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Although we’re eternally grateful for moving to Hawaii, here are a few mistakes we made! No particular order, just a list:
1) Bring tools and home stuff. We left a ton of stuff behind, and now we’re paying for it. Items like drills, screwdrivers, hammers, nails, screws, etc. Why pay for these if you can put them on your container? (We left and didn’t have time for the final stuff, so we stored the “hardware” in an “owner’s closet” in our house, and now we’re having to “re-buy” these things such as vacuum cleaner, ladder, drills, etc.) We brought our washer and dryer, but our rental has these. We’ll probably be glad that we have our washer and dryer. But we were missing a lot of stuff.
2) Don’t Bring your winter/spring/etc clothes. Seriously. We way overdid this one. I probably have 15 pairs of pants here that I will NEVER wear (unless I travel back home when it’s cold.) The space is a premium out here, so do yourself a favor, and LEAVE BEHIND all your winter stuff. I do see a lot of people wearing jeans and jackets hear, but it will take my family a VERY long time until I have to wear a jacket on a 78 degree day (and sunny:)
3) Bring all your important documents. Here’s an example. Hawaii is crazy about emission standards on vehicles, including, (my) Mopeds! You have to have a certificate of registration (proof of ownership,) from what I was told today. I have to take my E-ton Biemer Suzuki scooter to the dealership for an emission test, then, get the tax certificate. I don’t have my “proof of ownership, that I can find” so now I have to get this document. Our cars were easier, since the titles were part of our normal deal. Point is, bring your important documents like vehicle registrations, birth certificates, social certificate info, etc.
4) Don’t Bring your 8000 mug collection, or 1000 extra plates, cups, saucers, etc. Guess what... You won’t use them, and space is a premium. We packed all of our space here and left about 300 extra mugs in our limited storage space. Go minimal. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. You do so much stuff here outside, you don’t need “Grandma’s special Tea Set.” Hell, you probably won’t have that many visitors anyway, and if you do, you’ll want to spend your time taking them to see some really cool stuff.
5) Bring your computer “MEGA NEEDED ITEMS.” Let me explain: You may not be able to run down to “Best Buy” (depending on where you live,) so bring a supply of back-up stuff that you KNOW you’ll need: 1) extra back-up discs (cd roms, tapes, etc.) 2) Power Cords (this cost me $150 today,) your power cord may blow-up, so bring an extra while you can still buy it on ebay for cheap and have it shipped 2 day. 3) Back-up battery supply. (I left mine in Indy, and now I have to pay to have one shipped!) 4) Extra keyboards, mouses, etc. If you can get these for cheap, put them on your container, and ship them, DO IT! I have had decent luck getting stuff here, but if you can get them for cheap, and you think you’ll need them, DO IT!
6) BIG ONE: BACK YOUR COMPUTER STUFF UP BEFORE YOU LEAVE, AND HAVE A PLAN FOR WHEN YOU GET HERE. (Sorry about all those caps.) But we’ve experienced more computer problems here than in our entire business life back in Indy. Sure, after reading everything on the internet, ‘tis probably a problem with our computers (I’ll NEVER buy another HP, although if it’s a problem with the electrical here, I’m wrong,) but we had some MAJOR catastrophic problems with our computers. Thank God for SeaGate, Radio Shack, and Hilo Computer Supply..
7) Get your Health Care in order. We found out the hard way. Your carrier in Indianapolis, Indiana, or Des Moines, Iowa, may not cover you hear....
8) If you’re “normal,” leave your shoes behind. I don’t like to wear “flip flops,” but that’s ALL YOU NEED. My daughters, and my wife, wear a total of 3 or 4 different versions of flip flops every week. I “latch-on” to my sneakers, but even I, a white-mail who hates to wear sandles, goes barefoot most of the time.
That’s it for now!
Talk soon
Chris
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