Originally Posted by RG88

TEXAS BABY! After over forty years living in SoCal, they finally beat me down....NO MAS!

Originally Posted by Liste-Renn

Aloha,

Allow me to weigh in about living in Hawaii, the roads and car culture here.

I was stationed on Oahu Active Duty Air Force '84-'86 (Brought a gray market '78 911SC coupe here with me from Germany). I rented awesome houses those two years in the 80's. Sharing rent with roommates and spending all of my tax free military housing allowance allowed me to live up high in Lanikai (a cool bedroom community on the windward side) and atop Tantalus mountain (2000' above Honolulu in a rainforest).

The highways on Oahu, including the H3, are not in any shape or form "driver's roads". The few high speed sweepers (and zero linked turns) are heavily monitored by laser speed traps. The last few days of the month (ticket quotas have to be met) are ridiculously enforced- like 5mph over is a ticket, never a warning. Tantalus is another story- it is 14 miles of awesome 2nd gear switchbacks through tropical rainforest. There are some scattered driveways on the route, but during working hours midweek, there is little to no traffic. If you encounter a slow poke, pull over for 2 minutes and resume.
https://goo.gl/maps/LJAEQfxwkmvcHwbS7

Sadly, this is the only significant drive worthy of a 911 on the entire island. Oh, there are other twisties, and climbs, on Oahu- but all are short: 13 curves on Auloa Road from Castle Junction to Maunawili-( it's actually called that by locals); the Kalaniana'olé Highway between Hanauma Bay and Sandy Beach (with centerline rumble strips to prevent even using your full lane width); and the Old Pali Highway (Nuuanu Pali Drive) which parallels the 4-lane divided Pali Highway (which has one great hairpin turn on the Kailua side). Other roads with nice curves and climbs are through densely populated neighborhoods.

So, all considered, a crappy place to own a sports car or bike. (There was very cool road over KoleKole Pass, but that closed several years ago.)

Though the year I lived atop Tantalus, I went through 2 sets of Pirelli P7's with my 911SC, in less than 12K miles! It is an awesome stretch of road.

Fast forward to this century:

Moved back here permanently in 1995. (Brought a 944S2 Cabriolet here with me.) Commuted from Kailua to the airport for 20+ years.
The Pali and Likelike Highways and H3 are heavily HPD patrolled (see above). Despite this fact, I upgraded to a used 2007 997 base Carrera in 2012 and drove it for almost 4 years on Oahu. Almost lost my license- not from anything crazy, just harrassing/revenue generating speeding tickets, most on an interstate engineered highway (H3).

I bought a nice 2011 997GTS in Boston in 2016 and drove it 11K miles to LA. North through Maine, north of the Great Lakes in Canada, across the north US via the South Dakota Badlands, Wyoming/Utah/Idahoe Rockies and the Cascades. Then the Pacific Coast Highway from Portland to LA. That 3-month trip avoiding interstates convinced me that the car should not be shipped to Oahu. I store it in LA and continue to drive it in the Malibu Canyons, Angeles Crest, Big Bear, San Jacinto Forest and Highway 33 above Santa Barbara and Ojai. There are few places on earth with a concentration of roads like these- some with an ocean view. The PCH from Cambria to Monterrey is another epic highway, as is Highway 130 over Mt Hamilton east of San Jose.

There are no race tracks on Oahu, or anywhere in Hawaii for that matter. Some drag strips, a couple of dirt ovals- that's about it.

I did a ED in September 2018, picked up a Macan GTS in Leipzig, drove it 3 months through the Alps and Tuscany, shipped it to Atlanta vice Honolulu, then drove 10K miles in 3 months (avoiding interstates) through 13 states and 9 National Parks. That trip convinced me that even a sport-oriented SUV is too much car for Oahu. It, too, remained in LA. So, I ride a bike here and fly out to LA to drive my 911 and Macan GTS's when I need a fix.

Aside from the dearth of driver's roads here, the climate is about perfect. As long as the trade winds blow (and they do, about 40 weeks a year) it is the best weather on the planet. When the High Pressure that sits northeast of Hawaii is absent- due to winter Lows (that bring our world class surf) or Hurricanes passing close enough to affect our weather- we have northeast winds from 10-15 mph that drag dry, cool air from latitudes found in Oregon or Washington. Without the trades, the weather here is like the US Southeast in the summer. (Our entire state is south of Miami's latitude.) Most homes here do not have whole house air-conditioning. Those who can afford it have split systems. McMansions have always existed, and ran AC 24/7/365. They were a tiny minority. With photovoltaic systems, more central air is being installed in homes that previously could not afford the electric bills associated with it.

Which brings up energy: (from Wikipedia)

"Energy in Hawaii is complicated by the state's isolated location and lack of fossil fuel resources. The state relies heavily on imports of petroleum and coal for power although renewable energy is increasing. Hawaii is the state with the highest share of petroleum use in the United States, with about 62% of electricity coming from oil in 2017. As of 2016, 26.6% of electricity was from renewable sources, including solar, wind, hydro and geothermal.

Hawaii has the highest electricity prices in the United States. As of 2016 the average cost of electricity was $0.24 per kilowatt-hour, followed by Alaska at $0.19. The U.S. average was $0.10."

Ouch! The good news is that home heating is not required, except for high elevations on Maui and the Big Island. Driving distances are relatively short and recreation in the ocean is free- no wetsuit required. Buy your sailboard, kite surf gear, kayak, sailboat and utilize those tradewinds 9 months a year. A surfboard is 12 months a year of free fun. Photovoltaic systems are on many, many homes here. Most owners pay nothing for electricity, in fact some systems generate electricity that Hawaiian Electric buys back. Early adopters get the same rate selling as they do buying. Very cool.

Everyone I know with kids has found a way to deal with the sub par schools. Private is expensive, but there are scholarships and aid.

The food, culture and natural beauty here is second to none.

Island fever? There are dozens of flights daily flights to the US and Asia. Cruise ships stop here on a weekly basis. It is the USA with most of the infrastructure enjoyed on the mainland. Violent crime is very, very rare. Property crime, not so much. You need a security system on your home and have to avoid parking where tourists congregate- or your car will likely be broken into. It makes hiking, surfing and sightseeing a little more difficult- but it's definitely not a deal breaker.

The diversity here is also unique for the USA. Caucasians ("Haoles") are a minority. White kids grow up experiencing what it feels like to be "different". I do not think that is a bad thing, at all. Ethnic groups mix here and have become the norm, not the exception. "Hapa" means "half" in pidgin- and many mixed race people here identify as such. Hawaiian immigrants learned to get along working side-by-side in the sugar cane and pineapple fields. 400,000 came here between 1865 and 1941- from Japan (majority), the Phiilipines, Korea, China, many South Pacific Islands, Polynesia and Portugal. People accommodate differences between each other, without effort or reluctance.

The Native Hawaiians, like the American Indians, got run over by US expansion. The island kingdom was overthrown by a group of missionary descendant businessmen. Then made it a territory, and eventually a state in 1959. The Native Hawaiians have intermarried with the immigrant groups, and have a Department of Hawaiian Homeland agency that appears to be about as effective as the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the mainland. There is some resentment towards visitors encroaching on their surf spots and the commercialization of their culture- but it is a mild response, IMO, to a great injustice to their ancestors, heritage and culture. Just my point of view, but one informed by actually living here and working with locals for over 25 years.

Bottom line. Visit here. If you like it, rent here for a few months. If you like that, start a home or condo search. You will know if island life and the local culture is for you. No one is ambivalent about Hawaii. Young people move here with little more than a shirt on their back and make it. It can be done.

Sorry this ran on into a chapter, but it may be of some use to anyone contemplating going tropo.

Aloha

Oh, forgot to add.
Taxes:
State income tax rate is lower than CA, for sure. They do NOT tax retirement checks or pensions.
Sales tax is 4.166%.
Property tax rates are among the lowest in the USA, but valuations are high.
(Taxes on a $2.5M home are $7K/year.)

Originally Posted by kash101

Curious what part of SoCal and what prompted the move ? I am in a similar consideration...

Originally Posted by tbutz

Come check out Florida! We have no personal income tax, year round warm weather, lots of beaches, and some really good race tracks!
The State's economy is also doing well.

Originally Posted by hfm

My wife and I visit Hawaii yearly, usually Oahu staying at the Sheraton and, this year we'll be adding Maui staying at the Ritz. Maybe Surf rider next year.

You don't need more than Liste-Renn's take on Hawaii but, I'll throw in that when I'm retired in 20-25 years, we'll likely have a home in Newport Beach as a base for 6 months out of the year and, we'll stay 3 months in Hawaii, 3 months in Japan or travel other countries. Having a California base will likely be our first choice but, I hate the taxes and, would seriously consider Florida as it is the closest thing we to a Libertarian tax abhorrent state that we have. I have a dream/goal of having an 80' Solarwave Yacht that I could travel the Pacific visiting Hawaii, Japan, Korea, New Zealand etc. based out of Newport. We'll see.

Good luck!

Dan (visits but would not live on an island for an extended period of time)