SperlingViews - Hawaii, Hawaii

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...]

Very Expensive[read more...]

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. [read more...]

very convenient [read more...]

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...]

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...]

locals want youre blood bring lots of cash they dont belive in resession going on thing over here.[read more...]

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...]

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...]

Hawaii has the best weather but you have to watch crossing the street(s)![read more...]

This is Paradise with a pleasant climate year round, only snake in this Paradise is the high cost of living.[read more...]

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...]

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...]

i am interested in living in a state the the flu dosent speand in.[read more...]

I am looking fourd to moving.[read more...]

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...]

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[read more...]

To the state's credit, it is trying to attract better teachers to instruct in the public school system, but for as long as I can remember, public school teachers were left with few books and supplies, outdated technology and furniture, and sub-standard teaching conditions. Many of the teachers had to spend what little money they had (not the greatest pay) to purchase supplies for their students. Not to mention - drugs, crime, and gangs run rampant in some of the worst public schools. This is not much different than in other states, but it is important to note that just because you are in the "aloha state", these issues do not disappear. One thing that many newcomers do not realize is that the high school that people attend can either make or break them. One very strange thing about Hawaii is that often times (i.e. in job interviews), the high school that you went to is more important than the college that you graduated from. This is another reason why it is difficult for non-locals to break into the job system there. Some of the top schools are: Punahou, Iolani, Mid-Pacific, St. Louis (for boys only - especially if your son is into sports). Punahou and Iolani definitely compete for the top school in the state. [read more...]

Generally speaking, outsiders view Hawaii as a melting pot of different races living in harmony - the "aloha state". I was born and raised in Hawaii (I am mixed race - white mom, asian dad) and I lived there until I graduated from high school. I can tell you that Hawaii can be a very racist place, especially toward white mainland people (aka "haoles"). My mom faced many difficulties running her business as a white woman, and my fiance and I would encounter public comments from "local boys" about him being a f*ing haole and having no right to date a local girl - we run into similar comments almost every time that we go out. We have since moved to the mainland and have lived in California, New York, Texas, and DC - each place that we lived has been far less racist than Hawaii. Keep in mind that upon first impression, you may experience racism. However, even if you blend in based on your appearance, there is another type of discrimination against anyone from the "mainland" without local ties. I do not want to scare anyone off, but I just want to put my perspective out there.[read more...]

Understanding & respecting the Culture plays a larger role in living in Hawaii.[read more...]