Transplants, advice for newcomers.

[Jeremy Lutes]

KapaFarmer - if you're still reading: Unless your tiny home was designed for a wet climate, you might want to erect a larger roof over it, to keep the rain off the walls. We get a LOT of rain here on the windward side. Spend a little time noticing the architecture here - roof overhangs are LARGE, to help keep rain off the walls. Other than that - best of luck to you !

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

people mailing their pets from Oahu because USPS cargo planes will fit a larger carrier. This was some years ago

As far as I know, USPS contracts with Aloha Cargo to transport interisland mail.

The Donner Party really wasn't that great of a party, was it?

[Wailua Boy]

Best of luck on your move. Do keep in mind Puna is a very tough climate to farm. Humidity levels can be very high. The crops that tend to do well will have fairly saturated markets. Not to mention the rat lungworm scare has really hurt farmers in Puna. You maybe better off with a specialty crop of some sort. Realistically you do need a fair amount of growbed space to actually farm a vegetable crop. Now you could supplement your other profession with your aquaponics farm quite nicely. i personally farm a specialty crop but wouldnt be quitting my day job anytime soon and really not trying to discourage you.

[KapaFarmer]

I'm still reading so definitely keep the tips coming . I just haven't been able to respond as quickly as I'd like as I currently work about 60 hours/week. Our tiny house has a metal roof designed for heavy snowfall. We do get a fair amount of rain here during the winter(when we aren't in a drought that is) but not a lot consistently year round so extending the overhang may be a good idea. From what I've read about aquaponics so far it seems that most vegetables grow at a much quicker rate, 2-3x as fast, so I'm thinking this will allow for a smaller growing area. Before I go all out I definitely plan on hitting the markets and checking out what's already out there, who's growing what, whats in demand, etc.. definitely not quitting my day job, just plan on working less and less as I can and until I have a viable business that I can run full time. I definitely have my homework cut out for me before making any serious investments.

[Anxious Messiah]

Definitely get a container there, not here. And pack with everything that you think you might need in the next 34 years. Personally, I should have bought a heck of a lot more IKEA stuff - resale here is about for 2-4x the price. If you are into wine, load up as much as possible in the container. Pack all of your household goods, and/or buy new stuff there. As a culinary person, you know the value good tools, they are are super expensive here.

Start any dog or cat quarantine process now and be well educated on all the aspects/regulations and you will likely have a smooth process. We started the process 4 months early and it was smooth as can be, but expensive, for 3 pets.

Ship any decent vehicle, especially a truck or van, you will save thou$ands. One exception to shipping a vehicle is that you can ship your trade tools inside them, you may have to stand your ground, but Matson will relent. I originally shipped a van full to the roof with my plumbing tools and all the pipe and fittings I could muster, and then a complete screen printing business a few years later in a Maxi-van.

Can't recommend the rental advice enough. If you have your registration in order, your tiny home is classified as a trailer here. Composting toilets are allowed here. Aqua culture under a catchment system will be a tricky balancing act, so many avenues for something to go wrong quickly, and the fix will could lengthy and expensive.

Your income here as a cook/chef will be shockingly and low. Lots of lower end, back of the house gigs, few and far between higher end positions. But there is always a demand.

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Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence.

[Kapoho Joe]

To paraphrase a popular bumper sticker - Puna sucks, don't try it.

[DTisme]

I had heard some years back that Hawaii won't allow vehicles with kitchens in them to be shipped here. Was that here on punaweb? Can't recall. So people were removing the kitchen from their RV's before shipping. Not sure if that's true, but you sure dont' see as many RV's here as anywhere else I've ever lived. You might want to check into your tiny house and regulations on bringing it here.

[kalakoa]

Hawaii won't allow vehicles with kitchens in them to be shipped here

The real problem that I actually experienced when considering a Westfalia: the shipper will only accept it with an evacuated propane tank, many people remove the tank to avoid this problem. I solved by shipping a pickup truck instead.

Related issue: if there are "cooking and sleeping facilities", the vehicle is covered by a different tarriff, priced by size/weight instead of the flat-rate "vehicle" shipping fee.

[Tink]

Not to be a smarty, but I wonder if the State was slimy enough to put GET or TAT tax attached to RV's registration, as they would consider it as "guest lodging". That would blow the whole ballgame.
As far as vehicles, it may be even worth it to ship an extra "Taco" over when you come and sell it at a profit to offset your shipping costs.

Community begins with Aloha

[terracore]

"You maybe better off with a specialty crop of some sort. "

Contact Greenpoint Nurseries and the other flower exporters. They lost a lot of their growers after Iselle because a lot of them didn't want to try and restart a second time with the lava flow going. I had heard that Greenpoint was giving businesses flower starts etc when they were desperate for future inventory to ship out.

When you are considering growing legal cash crops, don't under (or over) estimate the floral business and the components that go into making leis.