Living in Hawaii

I'll say this about living in Hawaii, it's not for everyone, as many families have found out for themselves. At first the idea of actually living in Hawaii seems cool or perhaps a once in a life time experience. From personal experience living in Hawaii taught me many things about life and about myself. Even though Hawaii is located nearly 3000 miles away from the U.S. mainland, the fact that when you're inspired to take a long drive somewhere proves limited when living in the islands. Island fever is a term for those who aren't able to adapt to living in the islands, as once you've lived on the U.S. mainland, there are many things you're able to do there that you aren't be able to do in Hawaii. Exploring other states is something you can't do from Hawaii in a car or a train, leaving air travel as the primary mode of transportation.

Should your family be the ones moving to Hawaii for being closer to either spouses family or because your job firm transferred you there, please make sure it's really something meant for your family. I've seen situations where families didn't do well living in Hawaii for several reasons, the primary reason being jobs. Unlike their mainland counterparts, getting a job in Hawaii generally proves challenging, especially when you didn't prepare for that in advance. Through the years I've learned about the important things to be aware of or learn more about before possibly moving to Hawaii.

Before agreeing with your boss on a job transfer to Hawaii, requiring you to move your entire family, the  following things are important to know before hand.
1) Will your salary(s) increase enough to offset the higher living expenses Hawaii has?

2) What sort of housing will you be able to afford living in the islands? Will you be able to afford the different selections of insurance required to have in the islands? Earthquake and Flood insurance would be at the top of the list.

3) In the event you've got kids attending school, does the school they'll attend have or come close to the
    curriculum  of your child(s) previous school? In case it turns out the curriculum is behind what your
    child had been taught in school previously, how will you deal with that? In my personal experience, it
    hurt me more then I suspected, that the learning curriculum was two years behind.

4) Health insurance for you and your family, will you still remain with your company's health care plan
    or have to purchase another health plan once you've settled down? Health insurance plans in the
    islands have selected price ranges on what you're able to afford.

5) The weather in the islands varies somewhat from island to island. Getting acclimated to the island
     weather temperatures shouldn't take long adjusting to, unless you've moved from a cold weather state.

6) Auto Insurance it's important on checking to see how your auto insurance rates will differ living in
    Hawaii. At last check all licensed drivers were required to no-fault insurance on their vehicles.

7) In the event of a family emergency that requires you to return to the mainland, will you be able to bear
    that unexpected expense. Depending on which island you're living on, the costs of an airline ticket
    could possibly shock you. Most airline flights directly out of Honolulu are the least expensive, should
    that be where you're living.

With the technology of the internet available these days, it's quite simple checking on these important things before possibly moving to Hawaii. The many families who relocate to the islands, end up loving the laid back life style, as for some families it doesn't work out as well. The important thing is doing a complete research, thus making a educated decision before moving to the islands, having feedback in knowing or not if living in Hawaii is right for you and your family. With Hawaii being located in the Pacific Ocean, remember it's still an approximate 5 to 6 hour flight back to the mainland.