Job Discussion Forums

[Didah]

Hi Mitsui,

I seriously considered moving to Hawii and teaching a few years ago. In fact, that was one of my top teaching destinations I considered when I received my teaching credential. When I lived in Japan, I used to go through Hawaii quite a bit. I found that Hawaii is a great place to go when you have money or are on vacation. While I dreamed of living and teaching there, after seriously looking into the situation, I knew my dream would very fast turn into a nightmare. Besides the cost of living, there is the Common Core, politics and cultural issues.

Hawaii is a real paradox. On one hand, it always makes the Top Ten list of places to live citing the weather and quality of life. Of course, if you are not on the Conde Nast Traveler strata of potential transplants, that may not be the case. In fact in another list, the State of Hawaii ranks near the bottom for teacher salaries adjusted for the cost of living among the 50 states.

Last year, I worked with a teaching couple overseas who had taught in Hawaii for a decade. After about 10 years, they left Hawaii to try their luck in an international high school. They both taught on Ohau, so there was a double income. Still, they could not afford to buy a house. They lived in a two bedroom rental house where they rented one of the bedrooms to her cousin who was in the Navy at Pearl Harbor. After they had a child, the living situation worsened for them, so, they went overseas. In fact, they told me that it would have been really financially tight if they couldn't rent out the room.

While I was in Hawaii looking into teaching, I met a couple of teachers. They were both single and lived in a rented house with two other teachers and one bathroom. I got the feeling from talking to them that Hawaii is a great place to live if you have a lot of money and extremely challenging one on a teacher's salary.

I think that if you repatriate back to the States, Hawaii is a good choice since you have a Japanes wife. I came back to the States with my Japanes wife and we lived in a community near Irvine, California which has -- or at least had until Toyota and Sony pulled out -- a large Japanese expat population including a neighborhood with a Japanese market and Japanese businesses -- much like you would find in Hawaii. My child actually went to a Juku in Irvine to keep up the Japanese language studies. In the end, she wanted to go back to Japan. While we were in Japan, she always dreamed about living in the States. Once we got there, here dream sort of turned into a nightmare. She was very homesick and ended up going back to Japan. At that point, we parted ways leaving me with the usual post-divorce expenses with the additional trips to Japan. I am not saying this will happen to you, I am just sharing my experience with a Japanese wife who just didn't like being in the States despite her kokseiteki mindset and her afinity for all things Western -- especially the States.

One more thing. If you are not certified yet, you can still substitute teach in Hawaii. The pay is not great but it gets your foot in the door. While they prefer credentialed teachers, there is a real shortage of subs and they will take you with a bachelor's degree. That's what I was told when I was looking into this. I met a woman who was a sub with a B. A. on Ohau. They were flying her to Maui every day for a long term assignment. So, I think that is possible. However, in order for that to be possible, your wife would have to work. From what I discovered, trying to live and teach in Hawaii is only possible with a dual income family. By the way, below is an article I found while I was looking into teaching in Hawaii (for the second or third time). Good luck

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/575382/Hawaii-schools-struggling-to-keep-new-teachers.html?nav=5031

[mitsui]

IR 1 is what I looked into.

Hawaii is not my first choice but marriage is about compromise that is why I will consider living there. Japan is getting to be a tougher place to work in so it is time to move on.

Cheapest places I can find near Honolulu are about 1700 dollars for a 2 bedroom place.

There are teachers stuck in Japan since the J wife refuses to live in the US.

One black teacher I knew said his wife said Hawaii or Japan, that is it.
My wife sounds similar now, although I would prefer the west coast.

Although I got certified in Arizona, the best I can get now is provisional certification. Hawaii got tougher and now teachers need at least 3 years of experience teaching in the US to get standard certification.

For uncertified teachers new to Hawaii they must get residency, which takes a year.
It is good I can look at reciprocity as just getting Hawaii certification is time consuming.

One teacher I know who was at an elementary school lasted just 4 months before quitting.
I have not heard good things about public schools but I guess it depends on which one it is.

At worst I would have to work at a language school or start part-time.

[rtm]

[mitsui]

The embassy has it. My wife has to get that health check again with the tattoo search.

She can get the visa once I have my own American address. I will have to go to the US first.

[jrwhisky]

I've lived in Hawaii in and seattle short term. She's seems to be cornering you into Hawaii because like most Japanese, she has a dissolusioned idea that its some sort of paradise.

Ironically, if she really was looking for a place to avoid discrimination. I would say go anywhere but Hawaii. The islanders don't like non-islanders. White or Japanese you're garanteed some or a lot discrimination from the locals. In no other place in the states is a Japanese child going to have to worry about "slap a jap" day or "beat a houlie". A sour experience there will be great fuel for getting you back to Japan. But I only speak from one perspective. I never had the chance to live with the Japanese/american communities in Hawaii. In Seattle the worst the worst you have to deal with is hipsters.

Sorry I'm being negative. If you make it out there I hope you do much better than I did.

[mitsui]

I would not say that but she wants direct flights to Japan,
and she can speak Japanese, get her comfort food, TV, etc.
She could get a job working for other Japanese.
It is like America lite.
She can't deal with the east coast.
She can't deal with places like New England with too many white people,
who are myopic in her opinion.

She liked Arkansas.

My brother was in Hilo for a year and he liked it.

If I had moved back already I would not have to deal with this.
Hawaii is expensive and jobs don't pay like in the mainland.
This may be my last chance. Otherwise we could split up.

I know one American with a Japanese wife who cannot even deal with Hawaii.
She lives in Kanagawa, yet her husband has no job here.

[kpjf]

One thing I'm curious about is that you're certified in English (literature?). Could you not have gone down the route of international schools in Japan? From what you write here you seem to be doing TEFL, not your licensed subject. I would have gathered that having a teaching license in English would be very useful given it would be a common subject like maths or science in schools thus more employment opportunities. Or is this not the case?

You say your wife could get translation work, I take it she already has experience in that?

[mitsui]

I would need to go back to the US, get experience teaching at a public school, since I have just worked outside the USA.

With that experience I could go back to Japan in the future, to get a better job.

These days, I heard of teachers getting jobs at high schools if they are certified in their home country. Getting rejected by a girls high school made me decide to get certified.

My wife has minimal experience in translation here, but that work is available in Hawaii.

[rxk22]

Good luck. We tried the US. My wife never did like it, and we moved back. I think Japanese have poor coping skills. As, things we not that bad, they were simply not Japan. Other Asians in our area thrived, but she and other Japanese nationals seemed to miss Japan more than any other group.

Maybe Hawaii is different, but your wife will need pretty solid English skills to be able to land any sort of job in the US.

[kpjf]

[nomad soul]

American or expat, for those interested, there are quite a few forums on life/work on the Islands. Do a search using Hawaii expat forum.

[mitsui]

Each state has its own certification. Reciprocity takes time.
I have just worked abroad so I cannot get a job at an international school now.

Even some private schools in Japan like teachers with certification.
They assume they are more serious.

[isitts]

[mitsui]

No, I have been to Hawaii four times.
By America lite I mean for a Japanese person.
Boston and New York are full on, very American in their own ways.

Seattle would be fine, just getting work is the question.
I have applied for work there but could not get anything.
I would prefer the climate - not so hot or cold, near Vancouver.
Maybe just the Seattle Freeze turns me off, but otherwise it would be cheaper than Hawaii.
I like mountains and forests.

I heard about getting certified there by people from Washington, and it sounds tough, although I am certified in Arizona so it depends on how far reciprocity goes.

Hawaii has more jobs for Japanese people but the cost of living is the main problem.
The animal quarantine is another problem. I have two dogs and trying to avoid the quarantine, but having to have the blood checked in Kansas plus the microchip, what a pain.

[isitts]