Rotten to the Core - 6/27/2007

Hawaii is full of racial bigots and envious people. Students from the mainland get attacked in public school all of the time. Fighting is common on land and at the surf spots. Overall, it's an unsafe place.

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You can't beat the weather in Hawaii! - 6/11/2007

I wear shorts and a tank top everyday of the year. Nearly everyday the temp is perfectly between 68 and 78. Plenty of sunshine with occassional cooling rains.

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Secondary Education - 6/7/2007

Probably the weakest link about moving to Hawaii for families with children. Very good private schools are available but are costly. The public school system doesn't lend itself to helping the average student or underachievers. If you child is motivated and wants to do well he/she can do well in the public school system though.

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The price of paradise... - 5/24/2007

wiith all the new buildings going up on Oahu and all the privately owned land om the other islands Hawaii is not so much the paradise people thuink it is. the cost of living is high and the wages don't match. The weather is great but there are other places you can find sunshine. It is actually pretty sad what is being done to these islands. If you are in tune to nature you can almost hear the islands crying. Hawaii itself is beautiful but the construction and destruction like in many parts of the world is awful. The price of paradise is higher than we realize.

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Don't get sick in paradise - 5/6/2007

Bottom 20% of health outcome ratings in the US for hospital care.

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Paying for Paradise - 2/4/2007

Although Hawaii is arguably the most beautiful and diverse state in the US there is a price attached, working two or three jobs, living without, renting versus buying are just a few areas. However to most the cost is well worth the lifestyle.

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Wonderful mix of cultures and peoples - 11/29/2006

Hawaii is blessed with people from many areas of the pacific. This makes for a great variety of foods available, in particular. We are a military family of 25 years and have lived in Korea and the Philippines, so we enjoy foods from various countries and dining in Hawaii is a delight. I can honestly say the people here are the friendliest I've found anywhere. Checkout clerks, the cable company associates, the guys at the car repair shop...everybody smiles and enjoys chatting. As for recreation, if you love water activities you will be in heaven. Hiking around here is nice, too. One plus is that you can hike in areas you don't normally get to- across lava fields, up cinder cones, through a jungle, along a rugged coast. Very enjoyable. Oahua has a symphony, an opera company (which crams it's season into 2 months), outdoor concerts in the shadow of Diamond Head, and other theaters scattered here and there. Most artsy things take place in Honolulu. Parking can be a squeeze...but that's another issue. Overall, we love living here- but we don't have to pay the high rents or outrageous housing prices. If you can afford a house, Hawaii is a fun, beautiful place to live.

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Hawaii.....the ups and downs - 8/29/2006

I have lived in Hawaii for 12 of the past 15 years. I can definitely offer some insight on this place. It may not paradise to some, but paradise is all by perception. The air there is fresh(except the Big Island of Hawaii due to the VOG...volcano) and water is soft and clean. The cost to live there can be a deterrant to those with little finances and can tend to turn the experience into a burden rather than a pleasure. The natives (of all races) can tend to be a little biased towards outsiders moving in because it just continues to drive up the cost of living. The median home price is a large indicator that the 'average' household income just will not sustain a very lavish lifestyle for a family of three or more. You do not get the same living space with the homes that you would in the mainland and forget about having any land with your home. There aren't any basements to finish for extra space either. Most households contain several working members to help pay for housing and food. Recreation is a variable that can be less expensive considering the fact that you can go to the beach on pretty much any given day.(when you're not working to pay for living costs) Traffic is not as easy-going as one of the previous posts indicate. It can get quite tedious, but if you learn to enjoy the scenery, you can make it through traffic with a little less stress. Carpooling or public transportation is an option. Yes, gas is expensive, but if you don't mind driving with your windows down, you may not need airconditioning. You don't have to buy winter clothes and Aloha attire is pretty acceptable at most jobs. There are a few places to buy groceries for less than the chain stores, but generally higher than most mainland prices. Unfortunately, the "Aloha Spirit" of Hawaii has seemed to dicipate since back when I first moved there years ago. I believe this is largely due to the huge influx of mainlanders with the "my and mines" attitude. The local people used to have an attitude of "what's mines is yours", but now they don't really have much of anything to offer. They really cannot afford much anymore. That sense of kindness is what brought me back to Hawaii twice. Personally, I've seen it nearly turn into a metropolis. It's been said that the Californians are the driving force behind the huge change in culture in Hawaii. Some of the problems are from the youth that 'pretend' to be "gang-bangers" and have no clue what they are doing or why. I was rais

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The Price of Paradise is Rising by the Minute - 8/20/2006

I was born and raised on Oahu, grew up in Kailua which was at that time a sleepy bedroom community boasting pristine beaches and only a few shops. Today, the town just welcomed in a Pier 1 and a Coldstone Creamery, plus the obligatory Starbucks and Jamba Juice next door to each other. The beaches are still great, though this year there were several sewage spills due to the torrential record-setting rains and the beaches were closed. Still, Kailua is a wonderful town, so much so that the median price of a home is inching towards $700K. Ouch! The price of housing and the cost of living here have finally forced my husband and I to face the reality that we can no longer afford to live in Hawaii. We are planning to move to Indiana!!! Yup, we'd rather shovel snow than continue to pay for the sunshine and surf. We've been working so hard we don't even have time to enjoy life anymore, so we are leaving. Our other consideration is our 15 year old son. Unless your child wants to work in sales, food-service, or the tourist industry, the career options are very limited here, not to mention the fact that your kid will probably have to live with you until he can afford a place of his own! That happens a lot. No thanks! I'd rather move and come back to visit my family and friends in the winter---that way, I can easily afford to go the beach as much as I want to!

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Housing in Hawaii - 5/26/2006

The housing situation here in Hawaii is extremely costly. Young families can no longer afford to buy a house and are moving to other states so they can enjoy home ownership.

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Getting GOUGED on MAUI-the living ain't easy! - 5/2/2006

The only decent living expense in Hawaii is property taxes. Period. Most people I know work two jobs just to survive here-where's the quality of life!? THey work like dogs so they can get to the beach on occasional weekends. The unions have a stranglehold here too so you can't find reasonable contractors to do work for you, and you aren't allowed to do it yourself! We are gouged by greedy business owners for EVERYTHING from gasoline, groceries,household items, big ticket AND small and real estate. We are THEN gouged by mainland businesses for shipping costs when we try to buy items cheaper on the mainland. Airfare to get off the islands or even travel inter-island is prohibitive-most of my friends save their money and go to the mainland instead--but most people are stuck here and it creates rock fever stress believe me! There is now controversy over the new SUPERFERRY to come to our harbor-- well the jokes on us--it is going to cost MORE than the price of a plane ticket to the mainland for a family to bring their CAR on the ferry from MAUI to OAHU! GIVE ME A BREAK! So what the heck is the point of that? ANd we have cruise ships here 7 days a week and not enough restaurants and decent businesses to cater to them. Our mayor is a dope. Our dept. of water supply has been messing with our upcountry water as well and now it's a mess. My husband and I have been here on and off since the 1970's due to husband's job, and it was horrid then, the cost of living is insane here now. I left for 13 years and sorry I am back. I don't know how anyone without a 6 figure salary survives in Hawaii and especially on MAUI. Schools are crap as well, under paid teachers, crap facilities, the whole state has a crap infrastructure--the thing our government is BEST at here is hiring MAINLAND consultants to do a "STUDY" instead of FIXING the problems! Kid's extracurricular activities cost a fortune as well. So, we are planning to move back to the mainland if we can transfer and that will be it, for good. The climate is ok, but the beaches are mess- filthy restrooms and windy conditions by noon, no parking in the popular spots. Beaches in Honolulu were great-- back when we could AFFORD to go there for an occasional weekend--till they started pumping them full of raw sewage last month and a guy actually DIED from flesh eating bacteria after falling in! There is little culture other than Hawaiian of course-which is great, I love it and my daughter dances HULA, but would lov

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Education in Hawaii - 4/15/2006

My two daughters attended public school in Hawaii. Being caucasian, we are the minority. We are a military family that has traveled extensively. In my opinion, the kids here are not different then anywhere else. There are the same cliques you see at any school. It comes down to parent invlovement and a willing on the youths part to learn. If your son/daughter wants to get lost in the crowd, they will. If they have the desire to learn, there are teachers and mentors willing to invest their time.

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Beautiful People and Places - 2/24/2006

I was born and raised on the Island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. It really is a beautiful place and the people here are friendly and laid back. I'm finally beginning to appreciate this great place to live!

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Kaneohe, Hawaii - 2/22/2006

I was born and raised on the island of Oahu. I have lived in Kaneohe for 99.9% of my life and I love it.

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Hawaii - 2/21/2006

We are a military family and have enjoyed living in HI for 3 years. The weather is wonderful and it is beautiful,.....but the education for our children has not been very good.

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