WuWuWu

Anybody every lived the dream of moving to Hawaii for real? If so, was it what you thought it would be? How is it different than going there on vacation? Which island? Just dreaming.

puddy

I'm sure others will reply with their own stories, but if not, there is a booked called "So You Want to Live in Hawaii?" I always see it at our local Barnes and Noble or you can order it online. It was published in '99 so it is fairly recent. I paged through it and it seemed to be pretty good info.

Pumpy

Went to college on the big island and would not want to live there again (Hawaii in general). I love Hawaii as a place to visit but that is all. On the outer islands, mainlanders/white people/haoles are not all that well received. Depending on your profession, finding employment can be difficult. Anyway, that is my opinion. PS: I went over with 3 other people and all of us share that opinion).

GoTravel

Isn't there a six month quarentine for pets?

Husband had a roomate that was transfered to Hawaii with his job. They hated living in Hawaii because it was so expensive and jumped at the first chance to move home.

They also hated being so far away from their families.

travleis

If you search the archives this topic has been extensively discussed in the past.
Bottom line is that while a very small percentage of mainlanders will move and adjust and stay, the vast majority will leave and/or be less than satisfied.

Lots of reasons why, but key reasons are that 1)vacations are not like daily living (would you enjoy living your whole life in Bora Bora?), 2) mainlanders are NOT welcome in Hawaii as residents (I believe the Hawaiian native term for mainlanders is 'howlie', which is derived from their term for small pigs), 3) there is something called island fever which unexpectedly bothers many people used to living on a large land mass (North American continent), such that suddenly transplanting to a tiny island leaves them feeling trapped, cut off and suffocating after several months.
The list of reasons goes on.

Vacation experiences are not at all like real life experiences.

<<Just like first dates are nothing at all like marriage experiences. Exact same principle.>>

plummie

Traveleis-

The term is "haole" which means foreigner, or alternatively, white person. Pua'a is the Hawaiian word for pig.

Patty

Doesn't haole come from the word for ghost, i.e. as pale as a ghost?

pdxgirl

If you are seriously thinking about moving, check out www.konaweb.com. The site has a forum called Moving to the Big Island. It's very active with lots of good info from people who have moved to the Big Island from the mainland or who are planning to move in the future.

MelissaHI

omigod, I'm just paling with horror at the whole "haole" issue. "Ha" in Hawaiian means breath, and "aole" means "none". So the Hawaiians had called them Haoles because they were white, I guess like ghosts, to mean "no breath" or "no life."

As with any other place you would move to, just treat the local culture and the people with respect and they will respect you.

kimamom

Hi! My husband's brother went to Hawaii to work for awhile and ended up living there for many years. His mom and dad lived there for over ten years on Oahu and also had a home in Kona.

His sister lived in Maui for five years. Three years ago they all moved back to California to be near the rest of their family. They loved the island living but missed the rest of us enough to move back. My kids were all fortunate enough to spend many summers with them before they moved back here.

It's an experience they will never forget. Now we have find hotels to stay in on our next trip!!! ***kim***

Alohamom

We have toyed with the idea so many times. We are Canadian and it is virtually impossible for us unless my husband or I could secure a job that no other American person could fill. My husband brings his resume every time we go, but we never seem to be able to do it (go through with an interview) We have two small kids (6 & 4) whom I would hate to see be isolated because of being haole. Than there is the issue of which island to live on, my husband would choose Maui hands down, I the Big Island. I know there is something about Hawaii that draws me to it, but it is not in the near future anyway. We would like to perhaps purchase a condo in the next little while that we could use for vacations now, rent out other times and eventually retire to. This is the general game plan, we will see...

Sarah

Melissa what I heard from my friend that lives on Oahu (family on the island for 5 generations) is that they called them Haole because they did not greet people with the Polynesian breath greeting. They kissed instead. Get it without breath? Who knows but it kind of makes sense to me. I know that Maories also thought this was pretty darn peculiar with Cook?s men at first contact. Well maybe 2-3 contact as we know that first contact with the Maouries was lethal. Anywho, they thought it seemed pretty disgusting that white men would swap spit with their wives. I think I read that in Blue Latitudes by Tony Horowitz.

I guess everyone Knows I REALLY WANT TO LIVE IN HAWAII. Too difficult for me to say goodbye to family and friends here. Worked in a care home in Hawaii, I assisted elderly patients that had said goodbye to family and friends YEARS before. I kind of saw what it did to these people to intentionally break ties. Grandchildren grew up only having holiday memories of parents. Siblings grew apart. Old friends is what you really saw slip through the cracks. People that did not have the blook link encouraging them to maintain contact. Tropical splendor and ancient histories certainly have a place but so do long time relationships. You miss stuff when you are away. That was my experience anyway.

dwooddon

Having lived for three years in the center of Oahu, (Wahiawa) and having visited Hawaii at least a dozen times since as a vacationer, I believe living there is much more satisfying than visiting. One of our favorite sayings was "Just think, another day in paradise!" and we truly meant it.

I and my family are white but we lived in a highly integrated neighborhood where we had close neighbors who were Hawaiian, African-American, Phillipino (sp?), Japanese, Chinese, and other whites. Never in the entire three years did I, my wife, or my children ever feel any racial or cultural bias. To the contrary, we bathed and luxuriated in the culture.

With the exception of the birth of my children, I don't think I have ever been as emotional as the day about 45 of our neighbors serenaded us at the airport with Hawaiian songs as we left to move back to the mainland.

I believe there are some remote isolated areas where we would have been less welcome but I suggest that would be true for anyone who is "different" coming into any isolated area populated by long-time residents, anywhere.

For us the larger issue was proximity to family and "rock fever". I traveled very frequently back to the mainland and to Asia so I never really experienced the sense of isolation "rock fever" implies. My wife, who was able to travel only infrequently, felt it more.

Expense can also be a factor as others have noted. Like anywhere else though, it is less expensive to live in the family oriented areas of Hawaii than in the resort areas.

Were it not for the distance from my kids and grandkids and that I now live in another paradise, I'd move back in a heartbeat.

islandmom

We came ten years ago with two suitcases. We didn't have a car the first year and had to push our laundry to the laundry mat in a shopping cart. LOL! What you will do when in love. Jobs weren't as easy to find as promised. Since then the cost of living has gone up dramatically. Car insurance is high. Good news is you get health insurance if you work. My husband makes good money now and I'm a stay at home mom. It's all who you know around here. It wasn't an easy start though. My husband lived here as a child and had an easier adjustment. The Asian culture takes some getting used to, not sure I am completely comfortable. I prefered living on Kauai. We have lived on Kauai, Maui and Oahu. Oahu has the most stable work. It's beautiful here, less materialistic, your standard of housing/living will have to adjust. Education is horrible. Crime is bad. Some people are kinda rough. Yet, we've made friends and most places I feel safe. The cultural events are good. Family values are good. They are close to one another and work together. The best places to live on the island in newer, large housing is out of our reach. It's a trade off in a lot of ways. We miss out on many family events back home.

Hanalei

Just wondering if there's any opinions from Asians who lived there. I kept on reading about the treatments to "haole", what about Asians ? Is it just as bad or is it easier for Asians to blend in ?

Thanks,

Waldo

Don't think of moving to Hawaii if your profession is a bank robber. Once you rob a bank, where are you gonna go for a getaway?

og719

Waldo, huh? I've been looking all over for you....

MelissaHI

Hanalei, do you mean "Asian" as in "from Asia" or just "of Asian ancestry"? There are a ton of both in Hawaii, especially on Oahu where I live (and I am of asian ancestry). So to that end, I would say it's easier to blend in.

Kal

You beautiful woman never have a problem fitting in anywhere, Mels!

I'd stay 6 winter/fall mos. in Hawaii and 6 spring/summer mos. in NoCal.
Ooops. Gotta go play some Lotto tics to finance my dream! >-

circa

Hanalei.....where do you live???

Big Island perhaps???