Stationed in Hawaii: The Raw Truth

When preparing to PCS your brain will be bouncing all over the place with all the possibilities of where your family may end up. Most people’s eyes light up when they are offered the chance to live in Oahu, Hawaii. What could be better than living in paradise?

As a military spouse who has lived here for 2 years I can tell you there’s a lot to consider before packing up and moving here. People are always asking me how I like living here and saying how great it must be, but here’s the raw truth, it’s not as amazing as it sounds.

I’d like to start by saying every duty station is what you make of it and each station has its own pros/cons. These are just typical feelings about Hawaii that military families share.

Benefits

Hawaii does have some amazing benefits that I want to touch on because there is a lot to look forward to! Independence: Hawaii is a great place to go if you are looking for independence from your hometown or family. Living in the middle of the ocean really makes you become independent and solely reliant on yourselves. Adventures: If you love the outdoors Hawaii is of course a great pick to enjoy outdoor activities! Most of the trails and beaches are free, but can be heavily populated. Family visiting: If and when your family can make it out to visit you it will be a visit like no other. It will be essentially a family vacation even though you won’t be leaving home.

Cons

I’d have to say there are definitely more cons to being stationed out here than you might think. Here are some that most people experience while being stationed here:

Cost of living: The cost of living in this state is extremely high and can make life very stressful for many soldiers and their families. Grocery shopping for a family of two easily amounts to over $200 every few weeks. When a gallon of milk costs you $7 things start to add up quick. Not only groceries but gas and going out to eat is very pricey as well. Before you know it your McDonald‘s bill will be pushing $35 for 2 meals. It can make leaving the house seem intimidating because it costs a pretty penny to do anything for fun. Housing: The housing waitllists here can be very long because there is not enough housing to meet the demand. Off post housing is an option but can become more expensive when paying utility bills that can top $700 a month here.

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Pets: Most families have fur babies that they take with them to every duty station, but if you’re planning on bringing them to Hawaii you better start preparing now. Before you even arrive to island you will need to get multiple vet certifications completed and a mandatory quarantine done on your animals. You will also need to purchase an airline approved crate and pay for your pet‘s flight all out of pocket costing an average of $1000 a pet, which is not reimbursed. The same applies when you leave island and it is just as expensive.

Also pet rent in Hawaii can range from $50/month to a full months rent as an additional pet deposit; off post homes also have breed and size restrictions. It is very difficult to find housing that accepts large breeds. On post housing will accept any size dog, but they do have breed restrictions and limits you to two pets per household. Cars: The Army will cover one vehicle being shipped per household and most military families own more than one car leaving you with yet another out of pocket expense. Hawaii, unlike other United States based duty stations, is the only one you can not drive to. Ultimately these leaves you with no choice but to ship your second vehicle. This out of pocket expense can cost an additional $980 minimum for a compact car and you will also have to pay this on your PCS out of Hawaii. Isolation: The biggest struggle many people face is coping with the isolation of living in Hawaii. This is often the farthest people have ever been from family and a trip back for a visit can easily cost you upwards of a grand. Many families end up spending all their holidays alone on island and missing big events back home, because travel is just too expensive. The time differences can make just staying in touch a lot harder than it used to be. If you have family on the east coast you’ll be facing a six hour time difference. For example if your mom wants to give you a call on her lunch break you might be asleep being that it’s only 6am here. Calling her back after you get home for the day means calling back at 10pm their time. All these instances combined tend to make people extremely homesick and feel trapped on the island. Training Schedules: When you already feel so alone from your family it is nice to at least have your spouse around, but when they’re constantly training it can make you feel even more alone. Training at Schofield Barracks is intense and often, while every unit is different almost all spouses share a common complaint that their spouse is gone more than half the year when adding up all their training. This constant revolving schedule can make it difficult on families and on adjusting to an already isolated location. Jobs: Many military spouses find comfort in working and having their own routine at each duty station, but many wives report that they have a very difficult time finding employment once reaching the island. Even when employment opportunities are found they are usually in Honolulu and the commute can be over an hour in traffic making it almost not worth the trip. The limited jobs also result in many spouses settling for jobs that they are over qualified for and don’t enjoy.

Tips on Living in Hawaii

If you do end up choosing Hawaii as your next duty station (or maybe you don’t have a say) try and make the most of it and don’t let these cons scare you. The reason I am sharing these is not to make Hawaii sound like the worst duty station ever but to give more families a realistic expectation of what’s to come. Many people arrive here unprepared to deal with all of the obstacles that living on an island comes with because no one gave them a heads up. To make your transition easier here are a few pro tips

Before PCSing:

-SAVE SAVE SAVE!! Put money away to ship your vehicle, ship your pets, and have money to spend while traveling.

-Make sure your government travel card is ready to use and that you understand what it can and can not be used for. - Get command sponsored BEFORE getting here! If you want your dependents furniture and plane ticket covered you will need to be command sponsored before getting to Hawaii. It also is more difficult to get command sponsored in Hawaii many spouses report. While living here:

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- Really set a budget for your family based on how much it costs you to live in Hawaii and put money away to cover costs you will acquire once its time to PCS off island. - Plan out off island trips so you have something to look forward to. This also costs money so it gives you time to save up. - Get out of the house and explore the free sights and hikes. When your spouse works long hours it’s easy to stay home every weekend and become homebodies, but do try and get out for some outdoor adventures when you can. - Try to make the most of it because you will be here for three years and you don't want to be miserable for your entire duration while being in Hawaii.

Let me know if you guys have any other questions about what it’s like to live in Hawaii as a military spouse and make sure to check out my latest YouTube video covering this topic and talking about my own person experience in Hawaii. Thanks for reading, catch you next week! https://youtu.be/nxAhq7GagMU