What is the biggest misconception about Hawaii?

[maryruth]

Just curious what everyone has to say about what is the biggest misconception that everyone has about Hawaii??

[WindwardOahuRN, RN]

Just curious what everyone has to say about what is the biggest misconception that everyone has about Hawaii??

A lot of people come here with totally unrealistic expectations.

If you can come here with your eyes wide open you'll probably do fine. If one comes here with the expectation that all the people are just overflowing with the "aloha spirit," and that everything will work out fine because "after all, how bad could it be, we're in Hawaii!!" they might be in for a few surprises.

The pros? Generally great weather (well, not right now...), physically beautiful surroundings (but sore spots do exist), and generally pleasant people.

The cons? The price of housing, both to own and rent, is tremendously high, especially in relation to the salaries here. There are many landlords who take advantage of the situation and often fail to keep their properties in good repair, knowing full well how scarce rental properties are.

The public schools rank among the worst in the country. Many people here choose to send their kids to private schools, at exorbitant costs. We pay among the highest taxes in the nation. And we pay sales tax on EVERYTHING---all food, medicines, even doctor's office visits.

The drug problem is huge here, with the main culprit being methamphetamines (ICE). There are very few treatment facilities in the islands. Thanks to the drug problems, the burglary and car theft rates are way up there.

Medical facilities on the outer islands are low-level, with the more complicated cases needing airlifts to Oahu. Even the outlying areas of Oahu send their complicated cases to Honolulu. We are losing the military helicopter assistance for airlifting traumas in April. We anticipate a mess.

The infrastructure systems (roads, etc) on almost all the main islands have reached critical mass----daily rush hour traffic jams are the norm, and when a main road is closed due to accidents or natural disasters, there is very often no other way to get where you want to go without hours of delays.

Soooo....why am I still here? Well, I have already raised my kids. We came here with enough money to buy a home, when the prices of homes were still within reason. Frankly, we could not afford a home here if we had to buy one today.

We already have our retirement plans in place---the retirement plans at our present places of employment could never have seen us through our later years.

And the area of the island where I live is just gorgeous.

We did a tremendous amount of research and planning before moving here. What I see in new arrivals is often a starry-eyed "WOW" thing that, while understandable, frequently fades fast and hard. It is said that the average length of time most mainland transplants stay is two years. I have seen it over and over again here. They are so excited when they first get here (EVERYTHING is wonderful, ALL the people are great, etc), and often very disillusioned when they leave. I think it's due, in part, to the fact that their expectations were so over the top to begin with.

If you're still interested, which I think you are ;-D, I'll post some links here which might help with your move.

[WindwardOahuRN, RN]

here are a few more opinions from another site:

kailua forum: moving to oahu?? - tripadvisor

[ione]

here are a few more opinions from another site:

kailua forum: moving to oahu?? - tripadvisor

thank you for your input, windwardoahurn. i wanted to send you pm but i couldn't. i am a foreign grad rn visiting oahu, and i am loving it here (definitely, one of the people who have unrealistic expectations (lol!). i was wondering if there are nursing opportunities available for foreign grad rns? amidst all the cons about living in hawaii, yes, i am still interested... your input is greatly appreciated.

[WindwardOahuRN, RN]

thank you for your input, windwardoahurn. i wanted to send you pm but i couldn't. i am a foreign grad rn visiting oahu, and i am loving it here (definitely, one of the people who have unrealistic expectations (lol!). i was wondering if there are nursing opportunities available for foreign grad rns? amidst all the cons about living in hawaii, yes, i am still interested... your input is greatly appreciated.

here is a link to the hawaii board of nursing. they'll be able to help answer your questions about your eligibility to practice here:

department of commerce & consumer affairs - licensing area: nurse

what country did you graduate from? are you a resident of the us now?

[maryruth]

Thanks for the info! Its all what I've pretty much heard from my brother who lives there, from my books, and others online. When I was in Hawaii I was loving the geography of it all but at least my eyes where not shut to all the racial things going on or the cost. It didn't bother me because I was just a tourist ya know. I also realize that Oahu is different than the other islands and I am planing on looking into the big island and maui again. This is something I will not rush into because I have a family. If it was just myself I would have no problems packing up and living there even just for a year or two. However, kids need stability and need to feel safe/comfortable. Sometimes its all about timeing too I guess and right now it sounds like its not a good time to be over there (cost of living).

Anyhow, I'd still apperciate any info or links you have.

[ione]

here is a link to the hawaii board of nursing. they'll be able to help answer your questions about your eligibility to practice here:

department of commerce & consumer affairs - licensing area: nurse

what country did you graduate from? are you a resident of the us now?

thank you. i graduated nursing from the philippines and am in oahu for a vacation. any more help will be greatly appreciated:wink2:

ps: i enabled my pm.

[WaynesvilleRN]

My wife and I went to Maui last summer. We are looking in 7-10 years to move to Maui. We have a lot of research to do.....Certainly not blind to the "grass is greener" phrase...especially since the usual reason is due to the septic tank under the grass...

[zenman]

My wife and I went to Maui last summer. We are looking in 7-10 years to move to Maui. We have a lot of research to do.....Certainly not blind to the "grass is greener" phrase...especially since the usual reason is due to the septic tank under the grass...

You might be interested in this link. It just came up while I was looking up something else. http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/archivearticle.aspx?id=1047&qr=kiyosaki

[WindwardOahuRN, RN]

You might be interested in this link. It just came up while I was looking up something else. http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/archivearticle.aspx?id=1047&qr=kiyosaki

LOL---to each his own, I guess. What works for Robert Kiyosaki works for Robert Kiyosaki (the person mentioned in the linked article).

I don't know why he feels the need to toss stones at Hawaii but his issues may go more into family dynamics than anything else.

Anyway---IME, a few well-placed phone calls and resume submissions seem to help when looking for employment here.

Hawaii is not the place for everyone. Many people come here and, after a year or two, find it is not the right fit for them. They have had their "Hawaii Adventure" and move on.

For others, it works ;-D.

[Victoriakem]

A friend, a blonde caucasian, worked in Hawaii for an agency & found prejudice against whites. She just stuck it out until her contract was over & never returned. Other than the beautiful scenery, she didn't find anything worth staying for.

[WindwardOahuRN, RN]

A friend, a blonde caucasian, worked in Hawaii for an agency & found prejudice against whites. She just stuck it out until her contract was over & never returned. Other than the beautiful scenery, she didn't find anything worth staying for.

I've lived here over six years. To say that there is not prejudice, in many forms, would be misleading. It often goes both ways. It is also extremely common for the people here to joke about different cultures and ethnic groups and refer very freely to people according to their race or ethnicity ("the Haole girl, the local Japanese..."). Not exactly politically correct and often misinterpreted as prejudice but very often spoken without any malice at all. Then again, sometimes there is malicious intent. Just like in the rest of the world.

I'm from the NY metropolitan area and very used to living with many different cultures. I expect that there will always be prejudicial feelings, on all sides, in any community. Just the way the world is.

Again, I think sometimes newcomers to the island tend to take the "aloha spirit" ad campaign a bit much to heart and are very disillusioned when they find out that Hawaii is not the cutesy-sweetsy paradise portrayed in the tourist brochures.

Sometimes it is also difficult for Caucasian newcomers to get used to the idea that they may not be in the majority. Oh well...

I am also blonde and caucasian. And getting along just fine ;-D.

Not to play devil's advocate, but maybe there were other issues?

Sorry your friend had such a negative experience here but, in all fairness, she was only here for a few months.