Moving to Kbay

[VT_Flyer]

Hey All, I've done a forum search, but haven't been able to find much so far. The title says it all, just waiting on final orders. Looking like I'll be PCSing from JAX this AUG. I've got a wife, and two small pets (all vaccinated and quarantined as per HI's regs). no kids. Slated for HSL-37 following SERE, also have a couple of buddies who'll be following behind me-so I'll pass along this gouge.

I've got a ton of unresolved questions, most of which I think can be solved with the standard gouge pass off.

First, concerned about housing, like places to look at, places to avoid. I'll be putting in for base housing, but is that a good move? How far is far on the island? To me 10 mi equates to a 15-20 min commute, does this hold true there?

What about cars? I know the Navy ships one, how did people tackle getting a 2nd out there?

Anyone else move pets during the summer? How'd that work out?

I'd love any and all gouge and lessons learned that the hive mind has. Please feel free to PM me.

Respectfully,
Steve

 

[Gatordev]

Hey All, I've done a forum search, but haven't been able to find much so far. The title says it all, just waiting on final orders. Looking like I'll be PCSing from JAX this AUG. I've got a wife, and two small pets (all vaccinated and quarantined as per HI's regs). no kids. Slated for HSL-37 following SERE, also have a couple of buddies who'll be following behind me-so I'll pass along this gouge.

I've got a ton of unresolved questions, most of which I think can be solved with the standard gouge pass off.

First, concerned about housing, like places to look at, places to avoid. I'll be putting in for base housing, but is that a good move? How far is far on the island? To me 10 mi equates to a 15-20 min commute, does this hold true there?

If you can get base housing and you're not interested in buying an investment property, I'd go with the base housing. It's pretty nice now. Even the bomb shelter that Webmaster lived in 7 years ago was still not bad for the location and commute time.

If you don't live on base, I'd look at Kailua/Lanikai and then Kaneohe. Kaneohe can be hit and miss on nice places, but the commute can be annoying, especially in the afternoon. For my first two years, I lived at (essentially) the intersection of the H3 and Kam Highway (on Kaneohe Bay Dr) and my commute was about 10 minutes, about half of that was due to base speed limits. My last year, I lived all the way at the end of Lanikai and the location was AWESOME, but the commute was about 20-25 minutes just because there's only one road in and out which is winding. Traffic wasn't bad, just slow speed limits. Total distance was probably 5 miles from base. There's plenty of other places that are 5 miles from base where the commute will be less time.

Finding places is the hard part, especially in the winter. Stuff starts becoming available in the spring but goes fast. Back in Feb-March time frame I started looking for places (thought I was heading that way) and there wasn't much listing, but it picks up.

Commuting is "different" on Oahu. Because of the mountains, there aren't always direct ways to places, which means it takes longer to go somewhere that's not that far. Add the locals and their "stellar" driving abilities along with the pedestrian speed limits, and it's not the fastest pace. That said, you can get to Pearl/Hickham/Main exchange in 20-25 minutes over the hill and get to downtown in about 25 minutes on the Pali...getting back to the windward side on the Pali in the afternoon is a slower process due to traffic, but doable.

Anyone else move pets during the summer? How'd that work out?

I didn't ship a pet out to HI, but I did send a pet back to Florida right before I left in April (from San Diego). The pet was stressed, but I think that was more the pet than the travel. The airlines allowed it to happen, but it was still "early" in the season.

I'd love any and all gouge and lessons learned that the hive mind has. Please feel free to PM me.

Respectfully,
Steve

You still have some time before you even get out there, but once you do, enjoy it. I didn't want to leave and I've been trying to get back to the island since. There's plenty to do and not enough time to do it all, especially when you deploy, which you will at -37.

 

[PropAddict]

Ditto for living on base. The old bomb shelters have (almost) all been demo'd and replaced with brand new two story houses. I have a 4 bed, 3 ba, with 2 car garage that's a 3 minute walk to North beach. The married guys living off base all seem to be shacked up in much smaller places, farther from the water, paying over their BAH. I don't run A/C, so I actually get a utilities rebate check every month from base housing.

If you do want to live off base, Lanikai is where I would go.

You'll get 10 days TLA when you get here, so you'll have plenty of time to live in the Hale Koa and scope out places. If you put your name on the list for base housing and they can't get you in right away, they'll extend your TLA in 10 day increments until they can find you a place. Or you find yourself a place out in town.

I didn't move pets in the summer, but I did bring a dog here in the winter. Start all the testing and vaccs as soon as possible. One of them takes 90 days and the animal has to stay in quarantine until the results come back negative. If you time it right and the results come back the day you get here, he stays in quarantine for only 3 days.

I opted to sell my second car on the mainland, since the cheapest I could find to ship from Jax was DAS and they were $3,200. This base is tiny, so if you live here you can easily ride a bike to work or motorcycle. There's also a revolving stock of cheap, low mileage cars at the lemon lot because lots of folks ship one car out, buy a second when they get here, then can't afford to ship it back when they PCS out.

 

[webmaster]

What about cars? I know the Navy ships one, how did people tackle getting a 2nd out there?

I have been fortunate enough to spend three tours in Hawaii, none of them back to back unfortunately. Over the years I have used a couple means to get my 2nd car to (and from) Hawaii. I never shipped from the East coast, I always drove cross country, and took advantage of those travel days to visit friends and family across the US (or swing by Vegas!) all while on per diem and getting paid mileage for the trip. Enjoy HI, it is great place to live.

In order of MY preference:

1. PASHA. http://www.pashahawaii.com/ Used them twice to ship a car. "Pasha Hawaii offers standard vehicle transport service between our California and Hawaii Terminals (San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului). Our price for Standard Service is $1072." I liked Pasha (at the time) since I was able to pick which vessel my car would be on, and booked it, so I KNEW when it would show up in Honolulu, and when I left HI, when it would show up in San Diego.

2. MATSON. http://www.matson.com/pov/ Also $1072 from the west coast.

3. OPPORTUNE LIFT. Never used it, but out of San Diego, with Military Sealift Command. http://www.cnic.navy.mil/PearlHarbo...esAndResources/OpportuneLiftProgram/index.htm

"
Opportune Lift ProgrambbLooking for a way to ship that second POV back to the mainland without spending a lot of your own money? The OPPORTUNE LIFT (OPLIFT) program might be just what you need. Commander Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific (COMNAVSURFGRU MIDPAC) runs the OPLIFT program within the Middle Pacific region. This includes lifts between Hawaii and San Diego CA. The program relies on volunteer U.S. Navy ships to transport OPLIFT material. Availability of OPLIFT is dependent on operational schedules and ship load out. Once a ship is confirmed for OPLIFT, COMNAVSURFGRU MIDPAC will team with FISC Pearl Harbor and/or PWC to ensure your material is safely loaded onboard the vessel."

 

[Gatordev]

You'll get 10 days TLA when you get here...

This still burns my butt to this day.

If you put your name on the list for base housing and they can't get you in right away, they'll extend your TLA in 10 day increments until they can find you a place. Or you find yourself a place out in town.

And this just adds salt to the wound. But a great deal.

 

[OnTopTime]

I've got a wife, and two small pets (all vaccinated and quarantined as per HI's regs).

Huh, I didn't realize that wives had to go through quarantine now.

 

[HAL Pilot]

3. OPPORTUNE LIFT. Never used it, but out of San Diego, with Military Sealift Command. http://www.cnic.navy.mil/PearlHarbo...esAndResources/OpportuneLiftProgram/index.htm

"
Opportune Lift ProgrambbLooking for a way to ship that second POV back to the mainland without spending a lot of your own money? The OPPORTUNE LIFT (OPLIFT) program might be just what you need. Commander Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific (COMNAVSURFGRU MIDPAC) runs the OPLIFT program within the Middle Pacific region. This includes lifts between Hawaii and San Diego CA. The program relies on volunteer U.S. Navy ships to transport OPLIFT material. Availability of OPLIFT is dependent on operational schedules and ship load out. Once a ship is confirmed for OPLIFT, COMNAVSURFGRU MIDPAC will team with FISC Pearl Harbor and/or PWC to ensure your material is safely loaded onboard the vessel."

OPPORTUNE LIFT - Yeah....when I was on the carrier, the Sailors shooting the lines across during the unreps used to aim for the cars on the deck of the USNS ships.....

It took my brothers car 5 months to go from Panama to Miami on OPLIFT, It left Panama as a nice car and showed up in Miami after a Far East/Arabian Gulf tour (he tracked the ship) looking like shit with many dents, scratches and rust everywhere. And the navy shrugged their shoulders and said "not our problem". It was an "at your own risk" deal with no claims allowed.

 

[statesman]

Huh, I didn't realize that wives had to go through quarantine now.

I'm kind of surprised they didn't have to in years past... A wife can be more dangerous to life and property than a rabid dog.

 

[VT_Flyer]

Thanks all for the comments so far! So...OPLIFT, awesome idea if I want to give my car the "hell and back" look, love it! Good to know options though, never would have thought of a Space-A type service being available.

@ OnTop: You didn't know that? Its the rabies they are worried about, plus it cuts down on the drinking costs...just keep her crated when I go out so she doesn't destroy the furniture.

 

[PropAddict]

OPPORTUNE LIFT - Yeah....when I was on the carrier, the Sailors shooting the lines across during the unreps used to aim for the cars on the deck of the USNS ships.....

It took my brothers car 5 months to go from Panama to Miami on OPLIFT, It left Panama as a nice car and showed up in Miami after a Far East/Arabian Gulf tour (he tracked the ship) looking like shit with many dents, scratches and rust everywhere. And the navy shrugged their shoulders and said "not our problem". It was an "at your own risk" deal with no claims allowed.

Yeah, word on the street is that it will take @5 months just to get your car ON an OPLIFT boat to/from Hawaii. And you have to be here/there to put it on and take it off. Old guys say it used to be a decent deal, but I've not heard anyone say anything good about it in the past few years.

 

[VT_Flyer]

(bump)

So, with the OPlift being out of the question, the debate of ditching the 2nd car comes to the forefront. Anyone know approx how much the island beaters are going for? Needs are simple: 4 wheels, made in the last decade, and will likely not die in chocks...2 days later is okay (builds the false sense of security). I realize I may need to lower my expectations of something coming off the lemon lot, but...I'm optimistic.

 

[PropAddict]

What's your price range?

Seriously, there is everything here from 200 Kmile Toyotas that have changed hands faithfully every 33 months for the last two decades to 1000mile BMW M3's that were bought when someone was deployed and are now being sold six months later at significant discount. And Wranglers and convertibles are plentiful here.

I'd say for a dependable daily driver that will last 3 years of normal driving here and not require major maintenance. . .3-5 grand maybe? Prices for used cars aren't all that different here than the mainland. The only issue is that good ones tend to go quick. Like on Craigslist, you better call as soon as you see the ad, and buster over with cash in hand or you'll get scooped.

 

[Machine]

Like PropAddict said, you can find cars that are under $1000, but most on the lemon lots are pretty nice. Craigslist is pretty useful out here too.