Traffic sucks getting out of Waikiki and up to the Pali Highway. I worked in Kailua, so I woke up about 5 am., showered and got in my Honda that I drove from Florida to Long Beach, California so I could ship it over on the Maersk container ship to Oahu, which then shipped it to Maui later when I moved. Keep this in mind if you’re planning on buying a condo when you move to Hawaii – usually you should rent first and figure out all the little things that will affect your purchase decision. That was outrageous because we didn’t even have security in the building! Hawaii maintenance fees on condos are through the roof. The maintenance fee we learned later was something like $450 per month. The building was about thirty years old, but not in bad shape. We had a locked gate that opened with a magnetic card. We had an outdoor conference area beside the 20′ x 40′ swimming pool, a small library, and a place with computers for anyone to use (residents). There were about ten condos per floor and seven floors. I was on the 5th floor, there was an elevator in my building. I was renting for $850 per month on Kapiolani Blvd in Waikiki on the island of Oahu. The roof had a stunning Waikiki ocean view, so I spent a lot of time up there washing clothes and working on websites. I lived in a small 1 bedroom condo with a nice lanai that gave partial ocean views. Keep that in mind – meals are expensive in the islands. I like to eat out a LOT – and $50K wouldn’t have worked for me. I had some online businesses that were sending money every month – which was essential. I was making $50K per year, but it felt like nothing. I had just arrived on Oahu and already had my first IT job.

This is what an average day for me looked like when I lived on Oahu: Background – Location, Building, etc.

Oahu craigslist desktop