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No doubt, Hawaii, IS the place I would choose. But, I'm always curious where other people's OTHER places might be, and Bermuda is interesting. Of course, I think everyone would choose Hawaii as well.
But, did Bermuda have more of a 'safe' factor compared to the Caribbean Islands?
I always felt very safe in Bermuda. Strictly in terms of my own perception, I would rank Bermuda and Hawaii as being equal in safety -- including not only physical safety, but the "safety" of not being hassled to buy stuff or whatever. (For anyone who might be tempted to take this thread in a racial direction, please note that in both Hawaii and Bermuda, I was a racial minority.) As for the Caribbean islands that I have experienced, only Grand Cayman would come close, followed by St. Maarten.
EDIT to add, I somehow forgot about Cozumel. I felt reasonably safe there, probably on a par with St. Maarten. In terms of natural beauty, I would rank it with Grand Cayman. All in all, I found it to be a pleasant place -- but nowhere near as appealing as Hawaii.
Been to Hawaii (Maui), been to the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica). Live in Miami Beach which is a stones throw away from the Caribbean.
I think as mentioned, and now done to death, the Caribbean is much poorer and developing. Even in US territories (Puerto Rico) you will see the difference. Hawaii feels a lot safer, even though there is some tension between native Hawaiians and whites, and native Hawaiians and tourists unlike what you will find in the Caribbean who welcome tourists as a source of money.
Beaches are better in the Caribbean, if you prefer warmer waters and more interesting snorkeling. There is also this very beautiful translucent, greenish water that is absolutely heaven on earth in the Caribbean that Hawaii simply doesn't have. Albeit Hawaii has stunning topography and what I love is how fast the water becomes deep in Hawaii.
The Caribbean is hotter in the summer, less windy.
The Caribbean has less variety on their islands than the Hawaiian islands, in Hawaii (Maui at least) one side is a jungle, the other is a desert. Not so much true in the Caribbean.
If you include central american portions of the Caribbean, such as Costa Rica, the Caribbean blows away the biodiversity of Hawaii. Just drive through the jungles that separate the Pacific and Caribbean in Costa Rica, it feels like something out of Jurassic Park. Now I know that Kaui was used to film Jurassic Parks (many scenes), but driving in Maui, I didn't see anything comparable to those jungles.
The culture of the Caribbean is more to my liking. It's more energetic, the music is more rhythmic instead of melodic, it's more sensual, live life. When I was in Maui I felt this very heavy laid back vibe that almost made me get the impression I was to sleep life away in a hammock.
Food is more interesting in Hawaii imo, they have their asian cuisines, and a fusion of Asian and native Hawaiian. Caribbean food is a fusion of african (slave), native and spanish cuisines for the most part. And while that may sound even better now that I type it out that way, it tends to be often deep fried, and lacks the subtleties of Hawaiian cuisine. At least I enjoyed the food better in Hawaii.
Salt Lake area. Within the past year. It's sad and doesn't really make me that uncomfortable since they were mostly domestic crimes not aimed at random people. Still though, many people think Hawaii is basically immune to these sorts of issues and it's not true. Don't get me wrong, this is a great place and I'll live for a long time but it's far from perfect.
I've been to the Caribbean multiple times. Mostly Cozumel and Grand Cayman, but also Jamaica once, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Belize. There is a special place in my heart for Grand Cayman, and that's easily my favorite island. I think that's the one most comparable to Hawaii. I felt safest there, and the food was amazing. I'm not sure there's any beaches quite like seven mile beach in Grand Cayman, and the diving is absolutely world-class there. I can dive without a wetsuit, and stay warm all day in the Caymans. Grand Cayman is a British territory, English speaking, and it's currency is pegged to the US dollar, so it still very much feels like part of the US. It's also a huge banking center. So, cost of living is actually quite similar to Hawaii.
Hawaii has a much more rugged landscape, and I think much more variety in sights and activities. There's a lot more hiking and cultural activity of interest. Also, it's a US state, with all the benefits there. The culture of Grand Cayman is pretty similar to the gulf coast of the US. Belize has similar variety in landscape to Hawaii, great hiking, and also amazing diving, and also English speaking, but much less developed. Mexico (cancun, cozumel) has amazing cultural events, ruins and food to visit, and cenotes to swim in, but it's easy to feel quite unsafe outside of tourist areas. Resort areas have dedicated tourist police.
We are moving our family to Hawaii this summer (big island), mostly because it's easiest to find jobs there and raise kids as US citizens. However, many years down the road I would not be surprised to find myself retiring in the Caribbean.
I stayed for 10 days with my Mom at the Coral Reef Hotel and found the people friendly. I would take there bus and a few days later a nice lady did remember me since me both rode the bus. Also I liked Antiqua but only go to visit the beach and had a real friendly cab driver Smokey Joe. He stayed with me at the beach and also gave me a tour or the island.
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