Should we avoid Sea Country?

[WaterDamage]

Don't look at the crime statistics alone because they can be EXTREMELY deceiving! The devil is in the details on this one!

The Leeward side USED TO BE the skid-row of Oahu and MOST of the crime is STILL related to the homeless but they cleaned up a lot of the homeless from the Leeward side just recently, therefore, expect crime statistics to drop significantly for 2014 and going forward. Take the past homeless situation into account very seriously since it is the key that drives or used to drive the high crime statistics. Just as an example, a few weeks back, a homeless man killed another homeless man on the beach fighting over the rightful owner of a beach chair that they shared in the past! Don't let such ridiculous crimes distort the reality of the likelihood of you becoming a victim of crime. I have lived in 3 different areas of Waianae over the years and the people are very nice and any crime you may face most likely going to be petty crime where some homeless guy steals your beach towel or that surfboard you left laying around in the open garage might go missing. On the bright side, you can easily find out your stolen stuff since the island is small and sooner or later they'll catch the neighborhood fox when they try to sell your stuff at a pawn shop or Craigslist.

Waianae is a great place regardless of your race and background as long as you don't come with some attitude or issues. This holds true in any location on Oahu as well as the other Hawaiian islands. Let's just say, if you have a typical F*** Y** and get out of my way NYC, Boston or Philly attitude and lack respect and manners, tend to be a snobby person that belittles people below your physical, economic and/or appearance standards then this is NOT the place for you and you're likely to get beat-up physically here by the locals.

Keep in mind that, the locals tend to be a little territorial anywhere on the beach areas of Oahu except Waikiki and will gently test you to see if you will be bringing any unwelcome trouble or attitudes from the mainland or wherever you're from. So let's just say that if you don't assimilate easily, non of the Hawaiian Islands may not be the best place to live unless you're going to stay for a short while or stay in a secluded and gated wealthier neighborhood.

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by kakers

I'm much more worried about the safety and friendliness than the commute. My husband and I are both used to long commutes, my job typically involves a lot of driving to begin with. Are your friends from Hawaii or are they military like us?

~Katy

My apologies Kakers for just getting back to you. My friends in Sea Country are all retired/ex-military like myself. All of their children either went to private schools or did a Geo-Exception to Campbell.

[SoloPilot]

Originally Posted by kaimuki

I was born and raised on Oahu. I always enjoy my time in Waianae. That said, I wouldn't recommend living there if you're new to Hawaii.

Or, to put it another way, I wouldn't recommend living in Waianae unless you know that you WANT to.

[hunterseat]

We thought we'd live there before we moved over. Besides the traffic, which was bad enough from Ewa (like everyone warned) it just doesn't feel safe. Not somewhere you'd want to be after dark. There are some really nice people up there and then there are lots of ice heads.

[doubledownsea]

We lived in Sea Country for 2 years and still own our house there as a rental. Had to move back to mainland for medical reasons, or we would still be there! Love it! Did not have to drive for work though. The cost of housing is very reasonable, and we loved all our neighbors. You get what you put in. It's a very diverse place. Just lock your car, but we did that EVERYWHERE in Hawaii.

[HI85WH1]

I have several friends that live in sea country... locals as well as military/retired military. All love it except for the commute if you work in Honolulu.