The Dilemma of Renting versus Buying a House

Since moving to Oahu nine months ago, we have been perplexed about whether to buy a home or keep renting. Since we plan to move back to the Big Island at some point, our decision has to take into consideration the economy and inflation.  We could get financially crushed by buying a home if there is significant de-inflation on Oahu in the next 3 years.

The problem is we have conflicting views about whether there will be inflation or deflation in Hawaii. We have a list of things that will cause housing prices to go up in Hawaii and another list of things that will cause housing prices to go down.

Here is our list of some things we think could cause inflation in Hawaii:

1. If the U.S.’s military and defense infrastructure in the Asia - Pacific region expands, there will be strong demand for housing in Oahu.  Currently, the U.S. military presence in Oahu is down about 7% from 2012.

2. If the U.S. economy continues to improve and more jobs become available, Americans will have more money to spend on vacations and to visit Hawaii. Furthermore, Hawaii’s vacation appeal will increase if unrest spreads in vacation spots elsewhere in the world. Tourism on Oahu was up 4% this year. More tourism means more jobs and higher wages for residents which would increase the demand for housing.

3. If the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates low that will help keep the cost of a mortgages lower and the demand for houses higher.

4. The 76 million baby boomers are retiring in large numbers (some estimate over 10,000 a day). If even 1/10th of one percent of them move to Hawaii that would add 760,000 new residents to Hawaii which would increase the demand and prices for housing.

5. Affluent buyers from China and India may continue to buy homes in Hawaii which is already a positive factor in Hawaii real estate prices. 

Here is our list of some things we think might cause de-inflation:

1. The military presence in the Asia – Pacific region could be decreased by the next U.S. president and congress which would reduce the housing demand in Hawaii. Even cuts in military housing allowances for soldiers stationed in Oahu would have a negative effect on housing prices in Oahu.

2.  If the U.S. economy suddenly stalls, which some people think it might, Oahu could see a sudden drop in the number of visitors. There are numerous things that could tamper with the U.S. economic recovery. Robots and automation, for instance, are replacing workers in the U.S. in manufacturing plants, warehouses, and retail jobs. The rising U.S. dollar makes a vacation more expensive for visitors from Japan, China, and Canada.  A shrinking tourist industry would result in job cuts that would ultimately effect the demand for houses on Oahu.

3. Although the 76 million baby boomers are starting to retire in large numbers, they may not have enough income to move or even visit Hawaii.

4. Although lower oil prices have reduced the cost of airfares to Hawaii, they have also lowered the cost of driving vacations on the mainland which may reduce the number of visitors to Hawaii.

5. If the Federal Reserve raises the interest rates it will make buying a house in Hawaii much more expensive which could damper demand. An interest rate increase from 4% to 8% would increase a mortgage payment 54% percent.

Over the last year, more rentals have come available in central Oahu and many are renting for 10% less than last year.  Like many places in the U.S. right now, the current cost of a home in Oahu plus the additional expenses of owning is more expensive than renting. Our plan is to keep track of the cost of renting versus buying and watch for changes that may result in inflation or deflation. Right now, we believe the risk of a collapse in the housing market is too high to buy. 

Life on Oahu versus the Big Island

We recently moved to Central Oahu from South Kohala on the Big Island. Though we are still in Hawaii with its great weather and aloha spirit, the differences between the two islands are dramatic. It is a lot like the difference between living in one stop-light town in the Midwest versus an apartment overlooking Central Park in Manhattan, NY.

Crowds

Oahu is very crowded. On a recent Saturday night at Ala Moana Mall there were so many people we struggled to walk through the mall.  Less than half of them were speaking English. It felt more like being in Hong Kong or Tokyo than the US or anywhere else in Hawaii. Everywhere you look on Oahu there are houses, cars, and people which is a major contrast from the miles of desolate lava fields, acres of pastures, and empty beaches we are accustomed to on the Big Island. At our condo complex in central Oahu, cars come and go at all hours of the day and night,  a big change for us after years of living in a mostly empty (except around Christmas) condo complex in South Kohala.  All the people on Oahu keep things very lively and there are endless activities and events, but unlike the Big Island it is surprisingly more difficult to make friends.

Distances and Traffic

Everything on Oahu is only a short distance and if you are lucky and there is not much traffic, you can get anywhere quickly. On the Big Island, everything was a long drive.  It was a long drive for us to get to COSTCO and potlucks with friends in Kona from Kohala.   On Oahu we can drive to three grocery stores, Walmart, our bank, and 20 or more restaurants in our neighborhood in less than 5 minutes.  However, it recently took us 30 minutes to drive a little over a mile on a Saturday morning near Ala Moana mall when dropping someone off at the Convention Center. We rarely ran into traffic on the Big Island.  Occasionally, the traffic from the airport into Kona would jam up a bit and it was frustrating to get behind a slow moving truck, but Oahu has epic traffic jams which we just have to surrender to sitting in the car for a very long time.

Driving Style

Folks drive slower on Oahu than on the Big Island and the speed limits are lower. Honolulu police are out in force giving tickets to speeders, a rare sight on the Big Island. In our seven and half years on the Big Island we saw maybe a dozen people getting tickets, whereas, we see one or more cars getting pulled over every day on Oahu.  Driving in Oahu requires threading your car through tiny parking lots with tiny parking spaces. The freeways are massive in Oahu compared to the two lane roads throughout most of the Big Island, but the lanes are narrower and it feels like the cars are going to scratch the paint off your car as they pass.  Freeway driving takes a great deal of concentration on Oahu. There is just more room for cars and parking lots on the Big Island.

Shopping

Shopping on Oahu is amazing. There are so many stores and malls it feels more like New York or Paris than Hawaii. On Oahu every neighborhood has a wide selection of stores and there are numerous malls.  The Big Island is just not the place to be if you like shopping, whereas Oahu has an amazing selection of things to buy and great prices.

Food

Food shopping on Oahu is easy compared to the Big Island. There are numerous grocery stores with greater selection and lower prices than the Big Island stores. But Oahu does not compare to the Big Island for fruits and vegetables.  There are fewer Farmer’s markets on Oahu with limited selection compared to we had on the Big Island.  On Oahu, there is no place like Suisan or the Kona harbor with fresh fish and the amazing Big Island Beef is hard to find. Restaurants are abundant, excellent ,and affordable on Oahu, a very unfortunate thing for our waist lines. We never found a place on the Big Island that had consistently excellent food and service at an affordable price whereas on Oahu we have trouble deciding where to go among all the choices.

Weather and Vog

The weather on Oahu depends on where you live, just like the Big Island. We live in central Oahu where it is very rainy, similar to Hilo.  When we drive to west Oahu the weather is usually hot, dry and sunny, similar to Kohala. A bad Vog day on Oahu is like a no Vog day on the Big Island. We are happy to not have to deal with the Vog.

Rent and Jobs

Rents are substantially higher on Oahu than the Big Island.  We are paying $600 more a month in rent for a much smaller condo than we had on the Big Island. The same size and quality of rental on Oahu is about double the cost on the Big Island.  The driving factors for Oahu’s high rents seem to be the large number of soldiers who get a substantial housing allowance and the job market.  Getting a job on Oahu is fairly easy and although they pay better than Big Island jobs, the pay is still very low compared to the cost of housing.  The competition for housing can make it a challenge to even find a rental.

Beaches and Parks

The gorgeous white sand and black sand beaches on the Big Island are in a league of their own.  The famous North Shore beaches on Oahu are tiny with only a few places to  park along the road.  It is a big contrast to the Big Island’s long stretches of beach with large parking lots near many of them.  On Oahu, the malls are more accessible than the parks and trails and beaches.  We miss counting the turtles, talking to the eels, and enjoying the gorgeous scenery on our daily beach walks in Kohala.

We are enjoying our new life in central Oahu but we are missing the incredible outdoor lifestyle we had on the Big Island.

Surprising costs of an interisland move in Hawaii

Packing crates on the Big Island for Oahu

We always assumed that moving between islands in Hawaii would be much easier and cheaper than our move from California to Hawaii Island. The distance from Kawaihae harbor on the Big Island to Honolulu is only about 160 miles compared to 2300 miles from Oakland to Hilo, so we figured that the move would be less expensive and take less time. We were surprised to discover that the cost and complexity of an inter-island move is the same or more than our initial move to Hawaii from the mainland. 

The major expenses shipping between the islands include: 

• the materials and labor to pack everything to survive an ocean trip, 
• the labor to load a container or crates,
• the cost of transporting the container or crates to the harbor,
• the cost of shipping, 
• and finally transporting the container to a residence and unloading. 

It turns out the fuel savings from shipping the shorter distance between islands versus from the mainland is only about $200.

In Hawaii, Young Brothers has a monopoly on all shipping routes between the islands. Young Brothers prices are based on weight with a set amount for different types of items such as cars, containers, cement, etc.. They publish their tariffs on their website. They do not offer the type of moving services Matson does, like dropping off a container at your residence and picking it up. 

So, to move personal effects you need, at a minimum, a moving company to deliver a container or  wooden crates and transport them to the harbor. The cost of loading a container or wooden crates (which have to be covered with plastic) and transporting them to the harbor is the same or more in Hawaii as on the mainland. In addition, the cost of packing everything for transportation, including the expense of boxes and wrapping material, is also the same or more on Hawaii as on the mainland. 

On the Big Island there are only six companies authorized to move between islands including Big Isle Moving, Royal Hawaiian, Kona Transportation, and Town and Country Moving. The moving companies provide door to door services including packing, loading, transporting to the harbor, pickup and unpacking. You can save some money by packing yourself. 

The moving companies send a person to estimate the total weight of your effects and overall moving costs. Regardless of their weight estimate, you are charged the actual weight of the container or crates weighed at the harbor for Young Brothers portion of the shipping costs. 

We had three local companies provide us an estimate and were shocked at the differences. Their  weight estimates ranged from 9300 pounds to 6100 pounds. Their cost estimates, after adding in packing, supplies, and delivery ranged from $10,000 to $4,621. 

Although all the moving companies use Young Brothers and their tariff rates are fixed, the actual rates they provided varied from $67 to $59 per 100 pounds.  Their moving estimates included only about 60 cents of insurance per pound. Additional insurance, which we required, was an added cost. 

The actual weight of the four crates was 6800 lbs. The crates took over a week to arrive in Honolulu from the Big Island, which was almost as long as our 20 foot Matson container took to get to Hilo from California. On the bright side, all of our things made it safely with no damage. 

Crates arriving in Oahu

Overall moving between islands in Hawaii was complicated, expensive, and time consuming.  Our  challenge now is getting all our stuff to fit into our much smaller apartment. 

In our next blog we will tell you about all the things, good and bad, that are different  living on Oahu than living on the Big Island.

Our Move to Oahu

Our Oahu Apartment

We loved living on Hawaii Island for the past 7 years.  We were able to experience the culture, climate, and life styles of Hilo, Kona, and Kohala.  The beaches, food, people, and amazing activities on the Big Island have been a constant source of entertainment and enjoyment for us.  Even so, our endless wanderlust, made us wonder what it would be like to live on the other islands in Hawaii.

Our son attended college on Oahu, so we visited the island many times.  Although the noise and congestion in Waikiki was too much for us, we marveled at the shops, restaurants and sights to see elsewhere on the island.   There is also the draw of jobs, particularly jobs requiring technical skills.  We started looking around and found a great job in West Oahu.  Last month, we moved from Hawaii Island to find out if living on Oahu is as much fun as it looks.  Our move kept us too busy and overwhelmed to blog; but we are back to it now.

Although we are in Oahu, we plan to continue to update our HiloLiving website and calendar.   We still own property on the Big Island and consider it our home. 

Our next blog will be about our move from Kohala on the Big Island to Oahu.  We always assumed that moving between islands in Hawaii would be  easier and cheaper than our move from California to Hilo.  We were very wrong.

Why are People in Hawaii so Healthy and Happy?

We moved to Hawaii seven years ago to escape our stressful life in California.  We were out of shape, exhausted, and obese.  Fortunately, just being in Hawaii improved our health and helped us lose weight.  We have watched many other people lose fat  and improve their health by spending  time in Hawaii. We have even seen people who arrived in Hawaii barely able to walk with a walker become more mobile every month; some were ultimately able to walk freely without any assistance.

After completing our Hawaii Island travel guide, a friend of ours insisted that our next book be about why people feel so much better when they are in Hawaii.   We agreed that it would be fasinating to research the mystery of why every year residents in Hawaii are ranked the healthiest and happiest in the US.

We were not prepared for the shocking answer. We found hundreds of medical studies that completely contradicted everything we had been taught about what is healthy to eat. The diet we thought was healthy was actually harming our health significantly according to the health studies.

Our weight loss and improved fitness in Hawaii were due to high levels of nutrients in Hawaii’s food and environment, not because of the foods we thought were healthy.  Just by living in Hawaii we had stumbled into better health. The miracle health improvements we saw in ourselves and others were because of critically missing essential nutrients abundant in Hawaii yet missing on the mainland.

Our new book, Your Ideal Hawaii Health: Why People in Hawaii are so Healthy and Happy, answers our friend’s question.  The book cites the health studies  and tells our personal experiences of the changes we made in our diet and lifestyle in Hawaii that allowed us to achieve our health goals, improve our fitness, and increase our happiness.

If you are struggling with your weight, depression, or health conditions you may want to read the book and find out why just living in Hawaii can make you healthier and happier. 

Are you waiting too long to Retire in Hawaii?

This year we have noticed more retirees remaining on Hawaii Island since the departure of the snowbirds last month. They really stick out with their coiffed hair, tweed caps, black silk shirts, long pants, and patent leather shoes.  We see them struggle to carry their garbage out, argue with the gardeners, and frown at the food displayed in our local grocery store. We never see them at the beach, lying in the sun, or laughing.  These recently arrived 70-something year olds may have waited way too long to retire to Hawaii. 

The transition from “mainland clothes” to sandals, shorts, loose shirts, and wild hair takes a while.  It takes a while for the rejuvenating effects of the sun, warm weather, local food, and laid back lifestyle in Hawaii to increase your energy and health.   It takes a while to realize that nobody cares what a big shot you were on the mainland and that yelling gets (at best) no response in Hawaii.  It takes a while to focus on Hawaii’s beaches, sunshine, and peacefulness and give up on the mainland’s addictive foods, restaurants, and malls.

Recent studies have shown that retiring earlier leads to living longer, in contradiction to older studies that showed working longer correlated to living longer.  Researchers at the Tinbergen Institute at the University of Amsterdam compared Dutch men who retired early (age 55 instead of in their mid-60’s) and found that early retirement decreased their chance of dying within the next five years by 42.3%. The researchers concluded that lower stress levels contributed to the lower mortality rates.  Stress in the workplace, since the economic downturn, may be partially responsible for the higher death rate of older workers.   However, observing the difficulty new elderly residents are having adjusting to retirement, waiting too long to retire may also be part of the reason. 

The growing fear among Boomers of running out of money before they die is creating another type of stress.  Money stress keeps people in stressful jobs longer and counters any health improvements a Hawaii lifestyle might offer.  Retiring earlier brings you the mental and health benefits of the relaxed, laid back Hawaii lifestyle sooner.

We believe that money is not a good tradeoff for health which led to our move to Hawaii Island   in our 50’s.  Watching the elderly newcomers hobble from their newly purchased Hawaii condos, we wonder when they will switch to clothes more suitable to a tropical island.   We wonder if they will stay long enough to get any of the benefits of living in Hawaii.  

You need a minimal level of health to walk, swim, lie in the sun, and enjoy what Hawaii has to offer.  Waiting too long makes it more difficult to move across the ocean and create a low-maintenance, tropical lifestyle.  So, if you are dreaming about retiring in Hawaii, don’t wait too long.

Where is the healthiest and happiest place to live?

New studies have been coming out about where to live the healthiest, happiest, and longest life in the US.  Although health and happiness are often measured by subjective questionnaires, the rankings are interesting to boomers looking for warm, healthy, and happy places to spend time in their retirement years.  We collected recent rankings on living in Hawaii and compared  them to the overall national ranking on health, longevity, and happiness.

WEATHER AND AIR QUALITY

Though Hawaii has some bad air days from the active volcano, it gets high rankings from the EPA for having all zero ozone days.

Hawaii has strong Smoke-free laws which reduces the chances of breathing second-hand smoke.

Hawaii’s tropical climate (at sea level) has minimal temperature variation during its two seasons.  It is 85-90 degrees in the summer and 79-83 degrees in winter. 

In our opinion, Hawaii has the best weather on the planet.

ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE

Warm weather (that is never too hot) year-round may be why people in Hawaii are more active than most of the rest of the nation.

According to the 2012 CDC report, 81.3% of Hawaii residents participated in physical activity within the past month which is higher than the overall nationwide data of 77.1% and ranks Hawaii in the top 5 of US States.

In 2012, only 16.3% of Adults in Hawaii told the CDC that they are limited in their activities because of physical, mental, or emotional problems compared to 20.1% nationwide and ranks Hawaii in the top 3 US States.

OBESITY

Increased activity and year round sunlight may be the reason for less obesity in Hawaii.  Many people we know, including us, are thinner in Hawaii than we were when we lived on the mainland.

According to the “F as in Fat” project by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Hawaii is the fourth least obese state in the nation (ranked 47/51) with an obesity rate that is lower than 30%.

Hawaii’s 2012 adult obesity rate is 23.6% (men 26.8% and women 20.3%)

Hawaii’s obesity rate for adults age 45-64  is 26.8%, the rate for adults age 65+  is 14.1%, and the rate for  white residents  is 19%.

MORTALITY

According to the CDC, Hawaii had the lowest mortality in 2011 in the US with an age-adjusted death rate of 584.8 deaths per 100,000 standard population.  This compares to the national age-adjusted rate of 740.6 nationwide.  The closest state to Hawaii’s low mortality is California with an age-adjusted rate of 638.8.

Hawaii’s low mortality may be related to the healthy state of the residents.  Hawaii was ranked the most “Healthy” in the nation by United Health Foundation using a wide range of measurements.  According to the report, some of the positive measures for Hawaii as compared to elsewhere in the US include: low cancer deaths, low cardiovascular deaths, low diabetes, low disparity in health status, high immunization coverage, high health insurance coverage, low obesity, high physical activity, low rate of preventable hospitalizations, high public health funding, and low smoking.

The United HealthFoundation’s report on seniors reported that Hawaii has the lowest prevalence of depression among seniors in the nation and the lowest prevalence of obesity among seniors in the country.

LONGEVITY

With a low death rate and better health for people in Hawaii, it is not surprising that the state continues its top ranking for longevity in the nation at 81.48  years old compared with the national rate of 78.61.

HAPPINESS 

One of the best things about spending time in Hawaii is that most people are really happy and very fun to be around.  In 2012, Hawaii maintained its ranking as the “happiest” State in the US by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Why it’s so hard to find an Ideal Hawaii Home

We were inspired to write our first book, Your Ideal Hawaii Home after meeting so many people who were unhappy with their new dream house in Hawaii.  We noticed that mainland-style homes in our Hilo neighborhood were constantly on and off the market.  The houses usually sold quickly, however the new buyers were soon unhappy with the afternoon heat and high electric bills.  The cold-climate, mainland-style houses in Hilo, so unsuited to the tropical climate in Hilo, yet so pleasing to eyes of buyers from the mainland, had a continuous turnover of new owners.  Although people who read our book learn about the downside of mainland hot-house designs in a tropical climate, bugs, rain, humidity, garden maintenance nightmares, and other Hawaii house issues, the book doesn’t actually help with finding an ideal house. 

Recently we visited a family on a beautiful property with a Hawaiian style house, perfectly groomed orchards, quiet neighborhood, and great views.  The property had been lovingly cared for and improved to be easy to maintain.  It was a delight to spend time there enjoying the cool breezes and scented air.  The elderly owners inherited the property from their parents, who had inherited it from their parents.  The owner described how his children and grandchildren loved the place, making it clear that the property would likely not be for sale for generations, if ever. Properties in Hawaii with the positive attributes and design elements that make living in the tropics wonderful are handed down through generations.  We have even met local residents who moved to the mainland for their career and kept their grandparent’s home for their retirement.  Ideal Hawaii properties are rarely for sale

Many of the homes that are for sale in Hawaii have major problems with design, lack of air flow, wood rot, bug infestations, or mold that the new owners could not solve.  In Hawaii really nice looking neighborhoods or condos can have unexpected problems with noise or crime that similar looking (or priced) neighborhoods on the mainland would not have. When looking for an ideal property in Hawaii, find out how many owners there have been over the years. If you see a lot of owners in the last 5 years, consider it as a red flag.  If the neighborhood is having high turnover, then that is also a red flag.  Many of the best properties being sold never make it to the market, they are sold to friends or families known to the neighborhood.  Even if a realtor is used, the best properties are not put on the MLS because the realtors know they will sell quickly.

Finding an ideal house or property in Hawaii takes time.  It requires research to identify the right neighborhood and then patience to wait for a property to become available.  The prize is a property that may become a family heirloom, a place where your great-grandchildren retire.  

Hawaii Pu’u O’o Lava Flow goes a new direction

Pu'u O'o lava over Chain of Craters Road

We recently toured Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and drove to the end of the Chain of Craters Road where it was covered in lava from Pu’u O’o in 2003.  Pu’u O’o is located on an eastern ridge of Kilauea Volcano that parallels the southern coast of Puna.  Pu’u O’o has been erupting for the past 30 years, since January 1983, sending lava down the southern side of the ridge to the ocean. The lava has destroyed houses, roads, ancient Hawaiian sites, and beaches from Volcanoes National Park to Kalapana.  

USGS map of Pu'u O'o

Now the lava from Pu’u O’o is flowing a different direction.  Instead of the usual southern direction down the ridge to the coast, lava is flowing down the other side of the ridge in a northeastern direction.  In the last few months the lava has flowed 5 miles through a forest heading towards Puna’s eastern coastline. This new flow has been named Kahauale’a 2.

Tim Orr at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recently gave a presentation about the Kahauale’a Lava Flow in an “After Dark in the Park” on January 7.   He presented a map with what he called “fuzzy” predictions of where the lava might flow if the eruption continues.  

These predictions were made using topographic maps and plotting the areas the lava would likely flow.   At the current rate of flow, which stops and starts, he predicts it will not reach a populated area for a year.

When we visit areas around Hawaii Island covered by lava flows, we get philosophical about how fleeting buildings, beaches, and forests can be.

We hope this flow will not follow the predicted path of destruction.

How a Hawaii Christmas vacation became a Hawaii move

While relaxing on the beach today, we enjoyed watching the Christmas vacationers revel in the warm sunshine and splash in the ocean.  It reminded us of  how our 2006 Christmas in Hawaii led to moving to Hawaii.  

Before that fateful Christmas, we had been coming to Hawaii more and more frequently to escape the unrelenting stress in our life. We always felt better the day after we arrived in Hawaii, our aches and pains would subside, and our energy would slowly return.  The sun felt like it had magical healing powers and the local food satisfied our deep hunger.  Before we knew it, we found ourselves sitting sadly at the airport waiting to board the plane back to our rat race life.  At the end of every vacation, we were determined to find fruits, fish and beef from Hawaii and to exercise every day.  But the freezing, rainy, grey days kept us huddled inside and we could never find a steady supply of the foods we could easily get in Hawaii. 

In 2006, we rented a condo in Hilo for the month of December and we discovered how wonderful and affordable living in Hilo could be.   That Christmas we decided that going back to the mainland after our Hawaii vacation was just too painful.  Having to return to the cold, the aches, the pains, and lose all the energy we had gained had become unthinkable.  The only way we were able to convince ourselves to get back on a plane to the mainland that year was our decision to move to Hawaii as soon as possible.  It took 10 months to make it happen, but we moved by Thanksgiving 2007.  

We are constantly surprised by the island’s incredible coastline, parks, beaches, towns, and historic sites.  There are so many varieties of trees, flowers, climates, and so many beautiful places to explore the island seems like a continent to us. We have never felt island fever and cannot imagine living anywhere else.

 We believe we made the best decision of our lives on that Christmas vacation in Hawaii. 

Every year since moving to Hawaii, we feel better, stronger, and happier.  We have lost weight, gotten fit, sleep better, and have more energy.  Every year we enjoy living on the island more and find more things to love about it.  Every day we feel blessed to be living on Hawaii Island.

Reasons people leave Hawaii Island

We enjoy meeting newcomers to Hawaii Island and hearing their stories about moving and living on the island.   We have written about issues people have after moving to Hawaii in our Your Ideal Hawaii Move: A Guide for Moving to Hawaii Island book.  Incorrect assumptions newcomers have about island neighborhoods seem to be the major reason that their new lives in paradise do not work out.  Over the last 18 months we have met 7 families who recently moved into our neighborhood in South Kohala and returned to mainland within a year.  Though the reasons they left were similar to the reasons the people we met in Hilo and Kona left the island – family and jobs – the specifics are different.

Most of the families had two or more children.  They chose the resort neighborhood near the beach because the amenities and quiet lifestyle seemed perfect for their family.  They assumed that the  large upscale housing communities along the coast would have great schools nearby.  But the reality is, in spite of thousands of acres of million dollar homes and condo complexes,  very few people actually live here full time.  Most of the houses and condos are third and fourth homes of older wealthy people that visit only occasionally on holidays. We watched the few children here leave early, 6:30AM, and get dropped off by bus in the late afternoon.  The closest elementary school is up on a hill, about 15 miles away.  The public high schools are much farther. The closest high school is Kealakehe,  30 miles south in Kona about a 40 minute drive by car and longer by bus.  The other option is in Honoka’a about a 50 minute drive to the other side of the island.  

After the initial thrill of wearing sandals and shorts to school wears off, students and their parents learn about the tensions in the public schools on the island.   Though Pahoa and Keaau high schools in Puna have the most cases of violence and serious misconduct, Honoka’a and Kealakehe have problems as well.  Last year Kealakehe High School was closed for a couple of days after tensions between groups of  Polynesians escalated into a huge brawl among the students.  The number of offenses at Hawaii Island public high schools over the past 5 years was  published by the Hawaii Department of Education after an open records request. The schools are not like the mainland, where students represent nearby neighborhoods often with similar social and economic backgrounds.  The size and low population on the Big Island means that high schools serve students bused in from large geographic areas with different social, racial, and national backgrounds.  There are several highly rated private schools, which are also over 30 minutes to drive up  to Waimea.  They are quite pricey especially for families with several kids.  Annual high school tuition at HPA is $22,000 and Parker School is $13,800.  Living a far distance from other students in school adds to the difficultly of finding new friends.

The parents we met had not realized how important regular contact with their family and friends were to them until they moved. One mother who had lived in the same town her whole life and was sure it would be wonderful to live somewhere else said “I was amazed at how much I missed everyone, it really took me by surprise.”  They left the gorgeous weather and beautiful beaches behind in less than 12 months to restore their relationships with friends and return to a school system where they felt more comfortable.

We met several families who moved to our neighborhood after many years of a telecommuting job in California and Washington State. Within 6 months of their move, their companies changed their telecommuting policies and required them to show up at their office.  This has happened to so many people we now joke that many companies allow telecommuting, just not from Hawaii.

We find it interesting that none of families left Hawaii Island because of the high cost of living.  They left because assumptions they had made turned out not be true.  On the upside, they all seemed to have had a great experience during their short time here.  As they were leaving they called it their “Hawaii adventure.” We have concluded that they discovered that something about their life on the mainland turned out to be way more important than the island lifestyle that drew them to Hawaii. 

How Good is Hawaii Island’s Health Care?

One of the questions we frequently get from people thinking about moving to Hawaii Island is, “how good are medical services and health care on the island?”.  Although Hawaii is highly rated for health care, the island of Hawaii has the highest death rate in the state for all causes.

According to a 2011 AAMC report, Hawaii was ranked 8^th in the nation in the number of active physicians per 100,000 population at 305.4.  In comparison, Hawaii Island’s rate of 170 physicians per 100,000 population is lower than the state of Mississippi which was ranked lowest in the nation at 176.4 physicians per 100,000.  In April 2013, the University of Hawaii’s Medical school reported that the state is having a growing shortage of physicians; Hawaii Island has only 336 MD’s of the needed 530.

Although Hawaii Island is larger than all the other islands combined, there are only 3 critical access hospitals, Hilo Medical Center, Kona  Community Hospital, and North Community Hospital in Waimea with a total of about 350 beds. USNews Health report for 2012 stated that 36,930 patients visited Hilo Medical Center during the year and  7,858 were admitted.  North Community hospital had 11,285 emergency visits and 1,893 were admitted.

Traffic fatalities on Hawaii Island are almost 3 times higher than on Oahu with 17.3 deaths per 100,000 versus 8.7 deaths per 100,000 for the state and 6.6 deaths per 100,000 on Oahu. It is common for an ambulance, called to an emergency on a beach or resort in South Kohala, to transport a patient 40 miles or more to the Kona Community hospital in Kealakelua for acute care. 

For many residents on Hawaii Island, lack of health care has resulted in chronic, untreated health problems and early death.  The hospitalization for uncontrolled diabetes per 1,000 population was twice that of Honolulu in 2009.  Suicide rates are 20.7 deaths per 100,000 versus 12.8 per 100,000 for the state.  Obesity rates are 26.3% versus 23.1% for the state.  The death rate from heart disease on Hawaii Island is about 20% higher than the rest of the state.  Hawaii Island has an average life expectancy of age 79.7, the lowest in the state and 1.2 years less than Oahu

When comparing Hawaii Island’s health care results to the rest of Hawaii it concerns us, however the island’s statistics look better when comparing them to the mainland US.  Although Hawaii Island has a higher death rate from heart disease than the rest of the islands at 93.4 deaths per 100,000 people, it is substantially lower than the overall US rate of 191.4 deaths per 100,000.  And Hawaii Island’s suicide rate has increased along with the rest of the US, but it’s rate of 20.7 per 100,000 is lower than the state of Wyoming at 31.1 per 100,000. The island’s 26.3% obesity rate is average for the US and significantly better than the 10 US states with the highest obesity rates ranging from 29% to 33.5%.  And finally, the island’s life expectancy is better than the majority of the states in the US.

Our general view of Hawaii Island’s health care situation is that it all depends on where you use as a comparison.

Is Hawaii where to Retire?

Every day 11,719 “baby boomers” (Americans born between 1946 and 1964) turn 65.  Many of the 77 million “boomers” are planning to retire soon and consider living in a warm, tropical environment ideal.  In the past two years, Hawaii has seen a surge in the number of visitors, due in part to the spreading violence and political unrest in many other tropical destinations.  We suspect that many of the visitors are boomers looking at Hawaii as a place to retire.

We know personally how wonderful it is to live in Hawaii.  The year round warm weather, the amazing local foods, the laid back lifestyle, and the traditional respect for the elderly makes Hawaii a great place to be old.  We have always wondered when the boomers would show up in Hawaii looking to retire.  We calculate that if only 1% of the 77 million American boomers retire in Hawaii, it would increase Hawaii’s small population by almost 1 million people.  

After five years of living on Hawaii Island, this is the first year we have seen a noticeable increase in older Americans from the mainland on the west side of Hawaii Island.  They are more obvious this time of year, because it is the start of “off season” and the thinning crowds of tourists make long term residents stand out.  Normally the beaches and parks are less crowded and the traffic lets up this time of year.  So, we are surprised at the number of boomer couples still here from the mainland in the grocery stores, strolling around town, swimming off the Kailua pier, sunning on the beaches, and walking on the Maka’eo path.  We are even seeing out of state license plates on the highway, a rarity in Hawaii.

If boomers do retire in Hawaii in large numbers, the changes could be epic. There could be an increase in real estate prices, new businesses, increased traffic, and the “boomer vote” would change the political priorities in Hawaii. A single seasonal surge in older Americans remaining on the island past “high season” may be a fluke or the beginning of a big change in Hawaii, only time will tell.

Hawaii “Pity Party” season

When “off season” arrives in Hawaii, it is common to have a “going away” or “pity” party for the snowbirds preparing to return to North America until next winter.  We have a lot of sympathy for them having to leave.   Before moving to Hawaii, we visited the islands every winter to chase away our winter blues caused by the endless gray winter days in Northern California. 

Since we haven’t left Hawaii in six years, we rarely think about dealing with cold, gray days.   But hearing the groans at a recent “pity party” from snowbirds dreading the cold weather awaiting them, we recalled the difficulty we use to have when leaving Hawaii after a winter vacation.

One way we survived our return to the cold was by having a  “Hawaii Room”.  We set aside a small room upstairs and used an electric floor heater to warm it up to about 78 degrees.  That way we could keep the room 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.  We bought several full spectrum lights, put beach towels on the rug, and played Hawaiian music on our boom box.  With our eyes closed, we could imagine that we were lying on the beach.  We dreamed about the day we would live in Hawaii full time and played our favorite Dido song about returning from a tropical vacation to a depressing, dead-end job:

Tomorrow's back to work and down to sanity,
Should run a bath and then clear up the mess i made before I left here.
Try to remind myself that I was happy here,
Before I knew that I could get on a plane and fly away,
From the road where the cars never stop going through the night,
To a life where I can watch the sun set,
And take my time.

From “Sand in My Shoes”

Writer: ARMSTRONG, DIDO/NOWELS, RICHARD W JR
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

The time we spent in our “Hawaii Room” led us to imagine a life in Hawaii.  That dream gave us the energy to get up early, work hard, sell our house, get rid of stuff, and save enough money to afford to move to Hawaii.  It has been a long time since we thought about that room, but reflecting on it now 10 years later, we think that our “Hawaii Room” was a big part of making our dream a reality.

Living in Hawaii on Less

Recently we saw an article that claimed the cost of living in Maui was 200% higher than the “average” cost of living on the mainland.  This matches our experience of the costs in Hawaii when trying to live the same way as we did on the mainland.  Over the past five years, we have modified our lifestyle in Hawaii in order to cut our costs and improve the quality of our life.  As a result, our expenses are much cheaper than they were when we lived in Northern California and our life is substantially more pleasant.  Below is a list of living expenses that we reduced by changing our lifestyle.

Utility Costs - Electricity costs 4 to 7 times more than most places on the mainland so we have learned to live with less electricity.  We live in a house that has windows that open to let the air through and we block the sun from heating up the inside.  We never use AC and rely on fans and cold showers on really hot days.  We wear thin clothes and swim in the morning to lower our body temperature in the summer.   We use only LED lights and have an LED TV  and energy efficient appliances.  We keep appliances unplugged, our lights turned off when not being used, and our water heater turned low.  We don’t use hair dryers and we monitor anything electric with an electric current meter (Kill-a-watt ).  These actions have cut our electric costs by over 75%.

Food Costs - We only eat local fruit, vegetables, grass fed beef, and fish.  When we bought grass-fed beef and Hawaiian fish in California we paid about 3 times more than we pay in Hawaii and we never were able to get Hawaiian avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, mushrooms, bananas, and eggplants.   We order processed foods in bulk (rice, rice pasta, almond flour, cherry juice concentrate, etc) from Amazon.  Amazon has a Prime program that gives members free shipping, so we pay a third or less than the local store prices.  We estimate eating local and ordering in bulk saves us about 75% from our grocery store costs on the mainland.   We have to keep close track of our inventory to make sure we do not run out of food and modify our plan if the food we normally order is not on Prime at a particular time.  Eating foods that are reasonably priced on the mainland or depending on meals at restaurants can break a budget in Hawaii because of the high costs of labor and shipping of foods to the island.

Housing costs - We rent and we move to take advantage of better deals as they become available.  We have learned to look at the net cost of living in a place rather than just the cost of the rent.  When we initially moved to Hilo, our rent was half of what we paid for a smaller, dumpy place in Cupertino, California.   Though our rent went up when we moved to Kona, our net cost was lower because the rent included services that we were paying for in Hilo including sewer, water, trash, and access to a gym and swimming pool.  When moved to South Kohala, we gained even more services and benefits without increasing our rent.  Signing a long term lease during off season has allowed us to cut the cost of our rent by 75% of what we paid in California.  Being able to decrease our housing costs over the past five years may not be feasible on other islands in Hawaii.  Owning a home in Hawaii can be more expensive than on the mainland because of the cost of upkeep, security, taxes, utilities, County services, and owner association fees.

Medical Costs - The cost of our medical insurance on the mainland was staggering. When we moved to Hawaii we were able to cut our cost by over 75% by buying a Kaiser policy.  Over the last five years our policy has doubled in cost, but it is still only 50% of what we paid in California.  We shop around for any services we require like eye checks, glasses, etc. since the costs vary dramatically on the island.  Maintaining a COBRA policy or mainland blue cross policy can be very expensive, so being able to switch to a low cost policy in Hawaii can make a big difference in cost of living.

Travel and Vacations - One of our biggest expenses in California was the cost of getting away from the cold, dreary winter to the sun in Hawaii.   Now that we live in Hawaii, we never “go on vacation”.  We have taken some trips to Oahu to visit our son, but we get great prices to stay in condos and hotels  since we are locals and get Kamaaina rates.  Many people we know travel back to the mainland frequently for business or family which can be a major cost of living in Hawaii.

We believe that the high cost of living a “mainland life style” is the major reason most new arrivals to Hawaii stay only a few years.  Taking the time to plan and invent a Hawaii lifestyle can make a huge difference in the cost of living as well as increasing the enjoyment of being in Hawaii.

Creating an Ideal Life in Hawaii

Relocating to Hawaii from the mainland requires so much planning, effort, and money that we are alarmed when families leave the island in frustration after living here just a short time.  Two families in our condo complex just left, one after two years and another only six months after completing a major move of all their belongings.  Watching people leave the island so quickly has made us focus on how to flourish in Hawaii.  Here are things we are doing to help us live better:

Renting, instead of buying, has allowed us to experience living in many parts of the island over the past five years. Our desires in housing have changed dramatically, as we have, over the years. At first we wanted a great view of Hilo Bay, then we wanted to be closer to a white sand beach.   As we got into better shape we wanted to be near great walking and swimming areas and cared less about the view.  As we have focused more of our time on writing, we want more quiet, solitude, and better security.  For just the cost of moving, we have freedom in recreating our lifestyle in a new location whenever we desire.

Reducing our cost of living, has kept us aware of opportunities on the island.  We have been lucky to get more for less in the current economy in Hawaii.  Reducing our monthly expenses has reduced our stress and brought more workability to our life style. We have significantly cut our rent expenses by timing our moves to the low season and identifying in advance where we wanted to live next.  We have cut back in other areas of our living expenses by researching everything we buy and searching for the best prices. It may not seem like a big deal to buy the best coffee maker or the best coffee grinder, but year after year it adds up to a much more enjoyable life at a much lower cost.

Getting rid of stuff, gives us more space and peace of mind.  We moved everything we owned to Hawaii, and though we initially had to store many of our boxes, we have had time to slowly sort through all our belongings and get rid of things.  Every year we need less space as we shrink the volume of stuff we own.

Having time has been a great gift to us.  We have had time to research, think, contemplate our life, and focus on our health.  We have learned how to deal with our health issues, like gout, and to make changes in what we eat to lose weight and get healthier.  Time has allowed us to learn how to cook new foods and implement new diets, like going wheat-free.

Any time we start to lose touch with how much better our life is on this island compared to anywhere else we have ever lived, we head over to one of the nearby resorts.  We watch the sunset and listen to visitors from the mainland exclaiming with wonder over the beauty.  We watch furrowed faces of people in hotel lobbies at the end of their vacation, waiting for their ride to the airport, already stressed out, yelling in their cell phones about the problems waiting for them when they arrive home. We know that what we appreciate in life we get more of,  so every day we focus on appreciating every aspect of Hawaii that we love, no matter how small, so we will get many, many more years of it!

Your Ideal Hawaii Guides for Living Better in Hawaii

Health in Hawaii

Every year Hawaii is in the headlines for having a low obesity rate; only Colorado has a slightly lower rate.   Visitors to Hawaii often tell us how great they feel here.  Their aches and pains disappear and they find themselves walking more and feeling energized.   We had the same experience during our visits to Hawaii and it motivated us to come more and more often to recreate the feeling.  We wondered if the health benefits we had during our 3-week vacations would subside if we lived in Hawaii full-time or would keep getting better every year.

In the five years we have lived here we have seen dozens of people with very serious health problems have huge improvements in their health. People who could barely walk were able to take long daily walks after a year or more of living in Hawaii.  We have also had consistent improvement in our health, with slow weight loss and improved fitness.  The changes have not been spectacular or quick, but we have answered the question about whether living in Hawaii full-time would result in our health getting better and better.

We believe the year-round warm weather and access to fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, and meats is a major part of the reason for our improved health.  However, studies have shown the effect of location on health and that you are more likely to be obese if your neighbors are obese.

Communities with lower obesity rates have been shown to have similar physical characteristics including paths and sidewalks,  local parks, and playgrounds. 

A study at Columbia University showed that healthy food outlets nearby and farmer’s markets in the neighborhood also are related to lower obesity. 

Another study found that having four or more businesses like a grocery store, pharmacy, restaurant or other stores within walking distance significantly increased the amount of walking among residents in a neighborhood.  Four-way intersections were also associated with more walking. The age of the neighborhood and availability of parking were not associated with more walking.

We have lived in three communities on Hawaii Island in Hilo, Kona and Kohala and they all have stores within walking distance, nearby beaches and parks, pools, and farmer’s markets.   In each community we watched our neighbors go on daily walks or runs.   They shared the bounty from their gardens and fish they caught with us.

Before we moved to Hawaii, no matter how hard we exercised and restricted our diet, we got fatter and more out of shape every year.  Every year we live in Hawaii, we feel better and are closer to our fitness and weight goals.