I have narrowed it to Maui (credit, neighborhoods, middle schools)

[berg1002]

I guess after reading a lot of post on these boards some may say Maui is the most realistic for our family of 6. I have an internet biz doing pretty well, so money should be ok, not great there but ok.

Kauai seems to shut down early at night and has to much rain....

The Big Island has a lot of rain in areas but seems a bit quiet too...

Oahu is just out....to big and congested.

So narrowing it down and having been there a couple of times, my main concerns are schools and drugs. Also how the native Hawaiians still react to the white guy and family. The schools are not the best looking at scored etc. But will do. Were in Arizona now and the are bad too!

Is the drug problem really that bad on Maui??? Also do kids get beat up and lots of grief being white in schools etc????

Thanks in advance!

[maui08]

Originally Posted by berg1002

I guess after reading a lot of post on these boards some may say Maui is the most realistic for our family of 6. I have an internet biz doing pretty well, so money should be ok, not great there but ok.

Kauai seems to shut down early at night and has to much rain....

The Big Island has a lot of rain in areas but seems a bit quiet too...

Oahu is just out....to big and congested.

So narrowing it down and having been there a couple of times, my main concerns are schools and drugs. Also how the native Hawaiians still react to the white guy and family. The schools are not the best looking at scored etc. But will do. Were in Arizona now and the are bad too!

Is the drug problem really that bad on Maui??? Also do kids get beat up and lots of grief being white in schools etc????

Thanks in advance!

Doesn't matter what color you are here....if you act like yourself and are respectful to everyone, you will have no problems. This seems to apply anywhere you live these days. Of course like any place on earth, there will always be pockets of trouble that are unavoidable. -This is simply reality of living in America and the world for that matter.

Drugs: "Ice" or meth is everywhere and is a huge problem on the islands. I believe Hawaii has the worst case out of any state for ice use. (Not sure how they figured that out but I have seen that reported on local news before). With that said, MANY folks are hooked on this drug and this greatly impacts the types of people who reside on the islands. Again, you will have pockets of trouble and bad neighborhoods mixed in with the nicer areas and people.

Schools: Education here is pretty poor. The above ice problem carries over into the schools as the kids of parents hooked on this drug are normally pretty rough as they have a rough childhood at home. The Principal at our kids' school told us that something like 40-50% of the kids had parents hooked on ice! This is one of the main reasons we are looking to move off Maui after living in Hawaii for over 15 years. Also if they did make it through the schooling here there would not be much for our kids to look forward to here on Maui after high school and they would be pretty much forced to go to Oahu or the main land for continued education. We want them to have the chance to stay in the same area as us and not move away.

-For you with a family of 6 in these economic times....I would not recommend relocating to Hawaii or any island for that matter.

-BTW: stores here are finally starting to close up after trying to ride out the hard times. I know the mainland has the same problems but being on an island dependent on travel...Hawaii is in for a lot worse in the next year. This Christmas week, Maui is normally packed with tourists. It did not look at all like years past over here as the streets were virtually empty and the little shops were all closed up when normally they would be open with folks walking around. Also, the visitors coming to Maui and the islands right now are mostly ones who have already booked trips months ago. New visitors are few and far between and things are going to get worse and worse here until folks can afford to visit again.

-Just be sure of the reasons you want to relocate here and if the economic times make it worth the risk of bringing a family of 6 here. Good luck with your decision.

[mauidevil]

I have to absolutely agree with the person who posted last. We just moved here last year, have been here for about 17 months and I am looking at moving back to the mainland when my son is done with school in June. I work for one of the major resorts and its been incredibly slow and we've been told to prepare for even worse to come. I think moving to the islands right now would be a very bad decision. I have heard horror stories of the middle schools here and so my 11 yr old daughter stayed on the mainland with her dad. My teenage son came with me and as a sophmore was put into all senior classes. This year as a junior, he is once again in senior classes. They wont let him graduate early, but would rather him sit in class for social hour. What kind of school system is this!? He has always been advanced in school and I want him to continue his education, which is another reason for the change of heart on living the dream and living in Maui. Yes, we have beautiful sunsets etc....but does that pay the bills? Protect our kids from drugs? Which yes, Hawaii...I believe Maui was rated #1 in the Nation for meth use! As we all know, we all have to make our own decisions, but think good and hard about this move before you do it.

[pilikia_nui]

Your son should be taking classes at MCC this semester. My daughter took college classes for credit while she was still in high school and entered college as a sophomore after graduation. Contact MCC. There may still be time for him to register for the spring.

[alohakat]

Just curious if the private schools there are any better? There is Maui Prep Academy still? And Seabury? And maybe a couple others?
(of couse Kamehameha, but I understand that is restricted enrollment, and maybe so big that problems exist there too?)

[carlsclicks]

[color=royalblue]My wife and i moved here about 4 years ago and love it, we have lived all over the world and i find the quality of life to be A+ we find that the local hawaiian's are good people and the drug problem is really no worst here than say the us virgin islands, new orleans LA, san fran, or key west fla ect,the local Hawaiians are friendly but step on thier toes, and they will step on your face" just be respectful of the island and the culture and you should have no problems its called common sense use it !