How bad is living in Waianae? (Nanakuli, Makaha: crime, shops, safe)

[blognow]

I was born and raised in Hawaii and currently live in the mainland. Today a friend of mine told me she was going to HI for a visit and wanted to know how bad Waianae was. I never lived in that area - the only time I wondered into that territory was when I accompanied my boyfriend to surf - so I decided to search online. I didn't get the impression that it was safe but yet didn't realize it was that bad. Is it that bad? I'd like to know - I remember spending time at Sheraton Makaha so it couldn't be that bad, right?

[oawho]

if you ever visit Waianae you'll get the feeling that it is rundown, neglected.

The further up you go up the coast on Farrington highway, you'll see shuttered shops, old buildings. The coastline is nice in some parts but you can't help but notice the tents on the beach parks.

[1scotty]

actually they are cleaning up the beaches in waianae, there will be another beach sweep on june 28. it will be the beginning of nanakuli to lualualei. maili is pretty nice. they talk about the crime and stuff in waianae, but we have lived here in for 2 years and probably have the greatest neighbors ever (and we have lived all over the world including some pretty high end places) we chose here because it is dry and doesn't rain all the time like up north. all area of oahu have their issues.

[Mar0]

I have a friend who is from Nanakuli and whenever I mention the fact that I haven't ever seen the west side of Oahu, he says I shouldn't even bother going. There are lots of better options on Oahu...

[timbo31958]

Living in Waianae is not bad at all unless you have to commute for work. The key to living in Waianae or anywhere in Hawaii is leave mainland attitudes on the mainland. Respect the people and the land and treat people like you want to be treated and you will have no problems

[morepups]

I agree with Timbo. Hawaii is a NOT the US, though it is a state. I only visited there last year to try surfing for the second time after almost dying at Tressells ( thanks boyfriend's little sister) and fell in love with the culture, people, and, duh, the water. I think if you can be accepting and welcome to another culture, be it economical or cultural, you can have great neighbors anywhere in the world. That being said I was in the north shore most of the time and only travelled through the "west coast." Still, I'm a blond (how do you spell holly???) and never felt unsafe.

[KoaKine]

"I only visited there last year to try surfing for the second time after almost dying at Tressells"

Lol I did the same (but it was 15' that day! Yikes)

[Waianaegirl]

Originally Posted by timbo31958

Living in Waianae is not bad at all unless you have to commute for work. The key to living in Waianae or anywhere in Hawaii is leave mainland attitudes on the mainland. Respect the people and the land and treat people like you want to be treated and you will have no problems

We lived in Waianae for 6 years. We treat everyone with respect and especially the land. However, we were not treated with the same respect. We had a few neigbours that were cool with us (mainly other white families) but those born and raised there, not so much. Sometimes if you treat people with respect they will return it back to you, but not always. We wanted to hear the stories of their culture and learn why they do things, traditions, etc,etc. We tried to get along with everyone, but trying is all you can do. We had a lot of Japanese and Samoan friends, but it seemed like the Hawaiians wanted nothing to do with us, some did. But the majority did not. This is just my personal experience, doesn't mean that everyone will have the same one, but I noticed that a few people are saying that if you are nice and respectful to others they WILL treat you the same way. I'm just saying that that is not always the case. I wish it was

[Karly09]

how do i post my own question?

[islandboo]

Hi, Karly09! At the top left hand side of this webpage is a series of clickable text that reads City-Data Forum - U.S. Forums - Hawaii. Click on the Hawaii text to get to the main Hawaii Forum page. In the upper left hand corner of that page underneath where it says City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums is a bar that says My Settings Blogs etc. Underneath that is a button that reads "New Thread" Click on that button and it will open a page where you can type in the title of your thread and then a text body box where you can type your question in detail. Under that box there are 2 buttons: Submit New Thread and Preview Post. The preview post button will let you see your post as it will appear on the new topic page, and the Submit New Thread button is what actually publishes the page to the web (you will have to hit that button to let other people see your question) Hope that helps!