Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As it gets more crowded, there gets to be more tension, but it's really pretty mellow still. So long as your confident yet respectful, no one will mess with you. I've seen people getting messed with, but not me.
Here's a story about a guy that was minding his own business simply buying candy for his children at a store in Puna. Apparently, a local didn't like the way he looked (ie. like a "mainlander") and decided to give him a broken jaw.
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2007/05/14/local_news/local01.txt (broken link)
I guess as long as no one gets killed, "it's really pretty mellow still"; however, one has to remember that Hawai'i is not necessarily a "paradise" for everyone.
We own two lots on the big island, and plan to build there in about 3 - 5 years. We have not lived there yet, but had some very close friends that did. When we bought the lots, our daughter was very young. Our friend's advice to us was to not move there while our kids were school age, because like others have mentioned here, she felt the schools were not up to par.
Just to compare a few things - we have lived in Colorado since 1983 and for 20 years lived in the Vail resort area. From what others have posted, living there was similar to living in the islands - high cost of living, sometimes limited goods and services, etc. When we moved to Vail, a single family home was way out of our price range where back in Kansas City (where we moved from) there was a wide price range of homes to choose from.
We moved there because of a job offer my husband received and then ended up staying and building a business which seemed to be the same reason why some people move to Hawaii. There were many people who would come just to work for a short period of time and then leave. Fortunately, more and more people began to stay which built more of a community atmosphere. Since Vail was created to be a resort area, there were few "locals" who felt like outsiders had invaded their territory, but I can see where the native Hawaiians might feel this way, especially if those who come do not want to keep the island atmosphere.
I would agree with others that if you are seriously thinking about moving there, that going for an extended period of time for a visit is a good idea. You get more of the day to day feeling than when you are on vacation.
maui_bound, I was shocked (truly shocked) when I read your post about "seriously" considering moving to Maui because several friends say it's beautiful and you have seen it through pictures and research on the internet for several hours. I agree 100% with everyone above who said you owe it to yourselves to spend some time on the island (serious research time and not just vacation time) before even considering it - it seems to be a voluntary move or uprooting and not a job transfer and especially because it involves two children. The possibility of them or yourselves getting picked on should concern you less right now than making a major and expensive move and then finding out you aren't happy or would rather not live there after all for whatever reason. It is true that you will hear stories of those who have gone to Hawaii, fallen in love with it and sold everything they had and bought a one-way ticket and six months later are now gleefully and successfully living there - but they are the exception for sure - the Hawaii message boards are also full of posts where people have fallen in love with a dream and then have found out that there is alot more involved in the pursuit of the dream. . . or maybe even made it out to Hawaii with a set of expectations that were unrealistic and then found out it wasn't what they thought it would be once they were there, or couldn't afford to live there and still do what they wanted to do, or did get pestered by locals because they acted superior and/or were unable to adapt and assimilate into the island life.
We are originally from Florida (Jacksonville Beach) - and first spent a week on Oahu on vacation in August 1994. We thought it would be cool to live there and spent a ton of time after we returned thinking and planning for how we could make it happen someday - returned four more times spending a week or ten days there at a time (and not just vacationing there but "living" there -- going to movies and malls and the grocery store - driving in traffic during drive time - looking at newspapers for rentals and actually seeing where we could afford to live and then driving out there to see these rentals - reading the newspapers and watching the news to find out current issues and concerns -- along with surfing and enjoying the beach and snorkeling and parasailing and driving around exploring and hiking and everything else we loved about the island). After five trips there (and flying back to Florida the last time with tears streaming down my face and my hand on the window of the plane until I couldn't see the orange lights of the island anymore) - we moved - in 1998. And, because of our experiences there (and as extreme of preparation as it seems), we knew we wanted to live there and were prepared to work through whatever (if any) negative things we encountered - that it would be worth it - and it was everything we thought it would be for sure.
After we moved we experienced all the things we had dreamed about when we lived in Florida. We rented a condominium two blocks off Waikiki Beach for the first six years and then bought a house in Hawaii Kai and lived there for the last two+ years. We would wake up on a random Saturday morning and decide during breakfast to catch an interisland flight to Kauai and would be there by 10:30am, fly back Sunday night and be back at work Monday morning - we would walk to the beach and surf in nice warm clear water and watch the excitement of some who were surfing for the first time - we spent more weeks and weekends than we could count on all of the other islands - we saw huge winter surf, sat on the beach on the north shore and watched surf contests, things we had only seen in magazines until then - I flew back and forth to Hilo for work on and off for a year and saw snow on the top of Mauna Kea - we had great jobs and definitely fit in. Even though we were both working full time, for awhile it was like we were on vacation whenever we weren't at work.
After a time it did get to be more like we lived there and it wasn't as exciting, strange to say. We would fly to Cancun or Las Vegas as often as we could but would lose some time there to travel because of the distance of the flights to/from Honolulu. We moved to California last July - moved off the island on our own terms, because we chose to. Alot of mainlanders return because of not fitting in or feeling accepted, not enough money and being stifled by the expenses that never end, wanting or needing to be closer to family on the mainland, feeling caged in because of living on the island - - we moved because we like to travel and it's a long way from Honolulu to ANYWHERE. . . alot of redeye flights and losing several days to travel. . . and more importantly because we wanted to have more experiences living in different places. Dreams change and while living there was incredible and amazing, once we had done it for going on nine years, we wanted something different. Another consideration was that we are way too young to stop working right now but obviously we want to someday - and with the cost of living in Honolulu increasing we knew we would have to be working forever to be able to continue to live there and still live the way we wanted to. For awhile that was ok with us until we thought it through.
There is no way to tell, even armed with all the knowledge you can get from the web, from visits, from spending time there or talking to other people - you could still get out to Maui with everything you own and then hate it once you're there. You could also love it in a way that's indescribable and might be ready (like we were) to overlook anything that we didn't have or anything that was inconvenient or if there was an occasional local who hated us for no reason because we knew that not everyone would be that way and it would be an experience we would never forget. We intended to fit in, to adapt and blend into the Hawaiian culture, to consider that living there was a privilege and a gift and something that not everyone can experience during their lifetimes, to show respect to all - and it worked - we were accepted and it was so neat. You will know more once you visit there and spend some time (some happy medium between five times like we did and "not at all" yet) but there are some things you can't predict and won't know until you've moved there. Alot of the problems experienced by newcomers to Hawaii, though, are caused by themselves for alot of reasons - as long as you are coming in with the right frame of mind and expectations and showing respect and willingness to learn a new culture then those who accept you and your family will far outnumber those who might not. It's also important to remember that some people in the world just inflict their own unhappiness on others and it has nothing to do with us and that happens no matter where on earth we live.
I know some of this post sounds intense and harsh but the reality is that while Hawaii was an amazing place to live for us, it is extremely expensive (especially Maui compared to Oahu), traffic is gnarly, it's far from anywhere else (that's part of what makes it so neat though) and it can definitely be difficult for those who go out there ill-prepared or with expectations that are different from what it actually is. As far as quality of schools/education or how moving anywhere and especially to Hawaii might affect children, that adds a whole other set of variables to consider (it's just the two of us).
I would advise you to get all the information and experience you can - it's like no other place on earth for sure. I wish you and your family all the best as you are sorting out what to do. Also I apologize to everyone for the very long post !
maui_bound, I was shocked (truly shocked) when I read your post about "seriously" considering moving to Maui because several friends say it's beautiful and you have seen it through pictures and research on the internet for several hours. I agree 100% with everyone above who said you owe it to yourselves to spend some time on the island (serious research time and not just vacation time) before even considering it - it seems to be a voluntary move or uprooting and not a job transfer and especially because it involves two children. The possibility of them or yourselves getting picked on should concern you less right now than making a major and expensive move and then finding out you aren't happy or would rather not live there after all for whatever reason. It is true that you will hear stories of those who have gone to Hawaii, fallen in love with it and sold everything they had and bought a one-way ticket and six months later are now gleefully and successfully living there - but they are the exception for sure - the Hawaii message boards are also full of posts where people have fallen in love with a dream and then have found out that there is alot more involved in the pursuit of the dream. . . or maybe even made it out to Hawaii with a set of expectations that were unrealistic and then found out it wasn't what they thought it would be once they were there, or couldn't afford to live there and still do what they wanted to do, or did get pestered by locals because they acted superior and/or were unable to adapt and assimilate into the island life.
We are originally from Florida (Jacksonville Beach) - and first spent a week on Oahu on vacation in August 1994. We thought it would be cool to live there and spent a ton of time after we returned thinking and planning for how we could make it happen someday - returned four more times spending a week or ten days there at a time (and not just vacationing there but "living" there -- going to movies and malls and the grocery store - driving in traffic during drive time - looking at newspapers for rentals and actually seeing where we could afford to live and then driving out there to see these rentals - reading the newspapers and watching the news to find out current issues and concerns -- along with surfing and enjoying the beach and snorkeling and parasailing and driving around exploring and hiking and everything else we loved about the island). After five trips there (and flying back to Florida the last time with tears streaming down my face and my hand on the window of the plane until I couldn't see the orange lights of the island anymore) - we moved - in 1998. And, because of our experiences there (and as extreme of preparation as it seems), we knew we wanted to live there and were prepared to work through whatever (if any) negative things we encountered - that it would be worth it - and it was everything we thought it would be for sure.
After we moved we experienced all the things we had dreamed about when we lived in Florida. We rented a condominium two blocks off Waikiki Beach for the first six years and then bought a house in Hawaii Kai and lived there for the last two+ years. We would wake up on a random Saturday morning and decide during breakfast to catch an interisland flight to Kauai and would be there by 10:30am, fly back Sunday night and be back at work Monday morning - we would walk to the beach and surf in nice warm clear water and watch the excitement of some who were surfing for the first time - we spent more weeks and weekends than we could count on all of the other islands - we saw huge winter surf, sat on the beach on the north shore and watched surf contests, things we had only seen in magazines until then - I flew back and forth to Hilo for work on and off for a year and saw snow on the top of Mauna Kea - we had great jobs and definitely fit in. Even though we were both working full time, for awhile it was like we were on vacation whenever we weren't at work.
After a time it did get to be more like we lived there and it wasn't as exciting, strange to say. We would fly to Cancun or Las Vegas as often as we could but would lose some time there to travel because of the distance of the flights to/from Honolulu. We moved to California last July - moved off the island on our own terms, because we chose to. Alot of mainlanders return because of not fitting in or feeling accepted, not enough money and being stifled by the expenses that never end, wanting or needing to be closer to family on the mainland, feeling caged in because of living on the island - - we moved because we like to travel and it's a long way from Honolulu to ANYWHERE. . . alot of redeye flights and losing several days to travel. . . and more importantly because we wanted to have more experiences living in different places. Dreams change and while living there was incredible and amazing, once we had done it for going on nine years, we wanted something different. Another consideration was that we are way too young to stop working right now but obviously we want to someday - and with the cost of living in Honolulu increasing we knew we would have to be working forever to be able to continue to live there and still live the way we wanted to. For awhile that was ok with us until we thought it through.
There is no way to tell, even armed with all the knowledge you can get from the web, from visits, from spending time there or talking to other people - you could still get out to Maui with everything you own and then hate it once you're there. You could also love it in a way that's indescribable and might be ready (like we were) to overlook anything that we didn't have or anything that was inconvenient or if there was an occasional local who hated us for no reason because we knew that not everyone would be that way and it would be an experience we would never forget. We intended to fit in, to adapt and blend into the Hawaiian culture, to consider that living there was a privilege and a gift and something that not everyone can experience during their lifetimes, to show respect to all - and it worked - we were accepted and it was so neat. You will know more once you visit there and spend some time (some happy medium between five times like we did and "not at all" yet) but there are some things you can't predict and won't know until you've moved there. Alot of the problems experienced by newcomers to Hawaii, though, are caused by themselves for alot of reasons - as long as you are coming in with the right frame of mind and expectations and showing respect and willingness to learn a new culture then those who accept you and your family will far outnumber those who might not. It's also important to remember that some people in the world just inflict their own unhappiness on others and it has nothing to do with us and that happens no matter where on earth we live.
I know some of this post sounds intense and harsh but the reality is that while Hawaii was an amazing place to live for us, it is extremely expensive (especially Maui compared to Oahu), traffic is gnarly, it's far from anywhere else (that's part of what makes it so neat though) and it can definitely be difficult for those who go out there ill-prepared or with expectations that are different from what it actually is. As far as quality of schools/education or how moving anywhere and especially to Hawaii might affect children, that adds a whole other set of variables to consider (it's just the two of us).
I would advise you to get all the information and experience you can - it's like no other place on earth for sure. I wish you and your family all the best as you are sorting out what to do. Also I apologize to everyone for the very long post !
Freebird, you have told my story too! Wow! We have lived here much longer though (twenty years) and are planning to head back for very similar reasons (plus two kids in very expensive, private middle/high schools.) We LOVE Hawaii and will never regret the time we spent here. It has become part of "who we are," and I will take my experiences here where ever I go. You are very correct in saying that there is no way to know what a person will experience here until they are here.
Living here is a trade-off for sure. I think that is what was most difficult to accept at first. You just don't get to the "rest of the world" whenever you want to. At times that is heaven, and at times, it can drive a person batty.
I certainly appreciated your long post. It's good to know there are others out there who are going through, or have gone through, similar decision making about moving to, and from, this magical place.
i lived on maui, it is all the wonderful things people say it is, but after several months it gets very small. i have found living in calif. and going there a few times a year to be perfect. only had problems with "locals" out surfing a couple of times. funny thing was the "local" with the big mouth got off the plane about a month before me.
Touche' Freebird...great Post!.....we Are In The Midst Of Moving Back To The Mainland From Oahu. After Two Years Here. While We Will Never Forget And Always Have Memories Of Some Of The Best Times In Our Lives That We Will Cherish Forever. It's A Very Difficult Thing To Realize That We Are A Statistic. That Being: 80% Of People That Move To Hawaii, Move Back Within 18 Months......no Regrets, Would Do It All Again. But, For The Sake Of My Grandson, (7)...we Owe Him A Good Education As Well As A Savings Account For Ourselves!..
We are from Colorado and cannot take another winter. We are planning to move to Maui by the end of this year. We love Maui, but obviously have only been there as visitors, not residents. We have two children (7 and 10 1/2) and have the same concerns you mentioned. Right now I'm trying to find out which school/s to put them in.
Maui Prep. Is a high ranked school in Maui on the upper west side. Be respectful of the land and the people and be sure TO VISIT FIRST. The island will let you know if you are welcome or not. Prices are higher, but ask yourself what you truly value. Lifestyle versus the Style of Your Life. If you like slippahs, beaches and sunshine-Maui No Ka Oi. Traffic is getting more and more congested, their is a lack of infrastructure and hospital beds. Maui is an amazing place but not without its own challenges. Most people here are very friendly and after a while will accept you, provided that you give more than you take.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My story too!
