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Welcome to Hawaii The Island.
Hotels are costly.
Maybe a vacation rental or a hostel some where for a week or two while you get your bearings.
It rains alot,not just the monsoon rains you may be used to from the S.W. but sub tropical warm rains that can be brief or last days.
Many area's lack amenities or even paved roads.
Be prepared for sticker shock in what ever you may buy.
30% to 80% more.
If a store is out of an item,get a rain check.
If they have a special on an item buy them out.
A case or two .
Expect bugs and misquetoes .
Do not expect anything metal or leather to last very long.
Live simply.
Slow down it is not the mainland.
Enjoy the cultural events.
Tuition at UH is cheaper if you can wait a year and are residents.
Rent 1st,do NOT buy right off the boat or JOJ ( just off Jet ) or
( Just out of Jail )
If you are shipping all your worldly possessions with you,leave 95% there.
Bring 3 really quality can openers with you.Non electric.
Shop at yard sales,good will and on coupons only.
Some people move here and wish it to be just like where they came from,street lights,county water,fast internet - freeways and more.
There is Oahu for that.
It rains a lot.
Do not tailgate,no one is in a huge hurry,and if you are in a huge hurry,see you at the red light ahead of us by 3 trucks.
Enjoy your flight over,enjoy the fresh air,the fragrance of the misc flowers wafting in the air.
Bring lots of cash with you,expect that not all places accept debit card or credit card.
Enjoy the farmers markets,some are free and some cost a buck to enter.
Grow a garden,plant fruit tree's..........
Smile an enjoy.
Life is a blessing.
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Beautiful, Mimosa. Pono and with much aloha.
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Joined: Jul 2014
Aloha and Mahalo to all who've responded!! I greatly appreciate the advice and took it!
I will be in hotels the first couple of nights, and then in a vacation rental down in Hawaiian Beaches for a few weeks. We have plans to check out a couple of rentals, and get pre-approved to buy a house when we find the right one. I'm considering the vacation rental more strongly just for the simple fact that I won't be locked into a 6-month to 1-year lease, but if the right rental pops up, might just grab it. Playing it loose, and shooting from the hip! 
Traffic-wise, I'll fit right in... all my life, I've always given pretty much everyone else the right of way. I'm not in a hurry to get anywhere!! Always friendly and willing to say 'Hi!' to everyone! I've done a ton of reading on what to expect, and don't really think I can be any more prepared than I am. We're very excited, and very nervous, but are really looking forward to starting a whole new chapter of our lives together on the Island!!
Thank you all so much!!
IT
Posts: 357
Threads: 17
Joined: Feb 2014
Mimosa, would you say in your long history of seeing newbies arrive here that more of them are looking for a place like they left? Or are more looking for a place nothing like the place they left? I've met so many people in a short time that all seem so happy to be here, they don't tend to talk much of where they came from. And they don't seem to complain about Puna's shortcomings or the hardships it can present. Only seem to love where they are their friends their pets and Puna. And many tell me they wouldn't ever want to live anywhere else. And many say they never want to leave for any reason not even to visit family or friends. The two year threshold seems long to me to decide if you like it here. I would expect most people who come here reasonably informed would know weather they loved or hated it in more like two months
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quote:
Originally posted by TomK
Kimo,
"If you see something you want in a store, buy it. Chances are it won't be there tomorrow."
Rich irony here! Safeway has run out of all the Brit foods I like: HP sauce, Heinz baked beans and Branston pickle. If only I'd bought the whole lot when they were still available! Oh well, I bet those that bought the last stocks aren't Punatics...
as long as they have PG tips i'll cope 
#10048;
#10048;
Posts: 295
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Fishenjim. i took me TWO DAYS to know that i would never leave. i did not 'come here', i simply 'arrived here' but to me hawaii is like one of those fantasy relaxation tapes...imagine yourself on a white sand beach...etc. even after 20yrs it still has the feel of unreality about it. on the other hand i am comparing it with south west england! The biggest 'problem' with living in hawaii is none of the above..its the family you leave behind. eventually that family draws most people back to where they came from. children grow up here but move to the mainland because they think they are 'missing out'. parents mov back to be with their children. or their own parents who now need them.
#10048;
#10048;
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TomK,
Have you tried Amazon.com for the HP sauce, Heinz baked beans, and Branston pickles? They have those items available, but I'm not sure if they will ship them here.
quote:
Originally posted by TomK
Kimo,
"If you see something you want in a store, buy it. Chances are it won't be there tomorrow."
Rich irony here! Safeway has run out of all the Brit foods I like: HP sauce, Heinz baked beans and Branston pickle. If only I'd bought the whole lot when they were still available! Oh well, I bet those that bought the last stocks aren't Punatics...
Wahine
Posts: 531
Threads: 10
Joined: Apr 2014
it seems as though many newcomers want the tropical climate but want their lifestyle/back home living. i have heard more times than i can even count people saying "well back in------things are done this way" so that seems to say they want what they left.
Posts: 6,214
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Joined: Feb 2006
JTFacts - I think that is more a human nature type thing... no matter where you are there are those who remember back in either space or time how things were... even here, I often hear the folks that have lived here all of their 8-9 decades in the neighborhood, talking about how things were back in the day (the Ola`a steak house in Keaau is one of those things I would like to have visited ;~)
Most every place I have lived, there were 'old-timers' that remembered how things were, and newbies who remembered how things were in the place they came from. This is not something unique to Hawaii...but maybe it is just harder here to see how things are also changing 'back there'!
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I think a lot of people get caught in the vise of new grandchildren and aging parents at the same time and are forced by those circumstances to go back to the mainland. I have a widowed father in Indiana who I worry about being alone, but he isn't willing to move here for more than just the every winter, and I can't imagine moving back to Indiana after almost 40 years away. I also have 2 young grandsons I don't get to see anywhere close to often enough.
Other people may realize they made the wrong move relatively quickly, but either won't admit it, or can't afford to move back right away. I've seen a lot of mainland families of my students come and go in that 2 year window, finding jobs for both parents and how well their children integrate into the community seem to be big factors in moving.
Serious medical issues are another motivating factor, life threatening childhood diseases like cancer are hard to face someplace where every treatment could mean flying to Oahu, and no family support during a difficult time can make Hawaii a lot less attractive. I have a friend who said it was really tough raising her daughter here as a single mom, the social service network is structured on the assumption that you have ohana to help out, so if you don't it is extra hard.
I think there are as many different stories for why people leave as there are people.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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