A while back I wrote a two part post about my dislike for living in Hawaii. I received an email from a reader asking me to do a video about Hawaii and living there, so I am with some hesitation discussing the topic again.
Disclaimer: These are my opinions and mine only. I am merely sharing my thoughts to a reader’s question!
Check out my video response below. (All links mentioned in the video are listed below it)
httpv://youtu.be/XpWHpQi5-VI
One Army Wife’s Hate For Hawaii
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Army Wife 101
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries. 6 Comments on Ask Army Wife 101: Hawaii Rehashed…Why I Hated Living In Hawaii
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Hey Krystel,
we lived in hawaii from 2007-2010 and i totally know what you mean! we lived in mendonca park in a crappy house, we had mice and all these other bugs in the house! my husband had to get a second job becuase nobody wanted to hire me, i got told at old navy because i’m white and i’m also german. i don’t know if it was just us but we had a hard time finding friends it seemed like everybody wanted to stay by themselves and if they came by the house they always wanted something. and like you said there is alot to do in hawaii but you also need alot of money! the only thing that is free is the beach and there are a few great ones if you know where to go. we were so glad to finally leave the island and to go back to germany.
Melanie
TRUE !!!!
I watched your video, and honestly, your opinion was horrible because your experience of Hawai‘i was inadequate. Maybe if you got off the couch, and actually tried to make a connection to the ‘āina, then you would’ve liked it maybe. You can’t take advantage of Hawaii’s true beauty if you simply just “live” there. If you’re stuck indoors, or only wandering into Ala Moana, it’s your loss, and please do not criticize Hawai‘i Nei. Maybe next time, get out of the house (with your kids), take them snorkeling at Pūpūkea, or maybe go hiking up Haiku trail located at the back of Moanalua Valley. Probably even learning the history of Hawaiʻi would be a great idea. Drive up Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout and read about the ferocious battle that happened there. Visit Bishop Museum and learn about the culture of Hawai‘i. Research how the islands were united together by one ruler, King Kamehameha I. Read our Hawaiian legends, they’re as exciting as Roman or Greek legends. Go to ʻIolani Palace and learn about the history of our Hawaiian Monarchy and what happened before Hawai‘i was illegally overthrown. Charles Reed Bishop, founder of Bishop Museum, was married to Hawai‘i’s beloved Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. They were both founders of Kamehameha Schools (there are three campuses, Maui, Oahu, and Hawai‘i island) and the Bishop Estate, the largest corporate land owner in Hawai‘i.
There are many things to learn about in Hawaiʻi. I think you should explore them further.
(By the way, the ‘backwards apostrophe’ and ‘weird line over the u’ are called the ” ʻOkina” and “Kahakō”. They are part of the Hawaiian alphabet and are a big part of ʻŌlelo Hawai‘i.”
I loved Hawaii. I love the laid back attitude of the people and the ohana sense of the island. We lived in Iroquois Point and there we banked almost 800. off our BAH alone. The whole racial thing I never had a problem with maybe because we lived offpost. Maybe I loved it so much because im originally from the beach…FL. its definitely a different lifestyle =)
We lived in Hawaii from September 2008 to September 2011… We JUST PCSed to Fort Hood. There are some good things about Hawaii and there are some “meh” things about Hawaii… But that is something that can be said for ANY duty station that the Army has. I agree that if you are not “outdoorsy” then you are not going to be able to fully enjoy what Hawaii has to offer. Being originally from California and leading and already laid back lifestyle, my family fit right into Hawaiian culture. We never experienced ANY issues with being “haole” and we even spent a year living in Sea Country out Waianae side. It is expensive to live in Hawaii, but with COLA and the commissary and a working budget, it’s doable. Luckily LAX (the airport local to our family back home) is a hub and flying in there is cheaper than if we were from somewhere, say, in the midwest. That’s an advantage that we had for being able to afford to go home and see family more frequently than most military families living on the island. For us, we loved the weather, we loved the people, we loved the culture, we loved the food, we missed the mainland terribly. To be able to eat at all the restaurants that are advertised on cable TV in Hawaii, but not actually franchised in Hawaii, is awesome! To be able to get in our car and drive for 5 hours and be some place new is awesome! We just bloom where we’re planted!
Bottom line is….Hawaii is suppose to be a tropical island. Away from the hussle and bussle of city life. Which the REAL natives enjoy! “Island” meaning a small piece of land in the middle of the pacific, not a connecting mass of land with borders or bridges. WE don’t like smog and crap. Though now that we have more mainlanders moving here and trying to make this like the mainland. If U want a mainland atmosphere, then stay in the mainland! But NO, they come here and take funds that are meant to upkeep properties and buildings and use it to build new ones so the ones that were already here fall to disarray and end up looking like crap! So now the people that were ORIGINALLY from here are losing their homes and lands and some have become homeless. We are now over populated and the reason why shit is outrageously expensive is because we have more people than we have resources. Water, Electricity are all going up because there’s not enough. Everything is shipped here! Now we need to ship more things here, so now it’s more expensive. This State needs to put a cap on outside people moving here!!