Moving to Hawaii?

Some of the important things to consider if you are thinking of moving to Hawaii.

Generally speaking if you make say $25,000 on the mainland, if you want a similar lifestyle you are going to need $75,000 in Hawaii to have the same type of lifestyle there. So, whatever you make on the mainland for that lifestyle just multiply it by 3 for Hawaii. Why is this?

First of all, because you are so far from the mainland food, gas, rent and literally almost anything you buy is going to be more than the mainland. For example,  gas when I bought it in Kahului on Maui near the main airport there was about $4.32 for regular and this was alcohol and gasoline mixture which the vehicle I rented takes. And food is better to buy at someplace like Costco in Kahului when you first get off the plane before you drive to your destination to keep your food costs down. Then you have the option of going to restaurants when you want to but still saving money on basic foodstuffs as much as possible on Maui. All the islands are similar in this way.

The other thing is that for someone like me as much as I love the islands here I tend to get "Island Fever" which means after about 3 months here I really need to go somewhere else, (like the mainland) to feel okay with myself. However, some people who don't have to be moving a lot who stayed in one place on the mainland or elsewhere a lot don't get island fever. For example, I have met people from the mainland that have been here 20 years or more and are as happy as clams to be here and don't really need to be traveling to the mainland every three months or so.

Single younger people often do better because there is always a need for young people to man positions like restaurant waiters and leaders of paragliding tours, bicycle tours and such tourist attractions. So, younger people tend to rent condos together at 4 or 5 sharing a Condo.

Where it really gets expensive is for families living in Hawaii. This often can be difficult especially when you first move here as in some ways moving to Hawaii is more like moving to another country than moving to another U.S. state. So, make sure everything is in order before you move on every level if you are moving as a family.

For the wealthy it is much easier because you can do pretty much whatever you want to do. But, if you are middle class or poor moving to Hawaii you really have to know what you are doing because it isn't like the mainland here in almost any way business wise.