Reviews & Comments
Urban Honolulu, HI
re: Climate of Honolulu, Oahu - 10/7/2012 -
1/1/2013Also, there are a lot of homeless here and not much social support.
Urban Honolulu, HI
re: Climate of Honolulu, Oahu - 10/7/2012 -
1/1/2013We live in Aiea, just outside of Honolulu. The weather is truly ideal although if you really like the seasons, you won't like it. We just go to the mainland when we miss the seasons and are happy to return. People are friendly and it feels safe here more than other places. The public schools are notoriously bad, teachers are not required to have teaching certificates since they pay them so little here, therefore there are many expensive private schools. The private schools tend to be very good to excellent. It isn't easy to get into the local culture on a personal level although that depends on one's activities & life style. So many people leave here after a year or two that it is understandable if locals are cautious before investing in strong relationships with people recently come to live here. Wages are lower than most anywhere on the Mainland-there really is a "Paradise Tax" living here. And everything is expensive plus taxed on top of that: groceries, doctor visits, etc. Landlords are truly slum lords as a general rule here. Do not expect to find a rental that has been recently painted, for example, even an expensive one. The local people are warm in general--aloha still exists although I hear much less than a couple decades ago. It is a special place but like all places is full of contradictions so one has to choose what is more important to them.
San Francisco, CA
Great City -
1/1/2013San Francisco is an amazing city full of diversity and connected to that, vibrant life and intelligence. It is beautiful too and we LOVE the hills! We love walking and hiking the hills of San Francisco. We do not see it as a dirty city, haha, just go to Italy, for example, and you will see dirty cities, although many are great anyway. San Francisco is spotless comparatively. We find that locals speak to us easily and offer help before being asked and when asked. We use common sense and never have problems with theft or violence there. We love the culture and vibrancy of the city, it truly feels alive. Note: The plentiful number of homeless is a downside as commented elsewhere. Are the homeless more visible in San Fran, rather than more numerous?-don't know. We wonder if it is because of the cost of housing, culture and generosity of public, drug addicts, or all those. We saw many sleeping tattered-clothed homeless around the civic center & courthouse during cold rain in December, that is miserable. However, we notice homeless (we met) were not starving so there must be public food programs, and many seem to be professional beggars; all were polite when gently told "no". At the same time, we love the energy, cultures, walking culture, public transit choices and character, it is so easy and inexpensive to get around the city, and simply the beauty of San Francisco. If you feel called to help the homeless then that's great. All large cities have homeless and it is a complex issue. Perhaps it is healthier that they are seen rather than strangely absent. There's a lot of homeless in Honolulu, Portland, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Florence & Rome, London, you name it. The cost of housing is an issue although we were recently surprised as costs seem lower than in previous times we've been there; without the need to own a car, one can re-think how to allot costs too.