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caylia
Joined: 03 Mar 2010
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 Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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| victorology wrote: |
I suppose it depends on where in Hawaii you live.
I was born and raised in Hawaii (Honolulu to be specific) and think it's a great place. The cost of living is definitely high. I live in Gangnam and think the cost of living is quite similar in terms of housing and food. If you have a lot of money, I think living in Hawaii is great. If you don't, you might be in one of those neighborhoods where meth is a problem filled with lower class locals who hate haoles.
So, my recommendation is not to move there if you don't have money or a professional background. If you do, it's great. |
Same here! I grew up there and left Hawaii when I was 28.
Everyone in high school kept talking about "getting off this rock" and going to a school on the mainland.
The only people I know who stayed in Hawaii were my rich classmates. You can guess which high school I went to! Anyway, I hated having to take a plane for hours on end to go visit somewhere.
For me, I always wanted to live in a city where the food is ranked really high on the quality list. In the USA, I would only live in Las Vegas or New York City. The food in other cities don't even come close.
And for the record, NYC and LV are the only two cities in the USA where I never had food poisoning. |
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caylia
Joined: 03 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Bibbitybop wrote: |
1. Hawaii does have an enormous amount of racism, even the cops tend to turn a blind eye. Hawaiian judges have a "boys will be boys" mentality for dealing with Hawaiian youth. When I was there, a young Hawaiian man hit a tourist from Texas in the head with a whiskey bottle on the beach. The judge felt like this assault with a dangerous weapon deserved only the night in jail the Hawaiian endured.
2. Meth is HUGE in Hawaii. The education and social system is underfunded and sucks. People turn to drugs and alcohol a lot of the time. The "war on drugs" in the 1990s (Operation Greensweep, namely) got rid of a LOT of the marijuana there. "Maui Wowie" is no more. Now the herbs are imported from Cali most of the time and the locals turn to meth because it's easy to make and conceal. One town on the big island, Pohoa I believe, was reported to have 70% (SEVENTY!) of the population using or abusing crystal meth (called "ice" over there). Add poverty to drugs and you get crime. LOTS of theft on the islands, so much so people don't lock their cars and even leave windows down so thieves know they don't have to break a window.
3. Haoles (non-Koreans, immigrants to Korea, or white people) tend to stay on the islands for 6 months to 1 year before leaving due to the high cost of living and low rates of pay. West Maui, based on costs of living, was THE most expensive place to live in the USA back in 2002. Then, it costs a minimum of 30,000 a year for a single person to rent an apartment, have a car and have food. You can live cheap in Hawaii by cramming people into apartments and houses, sharing vehicles, fishing, hitchhiking (relatively safe despite the meth problem!) and working and living on farms. But unless you want to live in a tent on a farm or in a hostel, you are going to work your ass off. Unless you are a professional (doctor, lawyer, etc.), the best jobs are $15-20 an hour jobs working construction or waiting tables at GOOD restaurants. Most other jobs are given to locals by locals. Most people don't get good jobs and live paycheck to paycheck. Hawaii is paradise, but after a year, you get island fever and are broke. |
I agree with a lot of this stuff. However, even the locals are screwing over each other now because the economy is so bad. Everyone wants to work at the new Walgreen's that is opening up.
The ratio of applicants to job openings at the new store was something like 200:1. There is NO way someone can bring you in with that kind of wait list. So there you have it - the OHANA and ALOHA spirit all goes away when the money disappears.
The REAL locals know how to treat everyone well, including haoles and foreigners. The wannabe locals are the ones you read and hear about from the media and rumor mills. I guess it's the same everywhere else too. |
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caylia
Joined: 03 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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| darkcity wrote: |
i'm interested in hearing more insights about living in hawaii.
after i save up some money from korea/japan, i was thinking about moving there. |
Read a lot of these posts on this thread? Only go for vacation, or if you have a ton of money to retire on. I'm from there, I have a biased view, but I'm from the hedge fund world and none of my colleagues are there. Very few hedge funds in Hawaii tells me that not a lot of money is there, which is not a good sign for living. |
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AsiaESLbound
Joined: 07 Jan 2010
Location: Truck Stop Missouri
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 9:02 pm Post subject: |
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Volcano? Yes, I'm sure it's a pretty place with jet black organic rich soil great for growing the most beautiful tropical plants, but red hot lava could make a rude appearance. With prior warning, you could drop your valuables in a speed boat and run for the waves. I also understand the locals to not take a kind favoring to newcomers as if they wish for Hawaii to separate from the USA. Also the economy is more expensive and employment may be difficult if not going there for a professional role such as doctor or businessman or just living on tons of money you inherited or made in the market. I think I'd go to South Asia if I had money or could choose a job paying enough down there. I hear lots of good things about tropical Asia.
Hawaii, the Caribbean, and central America? There is many troubles in paradise my friend. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:54 am Post subject: |
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caylia, you are from Hawaii State (on a different island) or the Big Island Hawaii?
Just curious...I'm not from either...but just helps me put perspective as each island in Hawaii seems to have such a different flavor to it. |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:58 am Post subject: |
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| caylia wrote: |
| Bibbitybop wrote: |
1. Hawaii does have an enormous amount of racism, even the cops tend to turn a blind eye. Hawaiian judges have a "boys will be boys" mentality for dealing with Hawaiian youth. When I was there, a young Hawaiian man hit a tourist from Texas in the head with a whiskey bottle on the beach. The judge felt like this assault with a dangerous weapon deserved only the night in jail the Hawaiian endured.
2. Meth is HUGE in Hawaii. The education and social system is underfunded and sucks. People turn to drugs and alcohol a lot of the time. The "war on drugs" in the 1990s (Operation Greensweep, namely) got rid of a LOT of the marijuana there. "Maui Wowie" is no more. Now the herbs are imported from Cali most of the time and the locals turn to meth because it's easy to make and conceal. One town on the big island, Pohoa I believe, was reported to have 70% (SEVENTY!) of the population using or abusing crystal meth (called "ice" over there). Add poverty to drugs and you get crime. LOTS of theft on the islands, so much so people don't lock their cars and even leave windows down so thieves know they don't have to break a window.
3. Haoles (non-Koreans, immigrants to Korea, or white people) tend to stay on the islands for 6 months to 1 year before leaving due to the high cost of living and low rates of pay. West Maui, based on costs of living, was THE most expensive place to live in the USA back in 2002. Then, it costs a minimum of 30,000 a year for a single person to rent an apartment, have a car and have food. You can live cheap in Hawaii by cramming people into apartments and houses, sharing vehicles, fishing, hitchhiking (relatively safe despite the meth problem!) and working and living on farms. But unless you want to live in a tent on a farm or in a hostel, you are going to work your ass off. Unless you are a professional (doctor, lawyer, etc.), the best jobs are $15-20 an hour jobs working construction or waiting tables at GOOD restaurants. Most other jobs are given to locals by locals. Most people don't get good jobs and live paycheck to paycheck. Hawaii is paradise, but after a year, you get island fever and are broke. |
I agree with a lot of this stuff. However, even the locals are screwing over each other now because the economy is so bad. Everyone wants to work at the new Walgreen's that is opening up.
The ratio of applicants to job openings at the new store was something like 200:1. There is NO way someone can bring you in with that kind of wait list. So there you have it - the OHANA and ALOHA spirit all goes away when the money disappears.
The REAL locals know how to treat everyone well, including haoles and foreigners. The wannabe locals are the ones you read and hear about from the media and rumor mills. I guess it's the same everywhere else too. |
My friends are still there on the same property, but they are retired and don't need work.
For all else going to Hawaii to earn a living, good luck fishing, with your farm, and with your water catchment system. |
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caylia
Joined: 03 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
caylia, you are from Hawaii State (on a different island) or the Big Island Hawaii?
Just curious...I'm not from either...but just helps me put perspective as each island in Hawaii seems to have such a different flavor to it. |
I'm from Oahu. Honolulu is way too overdeveloped.
If you are comparing the Big Island and Oahu, then yes, the Big Island has a ways to go for development.
I do know that in the last 5-10 years, a lot of doctors and medical specialists on the West Coast USA have been buying homes and townhouses on Maui .. possibly to retire. The golf courses there are nice.
I guess the problem I see with Hawaii real estate in general is that there is no sustainability in the economic infrastructure. Intel Corp. was going to build a huge facility in Hawaii in the early 90s, and to try and make it a "technology gateway" to Asia and the South Pacific.
Guess what? The government and locals told them that we don't want big corporations here in paradise. The mentality hasn't changed much over the years, which is why Hawaii is now in bad shape.
This might sound strange to some, but I always thought that buying real estate and retiring somewhere in Africa might be a good idea. |
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