I’m moving to Oahu next week and have no idea about where to stay once I get there. I will be looking for a place not to far away from UH Manoa, so if anybody knows a decent hotel while I’m looking or any other info that might be useful let me know.
I’m planning on spending the year out there with my girlfriend who will be attending school and I’ll be bringing some tools with me to do carpentry. I’ve been living on the east coast for the past seven years surfing year-round and I can’t take another freezing flat winter. Looking foward to getting back into some size and power for more than two weeks a year.
Here’s a real important tip: Don’t buy a piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki. That place is outrageously expensive.
And you might notice that the food options for Waikiki aren’t that good. They don’t have a ton of restaurants. The few real restaurants they do have (like the Cheesecake Factory) are booked decades in advance. Make a reservation now in case you plan to go there when you retire.
And lock up your stuff EVERYWHERE you go and live.
Howzit beetleswamp, Bring lots of money cause things are getting out of control for renters. There is a major housing shortage on all the islands except maybe the big island. I gave a ride to a kid who’s a junior at UH and he said he’s having a really hard time finding a place and UH is having a lot of problems with old and unsafe dorms which they have closed down til they can be worked on. Real Estate has gone nuts and houses are going for insane prices. I know because we’ve been informed that our house is going on the market for over 750,000.00. The north shore of Kauai has lost over 300 permanent rental units in the last couple of years and they have been turned into Vacation Rentals to make the big bucks. 3 bdrm homes are renting for over 2,000. a month and that’s if you can even find one for rent. After living on Kauai over 33 years and over 35 in Hawaii I’m getting fed up with how things are going, seems like they’re selling the soul of Hawaii. I’ve been offered a surf clothing rep job that would give me the whole state of Ca. and am considering taking it. But Hawaii is a beautiful place to experience and if you can afford it you will most likely have a great time. I’m going to buy a RV and travel around and rep at the same time. Aloha, Kokua
Howzit Lee, I know what you mean about rents in Ca, but I have businesses and a couple of homes in Lake Havasu with my brother so that can be used as a home base. I have family in Las Vegas, San Clemente, Capo Bch, Newport, and just over the hill from Malibu and I own some land in northern Ca. so things could work out just fine. Also since my brother is 65 years old I’ll have to return one day soon any ways to take care of the businesses that we own. I know it sounds insane to leave Kauai but it’s not the same hawaii I came to love, the waves are forever but the people are changing and so is the aloha. I have moved 15 times just since being on Kauai and I feel I’m ready for a change. Aloha, Kokua
Well, remember to stop on by and give a shout if you DO take that job. Housing prices? It’s been insane in Cali forever. The house I bought 10-years ago has tripled in price. I figure I can just sit in my barcaloounger and make up to $200/day…
Also, a 2-bedroom cottage by the Santa Barbara Mission is $1.2 million. But ya know what? No matter where you are, ya gotta buy a house. It’s the best investment you’ll ever make. Prices too high? Go to an area that’s a rung or two below - you’ll stil make good $$.
Howzit Bill, Are you in the Santa Barbara area? I have an old friend who shapes for Wayne Dean surfboards. After my family moved to Havasu, I'd visit and check land prices and you could buy a lot for less than $5,000. forever even up to 10 years ago. Now those $5,000 lots are over $50,000. There's probably more Hawaiians living in Las Vegas than on all of Kauai. And to think my first house on Kauai rented for $50.00 a month. but that was 1972. I think one of the problems with living in paradise is you become complacent and think it'll never change. The headlines of the Garden Island news paper last week stated that Kauai was the no. 1 island in the US and no. 2 in the world,Bali was no. 1 in the world. One nice thing is the owner of the co. i might rep for has land in Bali and is building a resort on it and he's a very good friend so I'm sure I'll be going there for R&R. Aloha, Kokua
Yep the price of housing here in Hawaii has gone through the roof but you can still find a good deal here and there. The housing situation near UH is crap but just look around areas like Waikiki, Kaimuki, Ala Moana, Mccully, Makiki these are basically all the areas near UH that have a high concentration of apartments. Cheap hotel?? Dunno you gotta look for the small hotels that dont have restaraunts and shopping malls built into them.
It’s happening everywhere that’s desirable to live. I remember old Santa Barbara (Montecito - Mountain Drive), build your own adobe house on an acre for $12,000. Wine stomps, artists, bohemian lifestyle. Now that same 1 acre has a luxury mansion for $4 million. Houses on the Santa Barbara Rivera sold for $30-40K in the late 60’s. Now they’re
$1.2 to $3 million. Tiny beach house at Santa Claus Lane is $2 million with better ones going for $5 million. But look at Lanikai on Oahu - small Hawaiian crafstmen style on the beach, $4 million, bigger ones $7 million.
I just read where Murdoch is planning some more houses on Lana’i, around the Manele Hotel are $300k to $15 million! I see Hawaii as any huge desirable area - the rich, and the poor to service the rich. Kinda like a 1000 years ago…
Middle class is getting squeezed out.
Vegas is way happening. And mainland sunbelt areas are starting to get the exodus from Cali. But you buy a house in, let’s say, Oklahoma, for $75,000. In ten years it’ll be worth $85,000. In Santa Barbara area, a house for $1 million will be worth close to $3million in ten years, maybe sooner. You can easily double your money within 5-years. So, where you wanna make money? I bought my house for $280k ten years ago and one in the next block just listed for $990,000. Cali & Hawaii have always been mostly up, up, and more up (well, except for the 1990 adjustment).
Lee, I bet it's at least 115 degrees there now. I was there in 94 getting ready for a 4 month Baja trip and it was 125 degrees 2 the week I left for my trip. In 1968 I ran the boat repair business at the Marina, I made a lot of $ that year. A funny thing about people there is they are scared to work with resin because all they can think about is it going off on them. I always get hit up for repair work when I visit, eliminator boats has offered me all the work I want, but I think I'd just start my own mobile boat repair business if I had to. A lot more money in boats than surfboards. But I'm not going any where til they tell us to leave and can't find something reasonable. At least they haven't hung the for sale signs in front yet. Aloha, Kokua
I’ve been working on fiberglass repair in the sailboat industry for a few years now, and get swamped pretty easily with too much work. So I stay away from the marinas in Sausalito nowadays.
Yeah, last week, temps ranged from daytime 115’s to 4AM 90’s in Havasu. I’ll take foggy mornings and 70 degree afternoons anytime.
It’s happening everywhere that’s desirable to live. I remember old Santa Barbara (Montecito - Mountain Drive), build your own adobe house on an acre for $12,000. Wine stomps, artists, bohemian lifestyle. Now that same 1 acre has a luxury mansion for $4 million. Houses on the Santa Barbara Rivera sold for $30-40K in the late 60’s. Now they’re
$1.2 to $3 million. Tiny beach house at Santa Claus Lane is $2 million with better ones going for $5 million. But look at Lanikai on Oahu - small Hawaiian crafstmen style on the beach, $4 million, bigger ones $7 million.
I just read where Murdoch is planning some more houses on Lana’i, around the Manele Hotel are $300k to $15 million! I see Hawaii as any huge desirable area - the rich, and the poor to service the rich. Kinda like a 1000 years ago…
Middle class is getting squeezed out.
Vegas is way happening. And mainland sunbelt areas are starting to get the exodus from Cali. But you buy a house in, let’s say, Oklahoma, for $75,000. In ten years it’ll be worth $85,000. In Santa Barbara area, a house for $1 million will be worth close to $3million in ten years, maybe sooner. You can easily double your money within 5-years. So, where you wanna make money? I bought my house for $280k ten years ago and one in the next block just listed for $990,000. Cali & Hawaii have always been mostly up, up, and more up (well, except for the 1990 adjustment).
BB
Yeah happens everywhere and even where it seems not so desireable to live. Back in the 60s on the north shore no one wanted to live here. Started selling off the land and by the 80s prices were high enough that more people started to cash in and by the 90s some of the locals left couldnt even afford the property taxes.I see this trend happening now in the Makaha/Waianae areas too, my inlaws house was 600K 10 years ago and its now 1.6mil. and the beat goes on…maybe in a few decades there wont be any locals left just one huge vacation rental.
I live on a resort area of the New England and I’ve had to watch a number of my friends pack up and leave due to a lack of housing. It’s not so bad if you are single and can find some decent people to room with, but in the winter 3/4 of the houses are boarded up (they refuse to rent and leave the heat running at a toasty 70 degrees even though there’s no one inside) and raising a family is near impossible.
Even the families with names that go back over two hundred years are just hanging on by a thread.
j-troy, i also do construction and had the taste for warmer water and weather. i moved to maui site unseen w/ my girlfriend. stayed 2 years, had an awesome job for an awesome co. building very high end homes. surfed the biggest and warmest waves of my life at h-bay and hookipa .lots of good memories and friends and am able to return w/ contacts for vacations.
its an awesome place to visit, but coming from NewEngland its like apples + oranges. we went to Oahu for a visit and liked it better than Maui. more to do there. of course the N shore was 'off ’ season.=lack of zoo. so the curb appeal was better.
enjoy your stay ,be smart, be open minded, respectful and smile.
Kokua, they are selling the house I live in and shape at up in Princeville Ag lands too. Seems like all of the good people are dissappearing from kauai and being replaced by “them”.