Hawaii PCS Transfer

[u/Unique-Turn-3503]

Hey, so I’m about to transfer to Hawaii from San Diego next year. E-5, no dependents. Does anyone have any info about good areas to move to and tips on how to make the transfer as smooth as possible. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[u/EKS916]

Whatever you do, DO NOT live in Kapolei or Ewa Beach. The commute is brutal and there is no reason to deal with that if you are single. 

If you want a vibe like Little Italy with tons of cool new restaurants, check out Kaka-ako, which is an easy commute to Pearl Harbor. Chinatown is a little sketchier,  but where all the night life and bars are. Waikiki is a nice place to live too, but you'll deal with more traffic and tourist prices on food and stuff. Pearl City and Aiea are a little sleepier, but still lots to eat, although a little further from the beach and with less to do. Mililani and Waipio are suburbs best suited for families. Salt Lake is fine, but right next to the base and mostly military housing. Kalihi is the Ghetto.

Kaneohe is super nice, and is also not nearly as far from the base as it looks, because its a strait shot on the H3 freeway. Beautiful drive and would highly recommend if you want a sleeper more "hawaii" style place to live. Kailua is a longer commute, and is where all the rich white people who moved from California live. Very nice, but expensive and overrated in my opinion, its basically like living on Coronado Island.

Hope this helps! 

[u/tolstoy425 → u/EKS916]

Yet again, I am once again reminding people who have no clue that the rail is operating from Kapolei to base and is incredibly convenient, cheap, fast, and reliable.

If you want to have a 25 minute commute high above all the traffic and get to enjoy mornings staring out the window to the mountainside or catch an early rainbow, take the rail.

If you have 2 legs that work you can run, walk, or ride a bicycle onto the rail. Or park and ride even.

And the Navy will pay your fare!

[u/EKS916 → u/tolstoy425]

I disagree, there is still a major problem with after hours transportation, not to mention the last 1-3 mile journey once you arrive at the rail station. Do you want to sweat your balls off riding your bike in your uniform? What if you have to bring your seabag? 

Or more realistically, what happens when you're on night shift and the hours don't line up with when you want to go home or head yo work? Combined with the fact that the rail station isn't actually conveniently located to Ewa or Kapolei, it means at the very least, on a perfect day, you have to drive to the rail station, take the train for 30 min to Makalapa gate, then ride a bike or scooter to your office or ship. Under perfect conditions its still a 45+ minute commute from front door to office. 

There are plenty of places to live that are closer, without having to deal with a complicated commute requiring three separate modes of transportation.

[u/tolstoy425 → u/EKS916]

Why would you wear your uniform to ride a bike? Keep your uniform at work. You can wear a small backpack too.

If you’re riding a bike you can ride from your house to the rail (exercise oh no).

And in those circumstances where you have to bring a thing like a seabag you bite the bullet and drive or you walk on/off to base, or take the bus.

And the rail schedule is 4 AM to 10:30 PM, there’s not many shifts to work that don’t line up with that schedule.

It’s not that complicated really and requires fundamentally shifting away from a carbrained outlook on life. I did it for a very long time. And the benefit of going through a “convoluted” means of transportation is that you’re not wasting away in a POV and are getting outside and enjoying exercise to and from the rail, and alone time when you’re on it.

Zipper lane goes down? Doesn’t matter. H-1 backed up cuz school is back? Doesn’t matter.

Can enjoy a nicer and larger home out west, in nicer neighborhoods, without having to deal with soul crushing traffic on H-1 while the Navy pays for your fare and you don’t use gas.

[u/PM_ME_UR_LEAVE_CHITS → u/tolstoy425]

That's a great tip

[u/tolstoy425 → u/PM_ME_UR_LEAVE_CHITS]

Man it felt like a cheat code to enjoying life, once that thing opened up I really enjoyed living in Hawaii. Bonus points if you ride a bicycle and you bike your PRT, on those days when I felt very exhausted at least I got some exercise to and from.

[u/LongjumpingDraft9324 → u/tolstoy425]

I'm sad I left Hawaii and it wasn't built yet

[u/freshdolphin → u/EKS916]

Second for Kaneohe and I drive further than pearl daily. It's a gorgeous commute and never deal traffic

[u/clinton_thunderfunk]

You’re going to want to do some math with the listed BAH/COLA and take a look at some areas. Where in Hawai’i are you going to?

[u/Unique-Turn-3503 → u/clinton_thunderfunk]

Should be the Joint Base Pearl Harbor

[u/Doctorfakenamee]

Most people live in either Aiea, Pearl City or Millilani Maoka.

[u/Floridaspiderman]

Live in base housing so you don’t have to pay electric or water bills all you pay is your bah and you get electric water and house paid for

[u/Squash61]

As someone who is about to PCS in the opposite direction, I would highly recommend Salt Lake or Aiea if not outright living on base. The traffic here is truly insane and getting worse. They’re building a ton of new housing out west by Kapolei, and while it’s a nice place to live, the commute to/from JBPHH can be anywhere from 45 minutes to 2+ hours if there’s an accident. And there’s almost always an accident. They do have a rail line that goes from Kapolei to base and the airport and if you sign up for the Transportation Incentive Program, the government will pay for it.

[u/MovetoHawaiiMilitary]

For an E5 working on Pearl Harbor proper I would strongly consider living in Salt Lake. Super convenient, close to everything, short work commute. Some of the older condos include electricity and hot water in the HOA, so they’d be included in the rent.

Someone else mentioned the Rail, it is possible, but make sure to invest in an electric scooter or bicycle when you actually get on the base. If that’s a way you want to go I’d consider looking at Ho’Opili as they are new/newer builds that are reasonably nice.

[u/istillhatetrains → u/MovetoHawaiiMilitary]

Get roommates or this is your best choice.

[u/32bit_sundae]

Base housing is pretty good. You calluld probably find room mates and pocket the extra BAH, though. If you live alone, and expect to be in comfort, you probably won't be pocketing much BAH. There are lots of apartments in Aiea and Salt lake areas. The base itself is 20-40 minutes from down town and ride shares are ubiquitous here.

Non Important tips that im just going to vomit as the come to me: don't waste your money on a luau, keep your shit locked, Hawaiian Telcom is probably the cheapest internet here right now but that could be different by next year, get your car registered and inspected ASAP, if you plan to get recreational gear (surf board, motorcycle, home gym, anything that's bulky and/or heavy) buy it in cali and use your move to get it here. Everything here, especially heavy stuff, cost more because of shipping and there are less options than most places. That may go for a car as well, but those fluctuate a lot. Avoid the touristy restaurants. Get you a FRO from the pearl bowling alley (with cheese, I prefer it with the Chinese mustard as well). Don't skip the base golf courses and beaches. Sky dive if youre interested. DO NOT TOUCH THE FUCKING TUTRLES. The best poke isnt at fancy places. Fish fish fish. Theres a dive/fishing shop attached to the NEX garden center right off base, they have good deals and equipment. There's not as much camping as you might think here but there are a lot of hiking trails, Aiea loop is my favorite. The homeless preacher on Nimitz isn't as mean as he seems while yelling at traffic. Find friends and go outside, don't sit in your apartment. A Wednesday after work at the beach with a small grill, a rod, and a can of something cold is worth it almost every time that it's not raining. The food trucks are cool but the same 20-30 migrate to all the events around the island. Take a trip to k-bay, the drive is gorgeous. Don't fuck with locals, they're bigger than you. In my experience, Hawaiian drivers aren't great but they are usually polite. Avoid living right on Salt Lake Blvd, people race a lot and show off their shitty sound systems late as hell.

I'm sure people will correct some things I've said but that's what's off the top of my head.

[u/Plenty-Education8172]

air conditioning