...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!
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!
Comment