Plane landing in Hawaii from mainland USA.


Deep Blue View Hawaii by Justin De La Ornellas is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original

I was thinking today about people that make it when they move to Hawaii, and people that don’t. I mean, some people come to live in Hawaii and stay for the rest of their lives. Others, seem to give it a shot – realize it isn’t for them, and leave. Still others come, and rebound back almost as fast as they came.

What differentiates all the people attempting to come to Hawaii to live life?

Maybe motive for moving in the first place. Maybe that’s all it is. If your motive to move to the islands is strong to begin with – it might carry you through when times are tougher or not as rosy as when you first imagined coming to Hawaii.

So, I was thinking today about good and bad reasons people move to the islands, and I’ll write both articles tonight. Below are some good reasons people might move to Hawaii. These are not the only good reasons – just the only ones I could come up with. If you have more, feel free to add them in comments and I’ll add them to this article as necessary…

Good Reasons to Move to Hawaii:

You have family living in the islands already and you want to be close to them. This is a great reason, and it presupposes that you have already been to Hawaii and saw what it is like. Maybe you even grew up there and you know what home is like – you’ll likely stay there as long as you want without any problem. Most Hawaiians that move away, I think miss the islands terribly once they stay somewhere else on the mainland for university, job, or some other reason. I think a high percentage move back to Hawaii even if just for a few years.

You are retired and have a check coming in that more than covers all necessities, needs, and wants – and you are sure that check will keep on coming.

Similar to the above, you have another income source – whether it is royalties from a book or music, or something else – and that income is not likely to change in the next few years. Moving to Hawaii can be the ultimate long-term vacation, or even place to live the rest of your life if your income remains high enough. Keep in mind that as you age your needs for medical care may grow enormously and quickly.

Somehow, you lucked out and landed a good job in Hawaii – either without having been there, or while you were just visiting the islands! I almost, almost landed a job by phone from Florida. This was for an online startup that needed someone to do all the online marketing for the company. They needed someone that could hit the floor running. I was 80% sure they would call me back to hire me. Nope. Close, but no cigar. It is very difficult to get an offer from Hawaii if you are not there and not only there – but, living here – and have some sort of home in Hawaii. Companies in Hawaii are very cautious because many of them have hired people – only to have them disappear, or not even come for the job. It takes a lot of effort to hire employees – they want to do it right. Do pay attention to how much you will need to live comfortably in the islands. Choose a job where you can rise through the ranks instead of stagnate at one pay-grade.

You can sell everything and move – either living off investments or getting a job in a field they need workers. I think for those over 50 years of age, this is the scenario that most often happens. You suffered your way through 30 years of work, bought a house, the kids are either in college or done, and you want more than anything else in the world – to go live in Hawaii. Some people make it, and some don’t – but if you have the money, I always say – give it a try and see if it’s for you. It’s a once in a lifetime chance to live in Hawaii – why not?