing y'know it'll be niggers."
Nice culture, mm?

[flying snow]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

People say that everywhere! Even here in NJ!

I've heard people say that about MY neighborhood! (Not me, I want diversity...it makes life more interesting)

And it's not just white people who think or talk like that. When I worked for a Sears Outlet, I worked with this black guy who said if he brought a white girl home, his family would ostracize him. So, prejudice and racism is everywhere.

[Miulang]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

Haven't you done that with people who are from California or L.A. or even the Mainland for that matter in other posts, Miulang? To "lump everybody into the same category (good or bad)"? I think it's easy for people to judge or generalize a large group of people as long as they aren't part of that group. And usually ignorance is to blame. I'm not picking on you Miulang, just tired of people saying everyone from California or L.A. are monsters.
Arturo

I neva said the peeps from LA are all monsters...just the environment they live in is what makes them all the way they are! I happen to like LA...for visits only...could never live there. To clarify further, if you had to live in a place where you had to drive for hours on gridlocked highways to get to work, wouldn't you get a little territorial and cranky, too?

Miulang

[cougar88nw]

Re: Thinking of moving to the Big Island

I should add: my mom is not pleased at all about this idea that we have. She seems to think I should stay near her...but I keep telling her she can come and live with us in the summer (when she's not working).

Go for it! A life with no (or few) regrets is a good life.
We have lived in the same area for 30+ years and many of our friends have said that we are crazy for even thinking about leaving. My wife's mother has put this move on hold 2 times and would love to do it again but I won't let her.
I have learned a great deal from HT over the past few weeks and I am more excited about moving than ever before. The state we live in sounds a lot like the Ashland area that was mentioned in a previous post. People don't like change and they really don't like to see anyone moving into the neighborhood that was not born and raised here. I think we would be doing our children and ourselves more harm by not exposing ourselves to other cultures so we can learn from them.
We will continue to read the post and we will visit the islands before we make our final decision.

cougar88nw