After taking my household on a nine-day trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, my plan to relocate there may be again within the playing cards! Since 2014, two years after retiring from my finance job, I have been considering transferring again to Honolulu to spend extra time with my mother and father. Nonetheless, really making the transfer has been a lot more durable than anticipated.
Simply as financially insecure folks typically inform themselves “only one extra yr” earlier than retiring, I have been saying “perhaps subsequent yr” about transferring to Honolulu for the previous 10 years!
The factor is, life retains getting in the way in which. First, we had a son in 2017, then a daughter in 2019, and the pandemic made us crave stability and familiarity. Our son acquired into a faculty he enjoys immensely, and now our daughter has joined the identical faculty, which we consider she’ll additionally get pleasure from. In consequence, the inertia of life has stored us in San Francisco.
Nonetheless, with my mother and father now of their mid-70s, the time to spend extra time with them is now. Our youngsters additionally dealt with their longest time away from residence nicely. Though, they complained in regards to the warmth, they missed it as soon as we returned.
My considerations about them adjusting to a brand new setting have diminished.
The Challenges of Residing in Honolulu, Hawaii
There are three most important challenges of residing in Honolulu: housing, meals, and work. Should you plan to ship your youngsters to personal faculty, affording the schooling and getting accepted are additionally vital challenges.
Let’s focus on every problem for those who’re contemplating residing and dealing in Honolulu. When you’ve got ever lived and labored in Honolulu or at present do, I would love your insights as nicely.
Honolulu’s Excessive Dwelling Costs
Honolulu boasts one of many highest median residence costs within the nation at roughly $1,050,000. In the meantime, Zillow has the median Honolulu residence worth round $800,000, however I do not belief Zillow. When home searching, it typically appears that properties price way more than the median worth, irrespective of town. Humorous how that’s.
To afford a median-priced residence utilizing my 30/30/3-5 residence shopping for rule, you’d have to make between $210,000 and $350,000, have a $210,000 down fee, and preserve a $105,000 liquid buffer post-purchase.
Should you come from high-priced housing markets like San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, New York, or Boston, you may not be as shocked by Honolulu’s excessive residence costs. Nonetheless, for those who’re coming from all over the place else in America, put together to really feel the ache.
Proudly owning Actual Property in San Francisco Makes Shifting To Honolulu Simpler
The median residence worth in San Francisco is round $1,800,000, which is about 75% larger than in Honolulu. Subsequently, transferring to Honolulu may save us round 40% if we purchase a median-priced residence.
Nonetheless, we do not need a median-priced residence; we would like a improbable residence with ocean views or one that’s transformed and near the seashore. Sadly, these properties price over $4 million, with actually no higher restrict.
To pay for such a house with money, we would have to promote a number of rental properties. This may simplify our lives as we age, however it might additionally harm our passive earnings once more. After reducing our passive earnings by ~29% in 2023 as a result of a money residence buy, we do not wish to make such a drastic transfer once more.
Luxurious properties in Honolulu typically take 3 – 6 months to promote, in contrast to in San Francisco, the place promoting in a single month is widespread. Given the less high-paying jobs in Honolulu, there is a higher funding danger related to shopping for luxurious actual property there.
Should you purchase property in Honolulu it is best to consider the home extra as a consumption expense than as an funding.
Honolulu’s Excessive Meals Prices
Produce in Honolulu is the costliest in America as a result of additional transport prices. For instance, a bag of cotton sweet grapes I purchased prices $18 at Safeway in Honolulu, in comparison with $14 in San Francisco.
Count on to pay $20 – $25 for a plate lunch, making it simple for a household of 4 to spend $80 – $100 for lunch, together with tax, tip, and drinks. Nonetheless, portion sizes are comparatively giant when eating out, together with meals vehicles.
Under highlights quite a lot of meals prices in Honolulu, up to date no less than every year by a neighborhood of vacationers. Irrespective of the place you come from, you’ll positively really feel the burden of excessive meals prices in Honolulu.
We Develop Our Personal Fruit in Honolulu
In Hawaiian tradition, there is a saying: “Should you maintain the land, the land will maintain you.” Due to the timber my grandparents and fogeys planted many years in the past, now we have loads of fruit in our backyards.
We’ve a number of mango timber that produce over 500 mangoes a yr. By relocating to Honolulu, my household of 4 will guarantee these mangoes do not go to waste. We even have guava, orange, and pomelo timber, which suggests we cannot have to spend a lot on breakfast if we maintain to a principally fruit morning food plan.
Throughout our journey, our household of 4 principally shared two plate lunches and had leftovers. Many of the motive is as a result of our kids are nonetheless younger. Nonetheless, my spouse and I’ve at all times been reasonable eaters and are solely about 5% heavier than we had been since school.
Honolulu’s Comparatively Low Pay
The most typical suggestions from locals is the decrease pay in comparison with the mainland. We’re speaking 40%-60% decrease pay for a similar jobs. There are additionally fewer six-figure jobs accessible, particularly in comparison with San Francisco’s tech sector. The principle industries in Honolulu are tourism, protection, agriculture, fishing, and manufacturing, which are not identified to be high-paying industries.
In keeping with the 2020 Census, the median family earnings in Honolulu was $96,580. The St. Louis Fed knowledge exhibits it was $96,304 in 2022. For 2024, the family earnings is probably going nearer to $105,000 – $110,000.
Whereas not unhealthy in a vacuum, it isn’t nice in comparison with the median residence worth of $1,050,000. Consequently, it is common for 2 or three generations to dwell collectively. If a family consists of two-to-four working people, a median family earnings of $100,000 is not excessive.
As of Could 2024, ZipRecruiter stories the common wage in Honolulu is $61,247. To personal a median-priced home and lift a household in Honolulu, you should earn far above common or cohabitate with a number of working people. The monetary assist of oldsters can be fairly widespread.
We Have Sufficient Passive Revenue For Residing In Hawaii
After saving and investing since 1999, now we have sufficient passive earnings to assist a middle-class way of life for a household of 4 in Honolulu because it’s cheaper than San Francisco. The secret is to maintain our housing prices decrease than they’re in San Francisco. If we wish to purchase a luxurious property, we could have to work part-time or full-time.
Nonetheless, going again to work is one thing I stay up for as a result of I wish to be a trainer at my youngsters’s faculty. Relocating to a brand new metropolis means making new associates and assembly new folks, and diving headfirst into my youngsters’s faculty neighborhood is a perfect means to do this.
As a trainer, I am going to get to know many different lecturers and directors, in addition to loads of new mother and father. I would love to show private finance, entrepreneurship, advertising, branding, and communications to center or highschool college students. I spent three years teaching highschool tennis and loved it for essentially the most half.
If I can not get a job instructing at my youngsters’s faculties, I am going to proceed to put in writing from residence. However as a substitute of slowly going loopy writing in a darkish room, I am going to get to put in writing outdoors on a lanai overlooking the water!
If my subsequent two books do nicely (scheduled for 2025 and 2028), perhaps I am going to get one other e-book deal that retains me writing till each children graduate highschool. The pay is not excessive as an creator, however writing books will present them their previous man takes lecturers severely.
Honolulu’s Unbiased Grade Colleges
Honolulu has some glorious impartial and public faculties. Since our children already attend a Mandarin immersion impartial faculty, we plan to proceed with impartial training initially.
My mother and father dwell close to two of Honolulu’s greatest impartial grade faculties: I’olani and Punahou. We toured I’olani and Punahou with our kids, and located each faculties to be superb unbelievable amenities. Maryknoll additionally presents a Mandarin immersion program, which is engaging if we relocate whereas our children are nonetheless younger. We extremely worth studying a second language.
As a bonus, the annual tuition at I’olani and Punahou is about $13,500 lower than what we pay in San Francisco, and Maryknoll is $23,000 cheaper. The tutoring can be the identical from Ok-12, so if we transfer when our children are older, we would pay about 50% much less since costs go up by grade in San Francisco.
The mixture of higher amenities and decrease prices is difficult to beat. I am positive the lecturers are great too. Nonetheless, entering into these faculties will likely be difficult and not using a native community to assist us.
Iolani’s most important entry factors are Kindergarten and sixth grade, whereas Punahou has entry factors at Ok, 4, 6, 7, and 9.
The problem will likely be in entering into faculties
If our expertise with making use of to preschool in San Francisco is any indication, getting each children into such impartial faculties can even be troublesome. Demand is at all times excessive, and we’re coming from San Francisco, the place we do not have an area Honolulu community to assist us.
It is doable that certainly one of our children will get in and the opposite would not. Logistically, having two children go to totally different faculties is suboptimal. Punahou has extra accommodative entry factors with Ok, 4, 6, 7, and 9. Given our children are three years aside, entry for grades 4 and seven or 6 and 9 would work.
We hope my background now as an creator supplies selection from different households who’re principally in drugs, legislation, and finance. We additionally do not want tuition help for 2 children and may commonly donate.
Based mostly on the ages of our children and the colleges’ most important entry factors, we’d apply within the Fall of 2029 for our daughter to enter as a 4th grader and our son to enter as a seventh grader at Punahou in 2030. Or we are able to apply within the Fall of 2031 for sixth grade and ninth grade in 2032.
Relocating to Honolulu in 2032 might be greatest as a result of our kids will be taught extra Mandarin at our their faculty, which works till the eighth grade. We’ll get to get pleasure from our San Francisco residence we simply purchased in 2023 for 9 years.
The Concern Of Being A Stranger In A New Metropolis Is Overblown
You may concern relocating since you’ll have to start out over making associates. The stronger your friendships and household connections again residence, the more durable it’s to maneuver.
Nonetheless, as a faculty father or mother, I’ve realized how simple it’s to fulfill new folks and make associates if you wish to. There are limitless social capabilities to fulfill different mother and father, together with playdates, birthdays, faculty occasions, mother and father’ nights out, and fundraisers.
As well as, you may be a part of meetups or golf equipment associated to your hobbies. My non-public sports activities membership in San Francisco has offered the most important way of life enhance for under $175 a month. It’s been a good way to fulfill fellow tennis and pickleball gamers.
So do not be afraid of loneliness when relocating. Honolulu has heat and welcoming residents. Simply be sure that to know the tradition, familiarize your self with Hawaiian language, and respect island traditions. As a brand new resident, attempt to give greater than you’re taking.
Promoting Property Earlier than Relocating To Honolulu
We have been accumulating properties in San Francisco since 2003. We now have 4 rental properties and one main residence in San Francisco, plus a trip property in Palisades Lake Tahoe. Our web value is getting difficult and we would not thoughts simplifying.
Given we’d like capital to purchase a brand new residence and do not wish to take care of tenant and upkeep points, we most likely have to promote no less than two properties earlier than we relocate. At the moment, I handle all properties in San Francisco, which is simple and provides me one thing to do.
With actual property commissions coming down after the NAR price-fixing settlement, promoting now has change into extra palatable. I simply can’t get myself to pay greater than a 4% promoting fee price when know-how has lowered commissions in each different trade.
On the identical time, with the tech and synthetic intelligence growth, promoting now’s exhausting. I anticipate AI to spice up housing costs within the San Francisco Bay Space many years to return. In addition to investing in non-public AI corporations, the following greatest approach to take part in AI is by proudly owning actual property in cities with the main AI corporations.
In 20 years, I am positive I’ll look again with remorse having bought a main west aspect San Francisco property right now. Subsequently, I wish to preserve no less than two funding properties in San Francisco if we relocate. Perhaps a property supervisor is the answer, however I’m unsure.
It is Price Residing In The Finest Place Attainable
I’ve lived overseas for 13 years in 5 international locations, labored in worldwide equities for 13 years, and traveled throughout America for the previous 47 years. Honolulu is among the greatest locations to dwell within the second half of your life.
There is a motive why Hawaii residents have the longest life expectancy in America: a greater, extra enjoyable way of life. As soon as you have collected sufficient wealth, having a protracted and wholesome life turns into a precedence.
Sure, there are downsides to residing in Honolulu, comparable to visitors, larger costs, comparatively excessive state earnings taxes, and island fever. It’s going to even be harder “making it in Hawaii” until you’re in drugs, legislation, or an entrepreneur. Even then, it is powerful to grind so exhausting when island life is so enjoyable. Lastly, the tempo of life is way slower, which will also be exhausting to regulate to.
Nonetheless, I consider the positives far outweigh the negatives. As soon as you have constructed sufficient wealth, your aim must be to dwell as lengthy and as wholesome a life as doable.
Winding Down In Honolulu In The Second Half Of Life
I wish to put on shorts and t-shirts year-round. It will be good to swim within the ocean within the mornings and play tennis within the evenings. Residing in a medium-sized metropolis additionally supplies sufficient work alternatives to remain productive, however not a lot that you just really feel overwhelmed by competitors. Most of all, I need my household to be protected and joyful.
Honolulu supplies all these items. Nonetheless, we cannot know till we attempt to relocate in 2030 on the earliest. Ideally, we relocate in 2032 when our son is in ninth grade and our daughter is in sixth grade. This timeline will maximize our time in our new home, profit from the AI growth, and provides us time to area out the sale of our properties.
Within the meantime, we will likely be sending our children to summer time faculty in Honolulu for no less than a month so we are able to attempt earlier than we purchase!
Should you dwell and work in Honolulu, I would love to listen to your ideas! What are another negatives and positives we should always find out about earlier than relocating?
Do not Give up Your Job To Relocate To Honolulu
Should you’re planning to go away your job for a brand new one in Honolulu, I would try to negotiate a severance bundle as a substitute of quitting. You’ll recognize the monetary runway given pay is commonly decrease in Honolulu.
Take a look at How To Engineer Your Layoff, the most effective useful resource to show you the best way to negotiate a severance bundle. Use “saveten” at checkout to avoid wasting $10. I’ve up to date the e-book six instances with new methods and insights since 2012.
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