By the way....if your kids can't get in to private schools in Hawaii, it's not the end of the world. I'm a product of the public school system and while things could have been better, I came out fine! Less sheltered, anyway.

This is an interesting thread. I would also like to hear more about relocating to Hawaii. So we know the real estate is sky high. What are the property taxes like on a 600,000 home? I know it depends on the home but in general what would you expect to pay? What about condo rentals? Are they expensive / available? The sales tax on Oahu is 4.10 % right? We pay 8.25% here in Syracuse NY. The property and school taxes here are very high. Our taxes combined are $3,000.00 a year on a property assessed at 103,000. So you can see where we would be on a $600,000 property. As high as our school taxes are there are a lot of private schools here too that many families pay 3,000 + a year for and our public schools are excellent. I also know our energy supplier has the highest rates in the nation. I spend $3,500 a year to maintain a comfortable? 68 degrees. We walk around with sweaters on indoors and cuddle with blankets to watch TV. My family is really great about turning off all the lights just to keep our energy bill down. Is energy expensive there? What is the public transporation like? Do you need a car? I also know NY has some of the highest insurance rates in the nation. I would consider not having a car on Hawaii. (I'd gladly walk in the WARM rain). Maintaning a car is very expensive and we're a 2 car family.

Islandmom "My sister in law moved here last week and got a studio the size of my dining room in Waikiki hooker area for $850 a month "

Where's that area ? I've been vaguely looking at Waikiki and possibly Honolulu (6 mo or 1yr) rentals (the thinking being a car would not be needed) and one problem is knowing which areas to avoid. Thanks.

Lets see...property tax on a $600,000 house would be about $1800 per year. The excise tax is 4 %, (often rounded up to 4.16) and is on everything- including food and drugs.

My electric bill runs about $100/mo
for a family of four, but we never use AC.

There are lots of one bedrooms in the $925-$1000 range. A two bedroom in Makiki or Waikiki can be found at $1000, many are in the $1500-$2000 range.

You can easily live without a car if you choose your home in Makiki, Waikiki, UNiversiy or downtown areas.
The bus system is quite good.

Our car insurance is about $550 a year for our beater beach car and about$800 on my new Honda.

The public schools are not all bad, as Melissa says. My girlfiend teaches at Roosevelt and routinely gets her students into UC and Ivy schools. Of course, her own kids go to private school. >

Houses and condos are very expensive. We are in the midst of Hawaii's biggest real estate boom since the 80's. The same places we couldn't give away 4 years ago are now selling overnight.

I think the biggest adjustment though, is the mental one. People can love it here, tolerate it, or hate it. So much depends on your circumstances and attitude.

I see the same things (is it worth it? Is it a nice place to live?) written about Houston, Seattle, and other cities. The main difference with Hawaii is that it takes such effort to move here, that you feel a lot more "stuck" if it doesn't meet your dreams.

We were renting a small two-bedroom condo outside of Waikiki (between Kapiolani Park and the entrance to Diamond Head, no view) for $1650 per month. While there are still rentals to be had, we had a hard time finding anyone who would rent to us since we had a cat. As far as getting around without a car, it's possible, but it's very nice to have one for trips to the beach, hiking trails, etc. However we did get by with just one since my husband rode his bike to work until it got stolen...from outside the hospital...on his birthday.

Yup, ditto on the housing boom lcuy referenced.

The rental market is extremely tight right now, as many people are taking advantage of the boom and selling their units. You can find units to rent, but the restrictions might be tough and/or the rent may be high, due to demand.

If you look to purchase something, you can pretty much expect to get into a bidding war with someone and pay above the listed price. Friends of mine who recently purchased a house were outbid previously on several homes they had put offers on - and this was even after they were offering significantly above the asking price (which wasn't at all underpriced to begin with).

My sister and her husband purchased a townhouse about a year ago. Their neighbor just sold his unit (exact floor plan) for over $100,000 more than what they paid for it.

If you live in the areas lcuy mentioned, the Bus isn't bad. But I wouldn't want to rely on the Bus if I lived further away than that.

We rode the bus the first year too.

Kuhio in Waikiki is an interesting area.

Our electric runs between $350 - $550 a month. We do have a couple of window a/c's though.

My thoughts as a mother are I wouldn't move kids over here who are older and established with their peer groups. It's a huge cultural shock. And depending on which school they get into, they could be very mistreated for being an outsider.

You should come for a summer and give it a try first.

Very interesting and helpful. Sounds like relocating is possible.( A $600,000 house here would have taxes well above 10,000). I do have another question. What about building your own home? My husband and I could easily build a home. Are building lots available / expensive? Is building material available? Does the state discourage this with too many codes or regulations? I know anything near the ocean would be untouchable but what about in the mountains or inland. One of my favorite things about Hawaii is being surronded by ocean. It's not far away no matter where you live. I'm not sure I would feel trapped on the island of Oahu. The city of Honolulu and Waikiki offer so much. There is even rush hour traffic here. Then there is beautiful Kailua and Kanehoe. Well the whole island is gorgeous! The Caribbean makes me feel trapped but not Oahu.

anni, I can't comment on Hawaii but feel I can comment on living in a beach environment. As far as building a home, you must remember when you live close to the beach, which I can assure you is also the case in Hawaii, the property is not as valued as the land under the property.

To give you an example, the lot across the street from me (across the street from the beach) with nothing on it just sold for $600,000. The lot and house next to it just sold for for $650,000. It is a four bedroom two bath house and the lots are identical.

Does that make sense? In other words, I don't think you'll find an inexpensive lot to build on.

In answering the original query:

Yes, I did relocate to Hawaii on more than a few occasions - up until somebody walks in through my office door to startle me off my daydreams.

Wow, thank you all for your informative responses! I now have a much clearer view of how expensive it is to live in Hawaii, which is great.

I am sad to hear that the schools are not that great, I had heard this but was not sure it was true. Private schools would probably be the route to go for us if we move. The cost of housing is astounding, it makes me wish we had moved 10 years ago before the boom.

I am not sure if we will move to Hawaii but we do want to move somewhere to be close to the ocean and away from the cold. I think we will keep Hawaii in mind but look at other options. If anyone has any suggestions I would be more than happy to get your advice.

Once again, thank you all. You have really been helpful.

I moved to Maui from Los Angeles. In comparing the cost of living, I've not noticed much difference overall between the two. Some things cost more, some things cost less. I had to learn how to shop differently, and my priorities are greatly different. My parents live in a coastal area of Florida. They also don't see much of an overall difference in cost of living between there and Maui either. They pay much higher property taxes and insurance than I do, their electric bill is 3 times mine due to the need for constant A/C. I pay for more for gas, but they put 4 times the mileage on their car each year that I do. When it is all said and done, we pretty much come out the same.

Housing costs are higher in warmer beach communities. Anyplace where you have a tourist population you will feel the affects in local prices. My mother drives 40 minutes to grocery shop away from her local grocery store that charges higher prices during tourist season.

As for the schools, I don't know that HI schools are any worse than some CA schools. I do know that the kids here don't have to deal with some of the serious issues found in some CA schools, number one being gangs. It may be different on O`ahu, but I don't see armed school police and daily tagging at our schools on Maui.

But I firmly believe that an educational experience for any child is greatly impacted by their parent's involvement. I know of many children in my community who have gone of, or are going off to exceptional schools on the mainland, including NYU, Stanford and Northwestern. Many more are heading to UC schools. They are all products of Maui public schools, so if the schools are so terrible, someone must have done something right along the way for these kids to have been accepted.

if you are really interested in researching this, pick up a new copy of Toni Polancy's "So You Want to Live in Hawai`i." Be sure to get the second edition, as it has been greatly update from the first.