I am moving to Hawaii in June-July some time due to Military reasons and I am having the most difficult time finding an apartment or home for a decent price with a decent amount of sq. ft. (I think my price range will be around $2,000-$2040). If anyone is from Hawaii or has lived there, do you have any suggestions? I will be working near Mililani.
Thanks guys... :bow:
The Islands are expensive, very expensive. In the Mililani area, I don't know that you will be able to find any thing in your range that isn't fairly small by mainland standards. The place I had in Ewa Beach (which would get you a fairly long commute time wise) is renting for $1400 and it was 830 sqft. You might be able to find something within your BAH, but I wouldn't sign any contracts until you are on the island (take HH leave once you are there) and have a chance to gauge your morning
and evening commutes. That is one mistake I made, as it turned out, it was only about a 15minute difference for me to bike the 15 miles to work (at the Makalapa compound) and to drive. It was about an even split on which variety of commute took longer. If you end up on H1 for some of your commute, that will add time.
There aren't too many apartment complexes (as seen on the mainland, one big set of apartments with a central rental office) as most of the "apartment complex" type developments were sold as individual condominiums, so many of the available rentals are individual listings vice an apartment guide publication.
Try googling 'Certified Management' which is a management company that might have listings for individual apartments for rent. Another option is to get in contact with realtor companies, many of them have a rental agent on staff.
ETA: be sure to leave a little room in your BAH to deal with utilities, those run a little high as well, although if you do go with something in Mililani you might be able to get away with using the sea breeze coming down the mountain for cooling. Also, if you are putting stuff in storage (even just the closet) you might want to have some of those mold/mildew prevention bags or canister things handy. Also look into NOT shipping all of your stuff, the military is pretty good about letting you put stuff into long term storage on the mainland, just don't forget about it!
