The Price of Paradise
To anyone thinking of moving out here, I have some advice:
DON'T.
But then, I ought to qualify this a bit.
If you are rich or retired, and don't want to do much more than hang out at the beach, okay, this place is fine for you.
If you are a young student who is physically active, and loves to party, okay, this is fine for you too.
If you are a middle class commuter-type with a mortgage and a family, then disabuse yourself of the notion of ever living here.
Living here requires a certain amount of nonchallantness about things like:
Racism - It is everywhere, and it's all anti-white. (Mainland Haoles need not apply.)
Intelligence - logic does not exist here, nor would they want such mainland ideology.
Efficiency - It's true what they say about island life, infuriatingly true.
Politeness - common courtesy does not exist in the land of "aloha"; try making your way through Pearl City Sam's Club, and you'll see what I mean.
Professionalism - This was tossed overboard with Logic, down next to the Aloha Tower.
A Decent Wage - High prices are a given, but decent pay to make ends meet? What haole- think!
Credentials - Did you get an MBA from Harvard? Too bad, you lost the job to a Punahou High School grad!
Ease of Travel - "Try wait" is a common bumper sticker here. Sitting in H1 traffic for two hours every day has shown me the unintended wisdom of that phrase.
Cleanliness - This place is a dump. Abandoned cars and all manner of appliances, a total lack of a recycling program, and no emissions standards whatsoever. Again, a clean environment is mainland haole thinking.
Quiet - Big, thudding bass coming out of a microscopic Honda or even a gargantuan Escalade; this is as ubiquitous as it is annoying. Tell them to turn the noise down and have some respect for other people and you get to see that bald-faced racism again.
Police - They are all in Waikiki, making a good showing for the tourists. Central Oahu, with a population of well over 180,000, has about 19 officers, and one ambulance. It's shameful.
Quality of life - surprisingly, it is very low. You'd think that on a tropical island, you'd get paradise. Not here. Too much is wrong, and the attitudes of "local" people make it all that much worse.
After 5 years living and working amongst these people, I'd have to say that, for the most part, I'm unimpressed. I've lived in worse places, but this place is almost just as bad, and in some ways, sets new standards for deplorable.
But you can't beat the weather.
DON'T.
But then, I ought to qualify this a bit.
If you are rich or retired, and don't want to do much more than hang out at the beach, okay, this place is fine for you.
If you are a young student who is physically active, and loves to party, okay, this is fine for you too.
If you are a middle class commuter-type with a mortgage and a family, then disabuse yourself of the notion of ever living here.
Living here requires a certain amount of nonchallantness about things like:
Racism - It is everywhere, and it's all anti-white. (Mainland Haoles need not apply.)
Intelligence - logic does not exist here, nor would they want such mainland ideology.
Efficiency - It's true what they say about island life, infuriatingly true.
Politeness - common courtesy does not exist in the land of "aloha"; try making your way through Pearl City Sam's Club, and you'll see what I mean.
Professionalism - This was tossed overboard with Logic, down next to the Aloha Tower.
A Decent Wage - High prices are a given, but decent pay to make ends meet? What haole- think!
Credentials - Did you get an MBA from Harvard? Too bad, you lost the job to a Punahou High School grad!
Ease of Travel - "Try wait" is a common bumper sticker here. Sitting in H1 traffic for two hours every day has shown me the unintended wisdom of that phrase.
Cleanliness - This place is a dump. Abandoned cars and all manner of appliances, a total lack of a recycling program, and no emissions standards whatsoever. Again, a clean environment is mainland haole thinking.
Quiet - Big, thudding bass coming out of a microscopic Honda or even a gargantuan Escalade; this is as ubiquitous as it is annoying. Tell them to turn the noise down and have some respect for other people and you get to see that bald-faced racism again.
Police - They are all in Waikiki, making a good showing for the tourists. Central Oahu, with a population of well over 180,000, has about 19 officers, and one ambulance. It's shameful.
Quality of life - surprisingly, it is very low. You'd think that on a tropical island, you'd get paradise. Not here. Too much is wrong, and the attitudes of "local" people make it all that much worse.
After 5 years living and working amongst these people, I'd have to say that, for the most part, I'm unimpressed. I've lived in worse places, but this place is almost just as bad, and in some ways, sets new standards for deplorable.
But you can't beat the weather.
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