So... I'm sure all of you have considered moving out to Hawaii at one time or another. I have been seriously considering and planning a move out to Big Island for the past year and a half. I've already contacted shippers, lined things up with getting my dog over there and tried to work out as many of the "hidden fees" that pop up hear and there. I have a few questions. Firstly, does anyone know of any long term rentals on the Kona side starting December 1st? or month to month/3+ month rentals $1000 or less per month. Does anyone know of any sushi chef/serving/bartender/surf instructor/awesome job openings that may be available around December? I as well as my girlfriend are looking. If you really do have information I will send out our resumes. From anyone who has moved there or put serious time looking into it, did you ship some of your stuff or did you liquidate everything? We are hoping to only move out a couple of larger items (>1000 lbs), but are having a pain in the a$$ time trying to find a reasonable, small shipping container, maybe 10 x 10. We will be shipping everything from Hatteras Island or, if more cost effective, the DC area. What company/companies has you used or heard good things about and any info on pricing? Has anyone shipped anything through your airline? Meaning large packages. I plan on sending my clothes out in two board bags wrapped around each board but I was looking into sending out a few oversized items like my table, chairs, sofa that are all packed in boxes and all weighing under 100 lbs so just under the limit, because we are really considering that too. Unless it is a stupid idea. What are some of the "Hidden Fees" that you can think of that may put up small hurtles to get over? And, what would be your priority items if you had a 8 x 8 or 10 x 10 space (minus boards and clothes) to move all of your sh*t from the east coast to Big Island? Overall, any useful advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated.
Theres really only a few companies that actually ship things over, so the prices are pretty uniform i believe. I just packed as many clothes as i could in a board bag and hopped on a plane. Left anything i couldnt take with me that i still wanted to posses at my dads house in california. Jobs arent really worth looking for till you are here and able to go in for an interview. That being said, show up for your interview in appropriate attire (not boardshorts and slippahs), make sure you are clean with no sandy feet, and you are generally at least a step ahead of the last guy.
the movers are a pain, Royal Hawaiian was ok, also, super silly to ship stuff out without a job lined up, make it two phases phase one: find cheap place on air bnb for few days/weeks, then bring your boards and clothes on a plane and arrive and find job and place to live phase two, visit home within 12 months and bring rest of stuff out if you spend 2-4k+ shipping stuff out (and back for another 2-4K) and then back cause you couldn't find work, you are humped my wife and I only took real things like sewing machine, mountain bikes, surfboards, tools, etc. second hand furniture is less expensive than shipping and you cant rent a furnished place if you have a bunch of ish shipping a a Tacoma is a effective way to save shipping costs, as the islands have a premium on tacomas, buy it for 4 grand in obx, ship it for 2 and you can sell it for 5 or 6 out this way here was breakdown for wife and me airfare with board fees about 1k (one way two tickets) shipping container 3.2k truck 2250 so about 6500 for the move (each way) travel light, you will be glad you did
Never done the Island thing, but went from coast to coast twice now, and I would liquidate EVERYTHING. In retrospect, I should have sold my SUV and pretty much all of our belongings. It was over $6K just to move from SD back to the east coast. It was different coming back because I had a child and family and accumulated 10 more years of belongings.... But when I first left MD, I sold everything. Furniture, boards etc. We stuffed all of our clothes, shoes etc into one car and drove across country. Within 6 months I had everything that I needed again. Didn't line up a job though. I was on stand by with about 3 temp agencies. I was working 2 days after I arrived and found a good career within 6 months. In the service industry, it will be hard to get hired remotely for anything. People who are "moving to a resort area" are super flaky. I have managed restaurants for years. I never hire people until I see them face to face. Most people will continue circulating the resume and take the best opportunity. A lot of people just flake and never show up, so I assume it will be very difficult to get hired remotely. Never lived in HI, but when I was there, a lot of the mainlanders that were bartending out there told me that it is really hard to find work, because the local, natives expect that they will get a job opportunity before a transplant. They also said they are met with quite a bit of hostility by the locals for working in that industry... Anyway, like I said, EVERY employer that I contacted told me the same thing, and it was dozens of companies: "CALL US WHEN YOU GET HERE".... Until you are on the island, ready to work, it's all just still a "dream"... Just give yourself enough cushion to not have to work when you go. Cause in the service industry, REMEMBER, you probably won't make any decent money for about a month. Training will be at minimum wage, and 99% of restaurant/bar training programs do NOT tip trainees. So, factor that 2-3 week training period in, where you will eventually receive a $250.00 pay check a month after you start... Good luck. The move is expensive, no matter how you look at it. I can't even imagine how much more $$ I would have spent tacking on another 3000 miles across the ocean.
