Ka’ena Point, Oahu
I’m really trying hard not to be overly obnoxious in my enthusiasm for this summer’s move, but having lived in Hawaii for four years prior to grad school and teaching, I am E*C*S*T*A*T*I*C about returning to the Aloha State! My husband is just as obnoxiously enthusiastic, only he’s exhibiting it more quietly {Hawaii 5-O and HGTV’s Hawaii Life are filling up the DVR and he’s already getting used to living in his flip-flops – but I guess I should start calling them slippers again}.
So we’ve established that we’re excited about living in Hawaii. What I’m not excited about is the whole process of moving to Hawaii.
Moving to Hawaii is only slightly less complicated than moving to another country. About the only thing you don’t need to do is apply for a visa. You still need to figure out all the details of shipping your property and yourselves overseas, navigating the local area, picking up the local language {okay, so everyone speaks English, but if you don’t know what kama’aina, poke, puu’puus, pau hana, and da kine mean, you’re going to have difficulties}, and a lot of the same details you’d have to wrestle with when moving to a foreign country. So for those of you out there who are either considering a move to Hawaii or are curious about the process, I’ll give you some of the info I’ve picked up during my first move and now this latest move to the Aloha State.
The first thing you need to know about is quarantine.
Okay, quarantine is an ugly word, but it’s actually there for a wonderful reason, along with the agricultural inspections and declarations. Your animals have to be quarantined before coming on island because there’s no rabies in Hawaii. There’s also not a lot of animal disease, so if your animal is happy and healthy in the mainland, chances are, he/she will be happy and healthy in Hawaii. But quarantine is a looong process. It starts at the vet.
The vet, understandably, is our cats’ least favorite place in the world {evidenced by the sulky little fur-face above}. But it’s necessary if you don’t want to keep your pet in quarantine on island. It’s not too bad if your pets’ rabies shots are up to date. If that’s the case, they need a second shot, then you wait 21 days and then your pet gets a blood test. Provided that blood test is clear for rabies, quarantine starts. Quarantine lasts 120 days from the date the blood test is finished. Then you can ship your pet. Your pet needs interstate travel certification {you actually need this to move a pet through any state} and a certification from the vet that says he/she needs to travel within pet flight temperature restrictions {between 45-85 degrees}, and in order to fly to Hawaii, they need to have containers like the Binker’s above, big enough for them to stand up in.
It’s a long time for quarantine, but it’s necessary to make sure that no rabies is brought onto the island. I’m a fan of the new procedure, because I’d much rather our cats be able to go through quarantine at home and not in kennels on the island {that was the old policy}.
I’m a softie and a wimp, so I’m already missing our pets. Even though we’ll be out in Hawaii in August, we won’t be able to get our cats until mid-September because of when they got their shots. It’s going to be so strange walking around the house without little furry things trying to trip us and waking up to an alarm and not a yowling cat outside the door. Okay, that may not be a bad thing…
At least that process is in motion. I’ve also arranged for our movers and started unloading excess property so that even though we’re a couple months away from moving, we’ll be ready when the time comes. If you’re interested in some of my other moving tips, check out this post from our last move. If you’re interested in moving to Hawaii, Aloha Tony has a nice relocation guide, or you can stay tuned for more move posts here!
