It’s that time of year again, where I am starting to fantasize about going back to the US and resuming my career/not feeling essentially stuck in a rut teaching English to kids here. Between California and Hawaii, I feel like Hawaii is the better option for my wife and I. There seems to still be quite a few job opportunities in Honolulu, and the culture there is more similar to the culture in Taiwan, compared to LA. Not to mention Hawaii seems much safer and the public transportation is…less bad.
Has anyone else had an experience of going back and forth between Hawaii and Taiwan, or moving from Taiwan to Hawaii? What has your experience been??
Honolulu or LA, both with horrendous traffic almost require a car, unless living, working, eating, breathing all within walking distance of each other, which is difficult to do on Honolulu, unless living in, near, around Waikiki or maybe Chinatown and downtown areas, which isn’t the greatest area to live.
Public transport by bus in Honolulu is doable and lots of people rely on it going shorter distances. Longer distances, rush hours, arg… less time to enjoy Hawaii.
Living expenses will go up in Hawaii, and not as easy as Taiwan to live on smaller budget.
If only adults and no kids, wanting to enjoy life more, Honolulu, but takes effort for daily living so can enjoy Hawaii life.
I have lived in another, much less developed island of Hawaii (compared to Oahu) in the past, so I certainly know the gist of Hawaii living. It definitely is one of the more expensive places to live in the US and many people work full time + to survive
If you have experience on other islands, what (may I ask) is the attraction of Honolulu? Unless I had specific work there, I doubt that would be my choice as it doesn’t exactly look like the best organized place in Hawai’i (i.e. it looks a bit like a sprawling mess, at least to this outsider).
Honolulu is the largest city in Hawaii and has the most job opportunities.
Kauai was a nice place to live for a bit, but it really has a small town feel with not much room for career development. It really is true that 99% of the buildings there are “no taller than a palm tree”.
Out of all the places to go in Hawaii, Honolulu seems to be the best combination of job opportunities + developed infrastructure.
Let me add some positives and negatives right off the top of my head.
Positives
Super clean air - Trade winds blow daily and keep the skies clear with the most beautiful blue skies and very low humidity. Every 4-6 years however, there is a weather pattern called The Doldrums where the trade winds stop for a couple weeks and the humidity feels just like Taiwan and is suffocating. The skies are grayish and it’s really sweaty.
Super clean environment - No billboards, no tall signs, no garbage on the beaches, clean water, ocean views, mountain views, all postcard qualities.
Warm weather - All year round sunny and warm/hot. Outdoor activities abound from surfing, bodyboarding, swimming, kite boarding, scuba, hiking. Shorts T-shirt and flip flops is the uniform of the day.
Relaxed lifestyle - None of the hustle and bustle found in other big cities like LA or New York. Island time is anytime.
Beaches - Everyday is a beach day with BBQ, beer and ukes.
Negatives
Cost of living - Insane.
My friend bought a two bedroom condo in Waikiki without a view for $450,000 USD about 10 years ago. His monthly condo fees are $1,000 USD per month with no swimming pool, no garden, no BBQ area. There’s only the small lobby next to the elevator and the secure parking lot. You want a real house on a lot? Then you’re going to need lots of money. Another buddy rents a real shit hole of a house on its own piece of land on the Windward side (Kaneohe) for $4,000 per month. He could buy it, but the owner wants 1.5 million for it. Trust me, it’s shit.
Food is ridiculously priced whether at a restaurant or at a grocery store. Fruit, vegetables, meats, milk, expensive as hell.
Auto-repair - Expensive as hell. All cars need to pass an annual inspection and unless your car is super new, there will always be issues that need to be fixed before you can pass the inspection $$$$.
Educational system - Public system has been known to be shit for eons. I don’t know much about private schools, except that they are really expensive.
Traffic - Insane. You really need to plan your travels based on the gridlock. The last time I was back was in 2015. I bought a sports car for the month I was there and I was a bit pissed off that it was an automatic transmission versus manual because sports cars need to be manual. But, I was thankful because the traffic was absolutely nuts.
Crime - Super huge deal nowadays. Car break-ins on a daily basis. My friend in Kaneohe has had his truck broken into at least 5 times. Once at 11:30 am on a Sunday and he caught the guy in the act. Crystal meth and other drug addictions are allegedly to blame for all the crime.
If you want to live in Hawaii or Honolulu, you better have a super great paying career. When I was there I lived off my US government subsidies. I receive a housing allowance which paid for my mortgage in full, I received extra pay called COLA (Cost of Living Allowance), I was able to shop on all military bases for my groceries, clothing, etc which are subsidized and untaxed. Except for going out for dinner, I never spent any substantial money outside of the military bases. Why spent more money for the same thing that is cheaper and untaxed?
Why did we sell our condo? After our last visit, I realized that Honolulu was no longer the Honolulu that I loved and missed. Crime, homelessness, drugs, theft, cost of living, insane traffic, etc. So, we sold our condo and said goodbye. I didn’t plan to return except to maybe have a short vacation on Kauai, Maui or Lanai. But, my Marine buddy is dying from cancer, so I need to go see him before he checks out. He lives in Kaneohe on the Windward side, so I’ll avoid Honolulu as much as practical.
Unless you are super wealthy or super gainfully employed, I can’t recommend living in Honolulu or pretty much anywhere on the island of Oahu. If given the choice between Taiwan or Oahu, I choose Taiwan. You hear that @gain?
Agree. Food cóst was shockingly high when I visited a couple years ago. The cheap eats like fast food start at 15 dollars. Restaurants were much more. For 2 people we were spending well over 100 USD per day for food. Trying to buy groceries was also eye openíng. A regular tomato and onion cost 7 dollars. Definitely not a cheap place to live.
Epic post. Love the thought you put into this and how you lay out the situation as you see it. It’s like reading forumosa before people got “smart” phones and starting forumosing on them.
I heard the locals don’t really like whities and blow-ins in Hawaii, is that true ? I can’t blame them if super rich outsiders like Zuckerberg buy up all the prime property and prices sky rocket.
I would also like to visit and BUY a sports car for my visit. Why not?
I lived there for a short time in the '90’s. Meth was already a problem there. It had come over from the US west coast before it had even spread to the Eastern US. But yeah, worst part of Hawaii for me were the local low-lifes. A real chip on their shoulder. Hardly any of them have any Hawaiian blood in them. Many second and third generation Philipinos driving their big 4×4’s with bumper stickers saying Hawaii for the Hawaiians. Basically losers caliming to be oppressed Hawaiians when, in fact, they are not. Much worse in Maui than Oahu. At least that was my experience a long time ago. I doubt that it’s gotten any better though.
I lived in Oahu for a few years. I can live anywhere I want in the world because I’m a digital nomad, but between Taiwan and Hawaii I’d pick Taiwan (hence I’m here).
You can try Kaneohe. It’s a suburb 20-minute drive from Honolulu. If you’re considering the actual city of Honolulu, then I’d say just stay in Taiwan.
