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I grew up in Hawaii (Oahu) and lived there until moving away for college on the mainland in '03. Since then, I've graduated, found work, and settled down on the mainland, but not without the feeling that I want to return home someday to raise a family and let my future kids experience the wonderful childhood that I had there. I know a lot of my peers who have left the island feel the exact same longing to return. Unfortunately, I think most of us are unable to find careers that match the experience that we gained on the mainland.
I think part of it has to do with the lack of diversity of jobs in Hawaii. A large portion of jobs are in tourism and government. Outside of those areas, most of the people I know who are still in Hawaii work in either real estate, accounting, or service related industries or are pursuing law/medicine at UH. I don't think Hawaii has ever been a place where large businesses would flock to despite being in a strategic location between the US and Asia (good place for the military though) primarily because of the cost of doing business here. Do you think Hawaii will continue to remain like this?
I'm also wondering about other locals that have returned home after a stint on the mainland. What opportunities have you found and have you had to make any sacrifices to do so?
I returned home after almost 20 years on the Mainland (Military)- we were back for 3 years (2000-03 and came back for good in '06). It was soo nice to come home and NOT be the object of racist taunts and jabs.
My husband Retired from the Army and found a job within one week of searching (so he was working while still on terminal leave).
It IS true that the home we could have owned on the Mainland would have been MUCH larger with quite a bit of acerage; and of course travel has an added element of *humbug* but for us the trade-off has been worth it.
My husband (Haole from Alabama) says that he will never return to the Mainland; he absolutely LOVES it here and has found his niche quite comfortably. He has made many friends and business contacts and has no issues with the racial issues that so many Haoles have detected.
One of our sons is on the Mainland and we miss him and his family dearly- he wants to come home but his wife is reluctant to leave her family; they may come home one day, who knows?
Good luck with your decision; it can be stressful to come home as an adult because there are many stressors to be considered.
I can understand how you feel.....sort of. I am not "local" by birth nor was I raised in Hawaii but spent 15 years there from age 18 on and kind of view that as spending my adult life there and Hawaii being my home now. We raised our 2 boys there and miss it deeply. We are really missing Hawaii and while the main land has many great things to offer: big houses for cheap, great medical care and education, etc, ......we just can't get the island vibe out of our hearts no matter how hard we try. Aloha
I grew up in Hawaii (Oahu) and lived there until moving away for college on the mainland in '03. Since then, I've graduated, found work, and settled down on the mainland, but not without the feeling that I want to return home someday to raise a family and let my future kids experience the wonderful childhood that I had there. I know a lot of my peers who have left the island feel the exact same longing to return. Unfortunately, I think most of us are unable to find careers that match the experience that we gained on the mainland.
My wife and her two grown sons are in the same situation. They've been on the mainland for 13 years now. One son moved back to the BI for four years, but after working two and sometimes three jobs just to make ends meet, he returned to the mainland. The other son wants to get a college degree in something that Hawaii needs. My wife is in a broad-enough field and has enough contacts in Hawaii that she probably could find work, but she's just a few years from retirement at her current job, so it makes sense for her to wait. My job is portable, and I can work anywhere that has a high-speed Internet connection, but there are only certain fields where you can do that.
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I think part of it has to do with the lack of diversity of jobs in Hawaii. A large portion of jobs are in tourism and government. Outside of those areas, most of the people I know who are still in Hawaii work in either real estate, accounting, or service related industries or are pursuing law/medicine at UH. I don't think Hawaii has ever been a place where large businesses would flock to despite being in a strategic location between the US and Asia (good place for the military though) primarily because of the cost of doing business here. Do you think Hawaii will continue to remain like this?
The high cost of doing business probably will always be a factor. I somewhat jokingly told my boss that our company should open a Hawaiian office (with me in it, of course), because I'd be that much closer to our Asian clients. She told me, "If you moved into a position where you needed to deal with our Asian clients face-to-face on a regular basis, then we'd probably move you to one of our Asian offices."
I think that Hawaii needs to encourage businesses that make sense to be there, as opposed to being on the mainland. For instance, I'm amazed when I hear about the high cost of electricity there. Hawaii has sun, wind, wave, and geothermal energy. It should be a natural for alternative-energy companies, and it should have cheap electricity. Oregon, where I live, isn't known for its business-friendly climate, but the state government has been promoting and offering incentives for alt-energy companies, and it's starting to pay off. I'd think that Hawaii would be a natural for certain biotech companies, too, given the access to tropical plants.
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I'm also wondering about other locals that have returned home after a stint on the mainland. What opportunities have you found and have you had to make any sacrifices to do so?
One of our friends moved back recently after getting a lucrative job offer in Honolulu. She had the right skill set (HR and finance), had had a similar job when she lived there previously, and was in the right place at the right time.
We were at a hoike recently in Washington state, and there was a booth for a company called Kama'aina Jobs (you can Google it), which is a headhunter for locals who live on the mainland but want to move back. I can't vouch for the company, but it's worth checking out. (After chatting with the company representative for a few minutes, my wife discovered that she and he were childhood friends and playmates many, many years ago. Whenever we go to a Hawaiian event, she runs into someone she knew back home. It's uncanny.)
...I think that Hawaii needs to encourage businesses that make sense to be there, as opposed to being on the mainland. For instance, I'm amazed when I hear about the high cost of electricity there. Hawaii has sun, wind, wave, and geothermal energy. It should be a natural for alternative-energy companies, and it should have cheap electricity. Oregon, where I live, isn't known for its business-friendly climate, but the state government has been promoting and offering incentives for alt-energy companies, and it's starting to pay off. I'd think that Hawaii would be a natural for certain biotech companies, too, given the access to tropical plants...
Hawaii's issue is with the extreme amount of building permit restrictions and permitting process, environmental impact statements that have to be written and then approved by countless departments and the huge fees that the state and counties charge for each of these steps along the way.
I grew up in Hawaii (Oahu) and lived there until moving away for college on the mainland in '03. Since then, I've graduated, found work, and settled down on the mainland, but not without the feeling that I want to return home someday to raise a family and let my future kids experience the wonderful childhood that I had there. I know a lot of my peers who have left the island feel the exact same longing to return. Unfortunately, I think most of us are unable to find careers that match the experience that we gained on the mainland.
I think part of it has to do with the lack of diversity of jobs in Hawaii. A large portion of jobs are in tourism and government. Outside of those areas, most of the people I know who are still in Hawaii work in either real estate, accounting, or service related industries or are pursuing law/medicine at UH. I don't think Hawaii has ever been a place where large businesses would flock to despite being in a strategic location between the US and Asia (good place for the military though) primarily because of the cost of doing business here. Do you think Hawaii will continue to remain like this?
I'm also wondering about other locals that have returned home after a stint on the mainland. What opportunities have you found and have you had to make any sacrifices to do so?
Hey Kanz, just wanted to say that I'm in nearly the same situation as you, minus the kids. I also grew up on Oahu and graduated in '03, then headed for the mainland and haven't been back. My SO and I are moving back in T-minus 5 months and I couldn't be more stoked. I know it's been a long time and many things might have changed, but I know in my heart that as soon as we arrive I will feel at home and at peace.
Hawaii's issue is with the extreme amount of building permit restrictions and permitting process, environmental impact statements that have to be written and then approved by countless departments and the huge fees that the state and counties charge for each of these steps along the way.
Hawaii is known as the most business-unfriendly state in the 50. It comes largely from the political mix. Hawaii is so firmly Democrat that it was the only state that went for George McGovern in 1972, when Nixon was re-elected, but I think the main reason for the business-unfriendly climate is the pro-union sentiment of local politicians.
Here's a post I wrote on the subject three years ago:
One correction to it. Since I wrote it, the tax on visitors has gone from 11.41% to 13.41%. That's how Hawaii solved the current "revenue shortfall".
I've been away from Hawaii for ten years. I never thought I could live anywhere else, but I have found that there is much to offer outside of Hawaii. Especially when it comes to real estate. My wife and I will be retiring from the military in the next few years. She is set on going home to Hawaii, but I am not convinced. I wonder if we can afford to move back.
I grad UH, went straight to the HPD and after 5 years knew that there was much more opportunities with much higher pay in the mainland. I got hired at the first department which offered a starting pay higher than HPD's after 5 years. Currently local departments start at around $70,000. Right now HPD starts at $51,240 per year. Factor in about 25% higher cost of living in HI and you can see that you would need to make $88,000 just to be at par with mainland departments. And that will *never* happen!
So that's why I *left.*
As for returning after leaving? Not much chance. But to be honest, thinking of renting for three years or so in Kauai to get to know my grands and great grands. Hawaii no doubt, is full of wonderful, splendid natural beauty with it's ocean, mountains and beaches. But financial opportunities are just not there to support a family wishing to enjoy life without having to work extremely hard on a non-competitive, low-paying job. That is unless you have a wealthy family that has sent you to Punahoe, continuing to Harvard and returning to help or run the family business. The statistics show that the vast majority of locals leaving to the mainland don't fall in this category, like me.
Aloha
I was born in Hawaii to White Navy man ( Irish and German ) and a part Asian mom. ( Local japanese/PI/ Irish mix)
My father wanted to stay in Hawaii forever, but my mom insisted we move to the Mainland where education and job Opportunities were better for a mixed race families.
I have been back and for generally for 2 years at a time. But with all the hate in Hawaii, keeps chasing me back to the mainland where I feel more welcome.
I may come back after I retire at least maybe then Hawaii will have caught up with the mainland with regards to inclusiveness and diversity.
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