What's it like to live in Hawaii

[nvrblu]

While searching for a job, my brother suggested the Hawaii based company he works for. He lived on Maui for about 5 years and now telecommutes from the Houston, TX area.

I just sent him a copy of my resume and interest in a job they currently have posted. Since it does not specify location, I assume it's in Honolulu. So...

What's it like to live in Honolulu?

How many Elise owners there?

What would it take to ship my Elise there if I'm offered and take the job?

[qball]

Expensive...

[Monsi]

well there arent any elise owners on my island(kauai) yet...

but I dont like oahu cause its way to city for me... but if you like bars clubs and no places to park then its great seriously tho... waikiki is the nastiest beach I have no idea why people like it. hanalei bay is WAAAAAAAAAY better. there arent a whole lot of places on the roads to stretch your car's legs tho I am pretty sure they have atleast one track. might be a couple elise owners... but dont be suprised if they are all tools with big rims and dumb ass paint jobs with big wings... hawaii is the ricer capital of the world

[tandemracer]

Moving to Hawaii will be fun for a while but then it becomes claustrophobic and you will want to move back to the mainland.

[Matt in Houston]

I have been to Oahu twice and the Big Island once, and I agree Oahu is to much city for me....and very crowded in certain areas.

I enjoyed the Big Island MUCH more...and some of the roads up in the mountains are VERY twisty. Lots of good coffee too!

The Big Island of Hawaii is my fav so far.

[pixlpush]

In addition to being expensive, depending where your are, the traffic can be a nightmare. I had a friend who was working for GM in Honolulu and had a hard time finding a place to live that he could afford. He ended up with a 13 mile commute. That didn't sound to bad until I heard that it took nearly 1.5 hours to go 13 miles in rush hour trafic. I'm sure that's not the case everywhere but be careful if you go.

[megatron]

It would be a lot nicer then Ohio.... That said, I was born in a mega city on a little tropical island and can't imagine how much fun it could be with a car that really need roads.

[lotus54]

I worked on Maui for a month around 10 years ago- I really, really liked it.
Of course, I was out by Kipahulu (past Hana) most of the time.
We went back there a year an a bit ago- still really liked it!
I wouldn't mind living there for awhile, and I've never wanted to live anywhere else but where I live now.

I don't like cities very much, so I didn't really like Honolulu that much. The other side of the island was pretty nice though

Mark

[MikeVR4]

As an immigrant from the mainland, I can only offer my experience over the past 2 years living in Honolulu.

Pros:
Living in Paradise! Beautiful weather 99% of the year, beaches, sun, and fun.
Asian cuisine and culture (if you like that)
Laid-back island lifestyle. Everything moves slower here
Close(er) to Australia, Asia-Pacific travel destinations

Cons:
EXPENSIVE! I'm talking everything:groceries, dinner, gas, utilities, everything. Hope your job here has a substantial raise, 'cause it will all go to cover the cost-of-living. And if you like visiting family/friends back on the mainland, plan on hefty airline ticket expenses.
No track on Oahu...
Island fever - My wife gets stir-crazy every few months; we usually take a trip off-island to reset the clock, but it does get claustrophobic.
All roads lead to...Well, right back around! No matter which island you live on, there are only so many roads available to you and your Lotus.
TRAFFIC on Oahu! Terrible, terrible, terrible.

[Beanie]

I didn't get Rock Fever (strong urge to get off the rock, like claustrophobia), exactly, and I lived on Oahu for 4 years. Hawaiian weather, activities, scenery, music, Aloha spirit, culture, interisland travel... everything there will spoil you.

If you don't take too much of a hit financially due to cost of living, I'd say do it.

[SIIK2NR]

Lived in Hawaii for 6 years.

Pros:
Great weather year around
Relaxed attitude all over the island
Best food and dining around
BBQ's all the time
Beautiful women
Great scenery for cruises and drives around the island

Cons:
Pricey in some areas
Isolated
Drugs
Stolen and Vandalized cars
Traffic during certain times of the day

Notes:
The island is primarily Asians.
People love to socialize, hang out

I intend to move back there for a few more years before I retire from the Navy. Love that place!

Tim

[ozoney]

Been living on Big Island of Hawaii for past four years. We are currently living in a volcanic vog belt. There are no trades to blow it away. You can find any climate you want on this island to live on (altitude, sea level, desert, rainforest, wind) The public schools have a very bad reputation. Work is construction, resorts, and telescopes, with a scattering of other companies. Lifestyle, well its Hawaiian lifestyle. I run and/or bike everyday and go to Hapuna beach weekly. It is very expensive here. Premium gas just notched 4.25/gallon. Half gallon of organic milk costs $6. You can also ski/snowboard on Mauna Kea when the snow comes down. And I have just enough roads for my Elise here. I do miss big city at various times, and then those feelings subside and I'm glad I'm here. Honolulu is very different than the big island. Its a big city on a rock in the middle of the ocean and much more expensive than the Big Island. Big Island has Hilo and Kona as the largest towns - and they are completely different from each other. My feeling is being in Hilo is Hawaii, being in Kona is California. I only visit Kona for HomeDepot and the brewpub. Cost of homes on Big Island (outside of Hilo/Puna/South Kona) - looking at 450k+. And probably >1.5X that for Oahu.

[nvrblu]

I had my 1st phone interview last week. I have another Monday afternoon. It's looking really good and I'm excited. It looks like challenging and very interesting work.

The part I really like... I'll probably be telecommuting from Arizona most of the time. My brother telecommutes from Texas (working for the same company) and I didn't even have to ask about a similar setup for myself -- it was assumed and brought up during the first interview. Of course, I'll HAVE to make trips to Maui on a periodic basis

[nvrblu]

My second phone interview last week went well. Now I'm scheduled to visit Maui for an on-site interview!!!

Flying over 5/28 and returning to Arizona 6/1. If I get the job... I'll telecomute with on-site visits for about once per month for 3 or 4 days each time.

Wish me luck

[JWA]

Good luck! Sounds like a killer setup.

Do you mind if I ask what line of work you/the company is in? I'm trying to think of the type of company where employees are worth flying in routinely every couple weeks.

[andrewgotanelise]

Originally Posted by SIIK2NR

Lived in Hawaii for 6 years.

Pros:
Great weather year around
Relaxed attitude all over the island
Best food and dining around
BBQ's all the time
Beautiful women
Great scenery for cruises and drives around the island

Cons:
Pricey in some areas
Isolated
Drugs
Stolen and Vandalized cars
Traffic during certain times of the day

Notes:
The island is primarily Asians.
People love to socialize, hang out

I intend to move back there for a few more years before I retire from the Navy. Love that place!

Tim

agreed for the most part it is really a special place to me

[Boondock Saint]

I was raised on Oahu (in Aiea) from 3 years old until 24 years old when my wife and I moved to California. As others have said, Oahu is expensive, and the traffic is worse than California. I used to drive my wife to work 10 miles and it took us an hour. Since then it has gotten worse. If you live out in Kapolei you better leave early or you're screwed. I was surprised at how easy a transition it was moving to California. Rent is about the same, traffic is about the same, and I'm still the minority. Hawaii is little Japan and California is little (or big) Mexico.

All that being said, it is not a bad place to live. Just like the Lotus, if you are willing to put up with certain things it can be really nice. I used to visit customers all over the island and I would take the long way around from Hawaii Kai to Kaneohe and loved it. I would stop at the lookouts, have lunch, all during my work day. I wonder what it would be like with my Elise. Most locals stay away from Waikiki. Oahu has a lot of beauty, you just have to know where to look. My wife and I wanted to get into the entertainment industry which gave us a good excuse to leave. After over 20 years on a rock we were done. It is a great place to visit though.

My wifes family still lives there and my parents and sister just moved back so we will visit often. Plus now that we have free beds to sleep in I told my wife I'm going to rent an Elise when we go visit. I just realized that all this info is useless to you since you mention you'll be moving to Maui, if that's the case than Maui is a beautiful place and not like Oahu.....YET. PM me if you are moving to Oahu, I can give you some tips.

One more thing, when my parents moved back in November it cost my Dad around a $1000 to ship his car. If you don't have to deal with traffic, Hawaii, no matter what island, would be a great place to own a Lotus. The Big Island would be a blast.

[nvrblu]

Originally Posted by JWA

Good luck! Sounds like a killer setup.

Do you mind if I ask what line of work you/the company is in? I'm trying to think of the type of company where employees are worth flying in routinely every couple weeks.

This is a software engineering position that makes telecommuting a reasonable option, but it's also a team environment so some face time is necessary. There are a few other people in the group that telecommute from other islands -- they visit the office twice/month.

My brother has worked for this company for over 10 years as one of their senior scientists (PhD in astrophysics & astronomy). He worked on Maui for 5 years but now telecommutes from Texas. He was in Maui 5 times last year.

It's a small company (~200 people). They have a number of government contracts that support scientific (and military) projects. If I get the job, I'll be working on a project that's related to space surveillance (tracking satellites and orbital debris).