Living homeless on the islands? (hotels, houses, scorpions)

[thelackof]

Hi people, I am an outdoor traveler.
I sold everything I own including my vehicle in order to live outside, travel and see the good and bad of the world.
This is my choice and has nothing to do with the approval of others.

I am a kind person, honest, I hate plastic, I mind my own business....

I have helped addicts to become sober and I have helped homeless people to clean up after themselves and get back on their feet.

So.. not all "homeless" people are the same.

In fact, I don't consider my self homeless at all. It's just a word that others will associate to me anyway, but truly, I love on this great Earth.

So... I read all in to the islands years ago when I was going to move there and work a job.

but that was so long ago. I have new questions now if you all would be kind to help me with some answers!!

1. Someone told my that native villagers do not like caucasians.. I find this hard to believe. Please, what are the details on this?

2. I am a very spiritual person. I seek God in my life and I do so in private. Is there are spiritual presence around the islands or does tourism outweigh the light?

3. Can I build a hut somewhere in the forests and be left alone? Or is all land privately owned and aggressively defended?

4. I read years ago about meth and gangs being a big thing on some of the islands. True?

5. Are there fresh water springs on the islands that I could drink from?

6. Is it easy to get a job at a hotel? I have hotel bell service and valet experience, and although I would prefer to mind to my business in nature, I am still wondering about the options of getting a job at a hotel.

7. Is there a large or small vegan/vegetarian presence on the islands?

8. Could I kayak easily between the islands?

9. If I were sleeping outside with no shelter, what might be some insects or animals that could pose as dangerous threats?

10. Does food grow easy on the islands? I want to plant fruits and vegetables.

11. What do you think about fukushima and any current radiation problems?

12. Any other information I may need to know about?

Thank you!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

1. Which “native villagers” are you referring to? I live on the Big Island, and I can think of only one place, Miloli’i, that I would classify as “native”. It’s an old fishing village, and people there do tend to keep their old ways. That being said, the issue of hatred against haoles has been discussed ad naseum on this forum. I suggest you do some reading.

2. Someone seeking a place they connect to spiritually can find areas on the Big Island.

3. All land is either privately owned, government owned, or Bishop Estate owned. You can’t just go to a vacant piece of property and squat.

4. Gangs? Nah. Meth? Yes. I think a lot of burglaries are done by methheads. Is it overwhelming? No.

5. I seriously doubt it. With people and animals all over the place, most water gets contaminated.

6. No idea. If you are living out of your car, you’ve got to have someplace to shower and wash your clothes. Also, it would be hard to get a job without a permanent address.

7. Large.

8. No way. Distances are too far.

9. Centipedes, little fire ants, slugs (rat lung worm disease), wild pigs (200 - 300 pound boars can be agressive).

10. Been discussed many times here. Where do you plan to plant these fruits and vegetables if you are squatting?

11. Don’t care.

12. Don’t come to Hawaii without a return ticket in your pocket.

[Molokai100]

Originally Posted by thelackof

Could I kayak easily between the islands?

It's so darn easy some folks start out in Hawaii and continue straight on to the Marquesas.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

1. Which “native villagers” are you referring to? I live on the Big Island, and I can think of only one place, Miloli’i, that I would classify as “native”. It’s an old fishing village, and people there do tend to keep their old ways.

I'd vote for Niihau

[hotzcatz]

Originally Posted by thelackof

Hi people, I am an outdoor traveler.
I sold everything I own including my vehicle in order to live outside, travel and see the good and bad of the world.
This is my choice and has nothing to do with the approval of others.

Lacking a car can make things a lot harder on this island. There is very little public transit (although, at least we now have at least some!) and the distances are much further than you'd probably prefer to walk. The distance between housing areas and sources of supply are frequently too far since a lot of the island was settled after the car became the common mode of transportation.

Originally Posted by thelackof

I am a kind person, honest, I hate plastic, I mind my own business....

I have helped addicts to become sober and I have helped homeless people to clean up after themselves and get back on their feet.

So.. not all "homeless" people are the same.

In fact, I don't consider my self homeless at all. It's just a word that others will associate to me anyway, but truly, I love on this great Earth.

That's all nice and all, but won't do much to put food on the table. Providing, of course, you're eating off a table. Usually, in order to help others, one has to be able to take care of ones self and have additional resources to share. Which, if you're being 'homeless' yourself, can rather limit things.

Originally Posted by thelackof

So... I read all in to the islands years ago when I was going to move there and work a job.

but that was so long ago. I have new questions now if you all would be kind to help me with some answers!!

1. Someone told my that native villagers do not like caucasians.. I find this hard to believe. Please, what are the details on this?

Even calling folks 'native villagers' is so far off base you're not even on the same planet. What exactly are you expecting to find here? Grass huts around a communal fire?

Originally Posted by thelackof

2. I am a very spiritual person. I seek God in my life and I do so in private. Is there are spiritual presence around the islands or does tourism outweigh the light?

The tourism on this island is mainly in a just few areas with the rest of it just ordinary folks wandering around doing ordinary things. As for spirituality, you can find almost any kind and flavor of it in various areas around here. Although not everyone agrees to which one it is, may be or could become or even where it is.

Originally Posted by thelackof

3. Can I build a hut somewhere in the forests and be left alone? Or is all land privately owned and aggressively defended?

No. It used to be that folks lived off in the back beyond and didn't get building permits for things. Now there's satellite imagery and they're cracking down on unpermitted dwellings. The County has access to real time satellite imagery, I believe. They don't seem to wait for the several year delay of Google Earth.

There's also the distance to sources of supply should you be off in the scrub somewhere. Any possibly hidey holes are usually quite far from towns so when you needed more soap or something, it would be a long hike to get it, especially with no car.

There's a bunch of homeless folks already so adding one more to the pile isn't gonna help things. Folks aren't helping the homeless as much since there seems to be no end to them these days.

Originally Posted by thelackof

4. I read years ago about meth and gangs being a big thing on some of the islands. True?

Not so much organized gangs, there's some 'local' verses 'not local' occasionally although that's not based on racial profiling so much as 'from here' and 'not from around here'. Too many folks coming in from the mainland taking away from the folks already here. Tourists are one thing, they come, drop money and go, but folks moving here, especially ones that don't help out, well, would you want them around?


There is a lot more drugs being used. Before they cracked down on marijuana, that was pretty much the drug of choice and things weren't too crazy since addicts could go grow their own. Then, TPTB, decided weed was really bad and cracked down on it real heavy and now folks are using much worse stuff. But, they're backing off the pot, so maybe the druggies will go back to pot and quit having to steal stuff to fund their habit.

Originally Posted by thelackof

5. Are there fresh water springs on the islands that I could drink from?

No, check out 'leptospirosis', it's in a lot of the fresh water. Hawaii Island, actually, the entire state, has very little fresh water streams. There are occasional roadside spigots the County provides for folks to fill up water bottles since so many houses don't have water service. They collect rainwater for bathing and utility use, but for drinking, many folks will fill up a five gallon jug at the watering stations.

Originally Posted by thelackof

6. Is it easy to get a job at a hotel? I have hotel bell service and valet experience, and although I would prefer to mind to my business in nature, I am still wondering about the options of getting a job at a hotel.

The hotels usually hire local folks that they know aren't going to leave in a month or two if they can. If it's not a particularly desirable job, then perhaps. But, they are going to want to know your phone number, address and they're gonna want someone clean and tidy.

Originally Posted by thelackof

7. Is there a large or small vegan/vegetarian presence on the islands?

Yup, lots.

Originally Posted by thelackof

8. Could I kayak easily between the islands?

Nope. Not only are the distances too long, but it's open ocean the moment you leave the harbor. Between Hawaii Island and Maui is the Alenuihaha Channel. A lot of small boats won't even attempt it.

Originally Posted by thelackof

9. If I were sleeping outside with no shelter, what might be some insects or animals that could pose as dangerous threats?

The two legged ones are the most dangerous. Centipedes, scorpions, spiders, although most of those won't kill you. Feral pigs can be dangerous.

Originally Posted by thelackof

10. Does food grow easy on the islands? I want to plant fruits and vegetables.

Not as easy as you'd think. There's five types of fruit flies, no winter to kill off bugs and the high rainfall washes the nutrients out of the soil. Downy mildew and a lot of mainland veggies don't grow well without a certain amount of cold.

There aren't that many community gardens around, if you're more or less homeless where are you planting? Where does the water and fertilizer come from if you're homeless with no income?

Originally Posted by thelackof

11. What do you think about fukushima and any current radiation problems?

There's increased radiation from it, no doubt, but nobody pays attention to it anymore.

Originally Posted by thelackof

12. Any other information I may need to know about?

Have you tried looking up WWOOFing? It sounds like perhaps that may be something that would work for you. Willing Workers On Organic Farms is the "WWOOF" part. There's multiple places that will give you a place to stay - and that 'place to stay' is very loosely interpreted - in exchange for a few hours of work per day or week. They usually provide some food as well. Each is different. Some farms provide a real house and real accommodations, other farms kinda let folks camp on the land or give them an old school bus or some sort of shack to live in. You might be perfect for WWOOFing. At least to get started, once you WWOOF for awhile, then you'd know all the answers to these sorts of questions.

[Rain Monkey]

Originally Posted by Molokai100

It's so darn easy some folks start out in Hawaii and continue straight on to the Marquesas.

Have a nice paddle.

[Grassyknoll]

OP. If you want to explore the possibilities of such a lifestyle, why not look into WOOFING on a farm. This would give you the option to live simply without being in a do-or-die situation.

[eureka1]

Don't come without a return ticket. You've apparently never been there.

[thelackof]

Hotzcats, thank you. I have been very successfully "homeless" for years, throughout the united states. Travelling long distances and growing food in poor climates without fertilizer is no problem for me. And there are always spots in nature to camp for years, in any city, without ever being spotted by planes, satellites, people etc.

[thelackof]

Eureka1, apparantly not...... But ive been living deep in nature and mountains for long enough to know that nature and mountains provide. I dont think hawaii is unique from that truth.