How I did it: I visited O'ahu in March '09 and completely fell in love with it. On my 9 hour flight home I attempted to come up with a game plan to make the move. I finally came up with a fairly reasonable idea of how much things were going to cost once I got here. Luckily I was able to transfer my job to Waikiki. That was pretty much the thing that made me decide to go through with it actually. I have heard a lot of people had a hard time finding work over here, and I don't doubt it, especially with the economy being what it is right now. I told myself I would save a lot of money before I went, but that didn't really happen. I bought my plane ticket which was about $500 through Continental and paid for my 2 bags that I took with me. I sold most everything I owned and made about $3000 through that process. Only thing is, I ended up spending most of it before I even got on the plane. So I was kind of broke but I stayed with my friend in Lanikai until I decided on a place in Waikiki. I opted to go without a car for a while for multiple reasons: parking is expensive, traffic in Waikiki is like traffic in any major city, and I didn't have the money to buy a car right away. So I guess you really don't have to have much money to get over here, just enough for a plane ticket and a couple hundred bucks to get by until you start working. It definitely helped to have a friend here and have a job right off the bat. I wish I could tell you how to do it without those things, but it does seem a little bit harder than what I went through. I moved out here July 10 and have enjoyed it thus far. The pay is more than I'm used to but the cost of living is through the roof, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Lessons & tips: Definitely invest some time and learn about the islands before you
come. Locals will appreciate the fact that you have at least attempted
to learn something about the land that you are moving to. Don't come here with the "I'm better than you" attitude and act all condescending. I've noticed that people don't care if you drive an Escalade with 22"s or a 1967 piece of crap. Everyone lives aloha and its pretty much an awesome chill atmosphere. Haole is the name locals call white people or Americans. There are a lot of slang words that you can look up online as well that may help you understand what people are saying. Know the terms: Mauka, Makai, Lanai, Kama'aina, Ono, Pupu, Dakine, Windward, Leeward... etc.

When you go to get your Hawaii Drivers License, which you should do pretty soon after arrival (more on that later), know that the DMV is underground... it's pretty hard to find actually and there are no huge signs that tell you it's down some stairs and out of sight.

On getting a HI ID: do it. That shows how long you've been here and you will become a resident a year (I think) after the date on the license. You also will get Kama'aina discounts on things like hotels (for when your family/friends come visit, or for trips to other islands), car rentals, food, admission prices... etc.... It's really a helpful thing to have.

I'm actually really homesick right now, so I can only imagine that you will probably experience something similar. The first week or two it was fine, like being on vacation... but then after 2 weeks I started to get really lonely and miss all my friends like crazy. It's really helpful to have facebook for keeping in touch... and a good cell phone plan. I'm actually using roll over minutes right now! I never thought that would happen! Anyway, moving out here helped me realize how important people were to me back home and taught me that "home is where the heart is" is true. Definitely call people from back home and keep in touch more than you normally would, it helps.

Don't get discouraged if you don't find your niche right away: there was a reason you decided to move to Hawaii in the first place. I told myself that even though my friends and family are thousands of miles away it doesn't mean I'll never see them again. Plane tickets are pretty cheap and you'll probably have people wanting to come see you... I mean, it's not like you moved to Alaska. Stay optimistic and go on adventures. There are other islands if you get tired of this one. Also, check out places other than Waikiki... it's crowded, touristy and overpriced.

Resources: Craigslist is pretty much the only website I used in the whole process. There are other websites out there that I've used but they just came randomly after searching google.
 

Aug 05, 12:50PM PDT | 1 comment | 2 cheers