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Someone once said "all the 'alohas' in the world don't equal one 'hi grampa!'." He moved to be near his grandkids since they couldn't afford to move here.
Many of these posts are comparing flights from Honolulu to the mainland. If you are on an island other than Oahu, then add in some additional difficulty to get to and from the mainland.
Another point is, once these relatives get over here to visit, they stay for three weeks to a month. Generally they don't have a car and want to eat mainland food and use power like they are still on the mainland. All these additional costs can add up.
I still have to disagree. If you're in a big mainland city, yeah maybe there are more airline routes. But I know plenty of people who have a 2+ hour drive before they even get to the nearest airport. Imagine that during the high holiday season when car travel times nearly double. Plus, a lot of the smaller markets get way fewer flights to fewer destinations than HNL has.
If you live on the East Coast, and your family on the West, the bus is really not an option. And the train isn't any cheaper than flying... just a lot slower and maybe a tad more comfortable. But no one uses it to go thousands of miles. Nor can you, realistically, pick up and drive that as a round trip on a moment's notice. At a breakneck pace, it takes 3+ days to get across (with two people splitting the driving, and essentially never stopping). A reasonable pace takes about a week each way. That's not a thing you do at the drop of a hat.
The travel issues are different *for some people*, who have family all in one place, or are used to living in major metro areas with lots of flights to lots of places. But neither of those are the case "on the mainland" as a whole.
It's a good thing to be aware of, for folks considering a move here. But for me, my astronomical monthly expenses are way more of a difficulty than this. It has really not been a problem since I've been here. (And, yeah, it has come up. We've done two short-notice trips... one wedding and one funeral... with no problem. And not for anywhere near $1400, even to the East Cost.)
Of course you can't compare every mainland place to each other. As you said, travel to an airport is different in each place and also the availability of flights is different for New York than small-town Montana.
But I suppose what people are pointing out is that for all of Hawaii, the only way to get here is by plane. Well, you could take a ship, but that's an entirely different type of planning. So essentially it's fly or stay. Whereas in many/most place of the mainland, there are other options - fly, drive, bus, train, or boat, depending on where you start, where you want to end up, and how fast you want to get there.
Getting from Hawaii to other places is not impossible, and for the most part, not even difficult (except just after 9/11). It just has fewer options available. Few modes of transportation, fewer price options, and fewer time options. In general, that is...Hawaii versus mainland, not Maui versus small town Montana.
With the limited options, I still prefer to live here, and make the trip with whatever stress and haste (or not) necessary when something happens. I have had to fly for 3 funerals and 2 emergencies. But that is 5 instances versus thousands of days of preferring being here than there.
It is an individual choice and often driven by our own personal situations.
Now if only someone would get to work on those Star Trek transporters...
I really do still think it's worth it. I'm not knocking Hawaii at all, and I'm certainly not trying to do the whole 'it's better in the mainland thing'. I don't think that.
But as I've gone on some emotional roller coasters lately, about things I never thought of, I realized that for me, this is the hardest part about living on the Island. Much more so than the financial factors. That knowledge *might* help others who are in the process of making the choice themselves.
I love it here, and I'm glad for the people who aren't negatively affected by this kind of thing. But for those with close family ties and good friends they love dearly, it's something to think about.
I certainly agree with you that this is something to consider when moving.
I lived in Texas for years and had a 5 hour drive to an airport, the train only came through a town 70 miles away 3 x a week, and the nearest bus station was also 70 miles away. Obviously, one had to consider being so far away from many conveniences when living in the remote area of the state. It was fine for awhile, but it did get old.
And it is reallly more convenient for us to travel from Hawaii--and I agree with you that it is definitely worth it.
I often think, when I see remarks about how far away Hawaii is and how hard it is to go visit family, how did the Pilgrims handle it. Or the settlers that moved from the East coast to the West. Or the missionaries that sailed to Hawaii. People back then had it much worse for travel - on foot, on horseback, horse and buggy or wagon, raft or rowboat or canoe, sailing ship.
I often think, when I see remarks about how far away Hawaii is and how hard it is to go visit family, how did the Pilgrims handle it. Or the settlers that moved from the East coast to the West. Or the missionaries that sailed to Hawaii. People back then had it much worse for travel - on foot, on horseback, horse and buggy or wagon, raft or rowboat or canoe, sailing ship.
Mickey
From my reading of historical records and genealogy many times once the family moved across the ocean or across the US, they rarely ever saw one another again. Their means of communication was letters, which took months to arrive. In researching my genealogy and a book written by the original settlers to the US, they never returned to Europe.
The Polynesians who came in canoes and settled Hawaii, the settlers that were courageous enough to go west, the tiny ships that brought them from Europe all remain amazing to me today. How brave those people were!
With the technology available especially in communications, we have become a society of instant gratification.
Here are my thoughts.. Many of us all would love to move to Hawaii and be able to afford a million dollar home, even if for three months out of the year. Let's all invest 200k and buy that house on the beach, and pick weeks or months to go. Modern, clean, and simple.
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Last edited by 7th generation; 12-23-2009 at 04:54 PM..
And more specifically, Haleiwa or Kona would probably be a good choice. Pinepple ice cream and surf! Additionally, it would be very easy to rent out spare weeks for protective income.
I often think, when I see remarks about how far away Hawaii is and how hard it is to go visit family, how did the Pilgrims handle it. Or the settlers that moved from the East coast to the West. Or the missionaries that sailed to Hawaii. People back then had it much worse for travel - on foot, on horseback, horse and buggy or wagon, raft or rowboat or canoe, sailing ship.
Mickey
That's true. But the expectations were a lot different also. Now, there's this expectation that you're supposed to be able to do it all because it's (theoretically) possible. Back then, it was nearly impossible, so no expectation.
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North Shore or BI
