Moving w/ 2 teenagers to kauai

[JoeyT]

Genuine question: if things (crime, drugs, discrimination) are so bad on Kauai why are property values in the stratosphere?

[808haloe]

The rich move in and live here part time. As I said the crime is not made known for fear of losing tourism. Property values or overinflated. Kauai is beautiful but once you get moved in full time it is a different story. Also if you move here make sure you already have money or you are a remote employee otherwise you will be working two or three jobs to make ends meet.

[JoeyT]

[quote][Property values or overinflated./QUOTE]

Did you mean "property values ARE overinflated"? Reading it several times, I'm sure that's what you meant. sorry.

[Mar0]

I would be hesitant to believe that 1/3 of the island uses meth. Perhaps a 1/3 have used it once, but are not regular users. That would mean that 1 out of every 3 people I know are users......

I recently spent time at my friend's son's 18th bday party and I could not imagine being in high school here. I was a little more academic and a lot of kids are more interested in surfing and diving. In fact, a lot of older guys have a bit of a peter pan complex and live at home (despite being 40), and spend all their time fishing after work. There is just a different mentality.

At the same time, people have been overwhelmingly nice to me. My first week here people offered to help me move my stuff in, offered me places to live (their aunties or uncles friend's had a spare studio, that kind of thing) and introduced me to the food and culture of the islands. I went to lots of different island events and participated in different activities, and I have become really close to everyone. My point is that you can be successful here and enjoy life, especially if you focus on the positive. I have seen tourists beaten up by locals, people stealing stuff from tourists cars, and have gotten stink eye personally, but you need to weigh the positives with the negatives. Personally, I probably would not bring my teenaged kids over because of the quality of education, but if I had to do it all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

[Aaloha]

DONT. DONT do it, if you absolutely dont have to. Kauai is wonderful for young children, married couples and just about anyone but teens. We just moved because of all the problems. It's so hard to bring up an influential teen. Check out the teen, drug, pregnancy, drop out, and just the way of life. Once they're over the stupid teen mistakes then it would be safe. Crime is not the problem, it's the lack of motivation. We bailed so my daughter can go to high school on the mainland. bummed to leave paradise but the schools are really bad. check out the national ratings. dont take my word. do your homework, check out facts.

[kaohinani]

WOW, I was raised on Kauai, raised my kids of Kauai and as of now still living on Kauai, and I am sorry but 808haloe (sorry guys but it is spelled haole) and alohagirl99 your views are not exactly accurate. My children have many "haole" friends that have moved here from the mainland and they fit in OK. I am sure there is some prejudice going on. I am not naive, I am married to a haole man. But for the most part Kauai is agood place to raise children. The crime rate is low. People are people, and yes there is negative aspects, but for the most part Kauai is awesome. My children do not use drugs, are not pregnant in their teens, they got a good education from the public schools and are well rounded individuals. My daughter is in college, and my son while still in high school enjoys sports and extracurricular activities that are clean and wholesome. I hope you can still see the "good" about Kauai

[Sweetbeet]

I really don't know much about the public schools here, since my son and niece attend a private school, but we have met lots of nice families (neighbors, kids who swim at the Y) whose kids attend public school. After one month here I have to say my experience of Kauai seems more in line with what Kaohinani suggests. There are bad kids, especially teens, everywhere - my nephews grew up in Fairfax, VA, in a very upscale neighborhood, and they, and most of their friends, got into trouble with drugs and petty crimes, and generally went downhill. I think the family, and the kids' experiences before they hit their teen years, are much more important than where you decide to settle.

I would say, get a handle on the reality of earning a living here before you move, especially with teenagers. It can be hard finding work, particularly decent-paying work. I have heard of accountants making close to minimum wage. Many people seem to have several jobs - almost every store clerk has some other job. Housing is very expensive, food is higher than most places on the mainland, electricity is between 45 and 50 cents per kilowatt hour (check and see what you're paying now). You will use fans, if you don't have A/C (less if you get a place with good breezes, but when the "Kona winds" blow (actually, they don't blow, it seems to me - "Kona winds" seems to be used for any time when the usual cooling tradewinds from the east aren't blowing), it gets darn hot. Water is expensive. Be realistic, have some savings to get you through the first few months, and make a budget before you come to be sure you can survive.

Also, it helps a lot if your kids are psyched about moving (as much as teens ever get 'psyched' about anything). If they want it to work for them it will be much more likely to work for all of you. If they are upset about leaving friends and home on the mainland, it could be very difficult for a while.

Good luck!

[jones11]

i moved to oahu from the long island,n.y.c. area and found it to be great. i have been to kauai and love it. in fact i hope to be moving there by march. i am a white guy and found the majority of the people to be very friendly. of course there is crime and racism in small select areas, but name one city in the world there isn't. i do believe that it will take longer for your kids to adjust to things and the culture than it will you. the schools are not the greatest, but if your kids are smart and willing to learn then public school will be just fine. remember it is a huge lifestlye change and not every is ready for it. some of the best people i've ever met are on oahu and i consider them family.

[nhzero]

Originally Posted by alohagirl99

i am 19 years old and go to college on kauai. I moved here this summer.

im going to be 100% honest.

Its a culture shock at first.

your children will be the only or one of the small handful of white people at school. everyone else has dark skin. your children will have mainland accents, therefore, speaking and being social here is entirely differant.(hopefully they dont have southern accents...or else your kids will be mocked!) because your children are haloe other peers will be standoffish at wont want to talk to them. they wont smile back. and they will avoid their eyes. they will sit as far away as they can. the locals dont like people that move here motto: "locals grew here haloes flew here"

if your children are good socially they should adapt fine. but it will take awhile. ive been here only 7 months and i have learned to speak with an island accent. there is allot of slang many of the kids speak pidgin...if you dont understand pidgin or the accents your children wont survive school. people steal. people break into cars. honestly its kinda ghetto here.

their is allot of meth here (1/3 of the island uses). its a big problem.

but i have done well. i have an accent now. i still stand out because i have white skin...but i have friends. its a differant culture here.

visiting is entirely differant than living here.

I don't know what you're talking about. I've lived in Kekaha for 2 years, and we have no crime at all unless you count pot. Meth isn't nearly the problem people say it is, but pakalolo is pretty rampant. The only real problems are idiots driving their truck into the rocks on the beach. It's a lot slower here than in the mainland, so start understanding "Hawaii Time" and chill out, and you'll do fine. The biggest problem is people who think that just because Hawai'i is a state, they fly here and tell locals that they aren't doing things the "right" way.

My advice is to imagine moving to Hawai'i is just like moving to England (I went to high school there). They speak the same language, but what you hear and what they said may be two different things. Visiting is definitely different from living here, though.