Non-haole Living in Hawaii? (fit in, houses, neighborhood)

[lvsseasand]

I am considering moving to Hawaii this year and have heard all the comments on this board about how multicultural Hawaii is..I am a multiracial. woman..black,white,native-american....and look like a "native"...how do you think I would fair socially?..I am really looking for a "family-type" atmosphere, ev even though I am not married without any children, I hope one day to be...maybe marry a Hawaiian native? what are the men like there?


thanks...Sabrina

[cynmkolohe]

Originally Posted by lvsseasand

what are the men like there?

I could have some fun with that question! I'm not in the dating scene anymore, but PM me if you would like the list of five questions I learned to ask of every man I met here in the islands (or anywhere else for that matter...)

But I'll refrain from making trouble and just say that with your ethnic background, you will be a good contributor to the "so where are you from" conversation...When I was teaching, we had surveys for the families to fill out with two short lines for ethnic background. I loved seeing the forms where folks would draw an arrow to the back of the page for more space and proceed to list out every nationality that they could rightfully claim. That's pride!

[Sorcerer68]

You'll do great. Brown skin makes island life easier.

[Gal On The Move]

I met my husband on Oahu when I was 17! He's a hapa boy (mixed Guamanian and white). We've been together for over 12 years now.

Anyway, I lived in Hawaii for seven years and I loved it. I hope you meet your soulmate there, the island culture is so warm and full of Aloha spirit.

You'll love it.

[tiffan28]

I'm multi-cultural and feel pretty comfortable living here. I think a lot of Asians and Hawaiians probably "wonder" what group I fit into and then give up trying to figure it out since there are so many groups I could fit into - I've seen so much non-caucasian diversity here it really makes me wonder why anyone would even care about nationality. Why can't we focus on our similarities as human beings instead of what makes us different? The answer lies in insecurity.

[Lambert]

I have been living in Ka'u on the Big Island for 5 years. I am straight Haole. Blonde hair, blue eyes. My husband the same. My daughter 3, was born here, also the same. My 6 year old, first grade son has bright red hair and freckles. We came from NJ 5 years ago because we also wanted a "loving family" environment. My husband worked from 6:30 in the morning and sometimes would not get home until 1 am from a town meeting. I wanted my kids to have a father figure not a figure of father they saw come in and out once in a while. That was not going to happen in NJ. I can tell you honestly it is really different here, but that's what we wanted. The hardest part for me was getting rid of the "I want it now" attitude. I am a fast paced city girl and it took me some time to relax ... I knew it was me. I needed to learn to relax, one of the reasons we wanted to move our family here over 6,000 miles away. Things do move slower here, they are a bit behind in in the times, but catching up... but, we love that about this place. Treat people the way you wanted to be treated. We don't have a highway light for 50 miles in either direction. I have incredible views from my home, live in a quiet and peaceful neighborhood where my neighbors have roosters and hold **** fights and you know what ... I don't care. It's why I came here. I have the perfect family environment where my children are learning from a culter that has existed and thrived for a long time. Fishing and surfing. Learning the land and how it works and treating this beautiful gift with respect. I appreciate how wonderful it is here because of where I come from. I hate going to the mainland and have such a hard time dealing with mainland ways that we vacation at the Sheraton in Keahou or we hop a Hawaiian cruise. That's how wonderful we think it is here ... again, I am straight Haole. No mixture going on here.

Just as an added note I have a son in the school system. We heard horror stories about the schools and were very nervous. We do not find the education lacking at all. My son's teacher's both in Kindergarten and now in first grade are great teachers. The care and love my son gets from every member of the staff from the janitor to the principal can't be duplicated ... I think it's the true meaning of Aloha. My son is well liked and has plenty of friends, mostly local boys who accept him just as he is. Ignorance is a learned behavior.

[lvsseasand]

I hope if I do decide to make Hawaii my home that I will find the same Aloha Spirit that all of you here have found


By the way....Do any of you former city folk every miss the entertainment (Broadway, the opera, ballet) back on the Mainland?

[Metaphor]

Originally Posted by Lambert

I have been living in Ka'u on the Big Island for 5 years. I am straight Haole. Blonde hair, blue eyes. My husband the same. My daughter 3, was born here, also the same. My 6 year old, first grade son has bright red hair and freckles. We came from NJ 5 years ago because we also wanted a "loving family" environment. My husband worked from 6:30 in the morning and sometimes would not get home until 1 am from a town meeting. I wanted my kids to have a father figure not a figure of father they saw come in and out once in a while. That was not going to happen in NJ. I can tell you honestly it is really different here, but that's what we wanted. The hardest part for me was getting rid of the "I want it now" attitude. I am a fast paced city girl and it took me some time to relax ... I knew it was me. I needed to learn to relax, one of the reasons we wanted to move our family here over 6,000 miles away. Things do move slower here, they are a bit behind in in the times, but catching up... but, we love that about this place. Treat people the way you wanted to be treated. We don't have a highway light for 50 miles in either direction. I have incredible views from my home, live in a quiet and peaceful neighborhood where my neighbors have roosters and hold **** fights and you know what ... I don't care. It's why I came here. I have the perfect family environment where my children are learning from a culter that has existed and thrived for a long time. Fishing and surfing. Learning the land and how it works and treating this beautiful gift with respect. I appreciate how wonderful it is here because of where I come from. I hate going to the mainland and have such a hard time dealing with mainland ways that we vacation at the Sheraton in Keahou or we hop a Hawaiian cruise. That's how wonderful we think it is here ... again, I am straight Haole. No mixture going on here.

Just as an added note I have a son in the school system. We heard horror stories about the schools and were very nervous. We do not find the education lacking at all. My son's teacher's both in Kindergarten and now in first grade are great teachers. The care and love my son gets from every member of the staff from the janitor to the principal can't be duplicated ... I think it's the true meaning of Aloha. My son is well liked and has plenty of friends, mostly local boys who accept him just as he is. Ignorance is a learned behavior.

Awesome to finally hear a POSITIVE experience regarding a transition from the mainland. I think alot of experiences people post are very relative to their independent situations but different from the over-all norm. I hope you and your family continue to experience the Aloha Spirit to it's full effects. I will not be apart of the islands until the end of the year.

[cynmkolohe]

Originally Posted by lvsseasand

By the way....Do any of you former city folk every miss the entertainment (Broadway, the opera, ballet) back on the Mainland?

http://www.honolulusymphony.com/

http://www.diamondheadtheatre.com/

http://www.hawaiitheatre.com/

http://www.blaisdellcenter.com/

Links above to a few of the larger venues...plenty more if you search!

[Lambert]

Thank you for posting those links. I have forwarded them to my Dad, who refuses to leave NJ so he can be close to the New York City and his opera houses. My Mom is ready to leave him and move here without him!!! It will be nice for him to see he can get the same here without all that air pollution.