What would I need to know?Follow

Let's say that I decided to move to Hawaii. What would I need to know?

Pikko, I'm lookin' at you.

A lot of stuff has to be flown/shipped in and is consequently more expensive. I assume coconuts and hibiscus flowers are cheap. And lava, if you're into that.

Learn how to surf, it's the only way to survive the volcanoes and tsunamis.

Learn to love Spam. I hear that is like Human cat-nip out there.

My crazy conservative cousin lives on Honolulu. From her facebook comments I have learned the following:

1. Everything is expensive
2. The school system sucks
3. There are parts of the island you cannot go if you're white because the natives will beat you up.
4. There are a ton of homeless people in the parks
5. Native Hawaiians hate off-islanders
6. The schools are all socialist camps full of liberals who support native islanders over all others
7. Seriously, schools, hobos, and Native Hawaiians suck.
8. And she needs a new tinfoil hat.

Unfortunately, crazy people like her aren't the greatest source of information. However, I know for a fact that prices are higher and there is a homeless problem in the public park areas.

I had a high school friend who went to Hawaii Pacific, I'll drop her a line and see if she has any advice for living there.

If you can get out here for 6 months without completely committing yourself, do it. Island fever is a real concern if you've spent your entire life stateside.

If you're shipping your stuff over, expect to be without it for 2-3 months, unless you plan on paying out the ***. Sell anything you don't absolutely have to bring with, then get new stuff here.

I'm on Oahu (Honolulu), so I can't speak for the other islands, but stay away from the west side of Oahu, especially after dark.

You're an outsider, the locals don't like outsiders, don't be surprised when you experience it. Getting a local license will help a little, but only to identify that you aren't a tourist, you're still an outsider. Some places like tourists so letting them think you are one is good. Other places don't like tourists. Differentiate from the two quickly.

The school systems suck.

We have roaches, lots of roaches, big roaches, the roaches fly, the roaches will chase you, the roaches aren't afraid of you, the roaches will take your Raid can from you and guzzle the **** to prove they aren't afraid of you, they will remind you that they are allowing you to live with them.

Homeless are everywhere.

Stray dogs and cats are common, so are chickens.

Mopeds aren't to be made fun of, they are a very reasonable mode of transportation.

Food is expensive. I pay about $5 for a gallon of milk, and that's on base.

Rainy season is from November to April/May.

Oahu has 100's of little earthquakes every year. If you're at ground level, you probably won't feel them. If you're on the second story or higher, your legs will get a little wobbly. It's weird when you first feel it, but you'll get used to it. Oahu has a 6.0+ magnitude earthquake every three years on average and we're coming due. We got here in November of '09 and we were told that one had hit about a year ago. Get an emergency kit that can support you for a week or longer. I'll find the link to the emergency kit essentials the military gives to people when they in-process.

If you have any specific questions, let me know and I'll find out what I can get for you.

But, hey, free chickens!


...and cats

And it's not exactly surprising why. 120 years ago, many of their families were probably pretty well off (if not wealthy per se, at least landowners with comfortable lives).

But then American planters staged a coup, overthrew their queen and seized all their land. The US pretty much did nothing more than issue a statement saying that they didn't condone the planters actions... but then allowed them to export goods to the US and later annexed the territory as a state.

The queen died in 1917. So many Hawaiians have grandparents, or great grandparents, that were alive in her lifetime. And the memory of being their own nation is still very fresh in their cultural memory.

Not to mention they are across the board horribly poor in Hawaii, as a result of having all their land stolen. You know how much money Dole makes on Pineapples a year? A hell of a lot. And that branch of the company was founded eight years after the queen was deposed. Oh yeah, and the president of Hawaii after the queen's overthrow? Sanford Dole.

Oh yeah, and before the fall of the kingdom (which was a constitutional monarchy), there were no ethnic restrictions on voting. After the coup? Well, you can see where I'm going with this.

Oh, and in 1983 the US gov't declared there were no historical, legal or moral obligations for the gov't to pay reparations or provide group benefits to native Hawaiians.

So... I think they are allowed to be pissed.

Especially since he is now known as "Conan the barbarian".

Learn how to have people crash on your couch. And send me your new address.

Do you get COLA in Hawaii, since it's technically considered "OCONUS"? I hear that's where people bank money since it's basically a one stop trip to the Sandbox. I also assume your BAH is absurdly high also. I heard it's like 2k in Alaska.

I think I might just visit there, not sure if I want to live there. I have a friend that will let me crash.

Insurance costs are pretty high in Hawaii; Flood/Tsunami, quake, fire, and volcano insurance are all pretty much mandatory. But it's a beautiful area.

COLA is around $600 and BAH is around $2K, that's with dependents though.



Don't come out here without a job unless you have a serious chunk of money set aside.



A year? As in you only plan on renting a place for a year, or only being here a year?

From what I've been told by several people, once you've established yourself here, they make it very hard to leave.



Yes you did, because the first time people see them, they tend to freak. We also have the Cane spider, which is huge, but isn't poisonous so not something you need to worry about. The Indonesian centipede, which is very poisonous and aggressive, is also something you need to keep an eye out for. Think of a bee sting on steroids, both in pain and toxicity.

It really is a good idea to know what you're going to be running into out here, especially if you're afraid of bugs. The roaches I mentioned are referred to as the B52 and they made a children's book about them. http://www.amazon.com/How-B-52-Cockroach-Learned-Fly/dp/0964749106 The roaches are the worst on Oahu, but I'm pretty sure you'll have them over on the Big island as well.

We also have Geckos. Keep them around though because they eat the other bugs.



If the dog is up on every shot a dog could ever get over the course of it's life, you'll only need an overnight quarantine I believe. If not, the quarantine is usually 3-6 months. There's no rabies over here, so they do everything they can to make sure it doesn't come over.



They do, but it's usually a weekly thing, not daily. Puddle jumpers run anywhere from $50-$100 for a round trip ticket.