Moving To Hawaii Made Easy

Hawaiian gifts

Packing up and moving to the paradise of the Hawaiian islands sounds like a dream come true, but there’s a lot to consider if you’re going to make your new home 2,000 miles of ocean away from the Mainland.

The great news is, plenty of people made the journey before you, so you don’t have to learn everything the hard way. If you’re thinking of taking the plunge and heading to the islands, here are some key things to know first.

Locals Mele Sandals

Cancel the Movers

Moving to Hawaii is a lot different than moving across town, or even across the country. Rather than renting a giant moving truck and hiring burly movers to help you get everything loaded and unloaded, the first thing you need to do is decide exactly which of your current possessions you’re going to leave behind.

That’s right. It’s simply not worth it to move all of your belongings to Hawaii. Even though you can ship just about anything, the cost can be prohibitive. If you have some items you just can’t bear to part with, look into the cost of shipping via UPS vs. renting all or part of a shipping container. If you’re already shipping a car, it might make sense to add a few extra household items because you’re already using a container.

Plan to buy most of your household items when you get to Hawaii. It makes more sense to pick up new furniture like beds, sofas, and dining sets on Craigslist rather than spending the money to ship them. And a lot of rentals are furnished. When people leave the island, they have the same issues as those coming to Hawaii, so it’s easy to find a nice place with everything you need, including pots and pans, dishes, and linens.

Sell, Sell, Sell!

sell furnitureIt takes a lot of money to move to the Aloha State, so raise some extra cash by selling furniture and other items you won’t be taking with you. You can use the funds to help replace those items when you get settled in Hawaii. Evaluate how attached you are to the items in your home and how easy they are to replace. If you have some pieces that have been passed down through your family, you probably want to hold on to those, but that trendy sofa you picked up for a steal needs to go. If you’re selling a home before you move, consider throwing in any furniture or decor the new buyer likes. This can make things easier for everyone and even get you a little more on the sale of your home if it includes furniture.

Get a Storage Unit

You don’t need to ship or sell everything. Some items you might just want to put on ice until you come back to the mainland, if that’s ever in your plans. If you’re not sure how long you’ll be in Hawaii or are certain you’ll be coming back in a few years, it’s smart to rent a storage unit. Use the unit to store the items you don’t want to part with, as well as winter sports equipment and clothing you won’t need in Hawaii but are worth holding on to. A storage unit is a great place to store memorabilia, books, and photos. These are things you probably want to keep but aren’t crucial to your daily living. Until you know whether or not you’re staying in Hawaii forever, you can save money on your initial move by putting those items in storage.

Evaluate Your Wardrobe

hawaiian clothingIf you have a plentiful closet, you’ll save a lot of time and money by packing for your move just as you would for vacation. Until you’re at home on the islands, you won’t know how your tastes and needs will change when it comes to clothes. Save yourself the hassle and cost of bringing your full walk-in closet (most of which you’ll never wear in Hawaii) by throwing what you’d need for two weeks into a bag and picking up anything else you need once you get settled. The number one thing to leave behind is shoes. You will not wear much more than slippahs (the Hawaiian word for flip-flops) once you get to Hawaii, except maybe around the office. Heels, boots, and most other fashion-forward footwear can be left behind. When it comes to closed-toe shoes bring your hiking boots and a pair of supportive tennis shoes for outdoor recreation and leave the rest behind.

Prepare Your Pets

It’s stressful enough to figure out how to get yourself and the few belonging you can’t leave behind to Hawaii, but when you add a furry friend to the mix, it gets even more complicated. Pets can’t come to the islands until they’ve been immunized, papered, and quarantined to meet Hawaiian specifications. Hawaii is rabies-free, and the quarantine laws are in place to protect the island from the dangers of rabies. Your pet will have to undergo a health inspection for rabies and a quarantine. The hardest part for most people is the time they spend separated from their pet. It’s all about timing, as there are specific deadlines and specifications that require either a five-day or 120-day quarantine period. You can fly them in with you and let them stay at the quarantine pen at the airport, but some people feel that is too stressful for their pet. Another option is to complete the waiting period on the mainland. If you get your papers ready in advance, you can arrange for your pet to stay with family or friends and then have them bring Fido over when they’re cleared to join you.

Plan in Advance

The more time you have to prepare for your move to Hawaii, the better things will go. Not only do you have to manage everything you’re leaving behind on the mainland, but you also need to get your life set up on the island. If you don’t already have a job, factor your job hunt into your timeline. Make sure you’ve set aside enough money to cover the time it will take to get your new job started.

Finding a place to live in Hawaii can be difficult when you’re searching from a distance, especially because you don’t know much (if anything) about neighborhoods on the island. Plan to stay in a hotel or short-term rental when you first arrive. Anywhere from a week to a month will give you the time you need to find the right place to call home.

And don’t forget about items that you may be shipping. If you decided to ship a bed and it won’t arrive for a few weeks, don’t move into an unfurnished apartment until it is there. Poor planning can have you camping on the floor for weeks, which won’t help with that job hunt.

Set Some Money Aside

save moneyLiving on an island is amazing, but it’s easy to feel isolated. Chances are, you’re leaving all your friends and family behind and there are times when you’re going to be lonely. In addition, Hawaii has a vastly different culture than mainland America. It can feel like you’ve moved to another country, and you’re most likely going to be a minority. When you get lonely or homesick, it can be hard to be so far away.

It’s not always easy for loved ones to afford a plane ticket and you never know when an emergency may come up on the mainland. Make sure you have enough money in savings to buy a plane ticket home if you need to. If you can afford it, put aside some money in a fund to help fly family and friends out for a visit. This extra cushion adds security and helps you feel prepared for whatever may come up.

Most of us dream of living on a tropical island, but very few of us get the chance. Making the move to Hawaii is exciting and a little scary. But knowing what to expect combined with some smart planning can make it one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do.

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