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Next year I'll be transferring to a new unit (for those of you who don't know, I'm in the Coast Guard) and I'll be at the top of the pile for picks. I can pick almost anywhere in the US or its territories that has a significant body of water and I'll probably get it.
I'm pretty torn (is multibivalent a word?) about where I want to go next year, so I'm trying to research my options. Hawaii keeps popping up when I talk to people. I'm tempted. It does hold this almost mythical status as an ideal place to be.
I can think of several obvious virtues of living in Hawaii: gorgeous weather, beautiful scenery, new territory. I can also think of several obvious negatives: far away from everything, living on an island can be confining, no seasons and no snow (I like snow), and lots of tourists.
But all this is based on TV, movies, and the like. I'd love any first-hand accounts. The possibilities are Honolulu, Wailuku, and Lihue. There's no telling if there will be positions open in Wailuku or Lihue for next year, but there's plenty of Coast Guard in Honolulu, so there'll definitely be something there.
posted
I'd say try to get Wailuku or Lihue, but that's just me. I wouldn't want to live on Oahu, but I know tastes vary.
Whether you'd like it here depends a lot on you... are you married with a family, or single and into clubbing? Do you like outdoor activities? What kind of COLA will you get with the Coast Guard?
Maui (and Kauai) is beautiful. The weather is almost always perfect. For the most part, the people are as friendly as can be. If you're into exciting night life, you'd probably get pretty tired of the neighbor islands (as Maui, Kauai and Hawaii are known). We have the best beaches and outdoor activities, but there's not much night life except in the tourist-y areas (where I seldom go, as I'm not into night life much myself).
Honolulu has a lot more shopping/nightlife/cultural events etc. I wouldn't want to live there personally, but I'm a small town girl. There are less populated areas on Oahu you could live, if you were so inclined, but travel is an issue and traffic is always a mess. There are WAY too many cars on that island. There is a decent bus system, though.
Living in Hawaii is wonderful. I've experienced things here I never thought possible.
It's also very expensive, isolated and vulnerable. Almost all of our food comes from off island. For example, there's only one remaining dairy in the state (on the Big Island) and one egg farm. So any threat to transportation (dock worker strikes, for example, or all the recent airline failures) cause a lot of anxiety.
And when I hear about gas going above $3 a gallon (or whatever it is on the mainland) I just laugh. I haven't seen it less than $3 in years.
The stores here tend to be poorly stocked and it's not at all uncommon for Safeway to be out of milk or other essentials. The threat of a longshoreman's strike in San Francisco will cause a run on toilet paper and rice... the shelves in the stores will be cleaned out in a day.
If you're single and want to have an amazing experience, will be living on base and don't have a family to provide for, I'd advise you to come here. Especially for a 3-4 year tour. You'll love it.
If you have a family to provide for, would have to live off base and deal with the island economy... I'd think a lot harder about it.
If you have more specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
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posted
I think the word might be "multivalent" instead of "multibivalent". I have no other contribution.
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Maui babe, I'm single and not into clubbing. I'm from a city but I love the outdoors and don't mind the idea of living in a small town.
If I got stationed in Honolulu, I'd have to live on base. At the other two, I think I'd live on the economy, but I'd get a pretty good housing allowance for that.
Most of what I've heard is in line with what you're saying. The worst part about it is that it's so far from all my family and friends. I don't think I'd have too hard a time convincing them to come visit me, though. (: I think it would be worth it for a few years.
Thanks for your help. I'm leaning heavily towards Hawaii. I don't have to decide until this fall, but it's hard not to think about it now. If I do get stationed there, you can be sure I'll have a laundry list of questions.
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posted
I'm not Hawaiian, but I love Hawaii and have been there a few times in the last 8 years. If you like the ocean (swimming, snorkeling, scuba, surfing, etc.) or a warm climate, that'd be the way to go. Personally, I prefer the outer islands rather than Oahu, but Oahu would be if you want to have access to all the things a big city offers. I think if you can replace or suppelement your love of snow with a love of the ocean, you'd be set.
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posted
As far as I know, public transportation is non-existent on Maui or Kauai. It's definitely the case on Hawaii, at least. You'd need to get a car, or at least a scooter or something.
TheBus (that's not a typo ) in Honolulu is pretty good as I remember.
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There's actually a fledgling bus service on Maui. It's pretty reliable for central, south & west Maui, but has limited service upcountry and to the West side. But, yeah, you pretty much need your own transportation.
I don't know about Kauai. I've always rented a car or had other work-related transportation arrangements there.
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quote:The threat of a longshoreman's strike in San Francisco will cause a run on toilet paper and rice... the shelves in the stores will be cleaned out in a day.
While this is true...
quote:The stores here tend to be poorly stocked and it's not at all uncommon for Safeway to be out of milk or other essentials.
This is not, or isn't on Oahu.
The housing bit may be very important, depending on how much money you make. You likely won't be able to find any place decent to rent cheaper than ~$500-600/month for shared housing on Maui or Kauai, and it's much worse in Honolulu.
I'm biased, being from Oahu, but be warned: the outer islands definitely suffer from small-town syndrome.
If you can, save up some money and visit, especially the parts of each island where you'd likely be living & spending time.
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posted
Yes, based on experience, I agree that the stores on Oahu are better supplied than here on Maui.
As far as rent goes, I think it's actually more here on Maui, based on what I pay vs. what my co-workers on Oahu do. It's crazy expensive throughout the state though.
We call it "small-island syndrome" (especially referring to folks from Molokai and Lanai). But it's all based on perspective.
If you come here, you should absolutely visit all the islands. I visit Oahu most often, since I have friends there and work for the state, but Kauai is magical. I've been to Hawaii (Big Island) twice, but only to the Kona side. I hope to get to Hilo someday. But Maui No Ka Oi!!!! <take that erso!>
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quote:As far as rent goes, I think it's actually more here on Maui, based on what I pay vs. what my co-workers on Oahu do. It's crazy expensive throughout the state though.
I was comparing Wailuku and downtown Honolulu; while I think, in general, Maui might be more expensive, there's no comparison between Wailuku & Honolulu.
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posted
"As far as rent goes, I think it's actually more here on Maui, based on what I pay vs. what my co-workers on Oahu do. It's crazy expensive throughout the state though."
Big Island is still pretty reasonable in a lot of places.
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I don't live in Hawaii but I have been there numerous times and am now living on a small tropical Island. Here are some questions I think you should ask yourself before going.
1. When you find a really excellent hiking trail, do you like doing it over and over again or would you prefer going somewhere you've never been before? Hawaii has some incredibly beautiful spots, but you will be on a small Island and it won't take you long to see most everything.
2. How prone are you to homesickness? When you travel do your find yourself seeking out people, foods and other things that remind you of home or are you content being immersed in the local culture.
3. When you find your self in a new situation or culture are you more likely to be critical of the differences or excited by them?
4. When you return from a vacation are you more likely to feel relief at being back on familiar turf or a let down at being back to the same old grind?
5. How flexible are your tastes and interests? If the food you like or the sport you like isn't readily available, will it be easy or hard for you to adopt the local way of doing things?
6. Does the idea of taking up a water sport (diving, sea kayaking, surfing ...) seem really exciting or maybe just like a passable substitute for skiing/snowboarding?
7. How much time and money will you have available to island hop or visit home?
8. How important are creature comforts to you? Can you handle living in a small place with weird roommates, bugs, mildew etc? The answer to that question is intimately tied to question 7.
9. What will your working schedule be like? Remember that in the tropics there are no long summer days -- the sun pretty much rises at 0600 and set and 1800 every day of the year. If you are working a standard 8 - 5 shift, don't expect you will be able to go out snorkeling or surfing after work.
10. How much trouble do you have suffering fools? Hawaii is over run with tourons (Tourists who forget to pack their manners and brains).
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
When you talk about small-town/island syndrome, are you talking about the people or the amenities?
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: 1. When you find a really excellent hiking trail, do you like doing it over and over again or would you prefer going somewhere you've never been before? Hawaii has some incredibly beautiful spots, but you will be on a small Island and it won't take you long to see most everything.
I definitely like exploring new areas. That is one of my worries about living on an island. Still a tour is only 2-3 years long.
quote:2. How prone are you to homesickness? When you travel do your find yourself seeking out people, foods and other things that remind you of home or are you content being immersed in the local culture.
I don't get homesick very easily. I love being at home with my friends and family, but I'm no stranger to travel and living in strange places and I love it. I will be spending the next year living farther from home in a much more alien culture. Which could make me homesick. Hard to say now.
quote:3. When you find your self in a new situation or culture are you more likely to be critical of the differences or excited by them?
I don't know. Excited, I think.
quote:4. When you return from a vacation are you more likely to feel relief at being back on familiar turf or a let down at being back to the same old grind?
Both. But since graduating high school, I've never stayed in one place long enough to have a home other than my parents' house, so it's hard to say.
quote:5. How flexible are your tastes and interests? If the food you like or the sport you like isn't readily available, will it be easy or hard for you to adopt the local way of doing things?
As long as I can find a quiet place to be alone when I need it and a good source of English-language books, I'll be fine. I love to try new things.
quote:6. Does the idea of taking up a water sport (diving, sea kayaking, surfing ...) seem really exciting or maybe just like a passable substitute for skiing/snowboarding?
I'm not overly attached to snow sports, I just like being in and playing in snow. I love kayaking and really want to try sea kayaking.
quote:7. How much time and money will you have available to island hop or visit home?
It should be within my ability to get myself home and back at least one a year. As for island hopping, I don't know. Depending on what type of unit I go to, that might be part of my job.
quote:8. How important are creature comforts to you? Can you handle living in a small place with weird roommates, bugs, mildew etc? The answer to that question is intimately tied to question 7.
As long as I have a clean bed, kitchen, and working bathroom, I'm good.
quote:9. What will your working schedule be like? Remember that in the tropics there are no long summer days -- the sun pretty much rises at 0600 and set and 1800 every day of the year. If you are working a standard 8 - 5 shift, don't expect you will be able to go out snorkeling or surfing after work.
Depends on which unit I go to. At a small boat station, which I'd like to try, the schedule is two days on (on patrol or at the station) and two days off.
quote:10. How much trouble do you have suffering fools? Hawaii is over run with tourons (Tourists who forget to pack their manners and brains).
This is probably my largest reservation other than being so far away from my family. I'm from DC, so I'm no stranger to tourists, but in DC I'm part of the local community. I'd hate to go to Hawaii and not be accepted (wrong word, but it's the closest I can think of) because people there are so tired of idiot tourists and the like. One thing I've missed moving around so often is being able to take part in a community.
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quote:Originally posted by Miro: When you talk about small-town/island syndrome, are you talking about the people or the amenities?
Some of both, actually, at least on Maui. Although we're the 2nd largest island in terms of land mass, we only have about 1/10th the population of Oahu. Everyone seems to know everyone, and possibly be a cousin of some sort.
Even me, a haole transplant since 2001. Since I work for the state, I work closely with other government agencies in emergency planning and response (including the Wailuku Coast Guard Station, BTW, which is actually in Maalaea, not Wailuku). Most government workers (state, county and federal) at least know who I am, and many know me well enough to know something about my family. My former husband worked for a social services company that contracts with the state, so that population knows me as well.
I don't find it oppressive... rather it's comforting in some ways. But some might not like it. Of course, it takes a while to get to that point, and if you're gonna be here for just a few years, you may not experience that.
As far as amenities, I mentioned earlier about the lack of merchandise in grocery stores. I believe erso when he says it's not the case on Oahu, but it's all too real here... and not just for food items. I've been frustrated time and time again when trying to buy the most mundane items - off the top of my head, I've had trouble finding large gauze bandages, men's cotton athletic shorts and drapery hardware in the last year or so. Since I work for the state, I travel to Oahu every couple of months on business and try to plan my travel so that I can shop while I'm there. I also do a lot of online shopping (especially for yarn - I'm an avid knitter).
But since we're a world-class tourist destination, there are wonderful restaurants, hotels and water sport rentals & schools(parasailing, whale watching, windsurfing, kitesurfing, snorkeling, scuba etc).
As far as hiking the same trails again and again, East Maui is quite "large" and there are certainly plenty of trails and hikes in that part of the island that it would take you some time to see them all... of course, they're all extremely breathtaking with waterfalls and bamboo forests and the like, but there's a LOT of them.
There's also other islands to see. There is ferry service to Lanai and Molokai (although there's precious little to do on those islands for more than a day or two). Airline fares are increasing, but still relatively affordable if you plan ahead. I paid ~$103 for a RT ticket to Oahu last week for travel at the end of this month. Of course, if you go to Kauai or the big island, you'll need to rent a car in addition to that, but there are good package deals available. I know Oahu and the Big Island also have military-only travel accomodations. I'm not sure about Kauai and I don't know of any on Maui, but I'm not in that loop.
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quote:Originally posted by Miro: 10. How much trouble do you have suffering fools? Hawaii is over run with tourons (Tourists who forget to pack their manners and brains). [/qb]This is probably my largest reservation other than being so far away from my family. I'm from DC, so I'm no stranger to tourists, but in DC I'm part of the local community. I'd hate to go to Hawaii and not be accepted (wrong word, but it's the closest I can think of) because people there are so tired of idiot tourists and the like. One thing I've missed moving around so often is being able to take part in a community.
If this is a large concern, I'd recommend Kauai or Maui over Honolulu. We get our share of tourons here, but it's easier to get away from them too.
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posted
My experience on Maui, Kauai and Hawaii (I've never spent time on Oahu) is that people are generally open and friendly. I don't expect you'd have much trouble being accepted as long as you use common sense and good manners. The most important thing seems to be to respect the locals rights and customs.
My husband and I aren't typical tourists, we like to hike, camp and bike tour. We calculated that between various trips we'd spent about 2 months in the Islands without ever staying in a hotel or condo. We have now stayed in hotels now but that was as participants in scientific conferences and not actually as tourists. Camping in the Islands we've rubbed shoulders with locals and natives quite a bit and all our experiences have been positive. We've learned quite a bit about some of the local issues. Property rights are a big issue among the natives. There are on going court battles over property ownership ranging from battles with C&H and Dole to battles with travel book publishers who've made invalid claims about what is public and what is private property. However we've found that people are generally open about you hiking across or camping on private property as long as you ask permission. They do however really want you to ask permission. If you don't know who owns the property, ask a neighbor and they will almost certainly be able to tell you. On several occasion we've been hanging with very friendly Hawaiian natives who after a while began regaling us with bad touron stories.
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posted
I just realized I never gave you guys an update. When it came time to submit my list, the only available units (for me) in Hawaii were in Honolulu. After much consideration, I put two on my list, but not at the top. I was lucky enough to get my top pick, which was a small boat station in Bellingham, WA. It might seem a far cry from Hawaii, and it certainly is weather-wise, but from what I've been told it's a very outdoorsy and cool place. It has the advantages of seasons, snow, and of not being isolated. I've lived on a small island for almost a year now (though I spent most of my time underway), and I'm ready to be connected to the mainland.
Thanks for all your help and advice. I still want to visit Hawaii someday.
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