Cost of living in Hawaii | How do people make it?

[Music] if money were no object and you could live anywhere in the world where would it be more often than not the answer would be hawaii kovan 19 has especially placed an exclamation point on living in hawaii as the homeownership mindset has shifted and more people get to work remote [Music] the harsh reality however is that honolulu is consistently ranked among the top three most expensive places to live how do people do it why do people do it somehow 1.4 million people do [Music] if you've ever wondered what is the cost of living in hawaii well let me a missouri born hawaii raised person break it down for you now when they say that you get what you pay for that couldn't be closer to the truth missouri is one of the least expensive places to live but they have poisonous snakes and tornadoes let's start with the uncomfortable studies show that in order for a person to live comfortably in honolulu they must make twenty thousand dollars or more per year that's a depressing reality when the annual household income was eighty thousand dollars in 2019. in 2020 the u.s department of housing and urban development concluded that low income for an individual living on oahu is considered 93 000 that's staggering considering it's nearly double the national average income of a full-time salary earner around forty eight thousand dollars let's talk taxes state income taxes are fairly high at eight point two five percent for the median earner up to eleven percent for those earning four hundred thousand or more there is good news however property taxes are among the lowest in the nation at a net effective rate of 0.27 [Music] what about everyday expenses if you're a low income earner at ninety three thousand dollars after federal and state taxes you net about fifty four hundred dollars per month a typical two bedroom home in hawaii rents for around 2100 per month if you want to view you want to be near the park or the beach add on another five to seven hundred dollars per month and what about food i mean we all have to eat [Music] we have a wide variety of grocery stores and products because we are a melting pot of cultures fresh fruits and vegetables are always widely available some are even grown here like this one but a gallon of milk must make its way over on a ship how does 8.99 sound to you and what about other everyday expenses like gas at three dollars a gallon electricity at 50 dollars higher than the national average it all starts to add up [Music] wanna buy a home the median home prices in the 800 thousands although economist paul brubaker has been saying for a while to expect it to be a million soon in beach neighborhoods like kailua or the north shore it's already there and then some out west where you have to drive a little under 20 miles to get to the center of honolulu this means a simple three-bedroom two-bath house on 3 500 square feet of land with 1500 square feet under the roof how's this fixer-upper in a honolulu neighborhood clearly a tear-down on only 2500 square feet of land and around 700 square feet of house this home sold for 425 000 with 18 offers so how do you make it it's possible a lot of people do and they enjoy handsome lifestyles with great hands and seem to drink from the fountain of youth if you're a property owner historically you'll enjoy five percent appreciation per year but it's not done without tenacious intention in all things relationships are key [Music] although oahu has a population of 1.4 million people it's a relatively small place due to strong connections in communities and families the aloha spirit is impossible to put a price tag on two income earners are definitely better than one if you're going at it alone be willing to eat lots of ramen noodles heck if there are two of you be willing to eat lots of ramen noodles but i promise you this there will never be a sunset that won't take your breath away [Music] you

Channel: Dwell Hawaii

Views: 141,665

Keywords: moving to hawaii, living in hawaii, moving to oahu, hawaii real estate, cost of living in hawaii, honolulu hawaii, oahu hawaii, move to hawaii, living in honolulu, living on oahu, honolulu real estate, oahu real estate, how to move to oahu, how to move to hawaii, moving to hawaii 2022, hawaii real estate market, living in honolulu hawaii, living in oahu, hawaii homes, how to move to oahu hawaii, hawaii house, how to move to hawaii from the mainland, hawaii cost of living

Id: moE-PlwUsbU

Length: 6min 6sec (366 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 18 2021