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Abstract

ed as a separate nation, but instead, native Hawaiians are regarded as wards of the state.</p><p id="b1bc">Today there is a movement among the locals called the<i> Sovereignty Movement</i>. They (native Hawaiians) are protesting for Hawaii to become autonomous and have power restored to themselves.</p><p id="ebc8">Being a Caucasian living in Hawaii sometimes makes me feel like my presence here is wrong. I, myself, have never experienced discrimination, but I know others who have.</p><p id="1601">Still, I see the upside-down Hawaiian flags waving on the back of trucks protesting the wrongs done, and it is a reminder of the disenfranchisement to the local population.</p><h1 id="cc97">It’s Expensive</h1><p id="f0ba">Hawaii is a costly place to live. It is also an expensive place to move to and from. The average cost of a house in Hawaii is USD 800,000, and the industry does not support salaries to afford them. A starting first-year teacher in Hawaii makes $35,000.</p><p id="4528">In Oahu, you are considered “low income” if you make less than$ 67,500 a year, and that is for a single person without a family to support. The food here is also costly, even shopping on base. A pack of strawberries that would cost $2.00 on the mainland can cost$ 5 or more here.</p><p id="94ed">Gas is more expensive, and air conditioning is a costly luxury. Many places that will ship furniture for free to the mainland, will either not ship here at all, or charge the same for shipping as the item itself.</p><p id="50bd">Homelessness is also a significant issue in Hawaii, and with a lack of affordable housing, I don’t see any easy solution for it.</p><h1 id="db33">The Schools</h1><p id="86e6">I won’t say too much about the schools because, besides one year at the schools here, I have always homeschooled. Hawaii is the only state in the country that does not have schools funded by property taxes.</p><p id="d122">The result of not having that funding is that the schools here are always struggling to meet the budget. The school buildings are old and falling apart.</p><p id="9d23">The schools cannot afford to pay teachers a living wage, which results in a chronic shortage of talented teachers. The education system here is unfortunately not competitive with other states as far as academic rigor.</p><p id="7568">If

Options

you decided to send your children to a private school, you would be spending upwards of $15,000 minimum for them to attend per year per student, and that’s on the cheap end.</p><h1 id="3eb5">Traffic</h1><p id="d7f2">Traffic can be unreal. I look at it as an impenetrable wall and avoid it at all costs. The island of Oahu is a small island with 1,000,000 people living on it. There is only one main road that goes from the East Side of Hawaii, where everyone works and attends the university to the west side where many live.</p><p id="e290">You can expect gridlock traffic every morning and every evening across the island. Hawaii is building a rail that will hopefully alleviate some of the traffic, but it started in the year 2010, and as of June 2020, it is still not open.</p><p id="4951">When the first section finally opens, it will not be a portion of the railway that will alleviate most of the significant traffic, so I don’t expect traffic to be reduced any time soon.</p><h1 id="c37b">Island fever</h1><p id="69ed">Island fever is a huge factor for me. I love to travel and see new places, and Hawaii is the most geographically isolated place in the world. It is costly to go anywhere, even to another island.</p><p id="686b">It is especially costly if you have a big family to buy tickets for. Not only that, but any place that you do travel will also be a very long plane ride, and if you have small children, that makes for a miserable flight.</p><p id="ce21">Sometimes I feel the urge to take to the open road, and it just can’t happen on this small island. I can drive around the island in 2 hours (as long as it’s not peak traffic time), and everything looks the same.</p><h1 id="a637">Final Thoughts</h1><p id="7e58">These are some of the reasons that I wouldn’t say I like living here, but of course, <a href="https://readmedium.com/an-insiders-view-of-living-in-paradise-61a659e47fce">it’s Hawaii, so there are many things l love that I shared in a previous post.</a></p><p id="86bb">I want people to know that living in Paradise is not always what it seems, and the grass is truly greener where you water it. I am grateful for the opportunity to have lived here for five years, and I am sure I would want to visit again, but it is not somewhere that I would want to stay forever.</p></article></body>

An Insider’s View of Living in Paradise

The downside of living in Hawaii

To live in Hawaii to many can seem like a dream come true. Many people idealize Hawaiian life as one of a perfect and gorgeous paradise.

While it is true living here is an amazing experience, there are many reasons why I would not want to stay for the long term.

Our family has lived here for a total of five years; three of my children were born here. We have many beautiful memories, and I wrote an article about all of the good things about living here in this post.

For the purpose of this article though, I wanted to share why living here is not ideal, and why I will be happy to leave when our time is up.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Local tension

I think it is essential to start here. To explain all of the details of this tension is for another article for another day. However, many Americans don’t fully know the truth of how Hawaii became the 50th state. In a nutshell, it was stolen.

It is the only state in the nation to have a palace that once sat a ruling monarch. It also has the only indigenous people in the United States who are not recognized as a separate nation, but instead, native Hawaiians are regarded as wards of the state.

Today there is a movement among the locals called the Sovereignty Movement. They (native Hawaiians) are protesting for Hawaii to become autonomous and have power restored to themselves.

Being a Caucasian living in Hawaii sometimes makes me feel like my presence here is wrong. I, myself, have never experienced discrimination, but I know others who have.

Still, I see the upside-down Hawaiian flags waving on the back of trucks protesting the wrongs done, and it is a reminder of the disenfranchisement to the local population.

It’s Expensive

Hawaii is a costly place to live. It is also an expensive place to move to and from. The average cost of a house in Hawaii is USD 800,000, and the industry does not support salaries to afford them. A starting first-year teacher in Hawaii makes $35,000.

In Oahu, you are considered “low income” if you make less than $67,500 a year, and that is for a single person without a family to support. The food here is also costly, even shopping on base. A pack of strawberries that would cost $2.00 on the mainland can cost $5 or more here.

Gas is more expensive, and air conditioning is a costly luxury. Many places that will ship furniture for free to the mainland, will either not ship here at all, or charge the same for shipping as the item itself.

Homelessness is also a significant issue in Hawaii, and with a lack of affordable housing, I don’t see any easy solution for it.

The Schools

I won’t say too much about the schools because, besides one year at the schools here, I have always homeschooled. Hawaii is the only state in the country that does not have schools funded by property taxes.

The result of not having that funding is that the schools here are always struggling to meet the budget. The school buildings are old and falling apart.

The schools cannot afford to pay teachers a living wage, which results in a chronic shortage of talented teachers. The education system here is unfortunately not competitive with other states as far as academic rigor.

If you decided to send your children to a private school, you would be spending upwards of $15,000 minimum for them to attend per year per student, and that’s on the cheap end.

Traffic

Traffic can be unreal. I look at it as an impenetrable wall and avoid it at all costs. The island of Oahu is a small island with 1,000,000 people living on it. There is only one main road that goes from the East Side of Hawaii, where everyone works and attends the university to the west side where many live.

You can expect gridlock traffic every morning and every evening across the island. Hawaii is building a rail that will hopefully alleviate some of the traffic, but it started in the year 2010, and as of June 2020, it is still not open.

When the first section finally opens, it will not be a portion of the railway that will alleviate most of the significant traffic, so I don’t expect traffic to be reduced any time soon.

Island fever

Island fever is a huge factor for me. I love to travel and see new places, and Hawaii is the most geographically isolated place in the world. It is costly to go anywhere, even to another island.

It is especially costly if you have a big family to buy tickets for. Not only that, but any place that you do travel will also be a very long plane ride, and if you have small children, that makes for a miserable flight.

Sometimes I feel the urge to take to the open road, and it just can’t happen on this small island. I can drive around the island in 2 hours (as long as it’s not peak traffic time), and everything looks the same.

Final Thoughts

These are some of the reasons that I wouldn’t say I like living here, but of course, it’s Hawaii, so there are many things l love that I shared in a previous post.

I want people to know that living in Paradise is not always what it seems, and the grass is truly greener where you water it. I am grateful for the opportunity to have lived here for five years, and I am sure I would want to visit again, but it is not somewhere that I would want to stay forever.