Rental Pay Dirt!!!

Since arriving on Monday I've been actively emailing/making phone calls in the search of accommodations for my 3 month stay. I've been rather selective in my search, focusing solely on Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawaii.

Primarily using craigslist.org as a resource, I'm finding a sprinkling of rental ads for rooms, some offering a shared bedroom. Those tend to be a little cheaper, but I think it's worth spending a little more for privacy, I don't want to share a bedroom anyone, let alone a stranger. The cost just for a room (non-shared) in Honolulu runs around $700 - $850. Yeah, that's just for a room! It's pricey here.

My day starts off with Renee, Sean and Tom returning from their golf/camping adventure on the windward side of the island. Renee and Sean quickly clean up then take off for work. I offer to take Tom to Honolulu since I'm heading that way today. We jump in the car and Tom assumes role of navigator and is intrigued by the mapping software on my iphone. It's nice to have a navigator.

We arrive at Duke's where Tom departs for a day at the beach. I, however, get to drive back to Aiea because I forgot to bring my checkbook. I need it to pay for first month's rent and security deposit if I find a place, yes, I have two showings to see today, one at 4pm and the other at 5pm.

Returning to my normal work routine, I find a Starbucks (there are about 7 of them in and around the downtown area), buy a coffee/sandwich, take a seat, then begin my workday. As 4pm nears I stow my laptop and head out to my first showing.

The first showing initially proves to be disappointing but has a sparkle of potential at the same time. The place proves to be clean but a little run down and antiquated. The apartment itself is a 3 bed, 3 bath, each roommate's area is partitioned for privacy, the kitchen is the only shared space.

The large open space could be a living room if only there was furniture. The problem is it feels rather empty and risks becoming unused space. I get a good chuckle out of the bathroom setup, there's a curtain on the toilet but not on the shower, how'd that happen?

Despite the list of apparent drawbacks, I see a silver lining here, in my opinion the apartment is located in the best part of town and is 2 blocks from the beach. From the balcony there's both ocean view and mountain view (both are somewhat limited but hey, I'll take what I can get). It's okay for me to host family and friends overnight, just as long as we respect the peace and privacy of the other two tenants. After some though, I decided to go ahead and grab the rental. The second showing was not in the best part of town, has no ocean nor mountain view, and I can't have people staying overnight.

Betty, the owner and individual showing the room can't read or write English. She immigrated from China many years ago but never learned. She asks me if I can write up a lease contract, something simple. I go ahead and write something up, read it back to her and she signs it. Wow, she's a real trusting soul. I actually like that, I think she'll make a good landlady.

Now that I have my rental contract in hand, I decide to do a little touring of my neighborhood. As you can see, the area is a little touristy, but still nice, don't you think?

I wait around to catch my first Hawaiian sunset.



After nightfall I go back to Renee's to deliver the good news! She gets her bed back, I no longer have to surf at her place. Renee and I go grab some dinner to celebrate. When we finish up, I realize time has run out for me to move into my new place, it's late, so Renee lets me stay a 4th night, how nice of her. I'll officially move into my new pad tomorrow.