Been here a year, moving back to the mainland in a month, can't wait (live, zoning)
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I know this is a zombie thread but change Hawaii to Montana and you have a similar situation. The problem with relocating to vacation destinations is that people have the rose colored glasses on from the get go. They come on vacation and fall in love with the place because they were so relaxed. Of course you were relaxed, you were on vacation. They don't realize that people still have jobs, they still need money to live (you can't eat scenery), the new place may be very expensive, and they aren't partaking in activities like surfing and snorkeling (in Hawaii) or fly fishing and camping (in Montana) all the live long day and certainly not everyday. You'll still have job related and other stresses in these locations just like you did at home and you can't run away from your problems. In addition, the culture may be VASTLY different from where you lived. The novelty may wear off and then it gets grating.
Exactly. I've long said that people who claim that "there's nothing to do" in Hawaii have generally (in my experience) come to unrealistically view Hawaii as a tropical vacation setting 24/7 instead of as a home. They'll complain about not being able to road trip at a moment's notice or about the difficultly of traveling to certain far away places, when most of the folks I know wouldn't even be doing that stuff on the mainland People in Hawaii do the same things as others on the mainland for the most part. Folks go to work, shop, go to the gym, hang with friends, etc. The sooner people start treating Hawaii like any other place--just with "better" weather and wonderful beaches--the sooner they'll get over this notion of there being "nothing to do" or running out of things to do
To be clear, Hawaii is certainly NOT without its problems. But some of the things I hear people complain about are completely loony, IMO.
Exactly. I've long said that people who claim that "there's nothing to do" in Hawaii have generally (in my experience) come to unrealistically view Hawaii as a tropical vacation setting 24/7 instead of as a home. They'll complain about not being able to road trip at a moment's notice or about the difficultly of traveling to certain far away places, when most of the folks I know wouldn't even be doing that stuff on the mainland
It isn't nothing to do - but it is certainly a finite things to do - at the end of the day it is 40x20 mile island.
In the Bay Area - this weekend, should I drive to Tahoe - with record snows - maybe golf in the morning - head up - ski. Or, should I spend the day in Napa. Maybe I want to take in the San Jose Sharks - or Niners game - or take in a Maroon Five concert - they certainly will not go to Hawaii - we get geezers like Hall and Oates - perhaps cross the Golden Gate or bike ride to Tiburon - maybe go bar hopping on Union Street or Fillmore - perhaps I'll play poker or head to a Casino. All of those things are things on the table when I lived in SF. I could knock out dozens of more things that aren't even an option on Oahu.
Of course if you are coming from somewhere like lets say St. Louis - Honolulu is probably upside, where do you road trip from St Louis - East St Louis (kidding if you survive that area)
There is no major industries in Hawaii,even pineapple is imported,so besides tourism,where do local people find good paying job?
Due to the Jonese act,goods brought into Hawaii from mainland must be shipped in American ships registered in USA,staffed with US residents or citizen and fly the US flag,thats why toothpaste,toile paper,detergents are all expensive
It isn't nothing to do - but it is certainly a finite things to do - at the end of the day it is 40x20 mile island.
In the Bay Area - this weekend, should I drive to Tahoe - with record snows - maybe golf in the morning - head up - ski. Or, should I spend the day in Napa. Maybe I want to take in the San Jose Sharks - or Niners game - or take in a Maroon Five concert - they certainly will not go to Hawaii - we get geezers like Hall and Oates - perhaps cross the Golden Gate or bike ride to Tiburon - maybe go bar hopping on Union Street or Fillmore - perhaps I'll play poker or head to a Casino. All of those things are things on the table when I lived in SF. I could knock out dozens of more things that aren't even an option on Oahu.
Of course if you are coming from somewhere like lets say St. Louis - Honolulu is probably upside, where do you road trip from St Louis - East St Louis (kidding if you survive that area)
And yet you remain in Hawaii / Honolulu …. Because …
It isn't nothing to do - but it is certainly a finite things to do - at the end of the day it is 40x20 mile island.
In the Bay Area - this weekend, should I drive to Tahoe - with record snows - maybe golf in the morning - head up - ski. Or, should I spend the day in Napa. Maybe I want to take in the San Jose Sharks - or Niners game - or take in a Maroon Five concert - they certainly will not go to Hawaii - we get geezers like Hall and Oates - perhaps cross the Golden Gate or bike ride to Tiburon - maybe go bar hopping on Union Street or Fillmore - perhaps I'll play poker or head to a Casino. All of those things are things on the table when I lived in SF. I could knock out dozens of more things that aren't even an option on Oahu.
Of course if you are coming from somewhere like lets say St. Louis - Honolulu is probably upside, where do you road trip from St Louis - East St Louis (kidding if you survive that area)
Truth is, there's a finite number of things to do wherever you are. But I argue that life is predictable and relatively unexciting 95%+ of the time. For the other 5% of the time, if you're really intent on engaging in the kind of lifestyle you mention, money probably isn't a big issue and cheap flights can be had to the west coast for the occasional splurge. Hell, I just found sub-$200 roundtrip tickets to LA from Honolulu for the next few weeks (didn't look much further past that). And I'm finding roundtrip tickets to Vegas for not much more than that.
For most of the folks I hear complaining about not running out of things to do in Hawaii, their lifestyle wouldn't be and wasn't very different on the mainland. The "possibility" to road trip or to go to go gamble didn't regularly turn into reality for the bulk of folks I talk to. And, for those who could afford to splurge in such a way, the can do the same thing by hopping on a plane from Hawaii, though it'll sometimes take them a bit longer to get there
One of my chiefs now is having a bad case of not missing the water until the well runs dry. He PCS'd from Hawaii (could have re-toured there and now wishes he did) a year and a half ago and complained that there wasn't much to do. After realizing that he's not actually doing much of anything different from what he did in Honolulu 99% of the time, he regrets leaving. At least he'd have good weather and less chaos out there.
There is no major industries in Hawaii,even pineapple is imported,so besides tourism,where do local people find good paying job?
Hawaii ranks 5th in per capita millionaires. Plenty of high paying jobs. Those hotel executives are well paid - all the VP's of which are many at Hawaiian Airlines - all make a min of $350K plus perks like country club memberships, plenty of Doctors and Lawyers and Nurses and Pharmacists - Real Estate agents - and on and on.....
I'm 7-10 days in Vegas every month - lets not get started on how much more to do in Vegas......
Vegas isn't on the itinerary of most, and certainly not to the tune of 7-10 days a most (or anything close to that for visitors), which goes to my point about life being predictable and static and boring the overwhelming majority of the time for most people. Still, you help to support my point that if you're really intent on engaging in the kind of lifestyle you mention, money probably isn't a big issue and cheap flights can be had for the occasional splurge. And certainly not for the folks I hear complain about them running out of things to do in Hawaii.
Last edited by prospectheightsresident; 12-25-2021 at 03:38 PM..
I'm 7-10 days in Vegas every month - lets not get started on how much more to do in Vegas......
That's a lot of travel. What do you play there? Poker?
When I lived in California I went to LV 4-5 times per year. Since I moved to Maui, once a year is enough. I was there in September and plan to return in the summer.
Before I moved here in 2014, My vacations usually included time at beach areas like Tahiti, Rio, Cancun, Costa Rica, Rarotonga, Fiji, Surfer's Paradise, and more. Now that I live here, I don't feel the yearning to travel to other beaches and there are not many places left that I want to visit.
Fortunately, I don't get island fever. Still an occasional vacation from paradise is nice.
Merry Christmas!
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They don't realize that people still have jobs, they still need money to live (you can't eat scenery), the new place may be very expensive, and they aren't partaking in activities like surfing and snorkeling (in Hawaii) or fly fishing and camping (in Montana) all the live long day and certainly not everyday. You'll still have job related and other stresses in these locations just like you did at home and you can't run away from your problems. In addition, the culture may be VASTLY different from where you lived. The novelty may wear off and then it gets grating.
People in Hawaii do the same things as others on the mainland for the most part. Folks go to work, shop, go to the gym, hang with friends, etc. The sooner people start treating Hawaii like any other place--just with "better" weather and wonderful beaches--the sooner they'll get over this notion of there being "nothing to do" or running out of things to do 
