Hi i was wondering how is the cost of living in hawaii, is it like california you'll be broke if you dont have a decent job? Where is the best place to raise family or live in hawaii with little crime rate or ghettoness? Thinking of moving there

 

Pretty much everything costs more. Live anywhere where there are less brown people and people speak better English. It'll be safer.

 

$8-9 for a gallon of branded milk. There's a good index to start with ($4.60 non brand, right Josh?)

Take a look at craigslist on the island you're looking (assuming Oahu?) It'll give you a good idea of cost of living for rent etc.

fwiw I lived there for the last ~6 and it was a good experience

 

Just got back from the Big Island. Milk was $4.99/gallon and gas was at $3.999/gal (both at Costco), 33% and 23% above national averages respectively. Moving from California wouldn't be as big of a jump as it would be coming from say Iowa.

And, sufficed to say, crime happens everywhere.

 

what is your idea of a decent job? for working professionals here the pay is also slightly higher than the average so it offsets some of it. if you're looking to rent an apt or condo you're going to spend minimum $1K for anything that's not far outside of honolulu. if you're looking to buy a house then you'll need a pretty decent job since you're gonna spend a minimum $400K for a barely livable place on the west side. like the rev said there is crime everywhere but compared to SJ it's no where near as bad. if you are really considering it then i suggest finding a job first then making the leap. don't come out here and find out you can't get a good job cuz you will be broke

 

Pearl city = ok on the west side stay out of nanakuli.....LOL

 

Well im a tech at goodyear could get transfered there and if stable enough find a better paying job. Yeah i have a co worker that goes there every year and he say its expensive there

 

yeah def. stay away from us blue water slant eyed mexicans (filipinos).............so that would be kalihi and waipahu......wait thats the whole island.......


nah for real lots of nice places here. IMO the crime rate is that of any average sized city in the mainland. as for gas prices, i think cali got us beat. especially in the SF area.

 

2nd time living here, Ewa isn't bad besides the traffic in and out. Looking at least $500k for a 2-3 bdrm house. The state safety/recon inspections are the #1 reason I wouldn't move back here again or bring a subaru. Gas prices aren't that bad, like the other guy said milk costs more then gas. Def already have a secure/paying job before you move here or you might end up stuck here and living in tents downtown or the westside. The H-1 is worse then a rally cross track and you'll never get out of 3rd gear coming or going during rush hour. Nobody knows how to drive in rain. Tailgating and not paying attention are the cause of all the accidents everyday in the exact same locations. Expect to pay at least $150 more for groccieries unless you have access to the commisarry's or cosco and even then its still pricey. If your thinking of college classes, what they offer in some fields is very limited ie IT.
On a good note, local food is amazing so many choices. Plenty of outside things to do. You can island hop fairly cheap. Weather is consistent all year round.

I originally moved back here to retire but...after all the things I've gone through I want more freedom to do things that are restricted here. Its all what your long term goals are really.

 

how on earth do we get ****tier and more expensive gas when you live on islands in the middle of the pacific???

 

CalEPA for the first one, Supply and Demand for the second.

 

Zippy's, Leonard's, Rainbow.. nomnomnomnom

 

highest gas tax in the nation FTW

 

Cost of living here is about par with Washington DC...
Houses go from 300k in the far reaches of the island, to an average of $700k if you're close to downtown Honolulu, to $10m for one of them mansions on the mountain.
Gas is either the highest or second highest (cali being the state we seesaw with) in the nation.
Groceries are stupid expensive, expect to pay $300/month for a family of 4.
The poverty level here is somewhere in the 46k range for a family of 4, so if you make less than that, it would be hard. You can get assistance if you make less, but good luck on living large unless you make a lot more.

So because of all that, I've been debating on moving to Colorado or something... I could buy a ranch with a mansion for the price of my house, driving 2x longer for less, race on a track all the time, and have a 401k.

 

Cost of a house and traffic dont bother me, its the monopoly cost of electricity, water, car registration and safety check along with Hawaii competitive prices being so high since we are stuck on an island with no other choices...

To make a living here sadly comes at the cost of taking passing on those prices to consumers. That is why there are so many small businesses in Hawaii.