Living in Hawaii

Tokugawa · 02-24-2016, 12:26 PM

Ok Looking for people weighing in on this discussion. I've read multiple stories and countless threads about living in Hawaii. So now I am looking to obtain peoples opinions who actually live there to separate the fluff and drama from the facts. What better place to obtain the data than a forum, especially of sports car owners

So we all know its a fact that Hawaii is expensive. When I did research on a comparison on the mainland, percentage ranged up to 65% more than some of the major cities on the mainland. However if you did a comparison between say Hawaii and Tel Aviv or Munich Germany, it was like 35%. That spread out over a year isn't really astronomical.

So what's your feedback on the living costs and stuff in Hawaii. Doable, not doable etc....

MagmaRed370z · 02-24-2016, 12:52 PM

Depends on the Job situation. Higher income better affordable living in Hawaii. Its all relative. Yes it more expensive than lets say Chicago or NY but the quality of life gets better as well.

PeteZ · 02-25-2016, 04:16 AM

Lots to consider when moving to, and living in Hawaii. In particular Oahu. I moved here in '96 after living in Calif, Vegas, Texas, etc. Ive had a 300ZX, a 350Z and a Nismo 370Z while here.

PROs: Best weather on the planet, never too hot, never cold, never humid, friendly people for the most part, natural beauty, great surfing, amazing diversity of food and culture, never tire of cruising around the island (till you hit traffic)

CONs: For a car guy: there's no real place on the island to open the car up, and the average speed limits are lower here than the mainland. Main surface roads are 25-35 MPH. Freeways are 50-55 except for H3 where it is 65 for a couple miles. There is no "passing lane" or "slow lane" on the freeways here either, which makes traffic worse. One bad accident on the freeway effects traffic on almost the entire island. There's no race track anymore, good-reliable tuners are rare, horrible surface roads full of potholes and asphalt patches, horrible traffic and congestion depending where you live/work (Honolulu consistently ranks in top 3 cities in USA with worst traffic) very expensive to ship aftermarket or replacement parts to Hawaii (Summit Racing wanted to charge me $60 to ship a box of $20 replacement lug nuts), highest gas prices in USA, high car insurance compared to all states but California, strange state inspection laws and requirements when you modify or add aftermarket parts. Example: on my previous 350Z I had dealer installed Nismo springs and sway bars when I bought it new. 2 years later, State inspection places wouldnt pass my car until I obtained a "reconstruction" certificate from one of a few state-run recon certifying facilities because of my "major suspension modifications" ... Was easier to find state inspection places that didnt look under my car.
Housing and food are also pretty expensive compared to the mainland too. And now more than ever, we get this "Vog", a result from gases emanating from the constantly erupting Kilauea volcano on the Big Island. It's a barely visible "fog" that affects the islands when the normal Tradewinds stop and it gives some people headaches, makes them feel sick, etc.
I dont mean to be raining on your parade but just wanted to give you my opinion as a car guy and a guy who moved here from the mainland 20 years ago ... Hawaii will always be special, just be aware that the price of paradise is some of the things I listed above

Magic Bus · 02-25-2016, 05:37 PM

Not sure which island you're looking at, so my info is only related to the island of Oahu.

Agree with all of what schellingr & PeteZ have said. The car scene here was pretty good when we had Hawaii Raceway Park on Oahu. However that closed years back, so check out SCCA Hawaii for autocross events here on Oahu at the Aloha Stadium.

There are jobs here if you're actually willing to visit the businesses itself and not just do the typical lazy internet job search. Also building relationships is a very important part of life in Hawaii and can be an important bridge to higher paying jobs here.

Don't forget that we are on an island state whose main industry is tourism, 2,000+ miles from any other land mass. So many types of jobs that can be found on the continental 48, may not be available here. What is your current occupation and/or what will you be looking for?

Rent or to purchase real estate and travel off the islands are expensive, so it really depends a lot on your occupation/income if you'll enjoy living here or not.

370zHawaii · 03-03-2016, 12:47 PM

Spam Musubi, Maui Mikes Chicken, and Mackys Shrimp Truck, the people, the beaches, the night life, the weather except in Ewa Beach it's like a damn desert, are all things that I miss about Hawaii.....

I don't miss price of milk, it was like $10 a gallon when I left with my Makai discount card....damn (cereal was a luxury for me LoL) don't miss the congested slow moving highways, they only had H1 and H2 and H3-which I never used, don't miss that they had the highest STD rate per population ratio and highest automotive theft per population ratio a few years ago, so high that it is not published, otherwise it would distract tourism, which is the islands number one source of income, don't miss the crazy amount of meth addicts. But damn I miss spam eggs and rice at McDees for breakfast, oh Spam is cheaper in Hawaii then here in Florida ...go figure. We lived in Mauka side and rent was $3500 bucks LoL yeah parking was limited and so is space. *%# is expensive but really nice.

Hawaii was the fitest state back when I was there, everybody wants to have a beach bod I guess, me I just eat pho and rice to get fat then drink Hawaiineken LoL.

It is a great place to live if you can afford it, other than that it's a great place to visit, I am only speaking for Oahu as I don't know about the other islands.

One thing I can say is that the people of Hawaii are way more relaxed and chill than in the mainland where everyone seems to be stressed and rushed. Just don't piss anybody off, otherwise you will be scrapping with their auntie, uncle, cousin, brother sis etc etc, and everyone is just about related.

02-24-2016, 12:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
Tokugawa Base Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: @Forensicsgrad13 Posts: 89 Drives: 2010 1 of 27 370Z's Rep Power: 883	Living in Hawaii Ok Looking for people weighing in on this discussion. I've read multiple stories and countless threads about living in Hawaii. So now I am looking to obtain peoples opinions who actually live there to separate the fluff and drama from the facts. What better place to obtain the data than a forum, especially of sports car owners So we all know its a fact that Hawaii is expensive. When I did research on a comparison on the mainland, percentage ranged up to 65% more than some of the major cities on the mainland. However if you did a comparison between say Hawaii and Tel Aviv or Munich Germany, it was like 35%. That spread out over a year isn't really astronomical. So what's your feedback on the living costs and stuff in Hawaii. Doable, not doable etc....

02-24-2016, 12:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
MagmaRed370z A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: USA Posts: 1,468 Drives: 14' 370z Sport Magma Rep Power: 12	Depends on the Job situation. Higher income better affordable living in Hawaii. Its all relative. Yes it more expensive than lets say Chicago or NY but the quality of life gets better as well. outkazt and Tokugawa like this. __________________ Sold: 2014 Magnetic Black Base. Current: 2014 Magma Red 370z Sport \| ARK Grip Exhaust \| 25mm HR Spacers \| GTR Button \| DRL Mod

02-25-2016, 04:16 AM	#3 (permalink)
PeteZ Base Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Honolulu Hawaii Posts: 63 Drives: 13 Nismo #864 Rep Power: 12	Lots to consider when moving to, and living in Hawaii. In particular Oahu. I moved here in '96 after living in Calif, Vegas, Texas, etc. Ive had a 300ZX, a 350Z and a Nismo 370Z while here. PROs: Best weather on the planet, never too hot, never cold, never humid, friendly people for the most part, natural beauty, great surfing, amazing diversity of food and culture, never tire of cruising around the island (till you hit traffic) CONs: For a car guy: there's no real place on the island to open the car up, and the average speed limits are lower here than the mainland. Main surface roads are 25-35 MPH. Freeways are 50-55 except for H3 where it is 65 for a couple miles. There is no "passing lane" or "slow lane" on the freeways here either, which makes traffic worse. One bad accident on the freeway effects traffic on almost the entire island. There's no race track anymore, good-reliable tuners are rare, horrible surface roads full of potholes and asphalt patches, horrible traffic and congestion depending where you live/work (Honolulu consistently ranks in top 3 cities in USA with worst traffic) very expensive to ship aftermarket or replacement parts to Hawaii (Summit Racing wanted to charge me $60 to ship a box of $20 replacement lug nuts), highest gas prices in USA, high car insurance compared to all states but California, strange state inspection laws and requirements when you modify or add aftermarket parts. Example: on my previous 350Z I had dealer installed Nismo springs and sway bars when I bought it new. 2 years later, State inspection places wouldnt pass my car until I obtained a "reconstruction" certificate from one of a few state-run recon certifying facilities because of my "major suspension modifications" ... Was easier to find state inspection places that didnt look under my car. Housing and food are also pretty expensive compared to the mainland too. And now more than ever, we get this "Vog", a result from gases emanating from the constantly erupting Kilauea volcano on the Big Island. It's a barely visible "fog" that affects the islands when the normal Tradewinds stop and it gives some people headaches, makes them feel sick, etc. I dont mean to be raining on your parade but just wanted to give you my opinion as a car guy and a guy who moved here from the mainland 20 years ago ... Hawaii will always be special, just be aware that the price of paradise is some of the things I listed above Ghostvette, littlejuanito and Tokugawa like this. __________________ PeteZ 2013 Nismo Z #864, Stillen G3, Fast Intentions-Setrab 34-Row Oil Cooler, Fast Intentions CB Exhaust, Gnosis GS2 Wheels, MTEC Trans Springs I more ...

02-25-2016, 05:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
Magic Bus A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2012 Location: Honolulu Posts: 1,427 Drives: 17 6MT M2 Rep Power: 18753	Not sure which island you're looking at, so my info is only related to the island of Oahu. Agree with all of what schellingr & PeteZ have said. The car scene here was pretty good when we had Hawaii Raceway Park on Oahu. However that closed years back, so check out SCCA Hawaii for autocross events here on Oahu at the Aloha Stadium. There are jobs here if you're actually willing to visit the businesses itself and not just do the typical lazy internet job search. Also building relationships is a very important part of life in Hawaii and can be an important bridge to higher paying jobs here. Don't forget that we are on an island state whose main industry is tourism, 2,000+ miles from any other land mass. So many types of jobs that can be found on the continental 48, may not be available here. What is your current occupation and/or what will you be looking for? Rent or to purchase real estate and travel off the islands are expensive, so it really depends a lot on your occupation/income if you'll enjoy living here or not. Ghostvette and Tokugawa like this.

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03-03-2016, 12:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
370zHawaii Enthusiast Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sun Shining State Posts: 294 Drives: A Starship Rep Power: 14	Spam Musubi, Maui Mikes Chicken, and Mackys Shrimp Truck, the people, the beaches, the night life, the weather except in Ewa Beach it's like a damn desert, are all things that I miss about Hawaii..... I don't miss price of milk, it was like $10 a gallon when I left with my Makai discount card....damn (cereal was a luxury for me LoL) don't miss the congested slow moving highways, they only had H1 and H2 and H3-which I never used, don't miss that they had the highest STD rate per population ratio and highest automotive theft per population ratio a few years ago, so high that it is not published, otherwise it would distract tourism, which is the islands number one source of income, don't miss the crazy amount of meth addicts. But damn I miss spam eggs and rice at McDees for breakfast, oh Spam is cheaper in Hawaii then here in Florida ...go figure. We lived in Mauka side and rent was $3500 bucks LoL yeah parking was limited and so is space. *%# is expensive but really nice. Hawaii was the fitest state back when I was there, everybody wants to have a beach bod I guess, me I just eat pho and rice to get fat then drink Hawaiineken LoL. It is a great place to live if you can afford it, other than that it's a great place to visit, I am only speaking for Oahu as I don't know about the other islands. One thing I can say is that the people of Hawaii are way more relaxed and chill than in the mainland where everyone seems to be stressed and rushed. Just don't piss anybody off, otherwise you will be scrapping with their auntie, uncle, cousin, brother sis etc etc, and everyone is just about related.