Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

    OK, I like know how many people on dis forum stay tink dey like come up hea for live, and if you like, I like know why....for money, opportunities, what? If can, where you like live??
    And if you no like move, I like know why, too.

    Mahalo nui loa.

    Miulang
    "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

  • #2
    Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

    My wife and I mull this question quite a bit, which is surprising to some, considering my deepfelt love for the place where I was born and raised, and my family's strong ties (including a Native Hawaiian branch rooted in Kapa`au on the Big Island).

    If I were a rich man, sure, not only would I spend the rest of my life in Hawaii, but I'd get a nice cabin in Kamuela, a small cottage in Hilo, and a summer home (or something) in Kailua, and live a leisurely island life with my family, island hopping, relaxing, taking all sorts of classes... Hawaii is my home, my absolute favorite place, and in my somewhat deranged mind, the best place to raise my kids.

    But I'm not a rich man. And when times get tight, I have to admit, I would leave in an instant for the Mainland with an even modest promise of a good wage, a nice house, and hopefully moderate weather. For the right job, for the right paycheck, for a nice enough neighborhood... I'd leave. Not because I want to, but because I have to. Living in Hawaii is great, but it's not easy, especially when I'm convinced I'll never have a place to call my own as an islander.

    I'm not exactly the world's best employee, but it drives me nuts that my job is worth $84,000 on the Mainland, but just over half that here. And for the price of a "nice house" -- let's say $495,000 -- I could get three elsewhere!

    Where would we go? I love the Pacific Northwest -- Portland, in particular, and many of my friends have relocated there. My wife, meanwhile, would be thrilled if we moved to Virginia or Florida. (Her parents got a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a two-car garage, hardwood floors, a fireplace, all on a corner lot in a quiet neighborhood... for under $85,000.)

    I like Canada, though I've never been... perhaps Toronto, for the arts and color. I might consider rural New York, or even a balmy neighborhood in New England, just to be close to a city. Outside the U.S.? I love, love, love what I saw of New Zealand. I'd move there for the steak alone.

    I fantasize that I'll somehow "make it" here, and I think realistically, we'll just continue to get by. But a few years ago I came to realize, even I've got my price. I guess I just secretly hope no one ever offers to pay it!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

      Mahalo for the input. Many of the ex-pats left for the same reason. But like you, we also have come to realize after being away from the 'aina for many years, that having that $100k job isn't everything. And then when we retire, we think..."hmmm...could we make it if we went back to Hawaii?" Most of the time the answer would be, sadly, "no", unless we had family who would be willing to give us or sell us a house for cheap. Many of the people who are buying up the $500k houses are people who think of Hawaii as a fantasy place and have no concept of how hard you guys have to work to maintain some semblance of a comfortable lifestyle.

      Miulang
      "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

        But like you, we also have come to realize after being away from the 'aina for many years, that having that $100k job isn't everything.
        If only! If I got that $100k job, I'd barely pack before hopping the plane!

        Seriously, though, I'm not talking about "chasing the big bucks" or anything. I'm not looking for that proverbial golden opportunity to make it big on the Mainland. It's not capitalist or consumerist greed. It honestly is simple survival. Being one paycheck from the streets is, frankly, no way to live as a family... yet thousands of folks in Hawaii live that close to the edge every day.

        know what you mean about coming back, too. Even among my relatively (!!!) young peers, many of them are already aching to return. And from USENET posts and other online communities, I know there's no shortage of former kama`aina wishing they could come back. The fact that there are so many people with their face up against the glass looking in as I look out is another reason why I'd have to think twice, three times, before deciding to jump. It might be hard to leave Hawaii, but it's even harder to return once you've left.

        For some, the lifestyle you develop on the Mainland would be just too expensive to retain here, and for others, the simple cost of living - once you've gotten out from under it's massive weight - is too difficult to squeeze back into.

        If we do leave Hawaii, and if we can never afford to live here again, I can find solace in the fact that we've at least got a place to be buried here! That's a real tiny piece of real estate... but it's comforting to have.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

          Leave Hawaii? NEVAR

          Hawaii is where I was born and raised. Hawaii is my only home, and if I left, then I rather die.

          When I went to Texas for a school trip, no one had the aloha spirit, everyone just didn't talk to me because i was "brown" (plenty people either black or white, never "inbetween".

          And when I asked for directions, they looked at me weird because I spoke pidgin, and I never knew how for translate it into english.

          My brother stay in Michigan, and he say that its very cold and snowy. No more local foods or Hawaiian songs (he had to rip it from CDs before he left and put it in his computer).

          This is the only place where everyone can understand you, whether your having a bad day, or a good one. No one can ever pay a broke college student to ditch his family, friends, his island home to live in "haole land".
          How'd I get so white and nerdy?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

            Originally posted by adri1456
            Leave Hawaii? NEVAR

            Hawaii is where I was born and raised. Hawaii is my only home, and if I left, then I rather die.

            When I went to Texas for a school trip, no one had the aloha spirit, everyone just didn't talk to me because i was "brown" (plenty people either black or white, never "inbetween".

            And when I asked for directions, they looked at me weird because I spoke pidgin, and I never knew how for translate it into english.

            My brother stay in Michigan, and he say that its very cold and snowy. No more local foods or Hawaiian songs (he had to rip it from CDs before he left and put it in his computer).

            This is the only place where everyone can understand you, whether your having a bad day, or a good one. No one can ever pay a broke college student to ditch his family, friends, his island home to live in "haole land".
            Thanks for your thoughtful response, Adrian. If you have the chance to, though, when you finally get that good paying job in Hawaii come up here some more or travel a little in other parts of the world. Once you do that, you start putting your own life in perspective: yes, in parts of this country, there are still some very narrow minded people out there ("rednecks") but isn't that also true in Hawaii? I went to visit my inlaws in North Carolina a couple of months ago. I thought, with all the stereotypes I had of how the "Rufuses" and "DaisyMaes" would treat me because I don't look like white bread America, that people would stare at me or worse. You know what, though? Everybody treated me very courteously and no one even stared at me! (not that that would have bothered me) Where I visited was in the middle of the Bible belt, even.

            The people who treated you badly probably have never left their own little neighborhood and probably have never been outside of Texas. Man, I tell you! One of the best things about travelling to other places is it really opens up your eyes to the world around you. So stay and prosper in Hawaii and do everything you can to make your community a better one, OK?

            Malama pono,
            Miulang
            "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

              I guess the question would be why would one leave Hawaii in the first place? For a better job, yeah I would, but that too would depends on where I end up.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                Originally posted by helen
                I guess the question would be why would one leave Hawaii in the first place? For a better job, yeah I would, but that too would depends on where I end up.
                K'den, Helen. If somebody up here offered you a job, and told you you could relocate anywhere (all expenses paid, even!), where would you want to live?

                Miulang
                "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                  Only to visit other places...maybe for six months or so. I've gone to China for six weeks at a time, ditto Japan and Europe and after three weeks I always wanted to come home. Even visiting my daughter in N. CA. for five weeks is too LONG! I just don't feel comfortable anywhere but in HI! I'm now retired and soon my hubby will retire if we ever "can't" afford HI. I'll make my kids pay! for me to go into a retirement home (LOL)
                  Retired Senior Member

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                    Originally posted by Miulang
                    K'den, Helen. If somebody up here offered you a job, and told you you could relocate anywhere (all expenses paid, even!), where would you want to live?
                    Some place where the weather is cooler.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                      Well, this is the longest I've ever lived in one place (got here in 1978, but the family moved here in 1970), and I've thought about it, particularly when I was working half-time in LA and still getting Honolulu wages.

                      I dunno. There's still a lot of country I haven't seen yet, and travelling is a lot easier once you're actually on the mainland.
                      http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                        I was born and raised in Hawai'i, and though I spent several years in California for college, and have visited lots of places, I never considered settling down anywhere else. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing other parts of the world -- I'd love to travel more -- but Hawai'i will always be home. I know that people in other parts of the country make 50% to 100% more than I do for the same work. But I make enough to live on, and I'm not tempted by the extra money -- because I'd have to live somewhere else. Even if I got offered a huge salary, I wouldn't move.

                        Why? Because all my family is here. Because I love the culture of Hawai'i. Because the food is so 'ono. Because the weather is great, and the land is beautiful. Because I don't like the cold. Because I've seen other parts of the world, and most of them are horrible places to live.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                          Yes, if I could get my act together, get a new passport, arrange a bank account where my retirement checks would be automatically deposited, save a little while for the ticket, I'd return to India and Nepal.

                          BUT ... there are some people on this island of Oahu I'm not at all sure I could force myself to leave behind.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                            I'm like Glen, I've been to the mainland (lived there for four years) in Idaho. One thing I learned while being up there is that you tend to seek out other's from Hawaii and your form a bond that continues wherever you end up.

                            I'm originally from the Waialae-Kahala area (yes a true Townie) and lived a sheltered East Honolulu lifestyle. I joined the Air Force and ended up in Mtn Home Idaho where I met up with Mac (da Hawaiian) from Pearl City, Sterling (da Filipino) from KPT, and Keith (another Filipino) from Molokai. We ended up together for each other's sake because we all brought together stories of Hawaii. Mac would tell me, "Eh bradda Craig, you dakine bugga I wen beat up for lunch money". Sterling would say, "Yeah, me too!" Keith would say, "Wow Mololai mo betta den dat".

                            But because we were the only ones from Hawaii (and no Internet back then) we stuck it out and became really close friends. And thru this bond I learned more about being local (up in Idaho) than I could ever have learned staying in my cocoon in Waialae Nui. I stay so local now, when some punk wants to pick one beef with me, I no fear no moa. I pound em. Before I would run away.

                            I'm older and wiser now and I only use my defensive Aikido when somebody want to attempt to "tune my okole"

                            But you gotta grow up in Hawaii, move away for a few years, then come back to understand that giddy feeling one feels when you land at Honolulu International Airport. I literally dropped to my knees and kiss Oahu when I came back for good.

                            But the question begs the answer, No I wouldn't leave Hawaii for more pay or stature. I'm sorry, I have my simple pleasures in life (no mortgage, no car payments, kids with good grades and attitude, lovely wife, and money in the bank).

                            One thing though, I think its a good idea for everyone young to venture beyond our islands and see the world in order to appreciate that slogan, "Lucky you live Hawaii" I've been all over the United States, Europe and the Middle East and can truthfully say there's no place like Hawaii.
                            Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: If you could leave Hawaii, would you?

                              Craig has a good point: I never appreciated Hawai'i much until I left for college and got a taste of what other places are like. Growing up here, I took it for granted and didn't really understand why the islands are as popular as they are, why tourists and travel writers gushed about the beauty of the place. "Kaua'i? Oh yeah, it's nice. Kinda slow but."

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X