Im born and bred local Hawaiian, 44 years. Here is how it really is. Hawaii is the biggest melting pot of all the 50 states. We have every ethnicity living here, so racism is pointless but there will always be bad eggs. Name one state where there is none? Violence, per capita, is very low. Shootings extremely rare. Weather here, all year between 72-80 but can get real humid at times. Big Island does have VOG at times, due to the volcano. I never notice but if you have respiratory problems it might bother you at times. Nothing major though. We have no seasons. Might get into the 60s during the winter, high 80s in summer, but only sometimes. Oahu is like a mini LA, SF, NYC etc. Hilo is on the Big Island and more like a southern state or mid west, plus volcanos. The Big Island has huge cattle ranches, hunting, tons of open spaces, no traffic, and very laid back. Lots of beautiful cars on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Big Island. Lots of car shows, 2 or 3 a month on Oahu. We only have tracks on Maui, Kauai, and Big Island now. Oahu's has closed(land value to high). Cost of living is high, but its because of all the people who move here. Supply and demand. Who doesn't want to live in paradise? No locals can afford to live in anything that has been built in the last 20 years unless they are making a minimum of 100K a year, to live in a small place. Average rent for a 2 bedroom house on Oahu, no utilities, in decent neighborhood, $2300 a month. Yup, you can get a mansion for that in a lot of states, but thats what happens when billionaires start buying up all the land and push out the locals. Hence a bit of attitude at times towards non locals by locals, who are may be homeless(which are everywhere) or have family/friends that are. BUT, if you are a decent person, you will have friends for life here in no time. You stuck on the side of the freeway, you'll have strangers helping you out. You need to borrow something, no problem. Ride to and from airport, people would be mad if you didn't ask. Huge family vibe out here, even more so on the Big Island. Oahu is crazy since all the jobs, majority of tourism, and big city is here. Hours of traffic if you don't plan it out, but on Big Island just miles of open road. Im Japanese, Chinese, Portugese, German, Irish, and Hawaiian. Thats pretty much the norm out here, which means some of the best food you will find anywhere. You want Japanese, we have tons. Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Italian, French, Soul Food, you name it we got it. And its all legit, not like some of the stuff Ive had on the mainland. You guys got us beat on Mexican though, were not perfect. Hard to find a great Southern style meal too, but we have a few and do our best. We also have a major base for Marines, Navy, Army, and Air Force on Oahu so tons of military families here too and a lot choose to stay after they get out. Bottom line, if it was so bad, we wouldn't have a problem with so many people moving here every year and the continuing rising cost of living? I have to travel(work) to the mainland(continental US) 8-10 times a year and have traveled to Japan, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and would never move from Hawaii. Nothing comes close. Shipping parts here does suck though, LONG LIVE AMAZON PRIME!
