FINDING HOUSING IN AMERICAN SAMOA | Rent vs Buy | Cost of Living in American Samoa
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
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If American Samoa is on your radar at all and you've been wondering how much it would cost to live in this beautiful island paradise, this video will give you a place to start from when looking at what housing you could expect to find.
As there is no rental or real estate agency for this US territory, most houses and apartments are found either by word of mouth or through a local Facebook marketplace group, like American Samoa Stealz and Dealz.
Check out what type of house you can expect to find and how much you could expect to pay for housing in American Samoa.
Let us know if you have any other questions about life in American Samoa and what other videos you would lie to see us make.
Tofa Soifua
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00:00- Intro
01:06- Rent vs Buy
06:06- Family Land in Aoloao
10:06- Facebook- American Samoa Stealz & Dealz
11:19- Government Housing at Freddie's Beach
18:00- Our Rental Experience
19:25- Rentals in Coconut Point
25:50- Skillshare Sponsorship
28:28- Tofa Soifua
With all these billionaires buying land and real estate all over the world, glad to see that American Samoa not going to be like Hawaii. Hawaii real estate, who can afford the rent or mortgage and keep everyone homeless. These treaties are to protect from the greed of the world. Thank God for our forefathers who had the wisdom and knowledge with understanding and thinking of the future of Am Samoa family's.
Sa'o lelei oe. Our land laws are our best protection from becoming like Hawai'i and living as strangers on our own land. Our children and theirs and generations into the future will always own American Samoa's land without buying/renting/leasing it.
It's sad that natives of Hawaii got pushed to the suburbs because of tourism. Some were saying they work multiple jobs just to stay on island. Almost impossible for any normal person(s) to find a place on the water there. It is truly special what American Samoa has. I respect and appreciate the laws that keep the land protected. ❤️
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@@yehyehyehyehyeh6847 Pushed to the suburbs? Pushed off the island entirely, for many!
@@yehyehyehyehyeh6847 Pushed to the suburbs? Pushed off the island entirely or out of any home at all, for many!
Our ancestors understood the task at hand...LAND💙
You guys really make the Samoan culture so proud the way you embrace and love the culture, island, and people...
Awww, thank you! We love that we get to call this place home 🏝❤️
Agree
@@AmSamFam I’m looking for a land how can I buy land in American Samoa
I'm from Leone. I have been living in Washington for 8 years now and your videos are brining tears to my eyes. I forgot how lucky I am to have been raised there. Thank you for sharing your experiences with the world and being so open, honest, and respectful. It's so amazing how you have really embraced the fa'asamoa. I'll be following your family whereever you guys go in the world! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Ohh, thank you! And I’m so glad to hear that our videos have helped bring those emotions back ❤️❤️ We really do love this place, flaws and all, and we hope that comes through.
If you come to Savaii i will give you land i got so much land in Savaii by the sae or in land any where you like much love and respect my uso and the family waht i love about you guys is the kids growing up in Samoa, now that is going to be something big full Samoan by then Yes God bless Aiga🙏🙏👏
Yaaaay you have a sponsor 😍👏🏾👏🏾 so proud & happy for you guys. I hope many more success and blessings for your channel
Thank you!!
The last thing we need is Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, & Jeff Bezos to own lands in Samoa.
He got rejected by niue he tried to buy the whole niue 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️they wont be able too gotta be 50%
Hi there! I love you video's. My husband and I used to live at Freddies beach too. We lived at the last top apartment on the left side approaching the ocean. Chief Olo owned Freddies then. His name was written in the bottom of the pool. (fun fact)..He kiddingly named our son Chief Atamu because he thought he was so cute and his sister wove Adam (chief Atamu) a show mat that we still have to this day.. We LOVED our time there back in 1982. Chief also saw us off to the airport which was an honor.
My first time viewing your videos and I absolutely LOVE them! Thank you so much for sharing our Beautiful Island of Samoa. I was born in Leone, Am.Samoa but came to the main land when I was 4yrs old. So seeing your videos brings much Joy to this gal. God bless your journey and all the adventures of Samoa♥️☺️🙏🏼
You’re videos are very appreciated and very well put together. Thank You
Good info, thanks for sharing and to those who shed some light on their living conditions. Thanks
AMSAMFAM great story about your journey. I think you should take a trip to Western Samoa and experience the difference of both islands..so much to do and see🌺 All the best and GOD BLESS 🙏🙏💕🌺
Love your show even though I'm here in Central Maine and still looking at snow on the ground, watching two of your programs I already feel at home. I'm 62 years old retired Navy medic I'm African American and a college a college and master's student currently and one of my bucket list dreams is to come to America some more and live there 😊. Wonderful podcast or whatever you call this, I enjoy how you give a positive objective and subjective view of living in this wonderful island paradise :-). I'll look forward to more of your presentations and I'm excited to catch the episode of how you shop how you get groceries and shop in American Samoa. Do you have an episode where you can go to the mall? What is the mall like there in American Samoa??
Always enjoy watching your videos!!!
Thanks!
It is true about having to be atleast half Samoan to buy land. My Mother is full blood Samoan and her and my step dad bought land there. I miss American Samoa so much. I lived there while I was a child. We live in Pago Pago. If it wasn't for our father wanting myself and sister coming back to the U.S. we would still be there.
Very honest n respectful point of view in the issue!! Complicated IS the word lol!! Thank you so much for this video!!!
Thank you! It’s hard to distill it all into one short video, but glad we could fit in at least some info 😊
Love watching your videos guys
Great information guys, love those sunrise shots and the color are just spectacular, love it!❤️😊🌞
Aren’t they spectacular?! Living there was like a gift from Heaven every morning 😍
Great video, as always, AmSamFam. I know you've been thinking about this video for a long time! Our journey to AS is very similar to yours. We lived at Freddy's for a few years (also government contract for ASG), and have lived at Coconut Point for about a year or so.
If you're an animal lover, no pets are allowed in the Freddy's apartments. Just like anywhere else, landlords and leases vary, but at CP, we have two cats. There are a lot of dogs in our neighborhood though.
Yes, same on Saipan. Can't own land unless you are Chammoro but you can lease land which I would never recommend. You sign a deal like that long term lease and you decide to leave, guess what? I've seen that happen. Never get all your money back.
Awww Thank you for sharing this video,watching from Texas 💝👍
I finally have a chance to watch you guy's video again.love you guy's GOD blessed
Great video thank you for sharing your experiences.
Beautiful view 😍 thanks 😊 😘
I lived in AMS from 68 to 72. It was so different back then. We would surf and hitch hike all over the island. I was only 11,12,13, an14, when I lived there. It was so nice. The Samoan people are the best. You are lucky to live there now. I dont know if I could go back now. It is so different than when I grew up. My best to you!
Very good information. Actually thinking of getting a house out there soon the Cali life is great but I like the slow life on the island. Very good video !!!
I love your fams videos!!!!
Thank you 💕
Great video!
Really great interior design, would like to mimic the design...thanks fam for the video🤙
Very informative. Fa’afetai 😊
great video!
Good video, very informative ❤
Thank you!
Great video; very informative. 🙏🙏
Thank you!
We have recently started watching your videos absolutely love you and your family! You have really made us interested in moving there. Thank you for all the information you have given about the island. I am new to CZcams also trying to learn how it works..
Definitely can’t wait to one day visit as I’m Samoan but from Melbourne Australia … Lisa’s house was amazing 🥰
They did an amazing job!
May I ask you can you do a video on how to buy a small sailboat to liveaboard and how to find safe harbor to live in?Thank you for being a blessing to us all
You guys been contributing to the Samoan society so hopefully you guys will get a land one of these days and hopefully sooner.just meet the right people there and hope for the best.meet the right MATAIS and from there on it should be all good.. so good luck AMSAMFAM
I miss living in Coconut Point. Hopefully we’ll be able to stay there again when we get back home to AmSamoa🥰❤️🇦🇸
Thanks for the video we enjoyed watching it in the San Francisco Bay Area
Also a beautiful area ❤️
Thanks for sharing
Love the video.
❤️
The smartest laws we have are our land laws regarding alienation of land bc it keeps our land in our hands, which is awesome bc you'll always have free land to a build a house on or grow food, so you'll never be homeless or hungry.
It’s sucks for those of us who are excluded, but I do think it’s so smart and we hold no hard feelings against the law. It’s obviously helping keep the Samoan culture alive and thriving here ❤️
Yes as a resident of Hawaii you absolutely do not want to become a state, American law allows ownership of land not just for all Americans but basically any global resident to buy American land. That’s why Hawaii is riddled with empty houses that are vacation homes, rentals with landlords that aren’t even living in the island from the mainland and thousands of homes owned by foreigners, such as the East Asian nations, Australia, and certainly Europe. Owning land is useless without the culture.
Good morning Am.samfam
Although you're not Samoan by blood, you are by heart. Alofa tele atu, AmSamFam 🤟🏽❤️
Really enjoy your guys videos hope to meet u guys one dat
Faafetai guy's for showcasing our little island paradise American Samoa. Communal land is not for sale, but there are a lots of private properties that are for sale that anyone either Samoan or not can buy and owned out right
Building home on communal land is a bit risky - u must be in good terms with the high chief or paramount chief of the family ! They can evict u off the land if u piss them off
Cool. Saipan had old government concrete built housing from the 1950s when the CIA had a presence there to counter the Chinese communist threat after ww2. It was a CIA training site. You can still see those homes and are still in actual use up there on the Mount Tapachao area. They look just like the old military base housing units that were and still are prevelant in the Panama Canal Zone, Clark Philippines, Pearl Harbor, Guam, Gitmo, and many stateside bases. Well constructed. To hang a picture you needed a jackhammer to get through the concrete. Great for typhoons.
New Sub. Samoan who was born there and 9 months later left to Cali then Florida.
Planning on a second home and a boat
If you’re still there I’ll invite you to our reunion soon🤙🏽
Thank you ♥️
Good job help people ❤️
Tofa soifua, fa...love you guys and God bless 😊
Awesome. Can you do a video on doing a live aboard there? On the boat?
another wonderful video!!! thanks for always uploading great content appreciate it very much AmSamFam❤️❤️❤️
Thank you!
That’s my favorite fishing spot right there where are you guys standing 👍👍.
Our ancestors was way smarter to have this treaty placed with the language barrier in the past. I love my land and culture.
Wow! I’m truly humble by the love in ur videos when u speak of Samoa and her culture through the lense of Ur EYES and Ur lovely Family (Aiga). I have only watched most of Ur videos & the depth of what it is Ur doing out there in Samoa. It’s amazing that so many people like Urself have found ways to gab Samoa’s Culture into a more modernize unity to try and fit in the Americans way of living. I’m not saying that is a bad thing. But Samoa is far from being POOR! My people are from HUMBLE BEGINNINGS!! We eat of the land and give back to the land as “God’ our Lord,” have always allowed our people to be... in our Ancestry time and until there’s no more Samoa. That’s the reason why property in Samoa are hard to obtain by outsiders unless U have birth rights. It’s even harder when U marry out of our culture. Don’t get me wrong, Ur accepted but there’s boundaries of being an in-law. Our humble beginnings are, Ur welcome to our home, come in take ur shoes off, have a beautiful meal without charge, let’s eat, drink, and relax. The Samoan Culture have always been, “God is always 1st’, Then Aiga!”(Family) So, in Samoa, we don’t charge those who are visiting our island, or charge our families that need a roof over their heads. That’s the purpose of having a Village or building a Village for those people that need families. But, with that being said; I Thank U & Ur beautiful family for visiting our world that most of us have left and had no choice in the matter, Can see what we have been missing for so many years.. But, just a tip for U & Fam’ with ur productivity & also a question of humbleness; Why didn’t U people go through proper channels like with respect of our culture. Maybe then U would have gotten a way better introduction to the Samoa & Her beautiful Historical History. To U and many OUTSIDERS, that are passing through, living in those quarters as though there’s no hot water, nor a full kitchenette, and nothing like living in where ever U may have came from, before moving to Samoa. And yet U were Still able to have the freedom to do whatever u wanted, that’s a blessing in of its own.. !Being able to provide jobs, So, that American people that are mostly traveling through can be accommodate it would bring back the reason, Why Samoa wanted her FREEDOM IN THE PLACE! It’s an Island, given by GOD’, for our people to live of the lands as it is. Never, really need materialistic things, All was given by the God’s, & All will be taken by the God in GOOD TIME! If U have the needs to invite Ur friend’s, then tell them, it’s like camping, bring Ur camping gears & camp under the moon or be happy with the accommodation u received upon arrival. Plz, don’t read into my message as divine’ hater of Ur Video Blogs,or adventures. I truly like Ur videos and Ur families adventuring out of Ur comfort Zones. But life in Amelika Samoa or any Island is, very simple and humble just as our people have been with hospitality. Thank U for Ur beautiful videos & about Ur Family ‘s adventures to an already discovered Island that’s not poor and need fixing. Just saying. To U & Ur Beautiful Family, have a safe & full of adventures FUN! Thank U
The most important thing is to have everything in writing. Shady deals by shady people have resulted in acres of our family land being sold for 90% less than market value. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do because everything was in writing.
its nice. House like that here in Sydney would go for $3million. So I bought the letter box. hahaha
Luckily I’m better half is 50% Samoan. So I’m excited for our adventure!!!
Sorry I am late to the party.
I just came across your videos.
I am a social worker and my wife is a nurse and we live on the east coast.
We both hate the cold and I have always wanted to live in the South Pacific.
Are there jobs there and what are the current rental prices?
How long did you plan for your move?
Omg that's my old place .I freddies beach top story!!!!omg I lived there when I was 13 I'm 43 now!! I love American Samoa best years of my life played a big part of my life. Is there a mural still on the wall in the longue?
This is my family village 🥰
I’m a big fan
Yay 🙌 Thanks for commenting!
Beautiful video you guys. Blessing on your family, your lives & your career ❤️ I hope the Samoan there are helping take care of you ❤️
Oh, they definitely are! Thank you ❤️
I love the house! My children are half Samoan. My ex husband is from American Samoa. If my children wanted to go to Samoa, they would live on communal clams. Their grandfather is Mai Tai.
Very cool! What a beautiful heritage your children have ❤️
*matai
Oh how I miss the beautiful ocean!
😍
I can relate to you. I remember driving into the compound and the Ocean was a gorgeous Royal Blue because of her depth and raised high above the land, Absolutely a paradise dream come true.
Use to live in Freddie’s beach back in the mid to late 80s
nice
Your videos are very pleasant, thank you for sharing your new lifestyle.
Are there any campgrounds for tent camping or can you pay a family that would allow you to camp in their yard? There is a campsite in New York state that allows a rough style of camping on their private property, you must bring your own water, this is a good way to make extra money, and also carry in/out your garbage. Camping for a single minimalist would probably be a less expensive way to enjoy the Island.
W O W . . . I didn’t know Any of those places were on the south side of the runway there 😱
I see the VOR there at 13:38 we use to navigate to the island 🏝 by looking NE from, what did you say, “Freddie’s Beach” ..??🤷🏻♂️
We must have been going to fast to look at those places there, they do look like they Would have been there though back in 96, 97 when I went there often.
I will like to know more about small jobs and school opportunities. Thanks 😍
We have a community college here, which offers a variety of degrees and you could check out the American Samoan government website to see a listing of current job openings. 💗
What about a video with the best ways to get to Am Sam.....are all flights from USA via Hawaii?
Freddies Beach is a mixed bag. It was nice to have a built in community with other people who were there on contract. Our apartment was okay. Some of those places were terrible. The lack of beach access when it was so close sucked.
It's nice to see that the government upgraded the furniture.
Haha yes. I agree, the community was especially nice when we first arrived, but I see a pattern of those of us who stay beyond our contract migrating over to Coconut Point.
Oh damm didn't u get to go to the beach in the front of freddies beach? I lived there 30yrs ago and we use to jumpyherail and go there all thetime
@mirandajade6560 In spite of the very favorable deal that Pat had, I don't think she liked her those of us who stayed there. She was always rude to us while we were in those apartments. Most of them were in terrible shape.
She saw me walking on the road between there and the back entrance to Maliu Mai and made sure to tell me we weren't allowed on the beach.
The rumor was that some contract employees were having sex out on the beach, and the police refused to do anything. After that, residents were banned from the beach, and they installed a mediocre pool.
Keep me updated I miss my home
I wish American Samoa had a college fully accredited college or university that offered masters and PhDs for people who want to challenge and better themselves to academia and won't feel restrained or guilty about leaving their family to pursue higher education. I'm praying that American Samoa will have more colleges and universities that offer Masters and PhDs as long as well as associates and bachelors.
Got a question, my wife is from the village of Alao and we plan to retire there. We plan to build in the valley of Fatutea Ridge along the spring. I would like to get an idea of the prevailing winds in relation to the village and ultimately the valley. Also any internet on that end of the island? Thanks hope to hear from you.
❤❤❤
How is shopping ,do they have malls etc.
what is the healthcare situation over there now? and is there a great need of providers there?
I have a question about live aboard slips at a marina. Our sailboat is US flagged and we are Americans. Are there any?
Aloau I live there sometimes
Yeah...the conversation about land (communal) ownership is highly controversial in Samoa. The Matai (Chief) of the family are the ones who choose to take over the land when a member of the family has passed away. And there's always a disagreement that turns into a big argument causing families to separate. This also explains why most move to the mainland where they're able to buy land/home without permission from the chief.
So you can kinda see why they avoid this topic. Their family members who wasn't chosen will throw a fit🤬
First one
Darn guy you are showing the very expensive rental property for tourists
Go to my mom and dad village Lau'lili and do a skit!
🥰
I wish my territory laws were like American Samoa's. Home/land purchase is out of reach for most of our natives; with family's having to sell property they would rather stay in their family to pay real estate taxes. When the land is sold, a mainlander comes in; builds, the taxes are then raised "again" with more and more families having to sell to pay the raised taxes. What the "now thinkers" don't realize or care is that the youth growing up seeing this process become more and more disfranchised and bad things happen. Happened in my territory. Locals then were able to keep and purchase properties after the "bad thing", since fear kept investors out (but only for a time, you can feel collective frustrated hopeless energy of the locals rising again).
It makes it tougher for us, but
we can appreciate why the laws exist and we’re actually grateful for them 💗
@@AmSamFam XOXO
I am retired and a us citien, can I just pack up and more to American Samoa
🤙
the i wish for being samoa but only when you're talking about land is super gross.
Why don't. You start a web site and have the personals , apt rents etc
What do you think of the news about prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa? Will much change now? 😊
Do you want to visit Nuuuli
How do you get water & electricity on your boat home?
Great question. We get most of our power from wind and solar, then add a little from a generator when needed. We also get most of our water from the rain. We installed a water catchment system that’s working really well, as long as we get regular rain. We do have water jugs that we can fill on-shore when we’re not collecting enough.
@@AmSamFam very cool. These are the type of natural resources we need to implement in our farm back home. Thank you for sharing! 😊
Just saw this if people can’t buy land nobody would want to invest in the island
Why would anyone wish to be anything other than one's own unique heritage and ancestry?
I would like to move to Samoa ,how do you find a job there
Army
Where ya'll been for a year?