How much would it cost to move to Hawaii?|141383

We are thinking of moving to Kauai, into a two bedroom condo. I was wondering if anyone had an estimate of how much it would be to move and settle there?

I moved to Kauai in 2005. Shipping my car from Long Beach, CA cost about $1000. Matson will only ship your car if it_s totally empty so don_t try to pack stuff in it to save on the move. There are other companies that ship cars and I have heard that some of them allow you to send the car fully packed, but I have never used anyone but Matson. (I moved from CA to the Big Island of Hawaii in 2000, so I have done this twice.)

Do you plan to bring a lot of furnishings and things with you? If so, you will need a container. When I used a container in 2000 it cost about $3000 for the shipping. I did all the packing myself. I also had to pay to hire a trucking company to drop off and pick up the container in both locations (CA and HI).

Your name is Puppy Lover, so I_m assuming you have pets. If you do, there is a mandatory quarantine for pets moving to Hawaii from anywhere else in the world except England. (England has the same quarantine laws Hawaii does.) Check out the link I_ve provided at the bottom for more details. It is time-consuming and expensive, but at least they allow airport release of pets now if you have your paperwork in order. When I moved to the Big Island in 2000, there was a mandatory minimum 30-day quarantine for all animals. That was also very expensive!

I rent a 3-bedroom, 1 bathroom house on the east side of Kauai. It_s a new house and I have few neighbors. This is a desirable area. I pay $1700/month + utilities (cable, phone, electric, water, and trash). That_s another $300+ per month. A 2 bedroom condo will cost you about the same, maybe slightly less, but it depends on where. I had a 2br, 2 ba second floor condo with no yard when I first moved here that I paid $1500/month for.

Groceries are expensive here. All of the locally made and locally grown products (such as eggs and milk) cost MORE than the stuff that is shipped from the mainland, if you can believe that! Most things have to be shipped here, so everything costs more. I shop at Safeway because they have the best sale prices and I buy generic brands whenever I can. Costco helps because I can get detergent, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning products, etc. in bulk much more cheaply than I can get those items at Safeway or even Wal*Mart.

Benefits: very few homes have A/C or heat because we just don_t need it here. The average ANNUAL temperature is 78 degrees! We spend a lot of time outdoors here and make our own fun. We do have a movie theatre and a mall, but nothing like what you_re probably used to on the mainland. There is a lot of beach camping and just plain hanging out at the beach on weekends. We bbq with friends, surf, ride bikes, go to the parks, and just enjoy being outside as much as possible. Kauai is very laid-back and quiet. Not much nightlife at all.

I make over $50,000 annually and could not make it here on my own without the child support check I get from my ex-husband every month. If you have 2 incomes or no debt or one very high income, you will probably be fine if you live within your means.

Good luck!

Here_s a search for 2 BRs in Kauai

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/search/ap��


I think a good rule of thumb is that you will need 2X (getting by) to 3X your rent as take home income. For example:
Rent = $1500. Take home income has to be $3000 to $4500.
Food and transportation will be almost equal to your housing expense, when you add in utilities, car insurance, etc.
So 2X rent gets you by
3X rent and you can relax when you are not working two jobs (typical in Hawaii)
Advice
Get married. Or get a roommate if you don_t feel that foolish.
Make sure you have a job or at least an 80% chance of getting one before you arrive. You may have to visit, get the job, then come back. This is a good way to do it, because no job and lots of overhead will crush you in a few months.

Aloha and good luck.

It_s very expensive to live there. I went there in 1996 and I talked to this guy who settled there. He lived in a 1 bedroom apartment and his rent was $1000.00 per month!! Not including his utilities. The poor guy worked 3 jobs .... whats the fun in living on that beautiful island if you_re stuck working all the time?
But do whatever you want to do, it_s your life
If you do decide to go enjoy it.

big $$$$

bring about 20,000.00 to at least settle in, then look for work.

bring alot of money, you may not find job for a long long time

check online