r/MovingtoHawaii Feb 18 '26

🐱🐶 Moving to Hawaii with Pets: What to Know

40 Upvotes

Hi folks! If you're planning on moving to Hawaii with pets, you should know that we are a rabies-free state and have a strict quarantine procedure for all animals entering the state. If you do not follow the direct release procedures for your pet, they will be quarantined for 120 days. I have gone to the quarantine center to hand in paperwork, and while they will make sure your pets are safe and fed, they are in outdoor kennels and it should only be your last resort to make them endure quarantine.

The HDOA has some handy checklists for folks looking to enter Hawaii with pets. You will likely need to consult one of these two checklists and follow the directions carefully to ensure your pets direct release is processed successfully

Checklist 1 - for arrival in Honolulu

Checklist 4 - for arrival in Kona (Big Island), Lihue (Kauai), or Kahului (Maui)

You should expect the process of moving with your pets to take about 2-3 months and $500-1000 - though costs and times may vary greatly depending on how much of the process you have already completed and your local veterinarian rates.

Please use the table below to get an idea of times and costs BUT DO NOT RELY ON THIS TABLE AS ACCURATE. Your times and costs may vary greatly depending on your pet.

Checklist Item Time Cost
Microchip 0 days $25
Rabies shot 1 (only needed if never vaccinated before or if you do not have vet's signature for first shot) 30 days $100
Rabies shot 2 30 days $100
FAVN test 60-90 days $250-$500
Health Certificate 0 days $150
HDOA Entry Fee 14 days $185
Airline pet fee 0 days $100

What happens when I land at the airport?

When you land at HNL, your animal will be taken to the animal quarantine holding center - if you are traveling with your animal in cabin, a representative from the airline or the airport will meet you and other travelers with pets at the gate to escort you to animal quarantine. The walk to the animal quarantine center is half a mile. Usually the rep will let you stop and pickup a luggage cart on your way to make it easier to carry your kennel, but the pathway leading to animal quarantine can be bumpy so be prepared.

Once you're at animal quarantine, they will scan your pet's microchip, check your paperwork, and if everything checks out you'll be able to leave with your pet. The process takes about 15min per animal, so if you are the first in line it will be relatively quick but if there are several people in front of you, you may be waiting for a while. The holding center is open from 8:30am - 4:30pm and animals must arrive by 3:30pm to be released that day. Plan your trip around these times, otherwise you animal will be held until the holding center is open next.

If you have checked luggage, the luggage carousel will probably have stopped by the time you get your pet. You will either need to coordinate with someone you are traveling with to pickup your luggage; or, once you have your pet, you will need to find the luggage office for your airline in the baggage claim area to retrieve your luggage.

What if I have an extra large dog, or another specialized transport scenario?

If you have an animal that will be hard to transport, I recommend that you look into companies that specialize in transporting pets to and from Hawaii. If you search this subreddit you'll find several people who have used these services and their reviews.

What if I'm unable to complete the direct release process in time?

Your choices are:

  • Find someone on the mainland to care for your pet until they complete direct release
  • Postpone your trip until your pet has completed direct release
  • Leave your pet in quarantine until their direct release process or 120 days are complete.

What if I'm in the Military or I have a service dog?

Regardless of these factors, your pet will still need to go through the quarantine or direct release process.

See this page for instructions for service animals. PCS will cover the cost of transporting one animal to Hawaii.

How can I check if HDOA has received my FAVN test result?

There is a PDF linked on this page which you can use to check the latest results based on microchip number.

What if I have additional questions?

The HDOA email, [rabiesfree@hawaii.gov](mailto:rabiesfree@hawaii.gov) is generally very responsive and usually responds to emails within 48 hours. You can also feel free to ask additional questions in this subreddit.


r/MovingtoHawaii Nov 04 '24

Jobs/Working in Hawaii "Can I afford to move to Hawaii?"

103 Upvotes

This used to be a post here, but I'm not sure what happened to it, so I'm reposting it since there've been a number of related questions.

The Short Answer

The short answer:Ā  Chances are, if you have to ask this question, then you probably can’t. Hawaii has the highest cost of living index in the United States.Ā  Real estate is expensive, salaries are low, and things just generally cost more.

Ā 

The Long Answer

The long answer depends on a lot of circumstances, but here are some facts:

Ā 

Hawaii has the highest cost of living in the United States, with a cost-of-living index of 191.8.Ā  What that means is that Hawaii is nearly twice as expensive as the national average.Ā  The 2nd highest is Washington DC at 159.

Ā 

However, the devil is really in the details and the most important details are:

  1. Where you want to live

  2. What sort of job you have

  3. What sort of housing situation you want.

Ā 

It should go without saying that if you want to live in a big house on the beach, it will cost a lot of money. But regardless of where you live, real estate is expensive in Hawaii. The average house price in Hawaii is $850,000. The average cost per square foot of real estate in Hawaii is $694. Hilo’s cost is lowest, at $440 per square foot whereas Honolulu’s cost per square foot is $732 and Kailua is $874.Ā  To put that into some perspective, Hawaii’s cost-per-square foot is 60% higher than California's.Ā  Honolulu’s real estate cost per square foot is 31% higher than New York City and is very close to the cost per square foot in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.

Ā 

In short, purchasing a house in Hawaii will cost you more money. You can, of course, reduce your costs by reducing your expectations. Detached houses on large lot sizes will be very expensive compared to what you may be used to on the mainland, but smaller square footage of both the home and the lot can have reasonable prices. Obvious caveats apply: some more affordable real estate may be older homes and/ or in undesirable neighborhoods. Like any other large purchase, you should definitely do your research.Hawaii also has a unique feature in their real estate market called ā€œLeaseholdsā€. Hawaii's use of leaseholds is a unique aspect of the state's real estate market that stems from historical and cultural land ownership practices. In a leasehold arrangement, the buyer of a property does not own the land on which the property is built. Instead, they lease the land from the landowner for a fixed period, often ranging from 30 to 99 years. At the end of the lease, the land may revert to the landowner, leaving the leaseholder with a home but no land ownership. In some cases, leases can be renegotiated, but often at higher costs.

Ā 

This can be good, or bad, depending on your plans. If you’re planning to leave Hawaii or upgrade in a few years, then a Leasehold might be a good option. However, as the lease expiration gets closer, this will have a negative impact on the property value and the ability to resell. Leasehold properties tend to also have lower appreciation than a house without a Leasehold.

Ā 

For those who are renting, you will find that rent prices per square foot are nearly identical to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ā 

What tends to add to the affordability challenges in Hawaii is the disparity between cost of living and employee income.Ā  For example, in San Francisco, the average salary is $96,500 whereas the average salary in Honolulu is $61,243 and the average across all of Hawaii is $52,828.Ā  Put another way, while rental costs are similar in San Francisco and Honolulu, salaries are 37% lower in Honolulu. So, when it comes to affordability, you need to factor in both how much you will pay and how much you will get paid.

Ā 

You should not expect to make the same salary for the same job in Hawaii as you would on the mainland and you must factor this in when deciding whether you can afford it. You should also expect that finding a job in Hawaii will be more difficult. Although Hawaii ranks 13th in the US for population density, you should keep in mind that Hawaii is the 8th smallest state in the US, in terms of land area. Hawaii’s smaller size also means less employers. So, while the state does experience better-than-average job growth numbers, it must be kept into perspective. US News ranks Hawaii’s economy 44th in the nation. Hawaii has a 10.25% poverty rate compared to the national average of 7.8%.

Ā 

For those who have the opportunity to work remotely, such as those who work in IT, it is important to consider time zone differences. For example, Hawaii is 3 hours behind Pacific Daylight Time, and 6 hours behind Eastern Daylight Time. It is 12 hours behind Central European Summer Time. Hawaii is 15.5 hours ahead of India Standard Time. So, depending on the time zones you need to support while working, it may be extremely difficult. Supporting normal work hours with the mainland US will only give you 4 hours of crossover with the east coast and 7 hours with the west coast. The time differences improve by 1 hour during Standard time. Supporting times in Europe or India during normal business hours will mean very late nights in Hawaii.

Ā 

Finally, stuff in Hawaii just generally costs more:

Ā·Ā  Electricity is about $50 higher per month than the national average

Ā·Ā  Gasoline is about $1.30 higher than the national average

Ā·Ā  Groceries cost about 60% more than the national average

Ā 

Can you make it work?

This post isn’t meant to scare you away. 1,296,000 people are making it work, and so can you. Here’s how:Do your research

Moving 2,400 miles away from the mainland isn’t a small decision. Spend some time researching where you’d want to live, how much you’re willing to pay for housing, what your job prospects are, and so on.

Ā 

Make a budget

Establishing a budget is just generally a good idea anyway, but when deciding to move to Hawaii it is even more important. Ensure that your budget accurately reflects the differences between where you live and work now vs. what things will cost you in Hawaii.

Ā 

Have a job first, or have sufficient savings and good job prospects

The best strategy, of course, is to already have a job lined up. Having a job increases your chances of success and makes your budget more accurate.

Ā 

If you don’t have a job lined up, do not assume you’ll be able to get one quickly and make sure you have enough savings to fully cover your expenses for several months while looking for work.Due to the travel industry, it is likely that you can find a job in hospitality or food services pretty quickly, but higher paying jobs are more difficult to find. Healthcare jobs are in high demand and pay well and skilled trades are reliably in demand as well.

The Short Answer

The short answer:Ā  Chances are, if you have to ask this question, then you probably can’t. Hawaii has the highest cost of living index in the United States.Ā  Real estate is expensive, salaries are low, and things just generally cost more.

Ā 

The Long Answer

The long answer depends on a lot of circumstances, but here are some facts:

Ā 

Hawaii has the highest cost of living in the United States, with a cost-of-living index of 191.8.Ā  What that means is that Hawaii is nearly twice as expensive as the national average.Ā  The 2nd highest is Washington DC at 159.

Ā 

However, the devil is really in the details and the most important details are:

  1. Where you want to live

  2. What sort of job you have

  3. What sort of housing situation you want.

Ā 

It should go without saying that if you want to live in a big house on the beach, it will cost a lot of money. But regardless of where you live, real estate is expensive in Hawaii. The average house price in Hawaii is $850,000. The average cost per square foot of real estate in Hawaii is $694. Hilo’s cost is lowest, at $440 per square foot whereas Honolulu’s cost per square foot is $732 and Kailua is $874.Ā  To put that into some perspective, Hawaii’s cost-per-square foot is 60% higher than California's.Ā  Honolulu’s real estate cost per square foot is 31% higher than New York City and is very close to the cost per square foot in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.

Ā 

In short, purchasing a house in Hawaii will cost you more money. You can, of course, reduce your costs by reducing your expectations. Detached houses on large lot sizes will be very expensive compared to what you may be used to on the mainland, but smaller square footage of both the home and the lot can have reasonable prices. Obvious caveats apply: some more affordable real estate may be older homes and/ or in undesirable neighborhoods. Like any other large purchase, you should definitely do your research.Hawaii also has a unique feature in their real estate market called ā€œLeaseholdsā€. Hawaii's use of leaseholds is a unique aspect of the state's real estate market that stems from historical and cultural land ownership practices. In a leasehold arrangement, the buyer of a property does not own the land on which the property is built. Instead, they lease the land from the landowner for a fixed period, often ranging from 30 to 99 years. At the end of the lease, the land may revert to the landowner, leaving the leaseholder with a home but no land ownership. In some cases, leases can be renegotiated, but often at higher costs.

Ā 

This can be good, or bad, depending on your plans. If you’re planning to leave Hawaii or upgrade in a few years, then a Leasehold might be a good option. However, as the lease expiration gets closer, this will have a negative impact on the property value and the ability to resell. Leasehold properties tend to also have lower appreciation than a house without a Leasehold.

Ā 

For those who are renting, you will find that rent prices per square foot are nearly identical to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ā 

What tends to add to the affordability challenges in Hawaii is the disparity between cost of living and employee income.Ā  For example, in San Francisco, the average salary is $96,500 whereas the average salary in Honolulu is $61,243 and the average across all of Hawaii is $52,828.Ā  Put another way, while rental costs are similar in San Francisco and Honolulu, salaries are 37% lower in Honolulu. So, when it comes to affordability, you need to factor in both how much you will pay and how much you will get paid.

Ā 

You should not expect to make the same salary for the same job in Hawaii as you would on the mainland and you must factor this in when deciding whether you can afford it. You should also expect that finding a job in Hawaii will be more difficult. Although Hawaii ranks 13th in the US for population density, you should keep in mind that Hawaii is the 8th smallest state in the US, in terms of land area. Hawaii’s smaller size also means less employers. So, while the state does experience better-than-average job growth numbers, it must be kept into perspective. US News ranks Hawaii’s economy 44th in the nation. Hawaii has a 10.25% poverty rate compared to the national average of 7.8%.

Ā 

For those who have the opportunity to work remotely, such as those who work in IT, it is important to consider time zone differences. For example, Hawaii is 3 hours behind Pacific Daylight Time, and 6 hours behind Eastern Daylight Time. It is 12 hours behind Central European Summer Time. Hawaii is 15.5 hours ahead of India Standard Time. So, depending on the time zones you need to support while working, it may be extremely difficult. Supporting normal work hours with the mainland US will only give you 4 hours of crossover with the east coast and 7 hours with the west coast. The time differences improve by 1 hour during Standard time. Supporting times in Europe or India during normal business hours will mean very late nights in Hawaii.

Ā 

Finally, stuff in Hawaii just generally costs more:

Ā·Ā  Electricity is about $50 higher per month than the national average

Ā·Ā  Gasoline is about $1.30 higher than the national average

Ā·Ā  Groceries cost about 60% more than the national average

Ā 

Can you make it work?

This post isn’t meant to scare you away. 1,296,000 people are making it work, and so can you. Here’s how:Do your research

Moving 2,400 miles away from the mainland isn’t a small decision. Spend some time researching where you’d want to live, how much you’re willing to pay for housing, what your job prospects are, and so on.

Ā 

Make a budget

Establishing a budget is just generally a good idea anyway, but when deciding to move to Hawaii it is even more important. Ensure that your budget accurately reflects the differences between where you live and work now vs. what things will cost you in Hawaii.

Ā 

Have a job first, or have sufficient savings and good job prospects

The best strategy, of course, is to already have a job lined up. Having a job increases your chances of success and makes your budget more accurate.

Ā 

If you don’t have a job lined up, do not assume you’ll be able to get one quickly and make sure you have enough savings to fully cover your expenses for several months while looking for work.Due to the travel industry, it is likely that you can find a job in hospitality or food services pretty quickly, but higher paying jobs are more difficult to find. Healthcare jobs are in high demand and pay well and skilled trades are reliably in demand as well.


r/MovingtoHawaii 8h ago

Life on Oahu Moving back home

9 Upvotes

My family and I have been contemplating moving back home - Oahu specifically, and we’re currently in Oregon.

For those who have moved back home, how was the transition back? Were you able to find a job that matched your mainland wages or are you back to living with family and living paycheck to paycheck?


r/MovingtoHawaii 56m ago

Life on Oahu Vegan Communities

• Upvotes

I grew up half my life on Oahu and graduated from UH. I moved to the mainland for work but my mom passed away and I had to come back to Hawai’i to deal with that.

I just broke up with my boyfriend and I’m at a crossroads. I have decided that I will move back home in a month or so.

Are there any vegan communities, activist groups, communes or meetups on the windward side especially?

Thanks!


r/MovingtoHawaii 1h ago

Bringing Animals to Hawai'i Looking for a condo that allows multiple pets

• Upvotes

Hi everyone! My husband and I (dual military) are looking to buy a condo in Hawaii, but we’re having a really hard time finding a condo complex with pet rules that would work for us.
We have 3 cats and 1 dog**, and we’re specifically looking for a condo where the HOA/association allows that number of pets. Our budget is around **$250k or less**, and we’re open to different areas.
Our pets are part of our family, so **giving them up, rehoming them, or leaving them behind is not an option**. We’re trying to find a place that will allow us to keep all four.
Does anyone know of any condo buildings/complexes in Hawaii that allow 3 cats and 1 dog? Any recommendations or leads would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!


r/MovingtoHawaii 7h ago

Life on Oahu Advice for NSE Student Transferring to UH at Manoa

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone, my girlfriend and I are planning on doing NSE program to study in HI, we have recently been stressed about the housing situation and cost of living here. The dorms at UH Manoa will most likely be full and won't be accepting other students for spring semester of 2027, we would also like to live together to split some costs. My biggest questions that I am asking are what are average grocery prices/week for 2? Transportation recommendations, we are wanting to get a moped for short trips but if we want to go surfing, how would we go about that? Another big concern is housing recommendations, we are looking at some dorm style housing that UH Manoa offers for around $600/month per person, but we don't want to pay more than $1000 each for rent. There is so much more that we probably aren't thinking about but we budgeted roughly $20,000 total per person for 5 months, we think that's realistic but if not please let us know. Any help will be greatly appreciated and will help us think bout things more. Thank you!!!


r/MovingtoHawaii 3d ago

Real Estate & Construction We moved to Honolulu a month ago, now our condo is being sold with 11 months left on the lease

13 Upvotes

Hi Reddit, asking this here and I will seek legal advice as well, I just want to hear from people who might have experience with this. We moved in one month ago and today our landlord informed us they are needing to sell the condo after an unfortunate job loss. Our lease agreement was good until July of 2027 and we would prefer to not have to jump into another unit so quickly, but we are told we have to then be open to potential buyers touring the place potentially daily for months. Did anyone else go through a successful transition from one landlord to another while still keeping their original lease agreement? Or should we jump ship as soon as possible? We love the building, price, and the fact we could have two pets so it sucks to start this whole process up again.


r/MovingtoHawaii 4d ago

Life on Oahu Can I take neat rocks from the beachs so long as they don't leave the island?

0 Upvotes

I recently moved to O'ahu with my family, and I've seen many a cool rock/piece of coral while visiting the beaches. I've heard that it's illegal to take these things from the beach, and if you take a volcanic rock off the island, you'll be cursed by the volcano goddess (paraphrasing). I was wondering, from a legal, moral, and mythological standpoint, if it was okay to take these rocks home with me to sit on a shelf since they're eventually going to return to the sands of Hawaii.


r/MovingtoHawaii 5d ago

Jobs/Working in Hawaii Psychiatry jobs

4 Upvotes

Hi! I am currently finishing my fellowship in California. Hoping to move to Hawaii one day. Any tips for physicians who are interested in moving to Hawaii? I would like to do some locums positions first just to try it out and see if it's worth it. Any locums recruiting companies that are worth reaching out to? Thank you


r/MovingtoHawaii 5d ago

Shipping Cars & Household Items Just need some advice on car!!

0 Upvotes

Hey all, looking to move to Oahu in October as a traveling nurse , I want to ship my car over from cali, currently living in CT. My car is registered and insured in state of CT. I’m looking to move to Hawaii for less than one year, as that is how long the temp reg will last. I do not want to re register my car in Hawaii. I called my DMV who is totally confused on the situation, they said as long as you have everything valid over here there’s nothing you should need to do as long as nothing expires.

The issue I’m running into is in order to have a temp reg in Hawaii, I need an active ct reg, with active CT insurance. I cannot have 2 insurance policies, and I cannot have a Hawaii insurance policy with a ct reg as ct will suspend my registration.

So I call progressive, and ask as long as everything is still valid for CT, is my car covered in Hawaii? The only thing they wanted to know is how long, I said 6 months to less than a year. They are telling me because of length they are recommending Hawaii insurance. At this point they can’t even answer if my car is covered or not.

Does anyone have any advice, run into a similar situation? Am I not understanding something? SOS šŸ˜…
staff


r/MovingtoHawaii 5d ago

Life on BI Registering firearms as a new resident

2 Upvotes

Do you have to take the approved safety course before taking firearms in to the sheriff to be registered? We have both handguns and rifles. We want to be compliant with the requirements. Thanks.

Edit- this post was auto mod removed for ā€low effortā€, but I looked on the wiki and also googled and can’t find the answer to this.


r/MovingtoHawaii 6d ago

Jobs/Working in Hawaii Cost of Living Budget

9 Upvotes

I received job offer to work at Pearl Harbor for $93K annual. After taxes, I estimate the monthly income to be $3,800. I’d like to get everyone’s opinion if that is sufficient to cover cost of living for one person. I expect my monthly recurring cost to be rent, utilities, car lease, groceries, and cellphone bill. At best i’ll be living a minimalist & will eventually leave for Australia in 4 years. I’d be happy to rent a room also to keep cost down.

Happy to get everyone’s opinion.


r/MovingtoHawaii 6d ago

Jobs/Working in Hawaii interested in moving pls help!!

0 Upvotes

Hi! I’m currently in Iowa and seriously considering relocating to Hawaii for hospitality work. I’m looking primarily at Kauai/Big Island/Lanai and am trying to get a realistic idea of what it’s actually like to live and work there. I’m looking at hotel/restaurant jobs and hopefully employee housing. I’d love to hear from anyone who actually lives there about jobs, housing, and what you wish you knew before moving.


r/MovingtoHawaii 6d ago

Transportation Has anyone flown Hawaiian or Alaskan lately and have the inflight offer code for one of their credit cards?

0 Upvotes

Hoping to get one of their airline credit card ahead of our move (Hawaiian and Alaska merged so they use the same rewards). Usually the inflight credit card offer is better than whatever they are offering to the general public online. The codes are often on a credit card brochure in the seatback pocket, or you can usually obtain one directly from an airline agent/attendant. If anyone has one of these brochures or wrote down the code, would you mind sharing it? Thanks so much!


r/MovingtoHawaii 7d ago

Life on Oahu Prescreening to see rental?

1 Upvotes

Hi. Have a friend moving from WA to Oahu and currently looking for a rental. Is it common to have yourself prescreened before being able to go to the open house of the rental? Seems like this isn’t free. My other friend in HI says yes it’s common , but i told her I’ve never heard of that here in Washington. She has a higher budget so looking at things with beach access. Thoughts?


r/MovingtoHawaii 9d ago

Jobs/Working in Hawaii Best hotel to work at in Hawaii?

0 Upvotes

I'm planning on moving to Hawaii next year aiming to work at one of the hotels, and was wondering if anyone had any insight into which one is the best to work at? I've heard select Four Seasons hotels have staff accommodation which would be ideal, but I'm also sceptical about location as well. Just putting this out there incase there is anyone who has worked or knows someone who's work at one of the major hotels (four seasons, grande wailea etc)? Just looking to absorb as much info as I can so I can make a good decision!


r/MovingtoHawaii 11d ago

Shipping Cars & Household Items Bicycle shipping

0 Upvotes

I’m moving in about a month from the Midwest, and I was wondering what pricing people have gotten for shipping a bicycle. I’m seeing close to $300 for shipping alone and if the bike box ends up being a slight bit larger, the cost goes up to above $400. With breaking down a bicycle and rebuilding it on the other end, it’s at least $200 (got a quote from a bike shop in Honolulu for $145 to build and adjust anything that the bike needs). this is for UPS. I can’t get Fedex to provide a reasonable quote on a bike online

Does anyone have any tips? Or better info regarding recent shipping quotes? Thanks in advance.


r/MovingtoHawaii 12d ago

Life on Oahu Air quality in Honolulu

4 Upvotes

I just moved to the Honolulu one month ago. I have some chronic upper respiratory issues. I found it hard to breathe last week. But started last night, the air quality seemed gotten so much better. I am able to breathe comfortably last night and this morning.

Does the air quality in the area change a lot from time to time? Is it because the VOG from big island? If so, is there a web site can help me monitor the local air quality? (purpleair is not helpful to me. it seems they don't measure the pollutants that I am sensitive to)


r/MovingtoHawaii 13d ago

Life on Oahu Looking for Housing + Car Advice on Oahu

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone! My girlfriend and I will be visiting Oahu from September 21 through December 27, and we’re really excited to make Hawaii our next adventure!

This trip is especially meaningful for me because Hawaii will be my 50th and final state, after visiting every other state across several trips. We’ve also been lucky enough to travel to 25+ countries together and really love exploring new places and meeting new people.

We’re currently looking for a place to stay with double occupancy for under $1,200/month, with roommates of course. We’re really not picky about where we stay as long as we’re within about 30 minutes of Waikiki. We saw Kailua as an option, but we’re open to pretty much anything!

We’re also trying to figure out a car. We’d be open to renting from someone, a friend/friend-of-a-friend, or even buying a cheap car and selling it before we leave.

We’re really just here to ask for any help, advice, recommendations, or leads anyone might have. We’d really appreciate it and can’t wait to meet some of you and start this adventure! šŸ¤™


r/MovingtoHawaii 14d ago

Life on Oahu Things You Wish You Knew Before Picking Where to Live

2 Upvotes

My husband (33) and I (32 F) are potentially relocating to O’ahu near the Joint Base Pearl Harbor - Hickam. We are moving from southern Alabama. What are some things we wouldn’t know that would be helpful? Things like what roadways to avoid bc it’s always involved with heavy traffic? Is it easy to add a window unit to most buildings? I assume we will need AC, bc we are used to it. Areas to avoid bc of high noise level - our work schedules will start at 4 AM? What is a reasonable drive time - is it impossible to keep it 30 minutes or less?


r/MovingtoHawaii 15d ago

Shipping Cars & Household Items Is "Hawaii Logistics" an actual company?

3 Upvotes

Hey there- Hope everyone is safe after the Hurricane.

Is this an actual company? They have a nice looking website and got back to me quickly with a quote last week for moving our EV from Washington to Hilo.

Buuuut, I cannot find any mention of them on forums like this. Just nervous to hand over that amount of money to a company I found by Googling "ship an EV to Hawaii"

Thanks, all.


r/MovingtoHawaii 14d ago

Bringing Animals to Hawai'i Dog’s eating change after move

0 Upvotes

I moved with my 8lb yorkie poo from FL about a month ago and now she practically won’t eat her normal kibble unless we’re in the car with the a/c on and I hand feed it to her. Sheā€˜s lost some weight and I’m getting worried. She will eat treats and good stuff like plain chicken or small pieces of steak readily.

Has anyone else experienced this and done something that helped them eat? I’m sure at least some of it has to do with the stress of the move/new environment/heat and humidity. I always left her food out all day for her to eat at will before in our central a/c (temperature controlled) house but should I not do that here?

Any advice or suggestions are appreciated before I take her to the vet. I’m not sure that he’ll have an answer for us.


r/MovingtoHawaii 16d ago

Jobs/Working in Hawaii Moving to Hawaii... ideally to teach

13 Upvotes

My wife and I are planning on moving to Hawaii after I finish my education. My wife is a local, and after many conversations, we both decided that it was best for us to move to Hawaii rather than Florida, where I am from—I think the biggest reason for our decision was the sense of community that couldn't realistically be replicated in Florida. I'm from the Caribbean myself, and island culture isn't very easily replicated on any "mainland."

That said, I'm currently going to school for English. I'm planning on being an English teacher (and likely branching into cinema, philosophy, theatre, or some of the other electives you'd usually expect out of an English teacher). It's fair to say teaching is my passion, and it was the one thing I genuinely enjoyed during military service—you know, teaching and mentoring others who may not see anything of value in themselves. My plan B is law enforcement or federal positions, but my real passion really is the mentoring of youth.

This brings me to my question on perspective: what should I expect out of being a haole teacher on Oahu? My wife is completely supportive, but she has told me "good luck," before promptly mentioning stories of them forcing their teacher into quitting, consistent fights in schools, lack of care from both parents and kids, no funding, and just a general lack of real institutional education. Being from Florida, I've experienced all of this myself as a student and as an NCO, so I've been trying to find similarities and say of me being able to relate. My wife still said my experiences wouldn't be enough.

But am I overthinking my own confidence? I acknowledge that my understanding of Hawaiian island culture is rudimentary and that I would need to learn. But am I over my head?

Are there things that I need to understand before I move to Hawaii and take on teaching? Thoughts? What do I need in my toolbox?Ā What does the job market look like? Is education a lost cause for one trying to teaching secondary and possibly higher education at the community college level? Is it difficult to get a position?

PS. Oahu


r/MovingtoHawaii 16d ago

Life on Oahu Question about living as a mainlander.

0 Upvotes

I'm in the academy to become an Air Traffic Controller and I'm just thinking about my options of where to go once I'm out. Something that my instructor told me felt... off.

He made a comment that mainlanders aren't welcomed in Hawaii and tend to leave due to clashes with locals.

In my head this felt kind of odd. The way he said it rubbed me the wrong way, it had the same tone as someone who gets mad when they visit a different culture and gets confused when they do something disrespectful.

I wanted to know, truthfully, if I were to pick Hawaii as my center would I have this issue or am I right to think as long as respect and interest in learning is shown everything will be fine.

(I'm not looking for ATC related advice. This is purely me wanting to get an actual picture of life there from a social/culture perspective.)


r/MovingtoHawaii 19d ago

Shipping Cars & Household Items Opinions on U-Box

0 Upvotes

Thinking of going with four of these from Washington to Pahoa. I’ve got quotes from both matson and Royal Hawaiian, and weight is a concern for us, as we are moving a large ceramics studio with clay and glazes.

Four U-boxes will allow us to move much more weight than both matson or RH. The 15k door to door they are quoting us is steep, but RH quoted $3.85/lb and honestly I’m guessing we are looking at closer to 20k with them.

Experiences with using Ubox is appreciated.