Just got off the phone with a friend who recently moved there. He has no education and picked up a job making 40k the very first day he was there. He showed me the job listings last night and there are a ton of IT jobs to be filled. The cost of living is cheap. His gas bill for December was $15. Apparantly even gasoline is cheaper down there. I’m thinking about moving there when school is finished.
My question is:
What do you give up by moving to a state that isn’t connected to the main land?
Certain companies don’t ship product there etc. etc.
cost of living is wayyyy higher. 40k aint shit there. just fyi. still would be an awesome place to live. living there is not like living in the 48. just very isolated. island fever
I went to school there. Cost of living is A LOT higher than here in the area. But you know what, it’s worth it.
$40k won’t go all too far, and he certainly won’t be living in a mansion, but consider the location. No matter where you live, your at most 30 minutes from some of the best beaches on the planet. And with so many free outdoor activities to take part in your social life will cost a lot less.
Gas isn’t cheaper, I don’t know why your friend thinks that. Last time I was there it was about 50 cents more, so nothing to cry over.
As for as amenities, you really don’t give up anything at all. Oahu has anything and everything we have here besides a pro sports team. So start watching University of Hawaii football, because that’s pretty big there. The other islands start to have less to offer in terms of that, but Honolulu is a big active city.
Honestly the best part about living there is being able to spend so much time outside and staying active. It’s unnatural to not be active there so it makes you a lot healthier in the long run.
Groceries cost more, but be smart and it won’t break you.
What is your major? Obviously anything to do with the tourism industry will be an easy place to find a job, but they have just about anything to offer. Not too many manufacturing jobs, but engineers can def find a job.
The only downside besides finances is being so far away from friends and family. But once they hear that you live in Hawaii, your place will turn into a hotel, trust me on that.
I’ve been to a lot of places, and Oahu was the only place where I actually caught myself thinking “Man, I could live here.” Granted I was only there for about 24 hours, but I spent it driving all over the whole island taking it all in. Turns out the idea of tropical but first world living is pretty unique and appealing.
My old roommate from college lived there for a couple years after graduation working at the USS Arizona Memorial. The combination of incredibly high costs to visit family (both monetary and time to fly all that way) and cost of living eventually brought him back to the northeast.
being away from family def takes some getting used to but where im at i can get back to buffalo for like $150 round trip, not gonna be anywhere near that from an island
I honestly didn’t mind being away from my family. It’s pretty damn easy to stay occupied in Hawaii so you don’t miss anyone too much. I’ve also moved around my entire life though, so picking up everything and starting fresh isn’t exactly unfamiliar.
EDIT - it’s probably worth adding that the people there are on one end of the hospitality end of the spectrum or the other. If they didn’t grow up there, they are almost always amazingly friendly people. The natives are 50/50. They either hate people that “don’t belong” or they are incredibly friendly as well. I got along with everyone I met, but I know some people who had issues.
