Is living in Hawaii really that great?

[Herman Munster]

Aside from the earthqueakes, how can a normal person possibly afford to live there? The economy is dominated by tourism and the government. Both not known for their high pay.

[Catherine Vincent]

1. I believe we have a few DUers that live in Hawaii.

Maybe they will chime in.

[Monkeyman]

2. Windward side of the islands not bad

Went to high school there before I got drafted

[shadow 99]

3. Not anymore. Everything is super expensive and my God; they are small

ISLANDS.

You get claustrophobic and feel trapped after two weeks........and broke.

[bdamomma]

6. not everyone can live on a island if you want the mainland you can always

visit.

[Warpy]

8. Dunno, got a cousin there who still thinks it's paradise

He works crummy jobs in the tourist industry, lives in a condo in a city, and still loves it.

To each his own.

[Herman Munster]

11. yeah

some people are willing to make the sacrifice. It's one thing if you are single, MUCH MUCH harder to scrape by if you have a family though on crappy tourist jobs when any decent house starts at $600,000 and it costs $5 for a gallon of milk.

[Taverner]

4. It's expensive, and not a lot of high paying jobs

You feel trapped if you like to roam around (no where to go besides somewhere on the island)

However, each day is another day in paradise...

Personally I'd rather move to San Diego for paradise...

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Best place I've ever lived.

Though NYC is a close second.

But Hawaii is, as you noticed, a touch place to live, certainly economically - but also socially (it's like a foreign country for mainlanders in a great many ways) and because it's way the fuck away from anywhere else, and one might very well begin to feel the isolation and not be able to handle it. I've known of many who tried to live there, and after a few months just couldn't take "it" (the isolation, the island fever) any more and left.

[SmokingJacket]

7. It's got to beat upstate New York!!

Shitty economy AND shitty weather!!!

But for some reason I stay... oh, well, one certainly comes to appreciate vacations...

[ShortnFiery]

9. Yes, IMO it's Paradise .... sigh

As a new butter bar Lieutenant in The Army I was stationed on the Island of Oahu. I belonged to a running club and completed numerous 10Ks, half-marathons and one of the annual Tin Man Triathlons. I was not competitive although I'd always max all my PT tests. However, I looked so buff then that before races - sometimes goofy guys would walk up to me and say silly come-ons like, "oh gee, I hope you win."

Too funny. ;) The three years I was stationed on Oahu were truly paradise for myself as a young adult. :hi:

[LibDemAlways]

10. My husband's company has a small branch office on

Maui and one of his co-workers couldn't wait to transfer there. He rented out his house, shipped his car over, moved wife and two school-age kids.

They hated it. When the realization set in that they were not on vacation and would have to make do with cramped living quarters, high grocery prices, and a culture that was somewhat alien to them, they hightailed it back within a month.

There are those who love Hawaii and wouldn't live anywhere else, but, like anything, it takes some getting used to and has to be approached with an open mind and a spirit of adventure. It's certainly not for everybody.

[Quetzal]

12. Let me tell you about Hawaii

I live in Manoa, O'ahu and it is beautiful up here in the mountains. I am one of the lucky ones to have a landlord with a heart - one that charges what I call a fair rent.

Cost of living is crazy over here - on par with San Francisco. Homeless towns have been popping up all over the island(s) and the police have been evicting them from public parks. On the leeward coast of O'ahu, there are more than 1000 people living on the beach because they have been pushed there from other areas of the island. A disproportionate amount of the homeless are Native Hawaiians. How terrible, the indigenous people of this 'aina (land) cannot even afford to live in their own nation.

Retirees that made it rich on the mainland are now flocking here and buying up all the beachfront property and high rise condos and are definetly changing the politcial and cultural landscape of Hawaii. I heard a story on public tv as to how one of the "haoles" mocked the men's malo (loincloth) that men wear while performing the hula. If you want to rent a single bedroom apartment and you work in the service industry, you will need to work at least 70 hours a week just to pay for it and all your other bills (i.e. clothes, food).

Yes, the weather is sunny and all, but when the humidity hits, it gets downright irritating.

That earthquake was really a freak of nature in the sense that it never, ever happens here - perhaps only one that large once every 25 years. Sure, there are 5.5 or 5.0 every few years, but for it to be 6.7 is extremely rare.

[izzie]

13. So is Alaska high to live in but I loved it. Not the earth quakes

I found them scary. If I my way I would have stayed in Alaska. Even finding the quakes scary. I am sure people do this all over. I knew people who lived in the Island and they loved it.

[Jed Dilligan]

14. Depends on what you like

If you're most satisfied surfing and being outdoors (hiking, etc.) it's awesome. But if you thrive more on culture I wouldn't say it's the best place to live. It's lacking in live music, independent film, etc.

Also, the surliness of the natives toward others, while understandable, can be unpleasant.

Just my impressions from visiting friends there.

[CTyankee]

15. I went with my mother in 1993 and was very disappointed

She told me she had first gone to Honolulu in the early 1950s and there were only two hotels on Waikiki Beach. Now they are crammed in every inch.

I would have liked Hawaii in the 50s but I would not live there nor would I ever waste my money and time traveling there again. There are too many more beautiful places in the world I want to see.

[Herman Munster]

16. I was told that Oahu is a waste of money

It's cheaper going to Daytona Beach or South Beach in Miami if I wanted a tacky commercialized beach experience.

I have heard that the other islands are much less developed. Kauai is said to be like a garden of eden.