Hawaii, Hawaii SperlingViews

My family and I have just relocated to Hawaii from Georgia due to the military. I came to HI with an open mind ready to discover this new place I will call home the next 3 years. I have to say I am unhappy about living here. Hawaii is VERY overrated. I must say that the people I have encounterd here are very warm and friendly and the beaches are beautiful! However, everything is not like what they show you on TV-they forget to mention how expensive things are over here, how super-crowded this place is, how horrible the school system is here when compared to the mainland, how many of the communities over here look like slums/ghettos, etc. Being that there was no base housing available, me and my family are living off-base- be prepared to pay at least $2000/mo for a nice home (that's only a 3br2ba maybe 1700 sq. ft. w/little to no backyard)for a family of 4. Everything is expensive here from groceries to water, electricity, etc. Many of the homes here do not have A/C but for those who do you really can't afford to run it (typical electric bill runs $300/mo and up) Does anyone wonder why there is such a homeless problem here? Also many of the places here do not allow pets. Traffic is horrible everday! The schools here do not mirror schools on the mainland in terms of academics and they also get a lot of days out of school over here. This past October they had every Monday (for the month) out of school. They get out of school early every Wednesday (12:30) and they get 3 weeks for Christmas break and 2 weeks for spring break-plus they got Election Day off (for what they don't vote)! There are so many other things I can go on about but for those who want to live here PLEASE do your research first! Island living is not for everyone. There's more to life than hanging out at the beach such as living comfortably, giving your kids a quality education, etc. Hawaii is wonderful to visit but I am really looking forward to and already counting down the days when I can return to the mainland to LIVE!!!!

Sincerely,
Missing the Mainland

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