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I had an awesome experience overall. I certainly have some horror stories but I made lifelong friends, surfed the most perfect waves, hiked to beautiful ridges that overlooked the bluest water I have ever seen, played amazing golf courses year round, met people from all over the world and met my beautiful wife. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
That doesn't mean that I am willing to live in a roach infested, single-wall, robbery prone, $500/sq-ft house that I sweat in as I sleep (from May to October) for the rest of my life. Just gotta take it for what it is and decide what really matters to you in having a happy life. The good things about Hawaii are so good that it is almost worth just scraping by for the next 30 years, but for us it wasn't quite enough. You will never know until you try and if you show up with an open mind and a good attitude... I seriously doubt you will regret it. Just have an exit strategy in case it doesn't work out.
Just trying to give people the honest situation from someone that moved there and succeeded there for 7 years... then decided to leave. I miss it in a lot of ways and in some ways I don't miss it at all. I certainly didn't hate it and Im not gonna come on here and bad mouth the place but at the same time, there is no such thing as paradise and people need to be aware of the concessions they may have to make to be successful in a new environment.
UHGrad is right. Nobody else can tell you if it's right for you. The people who most consistently bomb out on living in Hawai'i are the ones who are in love with the travel brochures and their experiences during brief vacations to big name resorts. They have an unrealistic view of what day to day life is really like on the islands, particularly if you are not rich.
The people who take to it tend to be relaxed in their attitude about life already. Already awake and smelling the coffee. Not concerned with making it, or accumulating more, but just being alive and taking things in stride.
You will be surprised by the things that surprise you. You will be challenged by the things that challenge you. You will miss the things you miss. You will be delighted by the things that delight you. The only thing you can count on is that life is different in a million ways, and some you will like and some you won't.
And since the experience is so personal and unpredictable, as UHGrad said, an exit strategy is a must. Even native born leave the islands, for good, if they aren't getting what they need.
We are like PacificFlights...spent numerous vacations to Waikiki, falling in love with Hawaii more and more. Our last vacation there, we decided to renew our wedding vows. The reverend mentioned that he "took a leap of faith" when he came to the island...we felt we could do the same! Upon returning home, 6 weeks later we decided to pack up and move there, from Texas back in 2004. We took a leap and ended up living in Aiea for a wondeful year. My hubby's job gave him an opportunity to transfer back to the mainland, which we did, moving to AZ. Since that day, I have always wanted to return to the island. Now, 5 years later, we are sacrificing what we have (again) and moving back this coming November, this time from Virginia. We can't afford it any easier now than we did then, but we know what to expect, and are definitely looking forward to the friendly people, sunny weather, and we plan to spend the rest of our lives there....no matter what life hands us. We cannot wait, even though his job will require him to commute to/from San Francisco on a weekly basis, as he's a flight attendant. We are just thankful to be given such an opportunity to "take the leap" once again.
if you want to see what day to day life in hawaii is like, watch magnum pi
lol:d
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