Rat, Break-ins, and bugs; Housing in Hawaii

When you know you're blessed with good roommates

After living on Oahu for almost four years, I can say that finding housing is anything but easy. Low paying jobs and expensive rent makes Honolulu a difficult island to live on. But, with choice waves and ideal weather, all the hassle is worth it in the end. I’ve had many different housing situations since I have moved here and all of them are completely different. These are some of my experiences and tips I have picked up on the way. I hope they will help you in your search of a new home in paradise.

2015 when I first moved to Oahu, I was so blessed to move to the island with my aunite. She is originally from Honolulu, and with her, I was able to find a small apartment on the outskirts or Waikiki. The location was prime, only a 5 minute drive to nearby community college, but the apartment itself was nothing to brag about. Many apartments in Honolulu are old, very cramped and have either stairs or, if you are lucky, an elevator. The kitchen was tiny and left us with few places to store groceries and cooking appliances. All together, the place wasn’t that bad, but it was definitely different to anything I have lived in before.

The next thing that shocked me when I moved to Hawaii was the cockroaches. Big, brown, flying cockroaches. These things are everywhere and there is no real way to keep them out of your house. My only advance on these frightening friends is try to clean up after yourself and take out the trash often. Eliminating food for them to scavenge helps prevent pests from wandering into your house. Other pests like bed bugs are also a common things on Oahu, so heed the warnings and never accept old beds/ linen.

Next, I lived in an apartment near the university with one of my friends. This place was a little bit roomer and had a little lani which was perfect for my friends dog. Finding a place that is also pet friendly is even more difficult, unless the animal is a service pet. The only flaw with this apartment was there wasn’t any parking. This means we had to find street parking which added another ten minutes to travel time to and from school, work, ect. Also, street parking makes your car more susceptible to car break-ins. Yes, my car was broken into twice while living there. Parking at this apartment was definitely tricky, but overall it was a decent place. Finding a RELIABLE friend to become your roommate is a really great way to broaden your options and expand your budget. Just make sure your friend is someone you trust and you know your can live with.

Moving onto the next situation which was my first time finding a place by myself. A studio was completely out of the question due to my budget, so I decide to find a room for rent. Craiglist is a great way to find rooms for rent and make connections with other students who are looking for housing. My third place I stayed in was a room I sub-rented from looking on Craiglist. The house was being rented by a middle age man who lived there with his daughter and girlfriend. The family was super chill and inviting and I really lucked out in that situation. Ideal street parking in front of the house, full kitchen and living room, and my own private room all for an affordable price.

Three decent housing situation so far and it had to be the fourth that ruined my lucky streak. All I’m going to say about this place is; make sure the place you move into doesn’t have a rat problem. Some locations around the island are more susceptible to rodents than others, so just be mindful before signing a lease. Breaking a lease can be stressful and hard, so make sure that you can handle the parking situation, the location, the size, pests and rodents, and the roommate the place has.

I’m not writing about these situations to scare or discourage individuals from moving to Hawaii. I just want to warn and educate the problems you should be wary of before moving into a place on the island. The best advice I could give anyone, is not to rush into anything. Think it out and weigh out all the pros and cons before signing a lease to make such the place in right for you. You never know if the next place you check out is going to be bigger, better, or cheaper. Happy apartment/room/house hunting and leave a comment below if you have any experiences and/or tips for moving. Thanks for reading and until next Wednesday :)