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Aloha, I moved to the Big Island from Southern California about a year and a half ago. There are no cities on this island, and in fact, I live in the least populated, most rural part of the island, Ka'u. So, speaking as Hawai'i country mouse I'm curious what life is like for Hawai'i city mouse!
The only thing I like about Honolulu is the large variety of restaurants and shopping. Otherwise I find it to be a stressful place. Between the major university, primary location for most employment on Oahu and all the tourism, the population density is way too high. I would rather live in peace and quiet in the country.
Otherwise I find it to be a stressful place. Between the major university, primary location for most employment on Oahu and all the tourism, the population density is way too high.
Stressful?
As far as population density goes, Honolulu is a small fry compared to major US cities.
Honolulu clocks in around 5,500 square mile....
Compared to San Francisco at 18,600 square mile, Seattle at 8,000 square mile, LA 7,500 square mile. Honolulu comes in a bit more dense than Portland at 4,700 people square mile.
Many years ago when air service was limited I loved Honolulu because it was where I would switch planes and fly over to Maui or Kauai. Then the fun could begin.
As far as population density goes, Honolulu is a small fry compared to major US cities.
Honolulu clocks in around 5,500 square mile....
Compared to San Francisco at 18,600 square mile, Seattle at 8,000 square mile, LA 7,500 square mile. Honolulu comes in a bit more dense than Portland at 4,700 people square mile.
Are they counting tourism in that 5,500? Anyway, its all relative. I came from a town of about 1,500 sq/mi so cities like LA don’t just feel stressful to me but chaotic.
Honolulu is A Big City Honolulu is the 56th-largest United States city by population (350,395). The top 10 United States cities by population are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose.
We have big time traffic problems that keeps getting worse as more people move to Honolulu and settle on the Western side of the Island, where all the new housing developments are ongoing. This the chaotic part.
Honolulu can be fun, but it takes a bit to get around it easily. The traffic and parking has gotten worse and worse each time we go there. There's also more density and more lines for things than there used to be, but perhaps we've gotten spoiled with the easy of the 'outer' islands.
Honolulu has a lot of different and interesting things, although now where it used to be you could pretty easily get to different places and such, now when you get there you may find either an entrance fee or no parking. Or a line of folks already waiting to do whatever it is you want to do.
Possibly because we are now more in the 'tourist' mode when visiting Oahu and when we lived there we weren't going to the touristy areas as much. The line at the grocery store or hardware store is probably just about the same as it ever was while the line to hike Diamond Head or visit Hanauma Bay now requires an admittance fee.
Oahu does have some lovely beaches, great mountains and loads of urban environment if you want a taste of 'city'. Ala Moana shopping center has gotten crazy, Waikiki is about as lolo as ever and it's interesting to visit there as long as we don't have to deal with all that urban crazy all the time. Downtown Honolulu has interesting spots as well.
Admission to Hanauma Bay is free for Kama'aina. The trick to visit these tourist attractions is you either go very early or relatively late to avoid the tourist crowd.
Parking is actually still easy in Honolulu. There are still a lot of metered parking. Most stalls have their own meters (unlike Mainland cities where you have to look for the kiosk at the end of the street). And it is free on Sunday and holidays (which may not be in many Mainland cities). Also there are quite a few Municipal Parking garages.
Even in Waikiki it is easy to get cheap parking. Many parking lots in the hotels, i.e. Hawaii Prince Hotel, have to exclusively cede some parking stalls to the public and charge them at the ongoing street meter rate.
A lot of brick and mortar shopping malls in Mainland suffer from high vacancy rate. Ala Moana is the exception.
Whether one feels Honolulu is stressful depends on where he comes from. Many Japanese tourists come from metropolis like Tokyo and Osaka. Most likely they think Honolulu is really laid back.
Honolulu is very convenient. It has direct flights to dozens of cities on Mainland and foreign countries. And unlike other cities, it is kind of easy to get to the airport unless you live in very remote areas. Other than cab, there are Uber and Lyft. I used to pay cab driver $40 ten years ago from airport to home because the driver charged $4/piece baggage. Now I pay $15 for Uber.
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