We've Made it!

[djrashonal]

So I just moved to Az from right outside of DC because my fiance is in med school. We've got about two years left here in Az and then we have to go somewhere for her residency. It is supposed to be a military residency at a military hospital....so since i moved here, the deal was that i got to pick where she went for residency. I like the idea of heading to Trippler over there in Hawaii. She wants to go to Ft Sam-houston in San Antonio.  

With all that said. What to you Hawaii folks think about moving there for 3 years? how hard is it to find work? are there good places to ride? fun things to do? how is the adjustment overall (for those of you who arent from the islands) of moving to the islands? I was told from a friend who was stationed there that it's not all it's cracked up to be. thoughts? opinions? voices? boos and hisses?

thanks,
Aarash


Just found out, the Wife has been Assigned to Tripler Army Medical center for the next 3-4 years. We'll be moving to the Island in June! See you all next year!

Looks like we finally made it to the island! We're staying at the Doubletree Alana Waikiki until we find some permanent housing. In the meantime, I'll be looking for a bike to putz around on, and a job to go to when I've got nothing else to do.
Anyone want to grab a drink or a smoothie, let me know!

Aarash

[DesmoBlob]

First the important stuff--riding

What kind of riding do you like? Knee dragging? Touring? Commuting? (kidding  )

You'll be on Oahu if she'll be at Tripler; not the best canyon carving on Oahu. There are a handful of "okay" spots, but most of them are very short, and you have to endure miles of traffic between them. And they are all through residential areas (with a few exceptions). Since she's military, maybe you can ride Kole Kole Pass (a canyon road by Schofield Bks), though it has deteriorated a lot over the past several years.

Our one and only race track was demolished in 2006.

Touring may be a little better, but there are only so many times you can go around the island. Riding is both a social and "riding" thing, but here there seems to be a lot more emphasis on the "social" part of it. No iron butting here.

As for work, what are you looking for?
Despite what the news says, there are always jobs available, it just depends on what you want to (or are willing to) do.

Fun stuff? Yeah!
There's always surfing! Diving, kayaking, snorkeling.
GREAT hiking. Virtually all Oahu trails are short enough to complete within a day.
I don't know much about cycling, but there are a bunch of guys in this forum that do it, so I imagine that there's decent cycling here too.
Night life is basically the same as any medium sized city.

If you get the chance to go to the other islands, Maui and the Big Island have excellent riding. Maui has both touring and knee dragging stuff. From what I've seen of the Big Island, it's mostly touring, but still a lot more road to enjoy than Oahu.

[djrashonal]

Thanks for the heads up Bob!

As for riding i like canyon riding but im also a fan of just touring around and hanging out, so touring would seem to be the best solution. I've heard a lot of people talk about how terrible the traffic is. Are there a lot of one lane roads? Lanesplitting?

As for work, I'm a firefighter by trade, but those jobs can be pretty tough to come by so I'd probably be interested in whatever was available and fun. (im a computer nerd, and used to be a project manager for a construction company so I have a varied background)

How difficult is it to get between the islands?  Can I take my bike with me? Is that something that i could do every morning, say if i got a job on another island? or is it more or a day trip kind of thing?

In regards to outdoor activities, i've wanted to get back into diving for a while, I'm a big fan of hiking and i used to be a rock climbing instructor so there should be plenty to keep me busy....but, does being isolated on an island get stale after a while?

Also, is there a huge price markup on the islands on everyday items and other stuff one might want to buy (new bike, car, food) over the prices on the mainland?


'preciate the insight!

[teddy037.2]

the rush hour traffic is freeway gridlock. no lanesplitting.

it's a result of all the work is in one area (honolulu) and all the houses are in the other (central/west oahu)

everyone goes one way in the am, reverse in the pm.

"touring" is a bit of an exaggeration.  I'm a fan of the go out of your way for a cup of coffee and lunch sort of thing. not alot of good carving type riding here.

outdoorsy stuff, there is plenty. if you learn to surf, you will love it here.


it is expensive.  everything. but if you're military, you can hit up the exchange, and I think it'll better than the normal stores


oh, and your only inter-island option is by plane. the locals hate progress, so the ferry didn't last very long.

[djrashonal]

the rush hour traffic is freeway gridlock. no lanesplitting.

oh, and your only inter-island option is by plane. the locals hate progress, so the ferry didn't last very long.

So no chance of hitting the other islands with my bike, huh?


what about housing? are there good parts/bad parts? would it be worth living farther away from the military hospital, or is the commute so bad we should just look to live close?

Thanks for all the help guys

[DesmoBlob]

Here is the site to look up firefighter jobs (bottom half of page), but I haven't seen anything lately (err... not that I've been looking).

The hippies lynch mobbed the Superferry out of town (small mob but loud voice). So interisland now takes more planning and time and $$$.
Bikes can be shipped on a barge via Young Brothers and a G-van, or a larger container and split the cost with some friends. Not a day trip. Best to make it a vacation getaway type of thing.

There are lots of trails, but yeah it could get stale if you try to do them all in your first month. But there will probably be a few that you'd want to do more than once. And yes I do sometimes go cuckoo being waterlocked all the time lol. 3 years can be a long time if you're bored... but it can go quickly if you find the right bunch to hang out with.

As a general guideline, stay away from Leeward Oahu (Nanakuli, Waianae, Makaha).

Hicentral.com has listings for rentals, I don't know much about the market.
If work is at Tripler, anything around Salt Lake or Moanalua would be convenient (note: Salt Lake = high bike theft). West bound morning freeway traffic is generally light, so you could conceivably live as far as the university area and still have a quick commute. Also know that Oahu has an extremely high rate of bike theft, so figure that into your garage/security arrangements.

[djrashonal]

thanks for all the info you guys....one more question though. If your bike is stolen.....wouldn;t you just see it somewhere else on the island? or does it get chopped and shipped pretty quickly?

[DRKWNG]

Aarash, is your wife in the military, or just working for the military system?  There are some VERY nice military housing areas that have recently opened up near Tripler, so the commute would be stupid easy.  Plus, they are close to town so you don't have a long drive to get to the good restaurants and such... 

Bikes get stolen all the time down here, but it seems that Japanese sport bikes are the most frequently targeted.

[djrashonal]

she's in the army, so we could stay on base housing. The only thing i was thinkin was that if we stayed on base housing we lose all of our BAH (3k) so would we be able to get a better house for 3k or is Base housing the better way to go. I would hate to think if i was wasting money giving back to the government when i could buy a decent house and either sell it or rent it when we leave....thoughts?

[eltristo]

Howdy!

It's definitely worth checking the housing out before giving up all of your BAH.  That said, there are some nice military houses. 

Definitely live near or to the east of Tripler in order to avoid commuter suicidal rage.  Instead, you'll get to point and laugh.  Most of the time.....

Right now is still a pretty decent time to buy a house here, but make sure you can afford to rent it out if necessary when you leave; there's no way to tell where the market it really going. My house is worth nicely less than I paid for it.

Come to Hawaii.  It's better than Texas over the short term, no question. 

[djrashonal]

I hear what you're saying, our house in MD is worth a lot less now :-/  when you say east do you mean somewhere off of Likelike Hwy? or Pali Hwy?

[DesmoBlob]

Just off Likelike are Kalihi and Kalihi Valley; off Pali are Pacific Heights ($$), Nuuanu, Punchbowl. Pali & Likelike are main arteries into town from the windward side, so near the freeway they can get busy during the morning rush. Pali more so.

Kalihi is a mixed bag, my sister lives there. One street can be nice, the next one over can be ghetto. IMHO Nuuanu is nicer.

Further east are Makiki, Punahou and Manoa. Manoa is expensive but nice. Any further east than that and you'll start encountering all the town bound traffic from Kaimuki through Hawaii Kai.

Check www.oahure.com for listings. This is what we used when house hunting. From there you can also get a feel for what has a hard time selling, for when you eventually do leave Oahu.

[hadesducati848]

As a general guideline, stay away from Leeward Oahu (Nanakuli, Waianae, Makaha).

whats wrong with Makaha? i love the 3-4 hours of riding i get in each day just to commute 70 miles to and from work...  and at less then 30 miles an hour, its make the beast with two backsing awesome...

[DRKWNG]

I hear what you're saying, our house in MD is worth a lot less now :-/  when you say east do you mean somewhere off of Likelike Hwy? or Pali Hwy?

As far as the military housing goes...  I live between tripler and the H3 (it would be about a five minute commute for you) in a three bedroom, detached house with a two car garage and fenced in yard.  My bah is $2400 a month, and there is NO WAY IN HELL you will find anything this nice without going committing to a ridiculous commute.  Plus, there are no utility payments when living in base housing and electricity is REALLY pricey here.

[djrashonal]

I appreciate everyone's input. Me and the Mrs. have decided to take a trip out there to see if it's our thing (that and it's make the beast with two backsing Hawaii) We'll be going from June 28-July 5/6, so pretty much a loong july 4th weekend. We're gonna be flying into Honolulu. Any Ideas what we should do/see? Good place to rent a car (read "cheap") Any Suggestions about anything would be welcome.

Aarash