copy editor, designer, reporter in Hawaii

likely would be a phoner for this one. at least it was in 2006

 

I figured as much.

 

Gas can be expensive, but the upside is you really can't drive that far. Three hours on Hawaii Belt Road and you're pretty much back where you started. The most cost-effective way to move to Hawaii is to pack as lightly as possible and fill out your place by buying stuff from people who are leaving the island (odds are there will be more than a few). No sense in hauling a bunch of appliances and a car out into the ocean when you can easily buy something similar off someone who's desperate to be rid of it.

 

Wait... that's a good salary for a place with a cost of living as high as Hawaii? I live in a pretty pricey area on the mainland, and $40K would be gone very quickly. I can only imagine how much basic staples cost when they have to be imported.

Feeding all your visiting friends ain't cheap either.

 

You would have to try hard to find an $18 cocktail on the Big Island. $40K is decent, not great, but a single person can make it work. Eating more of the local fruit and fish can help take some of the sting out of the food bill.

http://entersandland.com/2012/03/27/cost-of-living-in-hawaii/
http://www.konafriends.com/moving-to-hawaii.html

 

A former co-worker works at one of the Hawaii papers and he had to accept the job site unseen. I'm guessing they have to do that a lot.

 

Not sure about the papers on the other islands, but when I interviewed with one of the Stephens Media papers, they had me fly out to interview in person after an initial phoner. Just a quick three-day visit. I'm glad they did, though, as it allowed me to get an idea for what Hawaii and the job were and what they weren't (I hadn't been off the mainland until that point).