Moving to Waipahu, desperately need advice! (Honolulu, Waipio: home, find a job, neighborhood)

[PK Soap]

I just turned 18, and I've saved up enough money to go move in with my girlfriend and her parents in Waipahu. I'm planning on leaving in late November, and returning in March. I intend on getting a job out there, basically anything that pays; I think her parents would appreciate it if I payed them for housing me.

I'm from Western Massachusetts, and from what I hear things are very different in Hawaii. I've been browsing around on the forums, and there seem to be a lot of mixed messages about the place. My girlfriend tells me it's absolutely wonderful, but I'm a bit concerned that she might be telling me that because she's afraid that I won't end up staying for as long if I don't like it.

I've never really traveled in my life [the farthest I've ever been away from home was Ohio.], and I would love some preparation advice. I would love to hear more from people that actually live in Hawaii as opposed to tourists/vacationers [people that don't live there seem to have a more biased view], but you're welcome to add your two cents as well.

What kind of things should I look out for?
What are some places that are hiring?
Am I going to be...well, safe? Is racism a problem? [I also dress kind of feminine and I get asked if I'm gay a lot. How tolerant are people there towards that kind of thing?]

There's tons of questions and worry flowing through my mind, as this is quite a big step for me. I genuinely love my girlfriend, but no amount of love is going to ensure that everything will work out okay.

So please, unleash your advice upon me! I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[HankDfrmSD]

Originally Posted by PK Soap

So please, unleash your advice upon me! I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

My advice:

Don't worry.
Come and be open, smile a lot, listen to your girlfriend and her folks, dress the way you like, enjoy Hawaii, learn from it, be open, smile a lot, listen to your...............

etc.

Hank

[hotzcatz]

Having family will help a lot. They will help you find a job and the rest of the neighborhood will know you are part of their ohana. Ask them for advice and things will work out.

Hawaii won't be much like Massachusetts but you are already expecting that, I would hope. Honolulu, of which Waipahu is a suburb is a city and it has a lot of all sorts of things but is generally a pretty safe city as long as you use common sense.

Hawaii is a whole bunch of different groups of people. Everyone all mixed in and living side by side. Frequently, on the mainland folks of one variety all live in a big solid group but that doesn't happen much in Hawaii. In Waipahu you will have neighbors of all different kinds. Well, they will almost all be North American, but they will have ancestors of different nationalities such as Filipino, Japanese, Tongan, Chinese, Samoan, Korean, Portuguese, etc. The Italians, English, Hungarians, Germans, Irish, etc., all get lumped together under the label "haole" though. Even putting all the Caucasians into one group like that they still aren't the largest variety of folk. So you will see a whole bunch of different people all living together fairly well. Since everyone is a minority they generally don't press their views on other folks and are pretty accepting of one another overall. People will describe each other by their ancestor's nationality (technically they are all North American, but that's a hard nationality to describe) so it is common to say "my Japanese neighbor" or "that Filipino guy over there" or "da haole one" just as a way to identify the person they are speaking about.

Folks in Hawaii usually do not brag about themselves. What is seen as a desirable pride in oneself on the mainland is seen as arrogance here. It is a small island, word gets around and folks will know how you are and what you do soon enough so you don't have to tell them anyway. Act so your new family will be proud of you in all you do. Family is very important.

Local folks are used to living in pretty close quarters and usually talk pretty quietly, so you may want to watch the volume of your voice when chatting with folks.

Folks are not in much of a hurry, either. I suspect it has to do with a lack of winter. No need to frantically prepare for cold times since they never arrive. Northerners are always in some sort of a rush like it really matters if whatever it is gets done today or even this week. Hawaii is not driven by the need to prepare for the ice storms or chill of winter so there is a whole languidity that drives many mainland folks nuts.

Be polite, take your shoes off when you enter a house, see what everyone else is doing and follow their lead, show respect to everyone and you will get respect back. Smile, be friendly, acknowledge the joy of humanity to all the folks you see and they will smile back.

[kaimuki]

Aloha PK Soap! I lived in Waipahu for some years, can you give us an idea of which part of Waipahu you are speaking of? Waikele, Waipio? Or can you give the name of a nearby school or road? Want to help you guy!