Currently Enjoying Hawaii but..
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2/13/2008
Of course there are things about living in hawaii that you just wont "get"
until you take the tourist hat off, get a real job like any other working stiff and settle in to your tiny studio apartment that costs 1000/month (if your lucky) All that said, this is still paradise, and if you enjoy spending very close to 365 days of the year in mild heavenly weather (which I've decided is about 77 degrees with slight tradewinds) and enjoying the surf and turf. You will effectively end up justifying any of the simply ridiculous costs to live here. For one thing. lets not talk about expensive. Honolulu is a category all to its own. If you plan on living here (and your not a millionaire)you will ultimately have to survive by being channeled into one of the three renting options available (rent a home) (rent an aptment more likely) or find a roomate. Then promply get a Costco or Sam's club membership. Don't even bother driving its an exercise in futility. If you really wanna save yourself money just live in a proximity close enough to walk to work and back. For us, the car is for weekends and fun getaways. Also you may have to adapt to culture shock. Make no mistake Honolulu is more like a mixture of Hong Kong/Tokyo and Manilla than it is the united states. The best Advice I can get for really settling in is having a desire to enjoy and experience "local culture" (don't worry you'll find out) and understanding why they have the attitudes they do about non locals, "haoles" etc. BEsides that if your african american like me you might have trouble finding some basic amenities due to the fact that we represesent like what 6% of the population. In any case, the people are friendly (and in my opinion its a lot similar to the south I'm originally from NC) The key is respecting differnt cultures and you will be respected. Oh and dont be surprised if you go into a restaurant and no one speaks english.
Dominick | Honolulu, HI