Leaving Oakland for Honolulu

Oakland is home. You’ll always miss home. Whether it’s your group of friends, your favorite local restaurants, or family nights at Warriors games, it’s hard to say goodbye to the place you’ve created so many memories. But, as you leave Oakland for Honolulu, think of all the incredible things that await and the new memories you’ll make there! Keep reading to learn what life is like in Honolulu and see how a “you pack, we drive” company like U-Pack® can move your household goods to Hawaii.  

What to expect on a move to Honolulu

Here’s a brief glimpse of what to expect about life in Honolulu:

Nice weather year-round

You might think that Oakland and Honolulu have drastically different weather patterns, but there are actually a lot of similarities! Both cities get a lot of sun, enjoy warm summers and mild winters. It rains a lot in both places and neither hardly ever see snow. There are some differences in climate you need to know about, though, as you prepare for your move to Honolulu. Honolulu has what is described as a hot semi-arid climate, meaning temperatures don’t change much throughout the year. You can expect average highs in the 80s and 90s and lows in the mid-60 and -70s throughout the year. There is an occasional heat wave in the summer, where temperatures can creep into the upper 90s, but it usually doesn’t get much hotter than that. So while it can get hot in Honolulu, the breeze from the ocean usually keeps the air moist, reducing the humidity. Also, though the city is located in the tropics, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters are rare — though Honolulu does get about 80 inches of rain a year.

A cost of living adjustment

You may not notice much of a difference in your cost of living in your move from Oakland to Honolulu, but it is a little expensive to live the island life. In Honolulu there exists what natives call the “paradise tax” which makes costs higher than the national average for things like housing, health care, utilities and other miscellaneous expenses. For example, in Honolulu, the median home cost is about $670,200, well over the national average home cost of $216,200. But in Oakland, you can buy a home for about $758,800, so you’ll actually save quite a bit of money on real estate in Honolulu than you would in Oakland. In Honolulu, you’ll spend more on things like rent, utilities, groceries and consumer retail goods, but you may find that health care and fuel costs are cheaper or about the same as they are in Oakland. 

Living life on island speed

While both Oakland and Honolulu are small, area-wise, traffic isn’t all that bad in Oakland. However, in Honolulu, it can be quite heavy and busy — especially during business hours. Two-lane roads are common in Honolulu and, due to the city’s dense population, roads become filled with cars quickly. There are public transit options, but most people use their own vehicles to get around. A traffic study from TomTom’s Traffic Index shows that Honolulu drivers spend about 34 minutes a day in traffic (132 hours a year) and the majority of that time is spent on non-highway roads. 

Employment opportunities

If you’re moving for work, you’ll find Honolulu has a variety of employment opportunities. Thanks to the city’s paradise location, stunning beauty and fabulous beaches, millions of visitors come to the city each year to enjoy Honolulu. It’s because of this that tourism and hospitality services provide lots of jobs to island residents. Jobs in agriculture, trade, medicine, education and federal, state and local government are also popular in Honolulu. 

How to move to Honolulu with U-Pack^®

Need help moving to Honolulu? Consider U-Pack! With our “you pack, we drive” service, all you need to do is pack and load your belongings into the moving equipment, and we’ll do everything else. Your things will remain in the same equipment, just as you packed them, for the duration of the transit across the ocean to Honolulu. When your shipment arrives, we’ll deliver to your new home, where you’ll unload and then we’ll come back by and pick up the equipment. If you want to save a little money, you can simply load and unload at a nearby service center to save up to $300 on your move! Get a free quote or call us at 844-362-5303844-594-3077 to see how much your move from Oakland to Honolulu will cost.