If you had a good job offer in Hawaii, would you move there? Why or why not?

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who moved there for work. She said that she misses the seasons and it's a long trip home to DC.

[Anonymous]

A good friend of mine recently moved back to the mainland after being there 3 years. Her DH was a Marine stationed on Oahu. They lived in a pretty nice house on the base, but otherwise she said they couldn't afford to live there. After 3 years they were completely ready to move back. They just got really homesick after awhile and missed being able to see family relatively easily. They felt like their kids did not know their grandparents at all. Distance to family is a huge consideration. People did not even visit them as often as they had imagined because it is just so far and so expensive. They have younger kids (6 and 8), but she is a homeschooler and said she would never put her kids in the schools there. There is a huge homeschooling contingent in the military on Oahu because of this.

[Anonymous]

Oops. That should be kids ages 6 and 8.

[Anonymous]

OP, I grew up in FL as well and my DH and I have been to HI twice and absolutely LOVE it! We could easily see ourselves living there. We also have an old high school friend that moved there with the Army, met her husband there and never left. They have both since left the Army, but stayed in HI and work as govt contractors now. They have no plans on leaving.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Honolulu, and I want to provide a different perspective. It is true that non-Asian members of the military are looked upon differently by locals. I think that this is due to the fact that the reputation of soldiers is not exactly sterling. Younger, less educated soliders are often seen in tourist spots drunk, rude, and spew racist remarks while encroaching upon young Asian women. So, there is a distance that locals will keep between themselves and these visitors. I do think that more established military officer families have an easier time if they manage to find housing in family-friendly neighborhoods in Kailua and Kaneohe.

As for schools, the public schools are pretty bad. But, if you can get your kids into Iolani or Punahou, you are golden. These two private schools are competitive with good mainland private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My best friend moved to Hawaii five years ago and loves it. She lives in a beautiful suburb of Honolulu (Kalama Valley) and has a wonderful life. She's very happy there, and we loved it when we visited. For us the issue is that it's just too far from our families on the East Coast.

(My friend doesn't have children so she doesn't have to deal with the school issue, so I can't speak to that. I do know there's an amazing private school -- the one Obama went to when he was younger. Forget the name.)

Punaho- GREAT school-tuition is @15K a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"To make a long story short: both my friend and her mom moved back to the US after 18 months or so. I guess paradise isn't for everyone. (And ditto the comments about everything being expensive and not fitting in like a local.)"

Very wise.

Um. Hawaii is the U.S. Seriously?

[Anonymous]

wonder if the schools or the culture is different on the big island or maui? i.e., other than Honolulu.

I was in Honolulu about 5 years ago and found the schools to be really, really liberal. Almost offensive the thinks they had on their boards about President Bush and the Iraq War. I found that surprising given the large number of military families on the island.