I’ve been a research analyst for a good number of years and cover a range of US and European stocks in London for a mid size investment bank. My wife is American and recently touted the idea of moving out to Hawaii because I’m essentially fed up of how dreadful this country is, and she’s a biologist so frankly anything is more exciting than badgers and foxes. I’m all for it, but
1. Is there anything out there for me to do? I’d like to stay in research but obviously understand it’s unlikely, and frankly I’d favour the lifestyle over the same job by a mile but would want to stay doing something finance related - ie I see there’s a Deloitte that way…I’m not money motivated but want to be comfortable (ie nice house but would drive a Prius and don’t spend much money)
2. Is having no experience in the US detrimental to finding a job? I’d be able to get a green card so no visa issues.
Appreciate any help.
Florida is nowhere near Hawaii but has way more of a real economy and jobs than Hawaii
Not that I’ve visited Florida but I like the quiet life and I’ve heard it’s batshit mental?
Yes and no, there's a higher percentage of crazies in Florida but it's really not that extreme and depends on the area, lots of nice quiet suburbs with good houses if you're into that sort of thing. Also, Florida has laws that make it very easy for reporters to get access to police reports about crimes, so it's a lot easier for the news to cover strange things that happen in Florida compared to other parts of the US - hence the Florida man meme.
Real estate in Florida has gotten more expensive but should still be 1/3rd to 1/2th cheaper than Honolulu depending on city and more importantly there are probably 10x more jobs.
When I interned in FP&A/Strategy last summer on the West coast there was a guy who worked fully remote out of Hawaii before he got fired. Pretty sure he was clocking about four hours of work per day.
Remote may be an option
I am interning there now. Honololulu has wealth management, asset management, and real estate; UBS, Stifel, Morgan Stanley, and BofA. A few (5-10) boutique real estate and wealth management firms but they're extraordinarily small offices.
Lmk if I can help with anything else.
Hey, yeah would I be able to DM you? Would love to hear a bit more if possible
Sounds cool! Is Honololulu near Honolulu?
It's Makai to Kaka'ako
Florida as someone else mentioned is totally fine. It just gets a funny reputation. There are a lot of big finance cos setting up down there for tax reasons and likely it will keep growing.
We have a partner institution in Los Angeles with remote staff in Hawaii.
Downtown Honolulu also has satellite offices of bigger brands, but they are small /w fewer opportunities.
DM me if you want to know the best nude beaches there
I’m from Hawaii, and honestly not very much opportunities. It’s more of the chase happiness over money. But I know of people doing remote work so that’s always an option depending on your company.
London experience is viewed roughly equivalent to the US, but I would put clearly on your resume that you do not require visa sponsorship. Many companies will auto-ding anyone who looks like they aren't a citizen because sponsorship is so difficult to get.
Would be challenging to land the local small offices with no ties to Hawaii or even the US - people will assume you'll hang out there for 2 years and get bored. And honestly, you very well may... the population is very tourist-heavy and you will quickly feel stuck living on a tiny island many hours away from anywhere else.
Remote job would likely be the way, but be aware of time zones... 3hr to California-based companies is fine, but 6 hours time difference to a NYC company is going to be awful hours. Also so many "permanent remote" jobs are calling people back to the office on short notice, so I'd be wary of really getting settled somewhere.
Florida (Palm Beach or Miami) as mentioned checks a lot of the same boxes and should be pretty easy to get a finance job down there. If you like the quiet life, there are nice quiet towns around PB or surrounding Miami that would work just fine for that.
Why would anyone want to move to Florida? I like my governments small and minding their own business, thanks
I’m from Hawaii and have posted about it on WSO. Like anywhere, you can get rich there. You can live a good life.
I would rollup a handful of surf shop with using heavy leverage, maximize operating leverage, sell for max dollars, then chill.
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