Category Archives: Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Moving to Hawaii: How long does it take to ship stuff?

1 Comment

Question:
My husband and I are moving to Honolulu in June. How long does it take to ship our car and furniture?

Answer:

Cars take minimum 3 weeks: one week to cross and one week at each port to load/unload. If the ports arent very busy, it could take 10 or 14 days to get your car, and Matson can estimate this for you. Your furniture should take about the same time, depending on how busy the ports are then. So three weeksfor your stuff is a safe guess. However, expect delays.

For example, my stuff took 6 weeks: one week to cross and five weeks in ports. The delay was caused by the military. The Army commandeered all civilian shipping vessels to move some troops during the time I was moving. There’s no way to anticipate such a delay, and the military can do it a any time. Still, it’s a rare occurrence and me being the optimist I am, saw the bright side: my stuff shipped later, avoiding rough seas that caused some containers to be lost overboard.

Tip:

Try using a 3-tier priority shipping system when considering how to time your move.

  1. Carry your must-haves on the plane (for me this included cherished family photos, heirlooms and back up drives).
  2. Then mail whatever is most crucial using usps flat rate boxes (I sent my hs year book, warranties, files and a few more photos).
  3. Then ship everything else insured for replacement value.
Family, Lifestyle, Random

Two free real estate tools dish the data

If you’re looking to buy a house, rent in a new area or just want to know more about a neighborhood, I’ve found two online tools that provide a wealth of data for free: waslkscore.com and redfin.com

At walkscore.com, you input a US address, and their alogrithm calculates how walkable it is on a scale from 1 to 100, where 1 is out in the middle of nowhere and 100 is mid-town Manhattan. The site takes into account proximity to public transportation, grocery stores, parks, schools, churches, bars and even fitness clubs, and returns a score accordingly. I entered my new address, and my current neighborhood scored a solid walkscore of 78, which just about matches the amount of walking I do for my day-to-day activities.

My second new favorite real estate tool is the MLS powerhouse site redfin.com . It provides all the information a real estate agent should provide a prospective buyer and more. After signing up for a free account, you can browse listings by MLS number, address, neighborhood, or city. You can refine a search by a dozen or more parameters, such as price, number of bedrooms or even year built. Search results return photos, maps, descriptions and comps. It’s even possible to compare neighborhoods side by side on this site, useful for instance, if you’re relocating to a new area and want to see how it compares to your current one.

For example, I compared my former zip code with my new one. They are very similar, perhaps not so surprising, in terms of safety and demographics. The main differences are density, age and wealth. My new area is 100 times more dense, slightly older, much whiter, and more affluent than my former area, according to redfin.com. The catch to use redfin.com is that the site makes money when you to use their real estate agents, who’s services are available for a discounted fee. But so far there are no limits on browsing.

Lifestyle, Travel

How to Choose Carry-On Luggage that Will Pass Airline Inspection

7 Comments

First, the Rules (Updated 2018)

Each airline publishes size limitations and often change these to force passengers to pay more. Check with your airline directly. However, the general rule is that a bag cannot exceed 45 linear inches, according to the FAA. That means that if you add up the length, height and width, the total inches cannot be more than 45 inches. These airlines fly to Hawaii:

Air Canada21.5″ L x 15.5″ W x 9.5″ H
(23 cm x 40 cm x 55 cm)		22 lbs
(10kg)
Air New Zealand46.5″ (linear)
(118 cm)		15 lbs
(7kg)
Airtran Airways24″ L x 16″ W x 10″ H
(61 cm x 40.6 cm x 25.4 cm)		n/a
Alaska Airlines24″ L x 17″ W x 10″ H
(61 cm x 43 cm x 25 cm)		n/a
American Airlines22″ L x 14″ W x 9″ H
(56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm)		n/a
Delta Airline22″ L x 14″ W x 9″ H
(56 cm x 35 cm x 23 cm)		n/a
Frontier Airlines24″ L x 16″ W x 10″ H
(61 cm x 40.6 cm x 25.4 cm)		35 lbs
(15.9 kg)
Hawaiian Airlines22″ L x 14″ W x 9″ H
(56 cm x 35 cm x 23 cm)		25 lbs
(11.5)
United Airlines22″ L x 14″ W x 9″ H
(56 cm x 35 cm x 23 cm)		n/a
US Airways22″ L x 14″ W x 9″ H
(56 cm x 35 cm x 23 cm)		50 lbs
(22 kg)
Virgin America
24″ L x 16″ W x 10″ H
(61 cm x 40.6 cm x 25.4 cm)		50 lbs
(22 kg)

TSA has rules about carry on luggage. Each airline also has its own rules for carry on luggage. You need to be familiar with both. TSA’s rules for carry on luggage mean that you cannot bring any liquid or gel in greater amount than 3 ounces (100 mL), and those 3 ounce bottles must fit into one quart size plastic bag. You also cannot have anything sharp, like scissors or knives.

Next, the Luggage

Three brands of luggage offer the best warranty service, including guarantees against damage done by the airlines: Eagle Creek, Patagonia and Tumi. I have successfully used all three and used their lifetime warranties. As an elite flier, I personally use:

Other companies, such as TravelPro, Hartmann, Victorinox, Swiss Army and  Samsonite, sell solid luggage sets with good warranties. I have traveled with all of these brands as well. However, these don’t guarantee against damage done to your luggage by the airline. Only Eagle Creek and Patagonia offer this type of warranty. And let’s face facts, most of wear and tear on luggage comes from the airlines’ luggage handlers and sorters.

Whichever bag you choose, I hope you find one that really works well for you!