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| Yup, It's an Island, Good and Bad... - 11/7/2012
I was born and raised in HI, spent 30 years there, and am part-Native Hawaiian. Ha, yes - island living is not for everyone. The good side: the weather is fantastic pretty much all the time, although warmer and more humid than CA (where I lived another 10 years). (Someone else on here complained about the lack of A/C - you're just too used to it. I didn't have A/C until I moved to the mainland. Open your windows, take advantage of those great tradewinds.) The people are nice and normal, it's pretty safe overall, and the food options are great (especially if you like asian cuisines - HI has the real deal). The beaches are beautiful, and there is greenery and birds around you everywhere. The people are tech-savvy and "wired". The majority are asian or part-asian - it's a pretty diverse and cosmopolitan place, but somewhat slanted towards asians.
That said, there is a bad side: it *is* an island. It's crowded, there are cars and people everywhere. It's expensive - you're pretty much held hostage when it comes to housing, gas is expensive, and most goods must be shipped in from the mainland, making them pricier. Good housing and good jobs are coveted and limited, and jobs do not pay as well as they might on the mainland. Your paycheck will not go as far as you're probably used to. The public schools probably are bad (I wouldn't know, I went to a private school). Distance-wise, nothing is that far, but the traffic can be pretty bad, depending on your route. There is the potential for hurricanes and tsunamis, but anything really bad is pretty rare - last bad hurricane was 20 years ago, and it only hit some areas bad. Last bad tsunami was 60+ years ago, and it was before the creation of the tsunami warning system in the Pacific. Heavy rains do happen.
Many who are born in HI end up attending college elsewhere, and then staying, since the COLA is much, much lower elsewhere. Those who stay or return often do so because of family. It's a place people stay in or move to out of love for the place and the people. It is not a place to go to if you want to have lots of money and want to be able to afford lots of creature comforts, without having to work much or possibly get two jobs. Jobs and housing will be limited and not fantastic, but the weather, people, culture, and scenery might be enough for you.[read more...]
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| Moving on ... - 10/13/2012
I'm interested in moving in the next 3 yrs and would like to compare areas.[read more...]
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| Housing - 8/29/2012
high cost of housing[read more...]
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| Living in Hawaii - 6/3/2012
Beautiful place to live with almost perfect weather. Unfortunately, cost of living is way too high. The cost of shipping is also much higher for most products sold on the internet especially from the mainland.[read more...]
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| Warm and Dry - 12/13/2011
Kihei is a warm dry area on Maui. basically desert like the coastline is developed with beautiful parks and beaches. the lush vegetation of the developed areas are in stark contrast to the native surrounding area, but living in Kihei puts you in 10 to 20 minutes to almost any climate condition you want.[read more...]
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| Cost of Housing - 12/4/2011
Very Expensive[read more...]
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| If you're thinking about moving to HI... - 8/22/2011
I moved here about 5 years ago to Oahu. At first, it was great; great views and beaches. Then the reality struck - high cost of living and non-local racism. Cost of living was something that I was aware of, hence was able to deal with it. However, constant and very subtle non-local racism is not.
I personally have not had any racial (based on skin color) incidents, however, suffered from very subtle non-local racism.
I even encountered non-local racism from college students aging from 18 to late 20s. This is an evidence of how wide spread racism exists in Hawaii no matter how educated the local person may be; even the new generations are affected by it and are offenders of racism.
All of my friends are people from outside of Hawaii of any races except for one friend who is a Hawaiian descendant who resided in the mainland for a few years, which in her opinion, opened up her view.
Some friends of mine were cursed or received derogatory comments at work. One friend who almost lost his knee cap due to work accident could not even report the accident because of the locals. I, personally, am suffering from non-local racial hostility at work.
There is no more Aloha in Hawaii unless you are a tourist.
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| means of transportation - 8/18/2011
very convenient [read more...]
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| It's a beautiful state but you pay for it - 4/13/2011
I really don't like living here cost of living here is to high. And not to much to do here. Just movies beach alot of barbeques.Traffic sucks. You would need a good paying job to survive here. And this stste has one of the highest gas prices. Better if we all ride horses to work.[read more...]
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| Being in Hawaii - 1/29/2011
I love being in Hawaii but looking for 4 distinct seasons and the cost of living is ridiculous. The people are very nice and friendly, although the drugs here are getting out of hand it can be easily missed due to our beautiful beaches and out door activities.[read more...]
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| cash - 12/14/2010
locals want youre blood bring lots of cash they dont belive in resession going on thing over here.[read more...]
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| Not paradise in Hawaii - 9/29/2010
I have been stationed here for 3 years due to my husband being military. I can not wait to leave. While weather is great and there are some beautiful places, I can do without it. There are definately more cons than pros. Like the traffic is a mess, alot of Hawaii is ghetto (very shady places), covered with homeless people at redlights, the "locals" are rude and working outside the military bases is virtually impossible due to being a haole (or a white person). My experience with working here was a nightmare, many locals are very racist against military. While my child will be born here, I never plan on returning here again. I do not advise anyone on "living" out here, visiting may be great, but living long term is a huge disappointment. Hawaii may have been a great paradise years ago, but it is full of dumpy cities with rude people now, not a paradise. [read more...]
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| Oahu Living - 8/20/2010
I can't really compare Hawaii to any other state, as I've been born and raised here my whole life. I can tell you what I pay and what I do and you can judge for your self. Minimum wage here is $7.25/ hr. Tax is 4.167%. Average room for rent varies from city to city but averages from $600-$850. A 1 bdrm will cost you anywhere from $1000-$1500. I am in the service industry (highly profitable. I am a 26 yr old female (hawaiian). Cigarettes will cost you from $9-$10 a box. Gas is about $3.37 a gallon (varies). I prefer living in Honolulu, Kailua. Priciest neighborhoods are Hawaii Kai, Kahala, Diamond Head, Lanikai/ Kailua. Weather is fantasic. Perfect all year round. STILL have never seen snow personally. People here are friendly, but then againI am a local. Some people may argue the racism (locals to non-locals; not necessarily due to race) here in Hawaii horrible and I believe some people haven't necessarily had the best experience here (which is too bad). If you have any questions, I will answer them honestly and thoroughly. :)[read more...]
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| Oahu - 4/16/2010
Hawaii has the best weather but you have to watch crossing the street(s)![read more...]
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| Paradise - 2/4/2010
This is Paradise with a pleasant climate year round, only snake in this Paradise is the high cost of living.[read more...]
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| Not the place to educate kids - 10/10/2009
Although Hawaii is undeniably a beautiful place with many desirable attributes, education is not one of them. Public education is in a word--horrible. There are many good private schools, but that adds cost in what is already an extremely high cost of living area. Unfortunately, it doesn't get any better at the college level. Especially after you get outside of Honolulu program offering a few and weak.[read more...]
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| ups and downs - 9/21/2009
I am currently in the military and stationed in Hawaii. It's a great place to be, but it does have it's ups and downs. It depends on what you want out of life. Of course, it is beautiful, and there are a lot of things to do. But most of the things cost a lot of money. Cost of living is tremendous here. Many extended families live together just to afford a house. Many native Hawaiians are low income which is pretty sad, since we are just visiting and have taken over all the great places and made them too expensive to enjoy. There are a lot of great beaches. There are so many people on the island of Oahu that traffic is rediculous every day. There is virtually no break from it. Parking, also is a mess. If your family lives on the mainland, it's quite expensive to visit.[read more...]
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| flu - 6/3/2009
i am interested in living in a state the the flu dosent speand in.[read more...]
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| New - 4/28/2009
I am looking fourd to moving.[read more...]
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| Aloha - 12/13/2008
In Hawaii we live Aloha, which means people smile at one another,wave to each other and offer help whenever needed. You can have a flat tire and sure enough within 5min. 3to4 people will pull-over to help you. I love living here and have been for almost 34yrs. My children were born here and both have stayed. Hawaii is paradise because of the weather and the people.[read more...]
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