New Zealanders living in Hawaii - your experiences?

[EdelweissNZ]

OK - sometimes the grass is just greener on the side for people

NZ is a safe country generally, but make sure you pick the right area to live in............ NZ has one of the highest user rates of P per population than any other western coountry ............ crime is common in some areas and quite frankly i can believe the same thing happening in NZ that happen to your friend..........

Also with the recession hitting here, companies are expecting their monies worth out of people and commitment and long hours can be expected...... or you can easily be replaced

However Good luck with your search and visas, if you need any info, you know where to ask

On another note, it would seem that hubby will be getting some good news this weekend regarding the postdoc

So I shall have lots and lots of questions !

[KoaHawaii]

Originally Posted by MarcNZ

I am currently exploring my options on places in the US to move to later this year and I've seen there is some interesting work going on in my field at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I would love to hear the experiences of any kiwis who have made the move - pros and cons.

Specifically, I've been reading through the threads on this forum for a while now and it seems to me that the main critisisms made by people moving from the mainland to Hawaii shouldn't really be an issue coming from NZ.

Firstly, "island fever". Is this something you actually experience? I've never experienced this in NZ and was wondering whether it is something that happens when the island gets small enough, or whether it was just something that people who don't grow up on islands experience. I know the first time I went to the interior of North America I felt slightly uneasy knowing I was so far from the ocean, being surrounded by so much land.

Secondly, "being a haole". Am I right in assuming that this is just the hawaiian word for pakeha? (of which I am one). That is, unless there is a swear word attached, it's just a descriptor not an insult? My guess would be that the people who generally complain about how they are treated are really going through culture shock and it's just paranoia. I've had friends from the far south visit me in Auckland who have commented about feeling uncomfortable, but it's all in their imaginations. They are just not use to real multicultural society.

Finally, "how expensive everything is". Again, how much worse can it be than NZ? We have to import a lot of stuff too, that's just the way it is on an island. I don't even think about it that much. The same goes for how much you earn, a number of people talk about how much less they earn in Hawaii than the mainland, but for me the salaries in Hawaii look like a step up from salaries here, so it's all relative.

So, any kiwis out there (or anybody else who wants to make a comment), please let me know whether I've got things right or not. I'm considering a number of places accross the US, but hawaii appeals as the culture and lifestyle seem to have a familiar yet different quality to them. Also, anything else you wish you had known about beforehand would be most appreciated. Cheers.

MarcNZ, I myself have lived in NZ, Wellington to be specific and Hawaii, big island. I studying in Welly at VUW. loved the experience, people beauty of NZ. even though Welly isnt quite my favorite weather on the nice days it was great lol
first off yes NZ and Hawaii are very similar I feel culturally. well Pacific Island aspect anyways. Pakeha is exactly like haole here. the Maori would be sort of like the native Hawaiians. both cultures and languages are very similar as both decend from Polynesia. honestly going from Auckland you may feel 'island fever' as Auckland is home to about a million people whereas Hawaii state has just over a million people spread out over the major islands. kiwis are for sure used to isolation being an island but you at least have a few major cities whereas Hawaii only has Honolulu which is really a larger town if you compare population to other cities. though it definitely has a more city feel compared to anywhere else in Hawaii. Manoa being on Oahu, near/in Honolulu area will help in adjusting as you are less likely to have that island fever experience. Like with NZ you have to import many things though Hawaii actually has to import more than NZ so that is reflected in prices. plus Hawaii is THE most isolated group of islands on the planet. with exchange rate id say prices are compairable to nz and hawaii.
the mentality of locals are also similiar to Maori in wanting retributions etc. from the Crown/US goverment etc. though locals, like those in NZ are very friendly. the saying of treat those like youd want to be treated works wonders. dont act like you own everything or you want to be waited on hand and foot by locals and youll be fine. finally the laid pack easy going lifestyle found in NZ is the same way in Hawaii if not more laid back. obviously though honolulu is slightly more fast paced than other rural areas in Hawaii but still slower than on mainland.

Big differences, food...Hawaii has its own unique cuisine fusion of Hawaiian and Asian flavors. much more spices than NZ in my opinion. though you'll love it, most do haha. culture also has some differences but i find it is still familiar with maori culture in NZ. not as cold obviously and warm water and beautful beaches etc. though we do have lots of rain. if youre in a very green area most likely it gets a lot of rain. either way i think you'll really enjoy Hawaii. all the good parts of NZ life can be found here or are similar with less people, better weather, than Welly and south island winters and yummy food hope this helps and good luck

[MarcNZ]

KoaHawaii, thanks a lot for this. It's actually really good to hear from somebody who isn't a NZer, but has lived here so you would have a good sense of the similarities/differences of the two places.

That's a good tip about the size of Honolulu being a bit smaller than Auckland so needing to be aware of the possibility of island fever. I had been thinking that Honolulu was only slightly smaller than Auckland but I just googled the populations and I see that what I had been thinking of was actually the Honolulu metro area population, which covers the whole island of Oahu. I see the actual population of the city of Honolulu is probably closer to that of Wellington (maybe a little bigger) which is fine by me, that's big enough to have all the amenities you need.

That's great to know about the food too. When I've spent time on the mainland of the US (and Canada too) I found the food a little boring compared to NZ. If Hawaiian food is actually a step up from NZ then that is definitely a bonus in it's favour

Lots of rain doesn't really worry me as long as it's warm. The only weather combination that I really don't like is cool and rainy (cold and sunny/snowy is fine) it just wears me down over time (I don't think I could cope with somewhere like Seattle for long, for example).

At the end of last week I actually had my immigrant visa approved so I am definitely going to be coming to the US , the question will just be where. I have decided I will try and get work in Hawaii, but given the current state of the economy everywhere I can't assume it's going to happen. I will have to apply to work all over the place and ultimately go where the job is.

EdelweissNZ, that sounded very promising about the postdoc position, hopefully you had some good news over the weekend

Waianaegirl, sadly I need to back up EdelweissNZ's comments about drugs and work hours. Drug use is quite widely spread in NZ but definitely much worse in some areas, you will want to be selective about where you live. The really scary one is P (that's what we call Crystal Meth) which has been increasing in use over the last few years and causes all sorts of problems. It seems like more often than not when you see some random violent incident on the news, the person comitting the crime was on P. And while 65 hours per week is definitely above average, it is unfortunately not so rare here either . There are probably not many people that would average that over the whole year, but I know very few people who wouldn't have to do the odd few weeks (to a couple of months) stretch a couple of times a year doing at least those sort of hours.

[Waianaegirl]

MarcNZ

That's too bad about the Meth problem there. Why do you call it P? I hate drugs.

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by feebee

Hi again! Yeah, I'm sitting at work and the indoor temp is 11 degrees!! We have the heating turned on and it says 30 degrees but I still can't feel my feet. Its an open plan office and everytime the door opens, the wind just comes on in.
I hope you get an offer from somewhere awesome (like Hawaii)!
And newUHprof..oh no, don't tell me the cheap movie theatres are closing!!! There was also one in Kailua...

Feebee - sending you heat from HOT HOT HOT Phoenix, Arizona. It's set to get up to 117º F today. I have my air conditioner on, and it feels like 90 inside the house. Could you please open the door REALLY wide and send that cool to me. Fair exchange!

MarcNZ - my assistant's fiancé just got a teaching position at UH Manoa, along with entrance into their PhD program in Japanese Studies. He applied last Fall and found out in May that he was accepted. So it's a long process for them. Look at some of the other colleges there. Chaminade is an exceptional School, and the High School on it's Campus, St. Louis, is also a great school and a possibility for you.

Not sure if you have heard of Dr. Kent Keith. He was head of Chaminade for a time. You probably heard of the poem "ANYWAY" that has been variously attributed to the Dalai Llama, Mother Theresa, Billy Graham, and Anonymous. It was actually written by Dr. Keith while he was at Chaminade.

See - Hawaii's wonderful cultural mix has produced some very famous people (other than POTUS) -- Guy Kawasaki (original Apple Computer development team and business guru) graduated from Iolani. Steve Case (creater of AOL) graduated from Punahou. Dr. Keith (new book just came out.) Tia Carrere (singer, actress), and of course, Don Ho! The whole crew from Hawaii 5-0, and what's his name from the Matrix and Speed.

[MarcNZ]

Originally Posted by Waianaegirl

MarcNZ

That's too bad about the Meth problem there. Why do you call it P? I hate drugs.

I was heard that P is short for "pure" which apparently was another slang term for it - but whether that's true or not I just don't know. I'm actually pretty tolerant of other people using "soft" drugs like marijuana as long as they don't drive and endanger anybody else, but I have zero tolerance for things like Meth which causes all sorts of problems for other people. If you do come to NZ you should be prepared for the fact that no matter where you live your children will have easy access to marijuana, it's everywhere and although technically illegal it is pretty much tolerated by most of the population - so the only way you will be able to keep them away from it is to convince them yourself, you won't be able to actually stop them being offered it. By carefully selecting where you live, you should be able to isolate them a bit more from the more serious stuff like P, but there are unfortunately no guarantees .

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

MarcNZ - my assistant's fiancé just got a teaching position at UH Manoa, along with entrance into their PhD program in Japanese Studies. He applied last Fall and found out in May that he was accepted. So it's a long process for them. Look at some of the other colleges there. Chaminade is an exceptional School, and the High School on it's Campus, St. Louis, is also a great school and a possibility for you.

Thanks R_Cowgirl, I will take a look at those places but unfortunately for me I suspect UH will be my only real option in Hawaii. My interest lies mostly with the research side and I just like doing a little teaching to supplement that, but I wouldn't really want it to be my focus. I have looked up a few of the other colleges (I can't remember if Chaminade was one or not) and there seemed to be several very good teaching focused ones, but UH was the only research focused one I could see in Hawaii (but hopefully I just missed these ones ). UH Manoa is also involved in a specific field I find particularly interesting, which is the most important thing to me. I think if I can't secure work there then I will probably need to rule out Hawaii .