We live in Boston. The first time we went to Hawaii we expected everything to be so much more expensive than here at home. We were very pleasantly surprised to see that the prices were just about the same as here if not cheaper for some items such as sun tan lotion, aspirin, etc. The restaurants were about the same or maybey a touch higher depending on where we went. Even the housing market on Maui or Oahu are about the same. What about where you live? How do the prices compare?

Same is true of NYC. I would guess that the housing rate is the same for Manhattan and trendy areas in the boroughs but further outside the city I don't think this is the case.

Always found the food items similar in price. Restaurants are cheaper for gourmet some everyday restaurants are a tad higer.

I think most people (from east coast) are talking about the price of hotel when they talk about costs. It is very easy to have a $20 breakfast in most mid to high range hotels but if you are staying in a condo or wise enough to eat off the beaten track you don't have this problem.

Think Hawaii is expensive for people in the mid-west and South, some poorer western states. I just don't see the costs people are talking about if they come from NE. Unless they are staying at hotels throughout their vacation.

Unfortunately salaries are way lower in Hawaii when compared to NYC.

important point to remember if you are thinking of relocating but for people visiting it is great to not get a huge price jump you always hear others talk about.

I hear that the Hawaiians have to work two and three jobs just to make a decent living. Is this true? If I lived in paradise I don't know if I could do that but they really have no choice. Prices were sonewhat higher over there but not like everyone says.

First of all, you have to realize there are few or no "Hawaiians." People who live in Hawaii are a mixture of ancestry, with the Japanese and Whites (better known as haoles there) making up the largest percentage.

That said, other tropical areas of the U.S. - Key West being the first that comes to mind - have extremely high costs of living but local jobs that pay very little. As a result, people who live in Hawaii (regardless of their ancestry) and Key West often have to work two jobs or more to make ends meet.

Postal: Just go shoot something would you! If you're born in Hawaii you're an Hawaiian! By your logic everyone is African.