12 Reasons Y'all May Non Want to Move to Hawaii

Here's where we effort to talk you out of paradise by telling you some major reasons you should non move to Hawaii. Typically, nigh everything we write nearly the islands is through a positive lens – nosotros talk about the amazing, the awesome, the glowing aspects of living life in the Hawaiian Islands.

IS Information technology ALWAYS Like THAT?

If you read fifty or so articles on our site, are you going to have an overly optimistic view of what life in Hawaii is all about and be surprised when you get in and it isn't like you expected?

Maybe.

Reason #1 you should not move to Hawaii: There'south a good gamble you lot'll exist living at what feels like poverty

The "middle course" in Hawaii lives at what their mainland counterparts would consider poverty levels.  Many family work several jobs, live paycheck to paycheck, have substandard (by mainland comparison) housing weather condition, very little expendable income and at whatever moment are living on the financial edge.

Put it only, in Hawaii every bit of 2019 you lot demand to exist earning at least $150k a year to have what on the mainland can be had for $75k/twelvemonth. And if yous have a larger family unit, you'll need more and possibly a lot more income.

If y'all're going to live in Hawaii, you need to exist prepared to live a lifestyle of comparative poverty.  If you lot tin can stay here for the long term you can piece of work your way up, but on day one exist prepared to live a vastly downgraded lifestyle. Unless you're already a multi-millionaire.

Reason #two you should not movement to Hawaii: One of the worst places to showtime a business organization

On diverse rankings, Hawaii nearly always comes at the bottom of the list in terms of starting a business. If you've dreamed owning a business organisation, Hawaii is going to arrive many, many times harder for you to succeed. Information technology's not impossible though every bit Hawaii has thousands of successful small family businesses.

It's but that you volition have a much, much harder time starting and running a business hither than almost anywhere else.  If the business concern is in a regulated industry, y'all'll have to deal with very long streams of crimson tape.  And one time you get past that, you lot'll need to build trust and respect in the community to get customers and that becomes a big catch-22:  You need customers to build trust and respect but you need trust and respect to get customers.

Reason #three you lot should not move to Hawaii: Almost the bottom in public education

Hawaii has one of the largest capacity (per-capita) of private schools in the nation and that's because parents try to avoid Hawaii's public schools if they can.  Hawaii'south public schoolhouse system usually sits near the bottom of various national rankings.  In 2018 WalletHub ranked Hawaii #39 overall and #43 for "Quality".

The problem with private schools is that due to high demand, information technology's expensive.  In 2021 you lot can expect to pay around $17k/year per student.  If you accept two children, yous're talking $34k/yr and that'southward after taxes so about $45k-$50k/yr of your gross income will go to paying for private school.

Then combine this with the $150k income to offset and you're up to $200k/twelvemonth in gross income. And we haven't even talked near buying a house all the same.

Reason #4 you should not movement to Hawaii: Pay is below national averages despite much college cost of living.

Because anybody wants to live here and is willing to work for less (absolutely this is just our guess and not a data research-backed conclusion), the result is that jobs here pay much less than their mainland counterparts. Expect a 20% cut in pay or more from what yous're making on the mainland.

So you really end up taking a double-hit: get-go you get injure due to a much higher cost of living than nearly any other urban center and so yous get whacked with a pay cutting.

Many people from large mainland cities say that Honolulu'south cost of living is like to where they live which is truthful, but when those people compare what they will be paid to practice the same job in Honolulu they are understandably shocked by the pay cut.

Hawaii has the high costs of big mainland cities with pay scales of small isolated towns and that's a double whammy that's hard to swallow.

Reason #5 you should non motility to Hawaii: Offset time home ownership nearly impossible

would you pay over a million for rainbows? some will but but many see it as another reason not to move to Hawaii

This was the view I was greeted by in the morning as I came out the door to head to work in Paia, Maui from our abode in Honokowai (Kahana). Image Copyright CyberCom, Inc.

In 2021 the median price of a unmarried family unit home on Oahu was $830,000 and for a condo it was $435,000.  Do the math.  Unless yous can put downwards $166,000 and behave a $664,000k mortgage for a home (and that'southward a "median" home) or come up with $87,000 and comport a  $348k mortgage for a condo, fuggetaboutit.

So either you have to brand a really loftier income with very petty expenses or you lot have to already have a abode that you can sell that has sufficient disinterestedness.

As a result of these sky-high prices, most centre grade folks in Hawaii must rent and those rents get up every year due to ever-climbing existent estate prices.

Reason #6 you should non move to Hawaii: Traffic is really bad

Various national reports testify Hawaii's traffic equally some of the nation'due south worst.  We know of friends that moved to LA from Honolulu and they think Honolulu is worse.  The freeways look similar parking lots during rush hours that can stretch a ordinarily 30 minute commute into a ii 60 minutes clamber. Every workday. On some parts of Oahu people accept to go up at 5am to get to work by 8am. No lie.

What's really bad about the traffic is that it'south extremely peaky.  If your travel time can flex from 30 minutes to 2 hours, what time do you get out the business firm to get into town past 10am?  Who knows?  This forces yous to go out early on and then you might get in actually early, on-time, or late.  This wastes a lot of fourth dimension and makes one desire to avoid driving whenever possible.

Only wait, at that place's more than.  Here's the existent kicker:  because our mostly mountainous islands accept few highways, most locations on the island are just attainable from a single highway.  When we go the occasional big highway accident, the entire island chokes on traffic. There take been some horror stories of people taking 8 hours to get home.  It doesn't happen often but it does happen.

If you don't like sitting in traffic, yous'll either demand to live actually close to where you work which typically ways much higher housing costs or work near where you alive which typically ways much lower paying jobs.

Reason #7 you should non move to Hawaii: Fewer choices, less competition, poorer service, higher prices

Because of Hawaii's disincentives, at that place is less competition for anything in our pocket-sized, closed market.    Less competition is almost always bad for consumers and here it applies to much more than but high prices.  Companies just don't have to try as hard to win your business, creating for many a "have it or leave it" approach. This lack of competition too permeates our politics: Hawaii is a single party state, featuring the lowest voter turnout in the nation.

This all contributes to an attitude of apathy for many.  For a while there was a popular bumper sticker "Ainokea!" (pronounced middle-no-kay-ah) which is local slang for "I no care".

You would think our conditions would be ripe for modify and consumer defection, simply in Hawaii our Aloha Spirit culture creates a shrug-and-behave-it type of mental attitude.

Reason #8 yous should not move to Hawaii: You may not recover from the civilisation shock

If you're caucasian (locally called "Haole" [How-lay]) and raised with traditional American / Western values you are well-nigh guaranteed to be in for a huge civilization shock.  While Hawaii is ane of the The states, it'due south about equally far abroad from the U.s.a. culturally as is information technology geographically.   Consider this: Hawaii's Statehood vacation (i.e. "celebrating" the day Hawaii became a country) is never celebrated (or even recognized!)  past elected officials at whatever level and is nigh always met with protests past those who believe Hawaii was illegally overthrown and illegally annexed past the United States.

Once you get over the passive/ambitious anti-American attitude, you'll so have to acclimate to a social culture which is founded on a cute Hawaiian value system of Aloha, credence, and 'ohana (family) that combines with a potent Asian influence that brings with it an interesting mix of duty, laurels, and extremely cliquey circle social circles.

Once you get past that, you'll accept to be forever comfortable that y'all're the "low man on the totem pole" in terms of racial minorities. All in Hawaii are minorities just there is a pecking club.  Hawaiians are on the top of the heap, followed past other Polynesians, then Asians, and finally the Haoles.

In summary, if y'all can handle an anti-American airtight gild embracing pan-Pacific cultural values where haoles are the on the bottom of the social pecking order, you'll do fine.  Most mainland haoles never get past this.  Those that do have have learned to cover its benefits (the Aloha Spirit, the not-materialistic values, the beauty of racial multifariousness, and the Japanese "Samurai" code of honor) while non letting the downside bother them.

Reason #9 you should not move to Hawaii: Y'all'll e'er exist an outsider

It doesn't matter how well you've integrated with Hawaii's culture; you'll e'er be the "mainlander" and if you're haole, fifty-fifty more so.  It won't matter if you married "local", have been Hanai'd ("ha-well-nigh") by a local family (to Hanai is to prefer i into a family), had mixed-race children, have done countless good works for Hawaii and have lived here for nigh of your life. Too bad so sad you're still a mainland haole.

Dissimilar the United states of america mainland where you lot're either  a New Yorker, Chicagoan, Californian, Georgian or whatevers, in Hawaii yous will never be more a Hawaii resident. The only people that will call you "Hawaiian" are those that are absolutely clueless.

What does this hateful, really?  It ways you volition have to completely allow become of your Western self and completely embrace your new Hawaiian islander self.  You must be similar Lt. John Dunbar who comes in every bit an American soldier to a remote output and "turns injun", becoming "Dances with Wolves" in an Native American Indian tribe and long longer speaks English or identifies by his American name.  If you tin can be Dances with Wolves, you'll practise fine. If yous insist on remaining Lt. John Dunbar, information technology's but a matter of fourth dimension earlier you'll demand to go out.

Reason #10 you should non move to Hawaii: Everything is really expensive

If it costs money, it volition toll a lot more than you're used to paying.  Nothing here is cheap. Even locally produced goods price a ton more.  1 interview with a local cattle rancher revealed that it'due south cheaper to ship calfs from Hawaii to the mainland, heighten them there, then ship them dorsum for the slaughterhouse than information technology is to raise them on Hawaiian lands.

If yous can't purchase it in the stores, you lot'll accept to ship information technology. Amazon'southward free aircraft has been a godsend for Hawaii (and you'll honey that Amazon Prime membership!) but non everything is on Amazon (at least yet) so for whatever special order items yous'll accept to await a long time and pay a whole lot of shipping costs. And even on Amazon, at that place are many items that only ship to the "Continental United States" which means Hawaii is out of luck.

Why are things and so expensive hither? Information technology's not because everything has to exist shipped in, which it does, but rather a cocktail that consists of:

  • High existent estate prices (which affects warehouse and retail costs)
  • High regime overhead (taxes, regulations, etc)
  • Low competition
  • Higher than normal shipping costs due to the Jones Human activity which requires that all shipping from the US mainland arrives on U.s. flagged ships.

Hawaiian islanders get used to it until they become to the mainland for a trip and just and so realize the "Paradise Revenue enhancement" that we accept to pay.  Visitors to Hawaii demand simply take ane trip to the grocery shop or whatever restaurant to experience farthermost sticker shock that us islanders have just come to accept.

Reason #11 you should not move to Hawaii: Everything is really crowded

Annihilation in Hawaii that becomes fifty-fifty somewhat popular immediately becomes overcrowded.  This perhaps may be more than acute on Oahu than the other islands but the underlying fundamentals are similar.  Notice a good eating house? You'll have to wait for an hr. New product annunciation? Lines around the cake. Large concert in town? Sold out in an hr. Big shopping auction at the mall? Yous'll never find parking. Big upshot anywhere? Traffic backed up for miles. Big surf outcome? Yous tin can't get near the place.

This miracle is probably the effect of a combination of these factors:

  • Loftier population density
  • Footling multifariousness results in high demand for new things
  • Bored with status quo of things to do
  • Cultural acceptance of waiting in very long lines

If you don't like long lines or crowds, this is obviously not going to piece of work for you. The way we islanders deal with this is either encompass it by making the long camped out lines part of the fun of the event itself (if you can believe that), or if possible, wait until the craze subsides and so participate, though this latter approach doesn't piece of work well for brusque-term events similar concerts. 1 visitor summed up their feel: "It's hot, crowded, and expensive".

Reason #12 you should non move to Hawaii: No road trips

one of many reasons not to move to hawaii

No route tripping hither on the island! credits Kaique Rocha https://www.pexels.com/photo/asphalt-countryside-empty-grass-105234/ used under Pixels license with permission.

One of many things mainland Americans take for granted is the amazingly awesome fun of a road trip.  We're not going to become into great detail here about how much fun that is because you lot either know or y'all don't.

The best thing you can do in Hawaii is an "around the isle" trip and we put that in quotes considering y'all really can't become around whatsoever of the islands due to terrain. And then in reality what you end upwardly doing is driving across the island and and then back.

It's fun, gorgeous, varied, and scenic.  But information technology's the same road and the aforementioned scenery each time. It's however beautiful only you can only do it so many times.

For those that enjoy road trips, you are really going to miss this if you lot move to Hawaii.

Still reading? You get a bonus 2 more than reasons why you should not move to Hawaii

Reason #13 you should non motility to Hawaii: Visiting family on the mainland is really expensive

The high cost of mainland travel is another reason to not move to Hawaii

You'll probably be going to the aerodrome to pickup family unit than to travel yourself. You'll probably exist going to the drome to pickup family than to travel yourself.
Hawaiian Airlines A330-200 by Haklion is licensed nether CC By 3.0. Epitome may have been resized or cropped from original.

In 2019 it's about $600 round trip to San Francisco and $900 to Chicago or New York.  So for a family of 4, you're looking at $ii,000 to $three,200 just to get off the isle. Add in $200/night for hotel, $75/twenty-four hour period for machine and a ii week vacation starts adding up to around $10,000.  And we're non talking most any trips away.

Visiting family volition probably price you a lot less as y'all'll end up staying at someone's house but you'll still have to pop for airfare, probably auto, and definitely eating out.

Either way, mainland trips are something you really have to think about long and difficult considering it's going to cost you. What ends up happening over time is you go less and less, growing always more distant from mainland family unit. For some, that's a not bad benefit.  For others, it's heartbreaking. Over fourth dimension for many, it's a dealbreaker.

Reason #14 you lot should non move to Hawaii: Less food multifariousness

Before Costco came to Hawaii this was a lot worse only we all the same don't get anywhere near the food variety that you encounter in similarly-sized mainland cities.  Surprisingly, our fresh fruit selection is not very good. While we have good local supply of pineapples, bananas and papayas, fruit that has to be shipped in is rarely ripe and either overripe or underripe.  Peaches are the best example: we only get really sweet and juicy peaches for perhaps two-iii weeks out of the twelvemonth with substandard selection subsequently that.

Restaurants are a trouble too.  Hawaii has a large selection of Asian-centric restaurants only later that information technology falls off the cliff. Italian, Greek, Mexican, Pizza and the like are sorely lacking.  And don't even try asking for locally popular foods similar Philly Cheesesteaks and Chicago Italian Beef sandwiches.

If yous beloved Asian cuisine and seafood (especially sashimi), you'll be in heaven.  Just great [anything else] restaurants? You'll be lucky if you find a tiny handful of the rest and how many times tin you go to the aforementioned Italian restaurant?

Should y'all move non move to Hawaii? Despite all that, we're still here!

Share this folio with anyone you know that lives in Hawaii and they will have piddling to disagree with. But, guess what? They are still hither and so are we! Why?

Piece of cake!  We beloved the positives and the negatives don't matter that much to us.  This of course is an individual choice and only you lot can weigh out your own internal equation.

And so now that you lot've read the bad, it'south time to read near the good.

Should yous move to Hawaii? Notice out and take the quiz.

Still here? What practice you think? Take nosotros changed your mind? Let usa know in the comments beneath