Need your input.

[bear]

Lately I have been tossing around this idea but I can't seem to make up my mind about it.  About a week ago my dad told me that this guy that he knows over in Hawaii needs someone to help him for about a year (he is in the wood working business).  My brother was offered the same job a few years ago because this guy doesn't like the local people because they are lazy.  I would start off at $8-10 an hour doing general help maybe going out to sites to install and stain the wood but if I show interest in what I am doing I could make up to $20-22 and hour running the mills.  Also he says that right now they are working about 50 hours a week and that he has had to turn away many job offers because he is booked solid so there wouldn't a point where I am not needed. I would not have to worry about a place to stay because he has a three bedroom house so I wouldn't have to pay for rent (where the house is located you see Pearl Harbor one way and the beach is like 30 feet/yards away) but I would have to buy my own food.  I would also have to find my own way to get around the island.  Also I would have to go to college while I am out there, probably night classes. The only thing that is keeping me from going out there is the fact that once I leave there would be no coming home for the weekend or visiting friends at college or anything like that but I would come home for Christmas/New Years and maybe even Easter.  I am sure that I would keep in touch with everyone that I know.  But it also seems like something that I cant put my finger on that is holding me back from taking this job and going.  I know for sure that it isn't my current job because I hate it.  I don't know what do you think should I take the job or not.     

[raybeez]

Hawaii sounds good, but if you have any reservations about going...don't go. There's no sense going and being miserable in Hawaii. Start looking for another job near where you live, so you can get out of the job you don't like.

Or...look PAST this Hawaii job opportunity and ask yourself what your future employment goal is. If going will help you succeed in your future endevours, then I'd suggest sucking it up and going for a year. I mean, if you're going to continue in woodworking and this guy in Hawaii is some kind of woodworking guru, then it might be wise to go to Hawaii.


One other thing... 8 to 10 dollars an hour isn't much in Hawaii. If you decide to go, maybe you can negotiate your starting pay.

[Old Moparz]

If you don't have any serious ties or commitments where you are now, I'd say take a chance & go for it. An opportunity to go to a place like that with no rent to pay sounds good. There are some drawbacks, but to me they don't outweigh the positives. The worst thing that can happen is that you hate it & all you need to do is go home. The $8 to $10 isn't much, but average in what rent & utilities would have been, & add that to your salary. Maybe a short term plan to test it out would work, like 3 to 6 months minimum, & leave if it doesn't work out.

One other thing to consider is, ask yourself in 3 to 6 months "What if I had just went & tried it out?" You might regret never knowing.   

[RECHRGD]

I would have a long talk with the guy and get some more information.  Just how long does he think he can pay you 8-10 dollars if your a good worker.  That's starvation wages over there, even with no rent.  It sounds like you'd be living around Pearl City.  Find out about the neighborhood.  There are areas around there that you don't want to be in if your a young mainland Haole.  Always have enough money stuck away for a plane ticket home.  Hawaii is a great place to vacation, but can get old real fast if your just over there trying to make a living.     Bob

[Troy]

Honestly, I was in a similar predicament once. I was nervous about moving so far away from home but I was young, had a crappy job, not much of a social life, and no wife or dependents. My step dad told me that, at the worst, if I went and it didn't work out then I'd just have to come back home to my crummy life - and I really wouldn't be any worse off after six months or a year. On the other hand, these opportunities don't come along much once you get older and more settled in life so if you pass up opportunities now you may never get another chance. So, I went. I eventually came back home but I don't regret the decision at all. The money isn't great in your case but you never stated how much you make now and it sounds like the hardest part (shelter) is covered. You'll get to learn a trade which is never a bad thing. Other than possibly blowing a year of college, I don't see a lot of downside for anyone young enough to try. I get the feeling that if you had concrete college plans you wouldn't even be thinking about it though. I'd rather see you waste some time in Hawaii than get thousands of dollars in debt doing something you don't enjoy in college. Plus, working a really bad job for a while is great motivation for college. Yes, I did that too.

Troy

[bear]

Well, right now I am making $7 but that only because that is minimum wage and the only raises I have gotten from where I work is when minimum has gone up.  And honestly for the amount of work that I have to do and some of the people I have to work with don't even make it worth it for me to stay there.  I am truly surprised that I have been able to put up with it for three years nows.

[mikepmcs]

Let's see, you are still a young man, and you have a chance at 18 to go to Hawaii for a year, room paid for, great surfing, good looking girls, and you don't have any ties there.  Like Bob said above, the locals don't care much for the people from away but if  you don't buy any land there and keep your nose clean you'll be ok.  I lived on Oahu for 5 years when I was younger and didn't really mind it.
I have detached there more than a few times while doing my 20 in the Navy and always enjoyed being there for short periods of time.
There is a lot of history there both military and local so there is no downside to learning a little culture and the fishing is great underneath those big Navy Ships!

I think it is a great opportunity for you to get out and see another way of life and make a little money doing it and possibly learn a skill that you really might enjoy. The food is great over there.  Say hi to Sam Choy(Hawaiian chef) and make sure you experience everything it has to offer in your spare time.   Don't just go and work the 50 a week and sit around on the weekends, then I would say it's a waste of time.
I think it's a great opportunity for someone still starting out in the real world and a year really isn't that long.  Your friends will still be your friends and just think of the stories you'll have to share with someone who might not get the opportunity.

I have a young friend who is in the same situation, except it's Alaska on a fishing boat.  He has nothing holding him back but still is hesitant to go.  I told him to get the hell out of here for 6 months and make some bank and come on home. 

It's not real hard to get around the Island once you get there and get used to it.  "DA BUS" will be your friend, or score a moped and you're all set.
Not a real big place.

Is the plane fare taken care of? I didn't see that part of it up top.

I don't think you should pass this up IMHO.

Or you can join the Navy, get your college paid for while you're in and go to places you could never imagine, including Hawaii.  All the while getting paid to do so(more than 8-10 dollars an hour) learning a marketable skill,  Get your degree and apply for an Officer program within a couple years if you do it right.  I say this cause I screwed up and didn't do that but helped many do so in my Naval Career.
Sorry, had to throw the shameless Navy plug in there.

Good luck no matter what you choose.




v/r
Mike

[bear]

I would have to pay for half of the ticket to get there, parent will pay the rest. My parents would pay for college for me while I was out there, I would have to do night classes or online classes and even at that I would probably only take what is required.  Another thing that I forgot to add was that chances are I am going to get kicked out this summer because my dad think I have the "worst attitude in the world." 

[Orange_Crush]

Would you rather be miserable in Hawaii or be miserable in Cleveland?

When I was young, I would have killed for an opportunity like that.  What do you have to lose?  The world is your oyster man!  Go for it!

[bull]

Do you think you'll look back someday and say "man, that year I spent in Cleveland making $7/hr was so cool. Hawaii would have sucked." Or will a year in Hawaii possibly be a little more memorable? Hmmmm, I wonder? I spent a year in Hawaii when I was an 8th grader and the cultural change itself was enough to give me some awesome memories that will last a lifetime. It wasn't all good but it was all very memorable and most of it was good. I could never stand living in that type of climate for life (hot/humid) but it was just like a long summer for me. Bikini girls everywhere, surfing, boogie-boarding, snorkeling, sight-seeing and the history lesson of Pearl Harbor cannot be beat, especially for just a year-long stint. I'll tell you this, that year will go by faster than any other year of your life. You've got no wife, no kids and no mortgage right? What are you waiting for? Get your butt over there.

[Big Lebowski]

  As soon as you get there, some hot chick will put a "lay"necklace on you. Then you'll brag about getting laid.    Go for it. Cook a pig on the beach everynight, get drunk with the locals.

[Back N Black]

I say, go for it. Its a little scary because we all fear change and everything we want is always outside our comfort zone.

[Goodz]

Sounds like you may need a little attitude adjustment, at least in the eyes of your dad.  Maybe this is just the thing for you.  You will learn a trade, get some work ethic, maybe a little pride in what you do, live rent free (hope food is included), get paid a little scratch... and, oh yeah, you will be in HAWAII !!!!  Hot chicks, surfing, partying with the locals.  Just dont act like a cocky mainlander and you will have a blast!  Dont miss out on something like this.

[Old Moparz]

I would have to pay for half of the ticket to get there, parent will pay the rest. My parents would pay for college for me while I was out there, I would have to do night classes or online classes and even at that I would probably only take what is required.  Another thing that I forgot to add was that chances are I am going to get kicked out this summer because my dad think I have the "worst attitude in the world." 

Parents are paying for half the ticket?

Also paying for college?

And if you don't go they'll kick you out soon anyway?



So you still need to think more about it?



Are you retarded?

[TK73]

You're still here??

3 days is plenty to be packed and over there!!

[Goodz]

You're still here??

3 days is plenty to be packed and over there!!

ROFL.  yeah, seriously.  Even crappy days in Hawaii are not so bad.  I mean, you're in HAWAII!!!  GO ALREADY!!!   

[PocketThunder]

       

I graduated from college and wanted to move to Colorado and be a ski bum for a year.  But i didnt, i stayed course, got a job, got married, bought a house, had kids. ... and now i sit here typing on this keyboard everyday wondering what it would have been like if i would have went to Colorado...   

We need to see pictures of your suitcase packed and a copy of your plane ticket...   

[bear]

I would leave now but I have to finish school which will be over on the 23^rd but then there is graduation and I have my eagle court of honor on June 14^th so the earliest I would leave would be the 16^th. Right now the lowest flight I found out there would be $805. For the most part the only major expenses I would have out there would be food and a way to get around other ten that the rest would be put away for when I come back to work on the Charger. the more I think about this the more I think that I am going to go.

[BigRed66]

Hawaii sucks...82 degrees year round? That blows...run away!!

[PocketThunder]

There are a couple board members here that live in Hawaii you could look up to give you a ride around in their Chargers.. 

Bad Bob
malibu andy  (i think thats correct)..

Where is that member map when you need it..

[Goodz]

The weather can be quite horrible in Hawaii.  Check out this weather forecast...

http://utterlyboring.com/archives/2006/03/22/triumph_the_ins.php

[2Gunz]

Im 33, have a good life and make 45 to 60 an hour depending on my job title for the day.

Think the guy would take me instead?   

[bear]

The weather can be quite horrible in Hawaii.  Check out this weather forecast...

http://utterlyboring.com/archives/2006/03/22/triumph_the_ins.php

Now I am going to have to think this over again if the weather is going to be like that.

[Old Moparz]

I would leave now but I have to finish school which will be over on the 23^rd but then there is graduation and I have my eagle court of honor on June 14^th so the earliest I would leave would be the 16^th. Right now the lowest flight I found out there would be $805. For the most part the only major expenses I would have out there would be food and a way to get around other ten that the rest would be put away for when I come back to work on the Charger. the more I think about this the more I think that I am going to go.

So money is part of the problem? I'll donate that crate I made for my Cuda grille, & I bet you can get shipped through DHL for under $200.

I'll put plenty of padding inside too.   

[RD]

dont be a putz   get over there, find some strange, get a tan, say aloha, mahalo, and bitchin a lot and work your butt off... come back to ohio and be the envy of every single friend you have

no brainer in my book, do it or you will regret it forever.

[bear]

At this point I think that I am going I just have to get everything taken care of here and there before I leave.  I have been motivated to leave by a series of events here that I had nothing to do with and still had to hear about it that and everyone that I have talked to has said go for it.

[Brock Samson]

i say..  GO WEST YOUNG MAN! 

[BMOTOXSTAR]

dont be a putz   get over there, find some strange, get a tan, say aloha, mahalo, and bitchin a lot and work your butt off... come back to ohio and be the envy of every single friend you have

no brainer in my book, do it or you will regret it forever.

Take life by the balls and squeeze until they crunch....take the chance.

[Brock Samson]

 listen to this song and start packin!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VcVmXv-dD80

[Goodz]

Glad to see youre gonna go.  Have a great time.  Work hard, but dont forget to have fun.  Life is what you make it!