Honolulu for us? Are we ok being white? (Hilo, Kailua: fit in, find a job)

[Sweetbeet]

Hmmm... I was at the beach at Ke'e yesterday and a little dog ran up to us, a cute thing - medium size, short hair, wet of course. We just petted it and said hi to its owner. Then later it broke out of its collar and ran back to us. It was so cute! We petted it again. My sister made a comment about wet dogs, but it was all in fun. We all laughed and helped the owner get the dog back on the leash.

I mean, we were already wet and sandy, so what the heck?

I think most people I've met on Kauai would have a similar attitude (i.e., no problem with the doggie). There are bad apples in every bunch.

But we will (hopefully) always have the snotty tourists here, because without them we would all probably starve. People in Hawaii who hate tourists either (a) don't know which side their bread is buttered on, or (b) are independently wealthy. But even them, if the tourists left, there wouldn't be jobs for the rest of us folk who need jobs to live, so we'd leave, all the stores would close up, and where would they be then?

I love the tourists even when they are bogus. At least they leave eventually (and hopefully are followed by more 'fresh blood', er, money!).

[NOTAM]

i have been an Emergency Room Registered Nurse for 17 years, and a Flight Nurse. i worked on Kauai for a very short time-wanted to try to live there, since my ohana is there, and has been for 22 years. i couldnt get out of there fast enough.
i can make 90K here on the mainland easy with just a little overtime if i want to....and with that money, i can afford a house and lots of land for horses, cattle etc....sure it aint "paradise", but it is in my eyes. i would have NEVER owned my own house there, and most definitely not land enough for livestock/horses, had i stayed.
by the way, for most flight nursing positions, they require an RN, EMT-P (which means you are both a Registered Nurse and an EMT Paramedic, and of course some critical care/trauma background)

Originally Posted by Sweetbeet

There has been an ad for a flight nurse in the paper for a little while, based here in Kauai. If I were a nurse I would LOVE that job - and it pays like $90,000. I don't know if that's a lot for a nurse, but it'd work for me. I know on the mainland flight nurses have to have a lot of specialized training, so many months/years in the ICU, some time in the ER, etc., but I don't know what the qualifications are here - I understand that paramedics are in short supply, maybe flight nurses are too.

Of course, Kauai is not for everyone. It's very rural and quiet. But if you want to contact the company, the ad has been in the Garden Island News for a while, you can find it online.

[NOTAM]

well i am sure glad you are a nice person. like my sister says, "Kauai has a way of spitting out mean people"...maybe it will spit out that mean chick on the beach....

Originally Posted by Sweetbeet

Hmmm... I was at the beach at Ke'e yesterday and a little dog ran up to us, a cute thing - medium size, short hair, wet of course. We just petted it and said hi to its owner. Then later it broke out of its collar and ran back to us. It was so cute! We petted it again. My sister made a comment about wet dogs, but it was all in fun. We all laughed and helped the owner get the dog back on the leash.

I mean, we were already wet and sandy, so what the heck?

I think most people I've met on Kauai would have a similar attitude (i.e., no problem with the doggie). There are bad apples in every bunch.

But we will (hopefully) always have the snotty tourists here, because without them we would all probably starve. People in Hawaii who hate tourists either (a) don't know which side their bread is buttered on, or (b) are independently wealthy. But even them, if the tourists left, there wouldn't be jobs for the rest of us folk who need jobs to live, so we'd leave, all the stores would close up, and where would they be then?

I love the tourists even when they are bogus. At least they leave eventually (and hopefully are followed by more 'fresh blood', er, money!).

[BornInFL]

"It's very rural and quiet."

That sounds awesome!

[Mar0]

Speaking on behalf of my friends who are older than I am, and have lived here forever, I agree that there are lots of Californian transplants. But, when I think of Kauai, I think of Waimea/Kekaha side rather than Hanalei...Whenever I drive into Princeville, I think of Europe....maybe its the huge fountain? Obviously Hanalei is GORGEOUS and I love staying up there for a weekend, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Meanwhile, my friend is a travelling nurse here and she said that she has never worked in a hospital that has such a busy maternity ward!!!

[Happy Cells]

It was interesting....living in Hawaii...and in Japan....to see what it felt like to be on the receiving end of racism....

Not cool....

[hotzcatz]

Aloha BorninFL,

No, they won't look down on you for being white, it will be for being newly from the mainland. Just pretend you are going to now be a snowbird and what do local Florida folks think about snowbirds?

Be polite, be humble and don't try to tell folks how to do things better and you'll do fine.

A hui hou!

[NOTAM]

i hear ya. West side is a total different world. i like visiting PMRF-i have rented a beach cottage there before (when i wimped out during a two week "pitch a tent next to my tent city homeless ohana" vacation)! ha ha! i love Polihale beach and Majors beach. Ishihara's. Waimea shave ice stand.
my sister has lived on North Shore for 22 years, so that is really where i spend all my visits at. though i do know the West Side. the only part i really dont know is Poipu/South Side cuz i dont like it AT ALL.

quote=Mar0;5665881]Speaking on behalf of my friends who are older than I am, and have lived here forever, I agree that there are lots of Californian transplants. But, when I think of Kauai, I think of Waimea/Kekaha side rather than Hanalei...Whenever I drive into Princeville, I think of Europe....maybe its the huge fountain? Obviously Hanalei is GORGEOUS and I love staying up there for a weekend, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Meanwhile, my friend is a travelling nurse here and she said that she has never worked in a hospital that has such a busy maternity ward!!![/quote]

[remee]

We just left Oahu.. We lived there for a few years as a military family and didn't experience problems due to being white.
As others said, be polite, be kind and you should be treated with the same respect.
I did encounter some locals who were a little standoffish until they saw I was approachable. It required me to be the first to smile and show I was infact approachable but all went well.
That's just something you may encounter anywhere with anyone.

[kaimuki]

If you're looking for a safe neighborhood and a short commute to work, I would recommend Kailua on Oahu's windward side. It has a large Caucasian population and Castle Medical Center is just minutes away.