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I am another one of those who don't get island/rock fever. there is so much to do in Hawai'i! So much more to do, for me at least, than any other place i've lived. Anyday, after work or on a day off, you have so much within your small area! even more if you travel only a few minutes out of your town. Climates change fast with distance, elevation, temperature...it's amazing! there is something new everyday to discover...if you want to.
Personally, I think change is highly overrated, or maybe I've experienced too much of it in my life. I like home, wherever it may be, and am perfectly content to stay there.
We live in an era replete with advanced technology and can 'visit' visually, audibly, and can type on line to anyone almost anywhere in the world within seconds - y'can't beat that.
If we become curious we can check out a few real time web cams, again, almost anywhere in the world. What National Geographic doesn't tell you about Africa or Paraguay, you don't need to know. (Trust me on this one!)
As a child, I once read that a house without books is like a house without windows, and I agree, although I would include good music as a necessity. We can visit any place and even time on Earth through good books, the Internet, and good movies, so it's difficult to feel depraved with all the good gifts we've been given.
Even Jesus didn't stray farther than two-hundred miles from home - while Earthbound, naturally, and look at the impact He had (and has) on the world 2000+ years later. We're still setting our watches and calendars by the perceived time of His birth, and that's just the tip of it. 'Course, I guess when you made the Earth, there's not a whole lot to wonder about. LOL!
When you get down to it, even our pretty blue planet is a rock in space, so it's all relative and subjective. I heard another wise person say, 'You are not within a prison, the prison is within you,' which I found revelational at the time, and have always remembered it.
In Alaska it's called "cabin fever". Take rock fever and then destroy the psyche further during the winter with no daylight and too cold and windy to go outside.
It seems strange to me that people develop "rock fever". I don't travel more than 25 miles from home for months at a time. Once in a while we drive from Columbus, Ohio to Cincinnati, Ohio ( about 102 miles ) to visit my sister-in-law - usually no more than once a year or two. We used to fly to Minneapolis to visit another sister-in-law, but have not for a couple of years. The best trips were to Hawaii and again we haven't been able to go there for several years.
I would think I should already have "rock fever" just from not going more than 25 miles from home.
Mickey
I'm the same way here in Denver. The airport is about as far as I normally stray. And Denver is so isolated from other cities, it's almost like being on an island. I've been to Oahu 7 or 8 times and always thought I would enjoy living there and wouldn't have any issues with being isolated.
Personally, I think "rock fever" can be very real, particularly if you are a transplant and don't have a lot of financial resources to travel from time to time. I found that the fact the weather never really changes combined with the traffic did make me feel a little trapped on occasion. Every day felt the same, the sun came up and the sun went down, traffic sucks so I don't leave town and every day feels like groundhog day in a really nice setting. I would usually go home for about 3 weeks every October (when the leaves were starting to turn and the weather in the mid atlantic is perfect) and that would get it out of my system.
Folks from the east coast seem more susceptible to "rock fever" in my experience, likely because they are accustomed to having numerous major cities (Boston, NYC, Philly, Baltimore, Richmond, DC, Charlotte, Atlanta), tourist destinations (Cape Cod, Jersey Shore, Virginia Beach, Outer Banks, Charleston, Savannah, Miami, Orlando), as well as tropical destinations (Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico) all within a few hours travel (either by car, train, or airplane) and basically in the same time zone. Folks that I met from the midwest or west where things are more spread out did not seem as bothered. I'm sure there are tons of exceptions, that is just a general observation.
But in the grand scheme of things a little island fever is probably a reasonable trade off. Most years you have about 275 days of very high quality weather in Honolulu (can have long stretches of rain associated with Kona storms and it gets a little hot mid-august to mid october if you ask me) with world class beaches, fresh fruit, golf, kayaking, hiking, surfing, etc... available basically year round. Aside from some places in California and maybe some U.S. territories in the Caribbean, that is pretty hard to compete with.
Personally, I think "rock fever" can be very real, particularly if you are a transplant and don't have a lot of financial resources to travel from time to time. I found that the fact the weather never really changes combined with the traffic did make me feel a little trapped on occasion. Every day felt the same, the sun came up and the sun went down, traffic sucks so I don't leave town and every day feels like groundhog day in a really nice setting. I would usually go home for about 3 weeks every October (when the leaves were starting to turn and the weather in the mid atlantic is perfect) and that would get it out of my system.
The people most susceptible to "rock fever" are the ones who think of someplace other than the island that they live on as "home."
The people most susceptible to "rock fever" are the ones who think of someplace other than the island that they live on as "home."
No doubt, I was there almost a decade but it never felt like "home" and I never really referred to it as such ... even after I married a local girl and tried to settle down. I always missed family, friends, places, and southern hospitality.
I could definitely live in Honolulu again and be happy (and I may since my wife and her entire family are from Hawaii), it is a great place and has many superlative characteristics. But there would always be things I missed about the east coast that I could never get out there and living on a 40 mile wide rock in the middle of the ocean will probably always feel a little confining to me since I am used to being able to take amtrack (or my car) for a long weekend in great cities all up and down the coast (which I do about 10 weekends a year). I think in a perfect world I would spend December - February and July-August in Honolulu and the rest of the year out here. LOL
My family and I have lived on a small island off of Colombia, South America called San Andrés Island. We moved here from Florida, USA six years ago and for the first time me and my daughters now 8 & 10 are going to visit family in Orlando. I feel so excited but at the same time a bit anxious. My sister talk about driving to Miami, driving to NJ and the thought of a road trip be it 3 hours or 20 scares me. I'm not sure if this is normal or what. I tend not to go to the other side of the island cause I think its far and driving around the island can be done in less than a half hour so when my sister says we can drive to Miami which is about a three hour drive the following day that I arrive I think its crazy or is it.?
Rock fever is when the wife wants to go on a major shopping trip. For the men when they want to get laid without everybody finding out the next day.
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and look at the impact He had (and has) on the world 2000+ years later. We're still setting our watches and calendars by the perceived time of His birth, and that's just the tip of it. 'Course, I guess when you made the Earth, there's not a whole lot to wonder about. LOL! 
I don't travel more than 25 miles from home for months at a time. Once in a while we drive from Columbus, Ohio to Cincinnati, Ohio ( about 102 miles ) to visit my sister-in-law - usually no more than once a year or two. We used to fly to Minneapolis to visit another sister-in-law, but have not for a couple of years. The best trips were to Hawaii and again we haven't been able to go there for several years. 
