Questions about moving my family to Oahu, Hawaii?
Cindie asked:
I’m moving with my family to Oahu in April. There are so many questions I have and I thought I’d ask rather than searching for each one. My husband will be an e7 when we leave our station here in Germany (so we’re used to a high cost of living.)
First off, we have two babies. One will just be a year old and the other is 2. We heard Mililani is a great place to have a family, the rent there seems to be much higher though than someplace like Ewa Beach. My daily routine consists of taking the kids for walks, getting out to let them play. I’d love to live walking distance from shops, cafe’s or playgrounds and we also spent everyday at the beach in the summer back in Washington. A safe community is also a must. Somewhere I’m not afraid to let the kids play in the backyard without constant supervision.
We also have 2 cars, our new car the army will ship. We have an audi a4 that will cost about $3,000 to ship. Would it be worth shipping it to have the two cars? Would it be better to buy an old car or scooter when we got to hawaii? The audi’s a 97, so it’s not new, but its still a nice car. Are used cars more exspensive there? What would you do?
I’ve also read on here that there is some discrimination against those of us who aren’t locals. Does that apply to getting work too? I have a degree and consider myself to be friendly and sociable, but should I still expect finding a job to be difficult? I know here work is only available on post, I’m looking forward to being around english speaking people again!
Any help is appreciated!
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I’m moving with my family to Oahu in April. There are so many questions I have and I thought I’d ask rather than searching for each one. My husband will be an e7 when we leave our station here in Germany (so we’re used to a high cost of living.)
First off, we have two babies. One will just be a year old and the other is 2. We heard Mililani is a great place to have a family, the rent there seems to be much higher though than someplace like Ewa Beach. My daily routine consists of taking the kids for walks, getting out to let them play. I’d love to live walking distance from shops, cafe’s or playgrounds and we also spent everyday at the beach in the summer back in Washington. A safe community is also a must. Somewhere I’m not afraid to let the kids play in the backyard without constant supervision.
We also have 2 cars, our new car the army will ship. We have an audi a4 that will cost about $3,000 to ship. Would it be worth shipping it to have the two cars? Would it be better to buy an old car or scooter when we got to hawaii? The audi’s a 97, so it’s not new, but its still a nice car. Are used cars more exspensive there? What would you do?
I’ve also read on here that there is some discrimination against those of us who aren’t locals. Does that apply to getting work too? I have a degree and consider myself to be friendly and sociable, but should I still expect finding a job to be difficult? I know here work is only available on post, I’m looking forward to being around english speaking people again!
Any help is appreciated!
July 5th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Ewa beach is not in a downtown area. It’s pretty far from town and “country-like,” if you will. Mililani is also pretty far from town. I say the best place to live in Oahu is Hawaii Kai, Kahala or in the Ala Moana area. It is close to town, if not in town. A very safe environment and there is a beach near by (about 5-20 minute walk).
I’m not very sure on used cars but a new moped will cost you around 2 grand. Used cars can run up to $10k but sometimes they have sales as low as $1. I think it would be worth having your cars shipped for $3k.
There is no discrimination against those who aren’t local. You will have no problem applying for jobs. Something very important that you should know is that we speak “pigeon.” Most people in Hawaii do not speak in proper english but rather in slang. For example: “He, She, They, Them, It, etc.” will be said as “da kine.”
If you come to Hawaii, please don’t pick up this pigeon talk. It’s a turn off when going to an interview or talking to someone of importance.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:34 am
You might wanna ship your car. You might want to sell it. I’m selling mine when I move to Hawaii this summer or before christmas. I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and its still about $3,000 to ship my 97 Pathfinder. So I mind as well sell it, and buy another used car. Or maybe a scooter! It’s always warm, why not haha. I have two really good friends that spent their entire lives out there, and the towns the first guy listed are good places to raise a family. Dont’ get caught up in worrying about what locals think of you. You’ll be very welcomed, if you dont come there and cause drama, or act like a tourist. Yeah, of course there will always be that person that is a bother, but thats everywhere. You’ll love it. I’m coming out there this july for 2 weeks again. I love it so much I’m just getting up and spending my life there. If you like to go for walks, you’re in the perfect place.
Finding a job shouldnt be that hard to be honest. I already found a great career out there, just by talking to someone. It depends how much inspiration you have though. I love the people that live there though. A lot. Haven’t had a problem whenever I’ve talked to a local. The people there are another reason I’m moving out there.
Of course if you ever need more advice, you can email me.
As I said i’ll be out there in July for 2weeks, and moving out there by christmas. I dont know what town I’m moving to, but I”ll be on Oahu. My one friend operates his own photography business out there, and eventually we’re getting together to start up a catering business.
July 11th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Mililani is one of the better parts of town. Mililani has many small parks for you and the kids. many haoles live there, fairly new area. in fact my mother lives there. Ewa beach is too crowded. it takes about 20 minutes just to get out of Ewa beach on a workday to get to the freeway. the 97 i would sell and get rid of, buy a cheaper more economical car in hawaii, the salt air rusts everything.
my wife is haole, i am asian, i found work after 3 weeks of interviews, my wife took over 7 months to find work.
the locals speak pidgin and some english, but on post its a whole different world. be wary of the leeward coast, too many homeless there. the great part of the military is that you get to “taste” different parts of the world and eventually you get to move away from Hawaii too.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Leave the car. There are plenty to choose from here. You can buy them from a car lot on Hickam AFB, or see the outside bulletin boards at the military malls.
For employment, it’s best to live closer to town. If you live in Ewa Beach, you won’t like the commute. It is often an hour or more and won’t change soon. Finding employment is not hard. A lot of it has to do with networking.
You might consider buying a townhome since interest rate are close to 5% now. Your BAH money pays the mortgage, then you deduct the interest from your taxable income. That is a huge benefit. Generally speaking the rent goes higher as the neighborhoods get better. You may want to consider Kailua or Hawaii Kai as well.
I arrived in Hawaii for the 2nd time as E-7 and retired here after a 4-year tour. I really enjoyed it. Send me an email regarding the type of job you be looking for, and I can send you suggestions. I have lived here over 10 years.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Mililani is a great community for a young family. Lots of parks, several community swimming pools, & good shopping. But the commuting into Honolulu is bad. If you live out that side, try to find employment no further east than Aiea. As far as employment goes… it really depends on your skill set, experience, & how well you relate to people. If you are going head to head with a local & everything else is equal, the local is likely to get the nod because he or she has a built in sense of how to get along here and they are more likely to be here for the long haul. But having said that, my department hired a haole military wife because she was the best applicant. We knew she would only be with us a couple of years & were sad to see her go when her husband was reassigned.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Mililani is a nice place and close to Schofield Barracks/Wheeler if that is where he will be stationed at. The rent will be higher because it is closer to the main hwy (H1) but while it is you will end up spending less money on gas, time on the road, wear on your car in the end. Getting out of Ewa Beach after 6 am is a nightmare, weekends are bad as well. It isn’t that far to go down to the beach but to be honest the waves at Ewa can get pretty high so it isn’t the safest place to take little ones. Mililani is about 10/15 minutes from Schofield, 20 from Hickam/Pearl Harbor and 35/40 from Kaneohe Bay. There is 2 beaches at Hickam you can go to that are nice, low waves, wading water, etc… There is one at KBay that is decent as well. You can try up at North Shore area too. Or you can drive over to Ko’Olina where they have specific coves that are great for babies.
Schofield is a decent size base, full commissary, new exchange, movie theater, bowling alley. PH & Hickam are the same, Kbay’s is nice as well.
With the cars definitely ship the better one, with the 2nd one it can depend if it has been good for you so far then ship it because to get a decent used car there will be around the same cost. There is used car lots on the base to choose from. You could keep the Audi til the last minute, ship the other vehicle asap and then it would be there waiting for you when you arrive. Then sell it and buy another one or motorcycle when you get there. If he wants to get certified to get a motorcycle then Hawaii is definitely the place. There is a dealer in Waipahu called Seven Seas Cycle that is awesome, they really bend over backwards for the military.
We were there twice on orders, I’m white, my husband is black, we lived in Kunia, Aiea & Salt Lake areas and never had problems. I took the bus to work each morning and was the only white girl on it. We ate at small restaurants (they have some great ones to eat at less than 30 bucks for the family), local beaches, everything, never a problem. You are always going to get the idiot every so often but it happens no matter where you are. be positive, dont show an attitude, be respectful and you should be fine.
jobs can be tough because it has the lowest unemployment rate out there. It can depend on what you do. They are always looking for teachers if that is something you want to look into. Housing is PPV now so they can be looking for staff. It might take a little while
yes it is expensive but probably not as bad as Europe.