Big Island nicknamed LOS-2 = Land of Smiles 2 (for sale, real estate)

[Joe_D]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Did you know First Hawaiian's parent company is French owned?

French? Don't go there please - I already have a bunch of traffic tickets from the moderator, LOL
Actually Creole is where its at - just plain French is too staid and tightass. Americans considered for a long time that French is the language of Love. Swahili flogs it easily but is marginalized because its the language of black folk.

Bill and Hilary Clinton honeymooned in Haiti - they have good taste, hehehe, like Joe. Got the whole collection now - its called Konpas music and its just plain impossible to sit still .....

Dig this



Djakout Mizik - Sa Se Biznis Pam - YouTube

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Joe_D

In case anyone is wondering why I'm so gung-ho on Hawaiian airlines?

Heh. In case you were wondering why Viper is so sure of himself about Hawaiian Airlines, it's because he works for them.

[Joe_D]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Just lately a lot of French things have been popping up into my attention. There are the cutest ever little sheep mowing the lawn around the Eiffel tower. I wish I knew how to get some of them, even though I can't pronounce the name "Ouessant". Sigh, at least if the parent company of First Hawaiian is French owned, they didn't change the name to something unpronounceable.

This French (Creole) piece was not at the Eiffel The 2 frenchies watching noo they'd never see zip like this in Paris.

Behold the Kizombe beat, a classic Haitian trance move



Dangerously Sexy Dancing! Haitian couple dancing Kizomba to Kompa - YouTube


Billy would give six months lecture circuit just to be there live

Joe

[Joe_D]

Today's lunch for 2 reminded me of a lunch on Big Island ....

For 1 person only ... Tuna sandwich, cappucino, banana shake = $18 on Big Island

For 2 persons ..... same order x 2 = $11 in CM, Thailand today and better x2

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Thai restaurant in Kailua-Kona lunch no booze for 3 = $55

Same stuff for 3 in similar class restaurant would cost = $12 in CM, Thailand & would be better x3

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Bottomline: big I is costly. Is it worth it? Yeah, it sure is. Tranquillity + Space cannot be priced and the former is for the most part out of the matter, energy, space and time stream.

Just some examples

Joe

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Joe_D

Bottomline: big I is costly. Is it worth it? Yeah, it sure is. Tranquillity + Space cannot be priced and the former is for the most part out of the matter, energy, space and time stream.

Exactly. How are the riots in Thailand going these days, anyways?

[hotzcatz]

My friend who moved to Thailand would always be shocked by the prices of things when he'd come back to do visa stuff. He'd always be translating things into baht (Thai money) and going "Oh wow, in Thailand this would cost me forty cents". Why are things so less expensive in Thailand? How much does an average Thai make each day?

Say you're working for a hotel here on the Big Island making $10 an hour. (I just randomly pulled that number out of the air since it's easy to work with and just a bit above the current minimum wage). So, if you go out to lunch and get a big plate lunch and a soda, you've pretty much used up an hour's wage. (Actually, considering taxes will bite out of that coming and going, it's more like an hour and fifteen minutes). How much will the same thing cost an average Thai person in daily wages?

I suspect Thai prices & wages are pretty low and in comparison to Hawaii prices which typically has really low wages and really high prices, so there are going to be shocking differences.

My friend did mention that buying American goods in Thailand was ungawdly expensive, which also correlates to buying habits when moving here from somewhere else. Buying local will usually keep the costs down, the closer you can source it to the production, the better the product and the less expensive. You also occasionally have the option of barter instead of exchanging cash.

[Joe_D]

Big I and mainland under same delusion regarding the unemployment rate. Real unemployment rate is 22% or thereabouts

John William's great work on US govt. data is a must read for all.










Shadow Government Statistics - Home Page



Help Wanted: The Truth Behind Hawaii's Low Unemployment Rate - Honolulu Civil Beat

[hotzcatz]

Hmm, I wonder why the shadowstats followed the official statistics so closely until 2010? They are higher, of course, but follow the same curve. Then all of a sudden there is a divergence between the two. What changed in 2010?

And when they say "Hawaii", do they lump in the whole state or just Hawaii island, which just has a fraction of the population in the whole state?

For what it's worth, I'm beginning to see "help wanted" signs appear in windows. Not that they are jobs that would support someone entirely, though. But Hawaii usually works with "household" income where one household is supported by multiple income streams so a member of a household would be able to now get a job and help the household prosper.

I'm also beginning to see the Big Island's economy shift away from "hospitality" and more towards diversified agriculture and other sorts of production. Just a lot of little bits of this and that. Folks with bees, folks with vanilla, folks growing lettuce, folks growing tilapia, folks making soap, folks doing crafts, folks starting little shops, etc. Most of this is sold at farmer's markets and festival/craft fairs and is just for additional income but for some of the folks, this is their entire income and they are thriving on it. Not rolling in dough, but making ends meet and being pretty happy so that's success in my mind. For a lot of these diversified things, they are sort of a second job or income stream or an additional income stream for a household. I don't know if or how this sort of industry would be reported in their statistics.

So perhaps while it shows higher unemployment, that means more folks are employing themselves? Traditional employers don't seem to have their employee's best interests in mind anymore. Employers don't seem to have any loyalty towards their employees yet expect the employees to be loyal to them. Loyalty is a two way street, IMHO. So, if folks are able to make it on their own without a traditional job, wouldn't that be better for them? If you get enough folks out there creating their own jobs, I'd think it would be a much stronger economy, too.

[Joe_D]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Exactly. How are the riots in Thailand going these days, anyways?

What riots? Did you mean the upcoming ones re:Secession in Hawaii?

The only riots I see are gorgeous women trying to nail Joe because he has no competition now. Few europeans, almost no Americans.

Heck I can't even have lunch in peace no more without some fox propositioning me.

Last year some cow took a dump in a remote field and the US State Dept. declared a ban on travel to Thighland.

Happens every damn year. YAWN

[Joe_D]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

My friend who moved to Thailand would always be shocked by the prices of things when he'd come back to do visa stuff. He'd always be translating things into baht (Thai money) and going "Oh wow, in Thailand this would cost me forty cents". Why are things so less expensive in Thailand? How much does an average Thai make each day?

Say you're working for a hotel here on the Big Island making $10 an hour. (I just randomly pulled that number out of the air since it's easy to work with and just a bit above the current minimum wage). So, if you go out to lunch and get a big plate lunch and a soda, you've pretty much used up an hour's wage. (Actually, considering taxes will bite out of that coming and going, it's more like an hour and fifteen minutes). How much will the same thing cost an average Thai person in daily wages?

I suspect Thai prices & wages are pretty low and in comparison to Hawaii prices which typically has really low wages and really high prices, so there are going to be shocking differences.

My friend did mention that buying American goods in Thailand was ungawdly expensive, which also correlates to buying habits when moving here from somewhere else. Buying local will usually keep the costs down, the closer you can source it to the production, the better the product and the less expensive. You also occasionally have the option of barter instead of exchanging cash.

That's right. Your question about a Thai's wages hits the nail on the head perfectly. Let me s-plain. A Thai's monthly income is = approx. $300. Foreigners who live and work here make $500-700 per month unless they work for a multinational in which case they get about $4k per month + free or subsidized housing - still peanuts for a cat like Joe working stateside. See Joe's soooooo simple formula that nobody gets it, its just too damn simple

The secret formula is USA + 3rd world country = match made in Heaven

meaning, one does NOT EVER want to relinquish stateside money generation - it has no equal - Europe at best is a Motel 6 compared to the mighty United States. Make the money stateside, then don't be a dummy and just live there or in even more expensive Hawaii and be broke month to month or just 2 steps away from the Salvation Army - escape from America and live in a 3rd world country of your choice.


Joe