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Hi, this is my first time on here and I posted this question earlier but I'm not sure if I posted it in the right spot, sorry for the repost.
I would like to know how the job market is out there? My daughter is mixed, is it diverse out there? Are there great schools for her to attend? What area would be the best to move to?
I can't help much other than ask: Do you mean the state of Hawaii in general? Or the island of Hawaii (the big island)? What island are you interested in if you don't mean the big island? From what I've heard Oahu (the island with Honolulu, and the most populated island) is your best bet for jobs, but even then the market is tight.
As for schools, do you mean public schools? Private schools? Or Universities?
Why do you want to move to Honolulu? Have you ever visited? How did you get this idea? What kind of work do you do? How much money do you have? How much do you want to make? You really haven't given us enough information to be helpful to you. Like mdand3boys suggests, your best bet it to start with a search of the forum and read past threads on the topic. But here's a summary:
The job market here is terrible, just like everywhere else. It will be very hard for you to find a job before arriving, since employers are hesitant to take a chance on someone who might or might not actually come, and who might or might not bail after a year. Given that so many local folks are looking for work, you don't really stand much of a chance unless you have a very specialized skill set. (Are you a doctor or a nurse, for example?)
The public schools (K-12) in the state are pretty universally bad. There are a few that are OK. There are none that I have heard described as "great." Parents looking for great schools send their kids to private schools.
Finally, yes Honolulu is a very racially diverse area. There is no real majority here... lots of Asian, Pacific Islander, caucasian and various mixes thereof. Mixed race is no big deal at all... more the norm to be "hapa" than to be pure anything.
newuhprof, thank you for being very upfront and honest with me in regards to Hawaii. You are the first one that has given me this kind of information regarding how bad the job market is and how the public schools are not really that great there. Every where else that I have read or talked to gave me a different story about it. To answer your questions, I have always wanted to live in Hawaii since I was younger and I'm going to school to be an orthopedic technologist. I'm hoping to make a comfortable amount of money in order to financial afford to live there. I will have a great bit of money saved up before I move out there so I'm ok in that area.
However, the only other place I was thinking about moving to if I didn't make it to Hawaii was California, but I'm beginning to think that I should look more into California than Hawaii but California is in bad shape too. It's just hard for me since I've been working full time going to school full time and a single mom full time just to feel unsure where to go due to the economy being so bad. I was hoping if I could reach out to other people maybe they can give me some insight.
I appreciate everyones help and time.
Bubbles1234 I would definetly consider visiting both places before you decide to move. I have never lived in Hawaii but my husband is leaving Tuesday for a job but we have lived in Southern California. We moved to CA May of 2008 and there seems to be a lot of jobs there. Within the first week of applying for jobs and the first interview that I had I got the job and I am only an administrative assistant. When I was in San Diego I noticed a lot of posting for medical careers so you might have a better chance of getting a job there faster than Hawaii. From reading the posts and speaking privately with people who live in Hawaii its very hard to get a job when you live on the mainland or if you are not there yet. It is even very difficult from what I hear from my friends living there to get a job while you are there because like other members said they dont want to waste time on someone from the mainland if they are just going to bail in a short period of time. The job market is terrible everywhere so I guess no matter what place you are looking for it will be difficult but then again medical careers always seem to be available. California may be expensive for housing but I am assuming it might be more affordable than Hawaii. The only thing that I found to be more expensive in CA than where I live in CT, expensive state too, was the housing and the sales tax thats it. I guess all I can say is research research research. Best of luck on your future move to either Hawaii or California.
... I have always wanted to live in Hawaii since I was younger ...
OK, but why? Do you have family from here? Did you spend a lot of time here while growing up? Or do you have an image of what you think Hawaii is like, and you want to live in that place that exists in your mind (but probably doesn't exist in real life)?
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I will have a great bit of money saved up before I move out there so I'm ok in that area.
That's good. It would allow you (should you decide to move here), got come and get settled and apply for jobs as a resident. If you have enough to live on for a few months, it makes the transition much easier.
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However, the only other place I was thinking about moving to if I didn't make it to Hawaii was California, but I'm beginning to think that I should look more into California than Hawaii but California is in bad shape too.
Unemployment in CA is probably as bad as here. And depending on where you are, it might be just as expensive to live there. (I think the cost of living in San Francisco is probably comparable to here. Orange County is up there, too.) However, the cost of moving to CA (as opposed to moving across an ocean) is pretty small... leaves more in that savings account for you to live on while you look for work. And perhaps more importantly, the cost to undo a move to CA is much less... what if you get to HI and decide it was all a huge mistake?
There aren't that many places on Oahu that would hire an orthopedic technologist so contacting them to see if they need anyone might be something you could try. The island of Oahu is similar to a good sized city, so there are only about five major hospitals there. How large of a medical facility would it need to be to hire an orthopedic technologist? Well, however large they would be, they are all listed in the phone book and if you find as many as twenty of them, I'd be surprised. Try contacting each one of them and see if they will be hiring soon.
OK, but why? Do you have family from here? Did you spend a lot of time here while growing up? Or do you have an image of what you think Hawaii is like, and you want to live in that place that exists in your mind (but probably doesn't exist in real life)?
Hmm... I moved to Maui a month ago, and it is the Hawaii I had in my mind. That image came mostly from Magnum PI and this forum, not Travel Channel.
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