Moving to Hawaii

General Discussion
1

Ahoy Swaylockians,

I am a 26 year old teacher and am considering moving to Hawaii to teach. I am from CT and have every intention of living in New England for the majority of my adult life but I want to experience and learn about a culture/place that is different from where I am from. I do not want to experience Hawaii as a mere tourist for a week or two. I want to immerse myself in a new place (for at least 2 years) and see what Hawaii is all about. I am extremely interested in history (I am a history teacher) and surfing history too! I have never been to Hawaii so i was wondering if any of my fellow Swaylockians, especially those who live or have lived in Hawaii, could give me any tips about where would be a good place for a guy like me to live? Any suggestions for places to consider living, teaching, and learning? I am not much of a city guy so I would prefer to be in a town or small city and I would like to be close to some good surf spots! I am an average surfer so definitely won’t be paddling out at any crazy spots when its really big. I definitely want to be in a place that I can experience true Hawaiian culture and especially Hawaiian food haha! I also am interested in continuing to shape and glass boards so if there are any connections that I could make in that department that would be amazing! Any ideas/suggestions would be great and I appreciate all of your insights and input!

Thanks again,
Owen

2

Owen, my wife was a math teacher@ Nanakuli Intermediate School, when we lived in Makaha. This is on the westside in the town of Waianae. Other areas of interest might be out on Kahuku Point, in Laie. Home of the Polynesian Cultural Center, and Church College. Other possibilities might be on the windward side, in Kailua. There are others here that can provide more detailed guidance. I hope you develop a taste for Sushi, as well as a taste for Poke.

3

Haha Bill i am a dedicated fan of raw fish! I will definately look into those areas! Makaha has always interested me because of it its big wave surfing lore and history. I have heard that Makaha can be a tough place for outsiders. I am not sure if the internet is a reputable source in this regard but thats what I heard. I consider myself a respectful person both in and out of the water but do you think I would encounter problems in this area? Thanks for the advice!

4

You might also look into the Ewa Beach area. Close to town, close to country. Sharky area though.

5

Sup bro,

I have couple friends who teach on Oahu - in general public schools usually require a masters level degree in education while for what ever reason private schools usually don’t (a bachelors in your field will suffice). There are more opportunities to enter the public school system as a teacher in the “country”, like the Makaha / Nanakuli / Waianae area (my neighbor had to build his seniority out there before being able to transfer back toward “town”). On the other hand, most of the major private schools are located in town (the main metropolitan area toward the South of the island). Rent typically rises significantly as you get closer to town. It’s an island and geographically small compared to the mainland but keep in mind we have some of the worst traffic in the country so if you work in town but live in Kapolei, expect an hour commute or more during rush hours. Can’t surf if you’re sitting in traffic.

In general, the surf is good on the North & West in winter and the South kicks up during the summer - the East is hit or miss but might catch a wrap either way. You’ve got breaks everywhere, too many to count on all sides of the island. I usually surf South or West, the North Shore crowd / traffic are too much for me and the East is deep (far paddles and deep channels) and sharky from my personal experience.

Like anywhere else, respect goes a long way. My work literally takes me to every part of the island on a daily basis and while the “country”, particularly the West, has a rugged reputation - you will get back whatever you give to people. Be humble and show aloha, you’ll probably receive the same.

Good luck, hope your plan works out for you!

6

Hey Surfer O, I also am a history teacher (high school) as well as a shaper. I think you may have difficulty getting a teaching job in history unless you are willing to live in a very remote area or work at an at risk school. You never know until you try. Most of the student teachers I have had all work in charter schools, very few work in regular public schools. I think this is probably because there are not that many openings at schools in desirable locations. If you are willing to work in an area considered undesirable there may be more opportunity. I’m pretty sure the Hawaii department of education has a list of openings on their site.

7

I have an air conditioned room for you and you get one month to figure things out. Please come. Teach. Not Hawaiian history cuz my daughters have been indoctrinated since 2nd grade. Teach good citizenship , courage, and responsibility. Big pressure from school administrators to pass even the undeserving. Summative assessment is the trend and a child can fail all tests but still somehow pass the year with the padded grade system. Helicopter parents array, but I am a submarine parent demanding kids be held accountable to the requirement. Slacker teachers become principles some day. The question is what is your goal here? If surfing is the priority I suggest substitute teacher position. With surf forecasts you can call things weeks in advance. I live in ewa beach. Have a job before you come and we will get along fine. Live on the beach, south shore, 25 miles to north shore and west shore. Did I mention I have a vehicle to use? World renown surf break 1/8mile form house. outer reef 1 mile out only see me and my wife. Last swell 15 foot faces and all alone. How hungry are you?

8

Hey Guys,

Thanks so much for all of the awesome info! I really appreciate the in depth responses. This has definitely helped me get a better understanding of what Hawaii holds in store. I do have a Masters degree in education so I could potentially get a job in the public schools system. I do not have job lined up yet though so I am not quite ready to make the move so soon. I am not opposed to working in the country. I will look into those areas that you all recommended. When things start to pan out, I will let you all know what happens! Thanks!!!

9

Hey bb30, I appreciate the generous offer. That is very nice of you to reach out to me. Unfortunately I do not think I will be able to move out until probably January at the earliest. I do not have a job lined up so that is an issue I need to resolve haha. Thanks so much for the offer though and your set up sounds awesome! I will let you know what happens.

10

Lots of teaching jobs available. Pay is OK, but cost of living here is high. Not sure how they decide what school you go to. Best to live and work in the same area, then try to find a spot to surf nearby and work yourself into the rotation. Place called Dust and Fumes in Waipahu (on Oahu) that rents out shaping and glassing rooms.
BB30 is a really good person. Taught me a lot about making epoxy boards. He specializes in wood covered and vac bagged boards.

11

Whatever you do, don’t act like that damn “Dog” Chapman and his wife. Don’t try to talk pidgin and talk down to anyone treating like them like children. Just because one lives simply, doesn’t mean they themselves are simple. It takes more intelligence and awareness to live a simple life than a garish one.

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Owen, I say go for it. I had the opportunity twice and made the mistake of not going. The first time, I picked Fallbrook High School instead of Maui. THe second time I signed a contract with Kihei Charter School, then took a Dean of Students/Director job in Indiana for the Admin. experience. My wife and I have an 18 year old going off to Biola to study Chiropractic, 8 and 10 year old daughters, and just found out we have another on the way due Feb. 1st. We are seriously considering moving out there. The third time is a charm! I have contacts all over out there if you need anything.

Dave

P.S. - buy a Hawaiian sling and a tent and you are golden. That’s all you need to live out there.

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PSS - Hi Bill T… love you and miss you brother!

14

David, where are you, these days? I’ve missed you, my man. Glad to see you back here.

15

Hey Dave thanks for the help man. I appreciate it. I still have some time before I potentially make the move but if It goes down then I will send ya a message. Maybe we will both be out there! I actually just had an interview with a teaching program in Spain so depending on the outcome I might be moving to Hawaii a year later than expected but nonetheless I want to move there. I just might be going to Spain first haha. Thanks for offering to help me out. I really appreciate it. Good luck if you move out there with your family!

16

This is a little bit “off-topic”, but Kawika/Dave’s post above reminded me of it.

In some ways, Hawaii seems to be a little “precarious” as a place to live.

Reason being a few months back, I was watching one of those “Doomsday Preppers” episodes and one of the “Preppers” featured in it was a guy from Kauai. As is usual with this series, he was a little bit “out there”, but in the course of the program, the narrator mentioned a few statistics about Hawaii that I thought were interesting; what caught my attention was that Hawaii is apparently the most remote “large” population centre on the planet (over 1.4 million people waaaaay out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean). And that it imports 90% of it’s food.

A 90 percent dependency on the outside world for something that a human being cannot live without. That’s huge.

It got me wondering what the Hawaiian government’s plan is for feeding the population in the case of the imported food suddenly becoming unavailable (e.g. supply by sea and air being shut down in wartime by a besieging enemy navy/air force, or a sudden huge spike in oil prices/shipping costs, etc, etc)?

90% of 1.4 million = 1,260,000 people’s food.

That’s a heck of a lot of food to have to suddenly come up with in a hurry. And you’re a very, very long way from anything, and anyone.

The total area of the Hawaiian Islands is 10,931 square miles.

In other words, if Hawaii were to try and grow enough food to feed it’s population, on average, each square mile would have to provide enough food to support about 127 people.

And while the photo’s I’ve seen of Hawaiian vegetation look super-lush (probably Oahu), not all of those 10,931 square miles are arable land. There’s plenty sheet lava and barren desert in there too.

Mind you, the risks for these kinds of things are also mitigated by just how much non-perishable food is on hand to ride out any gaps in the supply of imported food, as well as the government’s ability to ramp up the domestic food supply should the gap in supply be a prolonged one.

Anyway, it was just something I started wondering about at the end of the program.

Have I got this right? How close to the mark am I about the facts on just how dependent Hawaii is for the survival of it’s population?

I don’t know - but if I were a citizen of Hawaii, it’s something I’d probably be asking my local government about.

Cheers all.

17

Don’t worry so much. Fish, hanabuttas, feral cat., mango. How can government help with all this at your fingertips? No buzz killing allowed.
Let the man dream.

18

:slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

Relax; I’m not particularly worried about it, and I’m not trying to put him off from moving to Hawaii - it’s just an interesting fact about Hawaii I stumbled across and I’m curious to know how you guys are handling it.

What are “hanabuttas”? The only definition/translation that Google’s managed to turn up for me on that one so far is “hanabutta = runny nose small kid days” in a post by Oneula on another forum; haven’t found anything as yet in the way of a second meaning for “hanabutta” relating to a kind of food.

Cheers bb30!

19

Biola to study chiropractic???.. are they gonna transfer after or does biola offer a degree in that? I graduated from vanguard and know quite a few biola grads.

I have a younger brother who wants to go into chiropractics as we have two uncles who are chiropractors and if biola offers a program that would be awesome.

Sorry to derail the moving to Hawaii topic.

20

Feral Cat, is the other, ‘‘other white meat.’’