"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.