Moving UK to Honolulu

Hi all

I wondered if there was anyone else on here who has moved from the UK or Europe to Hawaii?

In October, all being well, I'll be moving on a J2 visa. My wife has a job beginning October with the University. She's also British.

There's just so much to do - try and get faculty housing, understand how to get a bank account, does my wife need a HI drivers license or is UK okay (I don't drive) - my health insurance (in the UK healthcare is free so this really worries me), and then the money side of things too - apparently it can take three months for the first pay cheque to clear, meaning we need to ensure we have three months of money available (they recommend $ Protected content month to cover both of us).

I have no idea what will happen in terms of applying for the visas either - do we need trips to the embassy in London, etc.

We've been waiting about six weeks now for her contract to arrive in the post and I'm hoping when it does come it will outline the visa process, but it's all quite stressful in the meantime!

My company has said I could take on some freelance work for them when we move, but I see that I would need to apply for an EAD on arrival in HI, and that would take three months to clear, with no guarantee I'd actually be approved, so I'm also concerned about the finances side of things.

Her take home pay will be $ Protected content month. A faculty studio (unfurnished) would be $750 a month plus utilities. It sounds an okay amount, but I know the cost of living is very high, and of course we will need to save money to move back to the UK and cover any period we're out of work on our return. Her contract is 10 months with potential to extend.

We're relatively young Protected content Protected content don't have a great deal of savings, having last year paid for a wedding and moved from England to Wales (which wasn't cheap but nowhere near the cost of this relocation of course).

I'm just spilling thoughts here - if there are any UK/EU expats I would love to hear from you - and if anyone has any thoughts in general on how to manage this massive relocate they would be very very welcome!