09-30-2008, 07:57 AM
As a newcomer to the Island and a past writer on the forum, I would like to say that everyone was 100% correct about not moving to Hawaii. We decided to move here for my husband's health concerns, thinking that the weather and the ability to swim would be good for him. As a nurse of 28 years, I have NEVER encountered any kind of problem locating a job within a week of moving. Locals assured me not to worry about it because there was such a nursing shortage here. Although uneasy, we moved on faith that history would repeat itself and I would find work somewhere. We had cushion money which quickly got ate up with unexpected expenses. MANY businesses actually HAVE job openings but almost smugely state...we have other obligations right now so we won't be even looking at applications for 2 - 3 weeks and THEN we will start interviewing for the job. I've even discussed this with locals who are very upset over needing to work and companies dragging their heels to fill an open position. Even though I have 4 years of college, I can't even get a minimum wage job right now! The two Life Care facilities apparently only hire at intervals which means that they leave their employees working short handed until they want to do another new employee hiring and orientation. Apparently both facilities hired about 12 nurses the week before my arrival, even though I've been in contact with them frequently for the past 6 months. They knew my arrival date and knew that I actually purchased a home here but would not give me any information about openings or even schedule an interview after my arrival. Hawaii needs to hugely get out of the rut that it's in and welcome the infusion of experience into the workplace and quite delaying on getting people to work. There aren't that many jobs available so I'm assuming that no one is hurting that much for workers so therefore it is not important to those that do the hiring. I have been job hunting every day for almost 3 weeks now and have some POTENTIAL jobs lined up but who knows when they will actually start. No one calls you back and they actually act put out when you check back with them weekly. In driving around our area, I have never seen so many NO TRESPASSING signs up in my life on homes. Where is the ohana I hear everyone talk about?? We didn't move here because of the "glamour" of the Island. I thought I could help out with my nursing experience and my future Nurse Practitioner's degree and I thought the weather would benefit my husband. Right now, I'm feeling that I'm stuck in a nightmare that I can't escape. We have a house now that we won't be able to sell and don't have the money even to fly back to the Mainland and try to rent out our place. With all the homes for rent, it's unlikely we could find a reliable renter anyway. We had the right motives for moving but now see that Hawaii actually is a place just to visit and not to move. I should have listened to those who responded to me earlier in the year and now it's too late. Hopefully others considering a move here will read this and reconsider their decision. My only hope is to get an agency job working back on the Mainland and sending money to my husband here until the market turns around and we can sell the home we just bought. Welcome to paradise!! Linda Bowman, RN