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So we all agree the cost of living is high in Hawai'i because of low wages.
No, I do not agree. Cost is one factor. Available Income to pay costs is a separate factor. One's Standard of Living is determined by the interrelationship of those two factors. One might live large on a moderate income in a low-cost area, but struggle on the same income in a high-cost area.
In an area where Cost of Living is high, it takes high Income to enjoy a high standard of living. In an area with lower Cost of Living, the same standard of living can be enjoyed with a lower Income.
If you want to raise your standard of living you need to either raise your income (take a second job, get a raise), or lower your costs, (which many people do by moving to a cheaper location), or some combination of both. That's why many young people who are raised in Hawai'i move to the mainland... to seek higher income and lower costs, for a higher standard of living. And that's why many people on fixed incomes have to accept a reduced standard of living if they move to Hawai'i, because the Cost of Living is so much higher in the islands than it was where they came from.
Everything you do to raise your income and/or lower your costs can improve your standard of living. But in almost every instance the cost of housing is the largest single factor in anyone's individual equation. The most desirable real estate in Hawai'i is among the most expensive in the country, because the supply is limited and the demand is high. So there isn't that much anyone can do about that.
And the cost of goods and energy are affected by the high real estate costs, as well as the remoteness of the location, which is way out at the end of one of the longest supply chains in the world. Energy costs have a lot of potential for remediation, given the natural resources we have at our disposal. And in fact the Big Island is supposedly already generating half its electricity from renewable sources, and biofuel is being produced and is available for retail purchase. But capital costs for new infrastructure are keeping overall costs high at the present. The current gains in that area are more in the line of increasing our fuel security for now.
Ditto food security. So far the key driver behind growing more food locally is to provide more security against transportation interruptions than it is to lower costs. Matter of fact, a lot of the food being produced locally is more expensive than what's available shipped in from the mainland. A big chicken and egg business on the Big Island folded a while back, in large part because the cost of imported chicken feed had become too expensive for the business to remain competitive, and we don't grow a good grain to feed them on. Fresh local pork is a popular commodity, but much of it is shipped in live on the hoof from California to be slaughtered here because the cost of production is so much lower there. Bread that's baked locally is $5.00 a loaf because we don't grow the grain for the flour here, so we import bread that sells for $1.50 on the mainland and mark it up. Fresh veggies require a lot of fertilizer and pesticides in the tropics, which have to be shipped in, so it's often cheaper to just ship in the produce from the megafarms of California and Mexico.
And all of that traces back in Hawai'i to the high cost of real estate and the high cost of energy and transportation, plus labor and taxes. Combined, that's the high cost of living in the state, or as it is sometimes called, the Paradise Tax.
But it's not apples to apples at all, that's my point. It's apples to pineapples. You're comparing a city without many undesireable neighborhoods to a city that is mostly undesireable with a few nice pockets.
But you're talking about $500K houses, when you should be comparing the, say, 900 sq ft one bedroom apartment that's appropriate and typical for an under 30 year old single guy making $50K a year in Houston vs the equivalent in Honolulu... which will cost about triple in Hawai'i, or shrink in size and cost double. That's what I mean about apples.
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And yes the pay is much lower in Hawaii, which is what my post was about-- the problem is pay not COL.
The problem is not exclusively one or the other, but the way the two interract. Higher cost and lower pay in Hawai'i versus lower cost and higher pay in Houston is why the difference between the two is so dramatic.
Mahalo everyone for your knowledge and really thought promoting posts.
One of the things that would bring me back to Hawai'i would be the Merrie Monarch competition in Hilo, a competition that happens every year and features the best Halau Hula in the islands. I have always had aloha for hoolah.
I believe what would push me back to Hawai'i would be my love for Hawai'i. Love is a strong emotion. Have you felt the same way? When your away you miss her and have dreams of her?
Aloha,
Family would be the main reason for my wife and I to relocate back to Hawaii; however, with the high-cost of living, it will not be possible especially when our kids are preparing for college.
Aloha,
Family would be the main reason for my wife and I to relocate back to Hawaii; however, with the high-cost of living, it will not be possible especially when our kids are preparing for college.
Ohana is a good reason to get back home. Ya i have always thought it was a crying shame that things have to be so expensive in Hawai'i. Well Aloha welcome to CDF-Hawai'i forum. And Mahalo for your imput.
Growing up in Hawai'i, One statement i hear alot from other Ohana and friends who visit or lived on the islands for a good period of time is "Hawai'i is a magical place". I agree but not in the tourist industry ideal of paradise magical. But as a spiritual place of healing. Have you ever gone to a spot in nature and immediately feel energized or felt like a new man? Power or energy places are everywhere around the world, but Hawai'i spots are more commonly known because its becoming part of the Hawai'ian culture and beliefs again, further there are still spots unspoiled by modernism. In rational thoughts how can this be true if you can't see it? Well the key to awareness of anything is the ability to be willing to believe. Willingness is the key.
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