The Dummy's Guide to Moving to Hawaii

So… you may be wondering what has happened since I've come to Hawaii, if I'm still alive, if I'm living on the streets, or starving, or even if I've struck gold yet. Read on…

So, how did I, who was broke, knew no one in Hawaii, and had no plans for when I got here make this trip happen? Good question. The details are a bit… well interesting. So first step, I decide that I want to fulfill one of my life goals and learn how to surf. I mean, you've seen the same surf videos I have, huge waves, surfers getting barreled, we all know its hot hot hot. No better place to learn how to do that then the surf capital of the world, Hawaii!! Second step, buy a plane ticket. Problem: no money. So I think of a way to make money… in Hawaii, and put an ad on craigslist for a "vacation nanny". Get contacted by a family from New Jersey, we go back and forth with our questions and recommendations, and I agree to nanny for them. Note: they have no idea I'm not actually in Hawaii yet. But I now I have assured income which will pay for my ticket and the first day or so of life in Hawaii. So then I book the ticket.

Recall, at this point, I still have no de facto money. So I did what so many of our wise leaders have done before me: I bought the ticket on credit. (May I add it was a cheap ticket!) I picked a credit card with 0% APR for the first 6 months, and which automatically gave me $50 for buying the ticket. Not a bad start. But it gets better! I signed up for credit protection, first month free. One of the "protections" so happens to be life events… such as moving. So they credit me about another $50. More free moooolah. And did I mention that because I signed up for credit protection over the phone, they gave me a $15 rebate? So that's over $100 buckos of free money. You have to work the credit card companies harder than they work you!

So then I have a ticket and a one-week job in Hawaii, and that's about it. I still have to figure out where to live. So I look on craigslist, look on facebook, and think that I've found this great place. Cheap rent, my own room, not TOOOO far from the beach. Fast forward to me actually being in Hawaii, I give the girl a call and it has, of course, just been rented. Ahhhh. Anyway, for the first few days in Hawaii I had planned on Couchsurfing, a brilliant idea invented by an avid traveler, who wanted a way to travel cheaply and meet the locals. So I ended up staying with Kyle for a few days, and then b/c he had other guests coming, with Blake and Pascale for a few days, all wonderful and welcoming people! But the apartment search continued.

Meanwhile, because I am such an industrious worker (read: workaholic) I have booked my ticket the day before I start nannying. So I get in Friday night, and Saturday morning I'm taking care of kids. Brilliant idea, I know. But also in this time I have set up an interview with an economic policy think tank, so I have to work that out. As luck would have it, the day that I have my interview, it is pouring here in sunny Honolulu. And as my two sturdy legs are my only means of transportation here, walk in the rain it was. I packed my dress and heels in my backpack and trudged through the rain down King street looking for the building. Stopped at a bakery right before it to grab a coffee and change from my flip-flops and beachwear into professional clothes. I don't even want to know what those people were thinking after I finished my chameleon act, but headed out of there and landed my internship. Changed back into beach clothes and headed to nanny for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, the apartment search continues: I look at a few places in Waikiki, and finally decide on a large bedroom in a small house, but they won't let me move in for a few days. The place has old nasty carpet, (That 70's Show-esqe) but is really close to the beach… but given my days of grace period, I decide to keep looking. End up finding another place with a crazy man living there. Yes, I say crazy with full realization that this guy was literally crazy. Not just a little ADD, but full on ADHD and bipolar. Yes, he did inform me, a potential roommate, of that right on. He said he was bluntly honest about things. No kidding. So then, I am with 2 pretty terrible options actually, and I find this place on craigslist, close to the beach, with cheap rent. I head right over, found cool roommates, and made and instant decision, which has turned out to be a great idea, really.

So was blindly booking a ticket to Hawaii a good idea? Well of course! What can I say… follow your dreams. :D