How expensive is it to live in Hawaii?
Hawaii is an American state, but everyone who has visited the mainland and even lived there says that life on the islands is very different. And the biggest difference is in cost. From the most essential things to buying or renting a home, everything in paradise is more expensive.
The property
How does it cost to live in Hawaii? If you decide to live in Hawaii for a while, you will have to rent an apartment. It’s good if you can get by with a studio apartment or two rooms. It is expensive, but with a stable average earnings, for example, of an IT specialist, it is real. Only very wealthy people can afford to rent a house with a pool and a plot. At the same time, no crises affect the rental price, it can only rise.
Buying a house or apartment is a very profitable investment. What you need to know: There are 2 schemes in Hawaii:
- Buying with full ownership – when the land on which it stands is bought together with the house;
- Land lease – you buy a house, and rent is paid for the land every month.
The first option is more profitable, but very expensive. The second is more accessible, therefore more common. But you need to take into account that land rent on different islands is different and sometimes it is more expedient to pay more once than pay extra every month.
Essential goods
We are talking about food, clothing, and so on. Prices in Hawaii are on average 30 percent higher than in more states. And the point is not even that almost all products and other goods are imported. The price includes excise taxes, high rental of premises for shops, transportation costs.
It is almost impossible to find small retail outlets in large cities, it is simply unprofitable to maintain them. The owners open large stores with an extended range of products. There are more sellers, large areas, utility bills working there. All this significantly affects the price.
The living wage in the state impresses even the Americans themselves. Those who want to come to live on the islands often return. Neither nature nor ecologically clean spaces are attractive when the cost of living is too high.
Transport
It’s difficult without your car on a land cut off from the mainland. But this is not the only problem. There is almost no public transport. Freedom of movement is possible only in your own car. And then the next question arises: buy a car on the spot or bring it from the mainland. Transportation of one passenger car by ship will cost at least USD 1,000. You can buy a car locally for almost the same price as on the mainland. Another transport problem is traffic jams. The length of all roads on the largest island is no more than 1500 km. Therefore, in the morning and in the evening, all the cities “stand”.
Many residents are giving up personal transportation, preferring to travel by taxi. But this is a temporary and not very profitable solution.
Considering custom clothing and the cost of living in Hawaii? The island’s unique lifestyle and natural beauty come with a higher price tag. Custom clothing prices can vary, influenced by local demand and materials. Factor in housing, groceries, and transportation costs to budget wisely. Balancing quality of life with expenses is key to enjoying Hawaii’s beauty in style.
It is expensive to live in Hawaii, but still, the state’s permanent population is growing every year. And it is replenished not only with world-class stars but also by ordinary people who cannot imagine life without local beauties.