"I love your website! I plan on moving to the Big Island by December (with my husband, twin sister and our dogs) We already have their vet-work done, just waiting now. We want to live on the Big Island for a year and then Oahu. I know you said we need to look for a job before coming, it just seems like no one takes you seriously when applying from the mainland.  I'm worried about finding a place to rent with dogs. My babies are house trained and walked 2-3 times a day.  As for jobs, we aren't picky. Do you have any suggestions?"
                  
--Jack and Jill W.           

Aloha Jill,

As long as you have enough savings in the bank to cover your expenses and you aren't particular as to what kind of job you get, you could make the move. Have you thought about starting a business? There are lots of opportunities for people who have an entrepreneurial spirit and the willingness to work hard for themselves. 

The economy is improving so moving to Hawaii without any job prospects is less of a risk than before.  
​
Good luck!
---
Darrell 

"Hi Darrell,

How are you today? Hope all well. Thank you for your informative website.

We are hoping during summer School vacation we can visit for 2 weeks or so.

I think from your blog posts it looks like as far as employment you recommend we search in the Hilo or Kona areas??

Again I really appreciate connecting with you guys.

Thanks" 
​
--- Rob P.

Hilo is less touristy than Kona, so there will be more opportunity in the hospitality industry on that side. Hilo has a few hotels, but there will be more opportunity to find a job in Kona.

"Aloha Darell and Viv,

I was so happy to read the blogs on your website.

My wife and I are considerably middle age (38&34) and been planning the big move to Hawaii. Naalehue in particular.

I own my own business here but, graduated and worked for years in the hospitality field. My wife is a general dentist.

It started with us visiting during a time share stay with Whyndham resorts. We visited Hawaii about  8 times over 7 years. Yes we visited twice in 1 year!!

We made so many friends since we are regular visitors now.

We don't have kids but, we plan on so. 

So here are top concerns

- finding good paying Job opportunity.

- church 

- health care in general.

I know from reading your blog that you invest in rental vacation properties. Maybe you can feel me up about this. 

It will be great to stay connected with someone experienced like you. I hope you guys have a great holiday season.

May The Lord bring happiness and peace to all your family.
Mahalo"

--Bahaa ​M.

​Aloha Bahaa,

Sounds like you have been bitten by the Hawaii bug also. It's a great place to live.

When my wife and I moved, we had our own business so it made the transition much easier. Your wife shouldn't have a problem finding work as a dentist. If you need to find work, your experience in the hospitality field will benefit you.

Plenty of churches to choose from so I'm sure you'll find one you like.

There has been a shortage of general care doctors, at least in the Hilo area. It may be difficult to find a primary care physician. Hilo has a good hospital, and anything they can't handle, you can go to Honolulu for treatment.

Have fun with the move!

"Hi I wanted to ask you a few questions and would appreciate any feedback you have. I am a 25 year old single mom and my dream is to live in Hawaii (Hilo in particular). I want to move by the end of the year, and I am currently saving up enough to move, get a place, and have transportation money to get my son from daycare and to find a job. I want to have enough money for a cushion until I can get these things taken care of. I know it may sound hard and I do not know anyone from the island but I want to live there, that is all I can say. What should be my steps when moving there? How much should I save? And what is the best part of the island to live without having to gouge out my pockets for a place. I looked up some places and they were not too bad. So basically it will just be my son and I moving. I don't know where to start."
--Savannah P.

Hi Savanah,

With your spirit and desire to live in Hawaii, I am sure that one day it will happen.

The most challenging part of your scenario will be finding a job. Hawaii is very tourist dependent. While Hilo is less dependent on tourism, because of the economy, jobs are hard to come by. I would recommend that you apply for jobs before you make your move, that way if you are hired, you will have a better idea where to live so that you are close to work. There will be more jobs on Oahu, but the cost of living is much higher.

If you plan to save up money to live on while you look for a job, estimate $600/month for rent (although you should look at the local papers to get an idea how much rent is: $100/month utilities, $300/month food. If you live in Hilo, you can get around by bus. So if you live frugally you could probably get by on $1000/month, just for the basics.

When you're ready to move, contact a property manager at a real estate office to help you find a place to live. They can help you get settled and make you r transition much easier. My property manager is Tammy Medeiros at Clark Realty Property Management and she is really nice. 

It will be tough making the move and not knowing anyone. You won't have that support network of family and friends when you get there, so join a church or a canoe club and try to establish friendships as soon as you can. Maybe take some classes at the community college.

My last piece of advice is to take more money than you think you will need, because everything moves much slower in Hawaii (and costs more). Also, checkout the PunaWeb forum. They are happy to answer your questions, too.

Good luck!

"My husband and I have been thinking about moving to Hawaii. We live in Delaware and every winter I get to hate it more and more. We are 20 minutes from Philly and a couple of hours we're in NY, but the thing is we have no desire to go there. We are 2 hours from the Atlantic Ocean, but we drive 8 hours to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, because the over development in the lower DE counties have caused traffic nigthmares and major pollution to the waterways, not to mention the air. Right now we are renting a house, and we do want to buy, but if we buy here, we'll never leave. We also have two boys ages 8 and 11, so schools and a good community with kids is important to us. I guess I'm wondering if we can realistically attempt this move being here and not having any connections in HI?"
--Carla A.

Don't let the fact you don't know anyone in Hawaii prevent you from making your move. We moved here without knowing a soul, and we know other people who have done the same thing, so it is possible. Part of the reason we moved here was the quality of life, and it sounds like that may be an issue for you, too.

I know of a family that moved here, bought some land, and set up a tent to live while they made money to build a house. That's one extreme. A decent house on some land might be around $275,000. East Hawaii certainly has the most affordable housing in the islands. Unemployment is at 2.8%. If you or your husband have a business or would like to start one, you couldn't find a better place to relocate.

I know families that either home school their kids, send their kids to private school, or send their kids to public schools. The advantages of each are probably the same no matter where you live.

If you haven't been to Hawaii before I would recommend a trip to see if this place is for you. Things move much slower in Hawaii. The cost of living is higher. We don't have the variety of stores available here that you will find in Honolulu.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. You need to carefully weigh the impact moving here will have on your lives. If the good outweighs the bad, then your shouldn't hesitate in moving here. It's a great place to live.

"Hi! My name's Chelsea and my boyfriend David and I have recently been thinking about moving to Hawaii. Your website has been quite helpful; it's nice to know there are people out there willing to help people like us out!

My main concern about moving to Hawaii is finding a place to rent/live. Also, I understand that the cost of living is higher on the islands than it is here, in Oregon, but I don't really have a frame of reference. We would be living as modestly as possible, at least while we get settled. I guess my main questions for you would be: how much money do you think would be appropriate to have saved up before we move and how hard is it to find a rental. I think we would be looking at Oahu, since there's more business there... but I don't really know! I just really want to live in Hawaii! Thanks for your time."
--Chelsea

We know how you feel about just wanting to live in Hawaii. Vivienne and I first visited Maui about 10 years ago and as we were leaving Vivienne said she wanted to live here some day. We visited each island and tried to imagine actually living there. We finally ended up on the Big Island near Hilo primarily because it was most affordable. Fortunately we also fell in love with the place so we've been very happy here.

Each island is different. I don't know which islands you've visited but before you make the big move you should visit each island and see which feels the best for you. It's true Oahu has the most jobs, but it is also the most expensive, housing-wise, both buying and renting. And I hear they have wicked rush hour traffic. Visit the online versions of the local papers and check out Houses to Rent and the Help Wanted sections. Oahu has The Star Bulletin. Locally we have the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

It probably wouldn't be very hard to find a rental. My main concern would be employment. If you or your boyfriend could find a job before you move out, that would be ideal. Check the Help Wanted ads and start sending out your resumes.

Good luck!

"My Fiance`e and I are moving to Hawaii in about 1 year and a half. We are coming to visit in a few months to see what island we want to live on and wondered if there was something we could do to help us see the different islands and compare them before we move. Is there a tour trip or anything like that available? Also if we want to find a job before we actually move there where would we look? If you have any info you can send me or websites I can visit I would really appreciate it. Thanks for your time!"
-- Kristi F

I don't know of any tour groups that visit each island, but that's something you can easily arrange yourself. That's what we did before we moved here. Financially we found the East side of the Big Island to be the most affordable in terms of housing. You may want to look at housing costs to help you determine where to look. A Google search for MLS listings for each island should give you a place to start. Housing sales are a bit slow right now so you could probably get a good deal.

The most jobs are on Oahu, but you can check the job listings for our area in our local paper: Hawaii Tribune-Herald.