Random questions about Hawaii (Honolulu: hotel, tornadoes, income)
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My mom and boyfriend are trying to convince me to want to move to Hawaii. My mom thinks it's do-able even if you aren't rich and my boyfriend lived there for two years when he was in the Marine Corps (he loved Hawaii). I have never even been interested in a visit to Hawaii because I always assumed it was a touristy hell-hole filled with fat middle aged men waddling around in flowery silk shirts. Silly, I know. Ignorant, hell yes. I love tropical places (spent lots of time in Central America) but Hawaii just evoked these really cheesy visions in my head.
My boyfriend swears it's not like that. He says it's just like any other place, people living normal lives doing exactly what we do here in Kansas, has its own problems, yada yada...except it's beautiful and has perfect weather.
I'm willing to give it a shot some day. I have been educating myself about Hawaii for a couple days and it's starting to grow on me. The idea of at least seeing it, that is.
Anyway, I have some very specific random questions for Hawaii locals. Here goes:
1. Are there thunderstorms in Hawaii? If so, how often?
2. Are locally grown foods cheaper than the super expensive items (milk) or is EVERYTHING more expensive?
3. Is there diversity among the types of bars/clubs?
4. Will I be shunned for listening to heavy metal?
5. Will I be shunned for being into goth/horror/dark/creepy things? I'm an artist and this is my style so moving to a place where most locals hate that stuff will probably hurt my income.
6. Why do YOU think Hawaii is regularly rated as one of the healthiest, happiest states?
Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore. Yes, there are cheesy places in Hawaii with fat middle aged men (and women) waddling around in matching flowery silk (and worse yet, polyester) shirts. And don't forget the paper umbrellas in their drinks! However, most of those sorts of folks are more or less kept contained in either Waikiki or some touristy resort so you don't run across them all that often. They are kinda fun, though, to watch and they usually smell like coconuts.
1. There are much fewer thunderstorms in Hawaii than in Kansas and no tornadoes. Depending on which island, there may be hurricanes. The Island of Hawaii (aka "the Big Island") has never had a hurricane in recorded history, so if you don't like windstorms, choose that island.
2. Locally grown foods are free if it is your yard that they come from. If it is from your neighbor's yard, it's still generally free but you get to reciprocate when the fruit in your tree gets ripe. Otherwise, there's farmers markets and such where fresh fruit and vegetables can be bought fairly inexpensively. If you're on Oahu (the island with Waikiki of the flowery tourists as well as Honolulu & Pearl Harbor) then you can find inexpensive vegetables in Chinatown. On the other islands, the local Filipino stores have vegetables at good prices.
3. Hmm, depends on which island as to how diverse the bars & clubs are gonna be. Oahu probably has the most, then Maui, and then the other islands not so many.
4. Not any more so than rap, I suppose. There are a few bars and things that play that sort of music, I'm sure.
5. There's goth & steam punk folks around, you can be as dark as you like. Folks may think you're a little crazy but that's mostly because of wearing black in the tropical sun, but if you want to wear black, they aren't gonna care much. Folks are much more accepting of things here than in Kansas. There is no strict code of "right" and "wrong" like you'll find in Kansas. Should you happen to *gasp* wear black blue jeans (I understand that's not something folks should do in Kansas? Although this might be last decade's rules) anyway, nobody here will care or even notice let alone consider you might be part of a cult.
6. Hawaii gets high ratings for several things. Great weather all year around so folks are out and about instead of stuck inside for several months out of the year is a big part of it. Another part is so many different diverse folks all living together that there is an extremely high level of tolerance. Just being accepted knocks out a lot of stress in people's lives.
Now, should you decide to move to Hawaii, what you may end up having to import is barbecue. The Hawaii BBQ is not going to be like what you're used to in Kansas. Just sayin'.
1. There are much fewer thunderstorms in Hawaii than in Kansas and no tornadoes. Depending on which island, there may be hurricanes. The Island of Hawaii (aka "the Big Island") has never had a hurricane in recorded history, so if you don't like windstorms, choose that island.
I think it depends on who you talk to, and what their definitions of "hit" and "hurricane are. Some say Hurricane Estelle "hit" the Big Island in 1956, when 15-20 ft waves hit and caused damage, even though the center of the storm never got closer than 150 miles, and the recorded wind speed on the island didn't get over 40 mph.
Also, in regard to hurricanes, recorded history only goes back to 1950. Before that they didn't have the instrumentation to determine if a storm in Hawai'i's vicinity was a hurricane or not.
But in general, yes, Hawai'i Island is the safest as far as tropical storms and hurricanes go. At least since 1950.
hotzcats - thank you for the detailed response! my misconceptions of Hawaii are slowly shedding. not that i'll be able to afford to go there any time soon - it's nice to know that it may be a possibility in the future.
My criteria for somewhere to live includes: warm all or most of the year, warm water to swim in, laid back culture, friendly people, and jobs. So far, Oregon, California, and Colorado have only fulfilled a few of those requirements. That's when the boyfriend is like, "HAWAII!". I think he just has a lot of good memories there
1. Are there thunderstorms in Hawaii? If so, how often?
Nothing like what you get there. Occasionally I will see lightning, but not very often. Mostly just rainbows.
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Originally Posted by augentier
2. Are locally grown foods cheaper than the super expensive items (milk) or is EVERYTHING more expensive?
Pretty much everything is more expensive. But Milk isn't all that bad, you can get a gallon at Safeway for $4.99. It's only in Waikiki that it's $10. Anything you can make a meal out of in your hotel room is super overpriced in the grocery stores in waikiki. Raw pork, regular price...Milk, Cereal...CRAZY!
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Originally Posted by augentier
3. Is there diversity among the types of bars/clubs?
Yup. On Oahu anyway. Anything from Jazz, to Jawaiian, to Metal.
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Originally Posted by augentier
4. Will I be shunned for listening to heavy metal?
Nope. There is a rock station in town that is decent for modern rock. But there is an underground Metal Band scene here no doubt.
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Originally Posted by augentier
5. Will I be shunned for being into goth/horror/dark/creepy things? I'm an artist and this is my style so moving to a place where most locals hate that stuff will probably hurt my income.
Nope, nobody really cares. I see goth kids at the mall. Not as much as the mainland, but I do see them. There are Goth-and-Go stores here too, (Hot Topic). No offense intended.
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Originally Posted by augentier
6. Why do YOU think Hawaii is regularly rated as one of the healthiest, happiest states?
It's sunny and beautiful, very easy to have a fit lifestyle by enjoying the outdoors year round.
Millions of people visit and thousands of people move to Hawaii (some temporarily, some for good), and you think they're all stuck in some cartoonish fake tourist-land? I'm surprised you're clinging to such stereotypes, because you say you've traveled to Central America. That should open your eyes to life in the tropics. Nor do you seem to be listening to your boyfriend who lived in Hawaii. That said, Hawaii isn't for everyone, so it's good you're here asking questions.
1. Thunderstorms are rare in Hawaii. The humidity prevents the buildup of static electricity. That said, there are usually one or two every year. We do get rainstorms where it will be overcast and pouring off and on for anywhere from 2 to 20 days.
2. Locally grown foods are usually cheaper than imported items, except maybe in downtown Honolulu where Farmer's Markets are few and far between.
3. In Honolulu, probably. Dthraco seems to know, though I doubt it's a thriving scene. Outside of Honolulu, not much at all. There are bars and lounges, some more touristy (but still with lots of locals), some more local, but mostly all with casual music (Hawaiian, contemporary, karaoke).
4. Not shunned, people are pretty mellow here, but I think it will be harder to find people who share and participate in your tastes. I would say it's possible on Oahu, much less on neighbor islands. There is no heavy metal station on Kaua'i, just classic rock. Also note that Hawaii's not a place where people go around blasting their own music. It happens a bit with young adults and their cars, but it's not really a thing here.
5. Again, not shunned, but outside of Honolulu, not that much of a culture of goth/horror. If you need to sell your art locally (as opposed to online), you might not find a big market here. There is a tendency for a certain type of horror, I'm thinking the skulls of the Metal Mulisha you see on shirts and truck decals. Maybe you can investigate local tastes and blend that type into your art.
Another thought is that Hawaii is a lot about nature: sunshine, ocean, lava, rainforest--and many people celebrate the life-giving bounty of nature. In many ways, those are opposite to the goth/horror ethos. But there is a side of nature that can be dark. Personally, I like finding ruins in the forest and seeing how they're overgrown and decaying. Again, maybe you can work that local aspect into your art. But I would say in general, people in Hawaii tend to seek out the bright, fun, active part of nature--because Hawaii has a lot of that to offer.
6. Enjoying the outdoors is a major one. But also the 30-40% Japanese ancestry in Hawaii, along with the Asian diet (rice, seafood, and fresh veggies) both contribute to a healthy population on average. It would be interesting to see the healthiness of the non-Asian populations in Hawaii.
Please do not take offense, but if your daily dress is Goth, you are going to stick out like a very sore thumb (black dress and white skin...stereotype...I know...).
To each his own, but Hawaiians are a laid back bunch who dress very "sunny" and casually.
I am sure you have come to this site for advice and that is my best advice to you.
If you make your money/living in the macabre, you should not come to HI. You will not have a big enough following to make a living, unless you adapt your art to the dark side of Hawaiian History. Take this advice for what it is worth, about two cents.
First thought in my head is that black clothing is kinda uncomfortable in warm sunshine. Second thought is, I wonder if all that heavy jewelry would drag you down when you were trying to swim, or surf, or kayak.
There are some ghost stories, so I suspect that graphic t-shirts depicting the ghost legends might sell to teenager tourists. It might be possible to work up something with volcanos and dragons, although that isn't really goth.
It might be difficult to maintain a dark and dismal outlook on life while in Hawaii where everything is so beautiful and the flowers smell so good. But, hey, OP, come for a couple of weeks and look around. That's the only way to see if it is worth spending the money to risk a move.
It might be difficult to maintain a dark and dismal outlook on life while in Hawaii where everything is so beautiful and the flowers smell so good.
So True!
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