Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

[HOOKROUNDMYNECK]

A couple years ago I moved to Oahu. It didn't seem like Hawaii when I first got there, seemed more like LA. I went with a few friends and it wasn't a smooth transistion. I was fed stories of the average kind- surfing, food on the ground everywhere, nice people, cheap sailboats to live on, green hikng trails, sleeping on the beach etc... I learned. Id say there were a lot of nice people and aloha was everywhere, however nothing else was close to the painting in my head.
I stayed for a couple months, enduring a rollercoaster ride of stress and the decision to go back. I went back to the mainland.
It seems after living in a van(or half a van as it leaked with everyrainfall), nearly getting killed on the windaward side while surfing, and getting kicked off the beach by lifegaurds for building a sandsculpture... why would I ever want to go back.
Well, lets say I learned my lesson?
I recently had some different friends come back from the Big Island. They have been there for 10 months or so living in a house and he works. I was reminded of my Hawaiian experiences and I thought... the Big Island sounds different than than Oahu. After much thought I decided, I don't think I want to give up on the Middle of the Pacific.
So I'm planning on making a try at it in the next month or so. I was wondering if anybody had ideas or warnings etc.

There are some mistakes I won't make again.

When I went before I just went and took my now ex-girl with me. We had no idea whaqt to expect, where to sleep, where to camp, or work etc. We couldn't take the bus because we had backpacks so that ruined much of the trip right there. Then we had to buy a van for 1000 bucks and it barely ran.

This time I know somebody already established that I can crash at his house for a little bit till I find work and a place to live. He also has a rig I can use. I was thinking I might fly out first before my girlfriend as to get situated may be easier to do with one person. But I'd rather take here with right off.

I am a certified Diesel Mechanic as well as Automotive. I have experience repairing Ambulances and lots of Ford expertise. So I have some skilled trade. But what I lack is the know of the Island.

Does anybody know where the cheapest place to live is? My girlfriend and I currently live on a sailboat in Puget Sound. We basically use no power and use a campstove to cook on so we won't need much when we get there. Any ideas would be appreciated. What is it actually like there? How much is living? How much is rent? ETC???

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha-HELP!!! PLEASE???only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

It doesn't sound like you planned at all your first time and it turned out about as well as I'd expect. With all due respect, you sound about as ill-prepared this second time, and unless your local friend is willing to let you "crash" his place for years, you may end up in the same mess back on the Mainland... or living out of a rusted Toyota at a Big Island park.

The Big Island is very different than Oahu... but your chances of making it from nothing are, in many ways, better in a city than in Hawaii County.

Save up $10,000 and be sure you have a job before you get on that plane. Otherwise, I can't in good conscience encourage you to move here... as you'll likely just add to the huge social services burden on the Big Island.

[HOOKROUNDMYNECK]

Re: Aloha-HELP!!! PLEASE???only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Yeah I thought about that....
This friend of mine runs a cement company and has a job for me about $20 an hour, he doesn't mind letting me sleep at his place for a while.. I am not moving permanantly, I am looking to buy a sailboat in Oahu later next year then go south from Hawaii probly to the Marshalls. If i had 10,000 I would buy a boat here. Let me reitterate, I don't need much to live, everything I own fits in a backpack and a guitar case. Im 25 and willing to starve a little .
But the reason why I am considering this trip is it is really way too cold here. Living on a sailboat is nasty in the winter when its 25 degrees out. I can get a round trip ticket for 330 dollars with a return ticket in two months. If I cant find a place to live that fits my budget, I'll go back without regret. However, I am trying to get some hints so I'm not so in the dark and losing a bunch of money when I get there.
When I get there I'd have a couple grand and a job and a place to crash for about 2 months. So i'd have two months to get set up.
Is there buses? What side is cheaper, What are some names of cities that would be good to look at for living etc... Ive made it in tough areas with hardly any money to get started.

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha-HELP!!! PLEASE???only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

I have great respect for people who can live simply... just know it's often harder here. Lots of people "live off the grid" in Hawaii County, but it's not a lifestyle many can tolerate.

And while it might not snow on you, it can get pretty cold on the Big Island.

If you have work, a place to stay, and a return ticket? That's a start.

Bus service? Not on the Big Island, really. Inexpensive cities? Many neighborhoods would qualify on the Big Island, but wouldn't that depend on where your generous host lives? Usually "cheap" towns are related to limited opportunities for employment.

[kumukulanui]

Re: Aloha-HELP!!! PLEASE???only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Bus service? Not on the Big Island, really.

While they don't cover the whole island, I've found the Hele On buses very useful at times. $5.50 to get from Kona to Hilo the last time I used it, for example. Worth checking out - http://www.hawaii-county.com/mass_tr...ansit_main.htm

Peter Forster

[SouthKona]

Re: Aloha-HELP!!! PLEASE???only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

This friend of mine runs a cement company and has a job for me about $20 an hour, he doesn't mind letting me sleep at his place for a while.. I am not moving permanantly, I am looking to buy a sailboat in Oahu later next year

If you have a job lined up, you sort of have pre-chosen the vacinity where you want to live .... unless you plan on buying a car right away. I'd recommend you be sure to have an understanding with your friend about wages ("about" $20/hr?), and how long you'll be welcome to stay with him ("for a while"?).
Which cement company? We might be able to better help you with info if we knew what part of the Big Island you are headed for.

[HOOKROUNDMYNECK]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Its a freelance thing the cement company. As far as the living situation a few weeks or so. I'll try and figure out where exactly as I've never been there I forgot the name of the town I belive it is about a 40 min drive south of Hilo. But I figure with in a couple weeks I'll be able to establish some side work for automotive repair or marine repair. I am a jorneyman when it comes to both. I'll have to see what the marina looks like and if there is a haulout for sailboats, yachts etc.

[John Dirgo]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

You may be thinking of Pahoa, although that's only about 25 minutes south of Hilo. Its a funky town, but I love it here. This area has some of the cheapest real estate on the Hawaiian Islands.

[damontucker]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Mr. Dirgo...

I just read your profile http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com/About_20_Us.html
from your signature.

John moved to the Big Island in 2000, after spending a grand total of 4 hours here while on vacation

I must say that it really irks me when real estate agents come to Hawaii and sell the land that many people consider their home lands.

You have only been here for 6 years and now you have come to Puna and are now trying to sell parts of it.

John is a former computer geek with too many degrees. And yes, every day is a "bad hair day" for him. He also gets really self-conscious writing about himself in the third-person like he is right now.

would you care to disclose those degrees?

And why do I go to your page on testimonials... do I find not even one?

I wish you luck but it does irritate me when mainlanders come in and set up as real estate agents.

[John Dirgo]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

I have many satisfied customers, I just haven't taken the time to put the testimonials up there, the referrals I receive keep me busy. I didn't move here as a real estate agent -- actually my partner and I moved here and worked at Hilo Medical Center, trying hard to improve healthcare here. One of us is a nurse, the other a computer person working at the hospital to improve medical records and avoid drug interactions. We only made the transition to real estate a few years ago.

For myself, I have a Bachelor's degree in Business and an MBA.

On the topic of local families and real estate, one of the projects I'm working on (with other agents in our company) is a series of seminars and training sessions to educate the local families on their options for buying homes or land here on the island. I don't want to see local working families priced out of the market and want to make sure that local working families know their options for getting their home in Hawaii. There actually are a lot of good programs out there to help the local families. One of my very first clients used a USDA loan to build his family a home. Its a great program and one that I recommend to many local families. Yes, there's a lot of paperwork, but it offers a great choice to working people here.

[damontucker]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Thank you Mr. Dirgo for explaining things further.

Welcome to HT and I wish you the best. Why did you leave the Healthcare profession and were you from Washington originally?

Why do you consider two degrees... "too many degrees"?

Just curious... I'm from Washington and have family in Puna.

I appreciate your current task of trying to educate locals to purchase properties... as I wish more locals would...

Sincerely,

Manoa

[MadAzza]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Mr. Dirgo...

I just read your profile http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com/About_20_Us.html
from your signature.



I must say that it really irks me when real estate agents come to Hawaii and sell the land that many people consider their home lands.

You have only been here for 6 years and now you have come to Puna and are now trying to sell parts of it.


would you care to disclose those degrees?

And why do I go to your page on testimonials... do I find not even one?

I wish you luck but it does irritate me when mainlanders come in and set up as real estate agents.

Then maybe you should change your signature.

[damontucker]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Then maybe you should change your signature.

I still Accept the fact that he has chosen his career.
I still Respect the fact that he wants to do good for the locals
I'm still Affected by his sincerity and hope he shows continued Affection towards the local community.
And I Support anyones decision to do what they want to do.

I hope others would treat me the same way.

I just questioned some things...and wanted an answer. Does it still bother me that many people from the mainland continue to gobble up big island properties and resell them... YES.

UPDATE: Madazza... you too good... I've updated.

[Plummy]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Hey, recent Olympia transplant here.

Here's my perspective (as a student). I came over in July to secure a place to live and made the actual move in August. It's been difficult. It's SOOOOO much different from the PNW (lived throughout the South Sound region, but most of my life was in Oly). But you're probably better off moving with someone AND you already know people here. I'm still adjusting as this was my first big move. But here's what I can compare to "back home."

Cost of housing in Hilo and surrounding area (Kea'au, Pahoa, Kurtistown, etc.) is comparable to Oly/Lacey. In Hilo itself it's a little more and what you'd expect for the "good" part of Tacoma, obviously depending on what condition the house is in. I did get a bunch of crazy looks from locals finding out I was moving into HPP and "commuting" into Hilo. I think it takes me a whole 20 minutes to get to the university from here. Much better than sitting on 5 for two hours only to get from SoDo to Mercer St.

Gas right now is about what I left WA at. Just below $3/gal for regular. Most everything else you purchase is about $1-2 more than what you're use to paying on the mainland (sometimes more, just depends on what it is and the seasons and what-not). Even at Wally World and such. Patience is something I'm having to learn all over again with waiting for shipping of certain items or shelves just being empty. If anyone mails you something besides a regular letter, be sure to pay attention to how it's being shipped. If it's a package, after 6 weeks on a boat from the mainland to Honolulu, it'll take another 2 weeks to get to Hilo (or so the USPS guy told me...I had a package sent parcel post that was mailed Sept 24, I haven't seen it yet...and there was some issue with it being scanned as "Accepted in Hilo" while still in California so I have absolutely no way to track it anymore...or at least, the post office hasn't seen it so they say...argh).

The frogs become white noise. Some people don't get use to it and whine like crazy, but I don't really notice them anymore. A lot of people were shook up about the earthquake, but if you were around for the Nisqually quake, it wasn't nearly as bad damage wise, except the roads got kinda screwed up. Oh, and power is pricey.

That's about all I can think of. I miss the cold back home, though. Heading back for winter break to get my cold fix. It just doesn't feel like winter living out here. What you do get to experience on the Hilo side is the non-resort/fantasy world that the touristy areas are. That was one of the things that appealed to me at first was that Hilo was like a small Olympia, although it's a little more like Aberdeen. Some love it, some hate it...just takes a little adjustment.

[damontucker]

Re: Only been to Oahu, looking at Big Island from Washington!

Hey, recent Olympia transplant here.

Right on Plummy!!!

I too migrated from the PNW...(and I spent a year in Tumwater)

Yes it does take a lot of adjustment and if you carry the so called "mainland" attitude that has been thrown around here... you will get pulverized.

I too thought Hilo was very similar to many places I spent time in Washington... I compare Hilo to almost a "Fairhaven" area... for those that know PNW and Washington in general.

So how are you enjoying the school?

there is another poster on HT that I know of currently attending UH Hilo... is that the school you are attending?

Ok dude... take care...and yes many things are expensive here...

but you can't beat the price of paradise!