Hawaii for College

[vahnessuh]

YOu wouldn't want to live in Mililani. 20 miles in Hawaii takes FOREVER! My husband commutes to work every day 50 miles one way (Southern California)... and he gets to work faster than his cousin who lives in Mililani and works downtown.

Mililani is in the suburbs... the last place you want to be in if you want to experience that full college social life.

[UHgrad]

Originally Posted by lost_traveler1

O RLY?!!!??!?!

University of Hawaii | University of Hawaii--Manoa | Best College | US News

I have a degree from UH Manoa, there are a few areas where the school excels (earth science, business, education) but overall I would say it is an OK (read mediocre) school. Not great but not terrible. My degree allowed me to get a good job during the recession so I am happy with the outcome but at the same time, I am not sure if I would brag about Hawaii's flagship university being ranked 164th nationally... I guess it is better than 200th. There are 50 states, so if you assume that colleges are equally distributed (which they aren't but for the sake of argument I will), UH Manoa would be on par with the 3rd or 4th best college in each state. In Virginia, there are 3 public universities that rank in the top 75 nationally... California, Pennsylvania, New York or Massachusetts probably all have a dozen or so that outrank UH. I don't think the person who said Hawaii doesn't have the best academic reputation was that far off base.

But lets be honest, people don't typically move to Hawaii to excel academically. They typically move to Hawaii to "escape it all", have fun, surf, enjoy new food, meet new kinds of people, go to the beach, etc... and if they get a degree along the way then it is a win-win. Trust me, I know. LOL. In that regard UH/TCC is fine.

To the overall topic of where to live. I agree with the consensus, don't live in Mililani. Live in town or maybe kailua side, your commute will be 1000x better and that is where you will find stuff to do with other young people. Mililani is a suburban planned community and it isn't even near the beach.

[mokeanne]

Originally Posted by vahnessuh

YOu wouldn't want to live in Mililani. 20 miles in Hawaii takes FOREVER! My husband commutes to work every day 50 miles one way (Southern California)... and he gets to work faster than his cousin who lives in Mililani and works downtown.

but you're probably right.

here's a couple sites to check out what traffic is like during rush hours. from 6 to 8am and 4-6pm hawaii time, i would check out this site to see what you're dealing with.

GoAkamai :: Home
Cameras by Region (pick pearl city and aiea)

you can also check out the google traffic maps during rush hour. they don't update video cams, but you can see where all the traffic gets stuck.

[IslandDreamin]

Yeah, you definitely don't want to live in Mililani if you're young and single. The cab rides from Waikiki can be over 60bucks! One way. Stay in Honolulu or Waikiki. Save on gas, time, and be closer to the nightlife! Manoa valley is pretty safe, since you plan on transferring to UH. Seriously though, you should drive around when you get here and get a feel for the place you will be living. Also, what may look safe in the day, can be shady at night. I know it helps to have a gist, so you can plan and dream, but you never really know until you get there and have a look for yourself.