"Living in Hawaii"
 

As a continuation of this thread:
https://www.miataturbo.net/insert-bs...-hawaii-93803/

It's getting real now. Our first shipment went out last Friday... 500lbs of "express" that goes air freight and should be delivered to our new base house the day we arrive on island. Only one of the boxes on the truck below will have our stuff in it.

Our main shipment leaves next week... that's the bulk of our furniture and "stuff" that we're taking. Most (but not all) of our current furniture will go in the new house, but we're only taking about 1/3 of our "stuff". Winter clothes, shit that hasn't been unpacked in several moves, everything that we consider "spare", all but 3 of my guns, etc... all staying behind and being put into "long-term storage" by the Navy.

We're spending a week in San Diego over Xmas with family, and arrive on island Dec 31st... to the delight of my sponsor who has to curtail festivities that evening until we get settled. No biggie. We'll stay a few nights in the base hotel and then move into our unit in base housing on the 2nd (hopefully). We'll have a week there before I need to report for work, and the kids are going to the local catholic K-8 private school. Wife has plenty of job opportunities (ER nurse), but nothing settled on for now.

I've been doing all the homework I can on Kauai... my "Lessons Learned" document about the entire Navy experience process of getting there is over 13 pages now. So many things to take into account when you're out on the edge of 'Merica and first-world problems. For example... how much of my favorite hunting ammo do I take? Big things!

I browse CL every day, trying to build the picture of the used-vehicle market and what I might want to buy. Still set on a 4x4 or AWD something cheap. RAV4 blows up my skirt, but so does something like this for 2 years:
https://honolulu.craigslist.org/kau/...394711756.html

Perfect choice. Looks like it should be featured on faded t-shirt with longboards on the roof. Love it.

Next step... main household good in progress. They sent a solod crew, might be done today!

What does the Navy do on that island? Been there a few times and don't recall seeing a Navy installation (although there was an A-4 on a stick near the airport). Is this going to be your retirement billet?

Yup, retirememt... gonna be a gigantic pain trying to do the admin stuff on a base with 80 total military personnel. I've got a feeling that I'll be taking the c-26 into Pearl a lot when the time comes.

PMRF Barking Sands... missile test range. Tiny base, it's the only military of any kind on Kauai.

Oh, how time flies. It seems like only yesterday you were giving me the mt.net hazing ritual as I made my tentative first posts here.

I should try to look you up when on the islands next year for vacation. Making a mental note to myself to bug you once 'local'.

Kauai is the sweetness. Have fun.

Oreo is hilarious... the movers keep finding her in the truck... will need "eyes on" later when they leave or she'll wanna go with her condo.

Here at vehicle turn-in... Sequoia outbound. Lady says 30 days... shall see.

We are on the road... The whole fam damily with 12 pieces of checked luggage and a really loud cat in a bag. On our way to LAX today with a drive to San Diego for a week with my parents. We head to Kauai on the 31sth

So, a mod needs to change the title of this thread to "Living in Hawaii"... or something suitable.
Been here a week and my command of the English language does not extend to describing the awesomeness that I've lucked into. My house is 100-200yds from the beach depending on the time of year and my backyard is a tropical fantasy. Thanks to all of you who pay taxes. My oldest (9) got to snorkel with a sea turtle today (bucket list for 9yr old) and I discovered that Capt. Morgan Private Stock is the exact same price at the small Exchange here as on the mainland. The entire island of Kauai is overrun with wild chickens. We have dozens in housing. We let our cat outside for the first time in a few weeks and she has made fast friends with a few. My garage is a single... deep breath.

In the pic of my backyard with the blinding sun, there is a berm in the background... the selfie pic of me is taken from standing on top of that berm.

Srsly... anybody who isn't a dick (I'll need references) and drinks rum that wants to come to Kauai for vacation can message me.

You are a lucky man.

The only thing I see wrong in the picture is the Australian Pines (Casuarina equisetifolia) in the background. They are one of the most aggressive coastal invasive plants here in Florida, and I here is a major invader in Hawaii.

You had to pre-condition it, didn't you? I suppose former Hornet-drivers are excluded then (we were single-seat for a reason IIRC)?

Have fun. Get around to the North side of the island (where the road ends) and do the hike to the waterfall. It's awesome -- one of my favorite things to do there. And the canyon . . . WOW!

Big Island is still my favorite, but Kauai is a close second.

Consider this as your reward for all of the long, miserable, lonely deployments. I'm happy for you and your family. Do the kids get to go to DoD schools or get bused off base? DoD schools are generally excellent in my experience but some of the off-base experiences have been less than stellar.

The local schools did a fantastic job of teaching Hawaiian history, culture, and language. I still remember much of it. We had incredible field trips.

did you name any of those roosters joe perez?

I love Kauai...I've been there once and that place is so nice - weather, nature, beaches, surf. For whatever reason, mixed drinks go so much better in hawaii than anywhere else I've been. I have a 6 year old who spent a week there a year ago and he's been asking to go back. It's in his top place to go (shared with a mountain cabin in Northern California).

Happy for you and your family, great place to chill (but no track and cops can drive whatever unmarked cars..)

Kauai 2016

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"Rats", looks like I'm on Maui when we visit late May... so I can't come bug you :(

Enjoy the reward, glad it sounds to have met up with and exceeded expectations.

I want you people to note that those pictures he took of his family and cat in the yard were in January. Lol.

My location is not nearly as nice but I'm sitting in the yard in a T-shirt sipping a cocktail looking at tiki torches burning.

Hornet drivers always welcome... that community collectively owes me so many drinks, I let any bubba work on reducing the debt.

We're sending them to the local Catholic school. We have no religious inclinations at all, but it's a good private school and only 5 minutes down the road.

I've been scouting... so far no roosters here look like they could dual-wield pocket protectors while pulling hot trim from a hospital bed with a collapsed lung. I'll keep my eye out.

Also went to local PD and registered my guns... and when I say "register", I mean it. Photograph, fingerprints, $42, RAPBACK entry, backgroud check, medical check, and a visual inspection of each gun by the clerk. WTF? Every gun that comes into the state must be registered... being military does not exempt me from this requirement. I also have to register my guns on the base to keep them in housing, but no biggie there.

If I want to buy a gun while I'm here, I can apply for a long-gun permit that's basically good for life and unlimited purchases. If I want to buy a handgun, I have to go to a store and buy the gun. Then take the serial number to the police department and apply for a permit to purchase the gun. Apparently it takes up to 2 weeks to get the permit. One permit per pistol. 'Merika. Guess how many guns I won't be buying while here. I only brought 3 with me... one pistol, one rifle, one shotgun... left all the rest with a buddy back in VA. The one gun-store I visited actually had my ammo... Hornady 120sst in 6.8spc, so that's awesome. Hunting culture here on island is pretty strong, the majority of the interior of Kauai is public hunting land... a bunch of it is inaccessible, but a lot of it easy to reach.

When i was a child, my parents bought me a t shirt that was dyed with the local coffee bean. I still have that shirt to this day and i refuse to wash it because i'm afraid of it losing it's smell. That smell reminds me so much of Hawaii and my experience there. We only did Kawaii and Maui but i would of loved to visit Kaui. A part of me also wants to ride dirt bikes around on Lanai for some reason.

I'm interested to see how you feel about the island long term. I've been twice for a week each time (spent mostly on the north side) and found it to be one of the most wonderful places in the world (that I've been to), but I wonder if the island would start to feel small after a while. Bay area housing cost about the same as hanalei last I checked, maybe in another 29 years I can retire and move there...

On one of my waterfall hikes, came across some locals packing out a boar and a dog that had been gored. Bloody spectacle. They were machete and dog hunting for the boars. Nice, friendly people that were happy to talk. Wife and daughter were a bit intimidated by a dude covered in blood sporting a machete though.

One of the base cops has promised to take me out on a dog&knife hunt. There are pigs and deer aplenty here on the base. It's bow-only and there are periodic eradication hunts. I also have access to a couple other facilities on the island that will make access into more remote hunting areas easier where I can use my rifle. Surprisingly, there are no assault-weapon laws in Hawaii, so my AR makes a great island hog&goat&deer gun.

Not surprisingly, most of the dogs down at the Humane Society are obviously hunting dogs that didn't work out or got away. Whippet/hound/pit mixes that all basically look alike... strong prey drive and go all day in the heat. We're crossing our fingers on finding something a little less likely to kill all the local chickens if it gets out.

And you're correct about the people here... they embrace Aloha very deeply and it shows.

Maybe you posted this elsewhere.

Flooding update, you okay? Are you affected? Helping out?

All the flooding was on the North side of the island. Down here on the south/west side, we got a sprinkle... that's not to say it doesn't rain here, just that this side is normally spared the majority of the wrath of big storms. In fact, during the summer/fall, this side of the island is more desert-like than tropical... it can get dry and hot. We've had some good rain this winter/spring already, but nothing like the record-breaking stuff the North got.

The base has taken up some donation causes, and as the only local military, we stand by to support, but our means and equipment are limited. There are only 80 military personnel on this whole base. We have an LCM "Landing Craft Mechanized" that the Navy owns, but leases to the family that own Niihau island. We're using that to ferry people and supplies to the north side beyond where the roads have washed out. The local NatGuard guys have been doing their best. The coasties have been out doing stuff too.

This past weekend, the local Catholic Church (not Catholic, but our kids go to school there) had their big spring fair... huge fun, I have about 20 volunteer hours I logged. This place is big on community.

I waved, you didn't wave back.

Attachment 229639

You're here and didn't call me!!! My house is in the thick strand of trees on the right. A bunch of us in the neighborhood are doing a Captain Andy's snorkel trip today, but back early afternoon. Where are you guys staying? You here for the week? I'm sure you owe me at least one beer.

Flying out today, sadly. Been here since Tuesday with the wife. Stayed in Po'ipu but got around as far northwest as you can get, plus the boat out to Na Pali yesterday evening. Did Waimea and all the other touristy shit on Thursday but mostly just sat at the pool with a cocktail.

I have no idea how your retirement will top this. Pretty cool place.
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Fucking NC drivers.

Cloudy since Sat, but barely a sprinkle up here on the west side of Kauai. East side got some rain, but no more than any normal rainy day. We had mostly calm seas too. I went spearfishing on Sat, no prob.

You can see in the news that the southern Islands got slammed... big island is hurtin bad... like epic Houston-style flooding. We were watching it all pretty close though... just everyday it leaned further and further west, and then it made a 90* turn left and lost all it's nutz. It was almost glassy on Sat, I went spearfishing.

In other news, the Pathfinder is till rocking strong... another couple thousand miles and a quart of oil ain't nothing.

So jealous of the fact that you live here...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...379aa45f3a.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...31a360f4c3.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fc90caffb6.jpg

We're just wrapping up our bi-annual trip. We usually spend almost the whole time on the north side, but we decided to spend a few days out near you and while it's not exactly the same vibe as up north, the people are just as awesome. Spent the evening at the saddle room tonight with Kenan and Bobby, live music, good food, drinks, don't want to go home...

I'm still interested in your thoughts/feelings on long term living here. Plans for after 2020?

Bro, you should have PM'd so we could hook up... I'd give you a tour of the base (super fun, I know).

Long term here is on the table. I already have job offers from several of the contractors on base at an acceptable salary, and my wife can upgrade from part-time to full-time at either of the local hospitals whenever. The biggest rub is the schools. Kauai public schools have drawbacks. We've been here a full year now, and the curriculum has almost caught up with where they were in Virginia. So far, it's been very easy for them, but the ease has made them lazy and their expectations have fallen. The challenge just isn't there, and our supplementing at home isn't having the effect we want. Moving stateside again is going to be tough on them for the first year... not that I mind that, but staying here doesn't do them any solids when it comes to life-prep. We think that the incoming XO homeschools his 3 kids that are same age. We've done a bit of homework on homeschooling, but so far haven't jumped in.

The other rub is housing. What the average American would consider a standard "middle-class 3br/2.5ba, 2car garage, small yard" doesn't really exist here. Once you make the jump up past $800k, and you can kinda get into that type of place, but there aren't any "developments" south of $1mil that you would recognize. What you get for $700k here is a 1500sqft 3/2 A-frame with a carport, no A/C, small yard, septic, and likely no fence. Housing is stupid expensive, and the market doesn't take a lot into account for "fixer-upper" because everybody has a cousin or uncle who does contracting on the side. That being said, your first-world problems really fly out the window in the first couple weeks. You just accept that everything is going to rust, the chickens are everywhere, it's expensive, there isn't any fun that you don't make yourself, it's expensive, it's a 40+ minute drive everywhere, it's a hard-left state although it doesn't really show on Kauai, it's expensive, there is very little crime that involves haoles, schools suck, it's expensive, plane tickets to other islands aren't cheap, lots of power outages, lots of infrastructure worries (roads, bridges, slides), Costco/Walmart/HomeDepot are a plus, restaurants are limited and STUPID EXPENSIVE and the good ones are scarce, Prime takes a week, Target takes 2 days usually, local fruit is amazeballs, making friends is easy is you're not a douchebag, tshirts/boardshoarts/slippers year-round, wicked night skies, constant breeze, everything is wet all the time, between Dec-July your car is tinted with brown clay that is a bitch to clean, if you ain't Toyota-Proud you ain't shit, food of all kinds everywhere is STUPID FUCKING EXPENSIVE... could do this all day...

If you have any lifestyle expectations, $150k/yr for a couple is in the ballpark if you rent (I'm talking about a 1br tiny cottage). You can live cheap and easy for far less but accepting that your only recourse if any "life problems" pop up is to go back to the mainland. If you're haole's and have kids, don't even think about moving here if your combined income is less than $200k/yr and you intend to buy a house. Renting in that case is just throwing money down the drain. Again, you can work with less, rent cheap and downgrade to "lower class" for all tangible metrics (kids won't know or care), but it's gonna be impossible to save. You just don't know how expensive everything combined is.

All that being said, we like it here. We can't upgrade to "love it" because we live on base in a bubble that shields us from a lot of reality. If we decide to stay and move out in town, we may find out we hate it... doubtful because it'll be 2.5yrs at that point and we'll know what we're getting into. We'll also be puling in about $250k/yr combined and be able to afford private school and a solid neighborhood.

Did I mention it's stupid expensive to live here?

He lives in the Bay Area. $700k for 1500sq.ft is cheap here. :party: