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Thinking about making the move to Molokai

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  • #16
    Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

    Originally posted by susie View Post
    1stwahine,
    I am so sorry I sounded harsh to you. You seem like a very nice lady and I never meant snap at you like that.
    I must say I was getting a bit frustrated/disappointed in the kinds of responces I was getting.
    No need to apologize. We ohana ova hea at HT.

    1stwahine.
    Be AKAMAI ~ KOKUA Hawai`i!
    Philippians 4:13 --- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

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    • #17
      Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

      I haven't lived there but I did go there every year for work, so I do know the people both who worked there and those who didin't.

      The island is basically divided in three sections: The North end of Kalaupapa Home of Father Damien and the leprosy colony he ministered to, The West end where there is mostly Hawaiian Homestead land sparsely populated by the last of the rural Hawaiians who don't like outsiders, and the East end where it is mostly populated by those who are considered the outsiders that made the move anyway.

      Kaunakakai which is the main town in Molokai sits at what I call the Mason-Dixon line of Molokai, where east meets west. It's their commerce area where both sides of the island must meed in a cordial way in order to mutually survive on this island. There is a general market there if you can call it that. Produce that isn't farmed there is brought in by ferry from Maui. Meats are brought in the same way.

      Because of that Meats, Produce and Dairy products aren't always fresh. That's why most of the West-enders hunt for most of their food and rely on freezing their supply of Goat, Pig, and Deer meat. Fish is abundant there but you got to know someone to find the good fishing spots.

      When you go visit someone on Molokai, one of the best gifts you can get them is a cooler of fresh food. The West end has no markets so food has to be literally transported in from Kaunakakai, if you can find food to buy. The store shelves empty out as fast as they are filled.

      Unlike the mainland, going shopping is more than a drive away, it's a ferry ride to Maui then you can buy your goods. Molokai is very limited in what they offer in both perishable and non-perishable items. They have the true mom and pop sundries stores there with a very dusty small town (Kaunakakai) to facilitate it.

      On the East side, it's a bit more modern but mostly it's a mix of wealthy caucasians who made Molokai their island resort, and quite a few eccentric people and activists. Not the Molokai most of us would like to see it become.

      I live on the Big Island where it's size allows a really great way to live off the grid simply because water service, phone service, electrical service are not available in some of our rural communities. Sometimes during heavy rains, the gravel roads that service some of these remote communities are washed out or flooded. That's rural. Many farmers markets here so getting fresh produce is not a problem. The nice thing about the Big Island is, like the mainland if you need to do a major shopping errand, there is Target, Best Buy, Costco, Walmart, K-mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Sports Authority and a host of other big box retailers to satisfy your retail needs.

      Plus there are your smaller retailers such as Longs Drugs, Payless Shoes, and other smaller national chains here as well as fast food outlets such as McDonalds, Ruby Tuesdays and others.

      The size of the Island means an hour's drive from rural remote to urban sprawl with two huge mountains (Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa) that keeps the country country! You can get an extreme rural sense out here on the Big Island where chasing pigs out of your property is a daily chore.

      Molokai is pretty much for the residents of Molokai and typically a great place for visitors to come to to unwind, however you don't want to live there unless you know someone there already unless you want to be labelled an outsider despite living there for many years.

      A perfect motto for Molokai? Welcome to Molokai...when does your plane leave? That tells it all in a nutshell. Big Island however welcomes all.
      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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      • #18
        Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

        I lived on the West End of Moloka'i for 3 months years ago in a training program. Not very scenic on the West End. Much has changed since then and I have nothing of value to report on the conditions today. Times were much simpler then, no ferry to Maui. The grocery store was a 10x20 wooden shack. The movie theater in Kaunakakai was open air sitting on wooden benches. The restaurant was Dairy Queen where we could buy Saimin soup. Yes we did meet the Cockeyed Mayor while there. We went camping on the East End, nobody out there. I dunno, maybe not much has changed since then.

        I would just recommend that you rent on Moloka'i for a year before you sell the farm in Iowa. You would have to be a very hardy soul to make a simple life on Moloka'i.
        Peace, Love, and Local Grindz

        People who form FIRM opinions with so little knowledge only pretend to be open-minded. They select their facts like food from a buffet. David R. Dow

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        • #19
          Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

          Originally posted by matapule View Post
          I lived on the West End of Moloka'i for 3 months years ago in a training program. Not very scenic on the West End. Much has changed since then and I have nothing of value to report on the conditions today. Times were much simpler then, no ferry to Maui. The grocery store was a 10x20 wooden shack. The movie theater in Kaunakakai was open air sitting on wooden benches. The restaurant was Dairy Queen where we could buy Saimin soup. Yes we did meet the Cockeyed Mayor while there. We went camping on the East End, nobody out there. I dunno, maybe not much has changed since then.

          I would just recommend that you rent on Moloka'i for a year before you sell the farm in Iowa. You would have to be a very hardy soul to make a simple life on Moloka'i.
          Molokai hasn't change by very much. I've lived in rural America in Mountain Home Idaho years before WalMart moved in and can vouch that Molokai is rural to the point where they can make a movie about it and it's people.

          If you're visiting and keep that status, locals there are really friendly. They always wave at you and will go out of their way to show you the island and introduce you to their family, and in Molokai everybody seems to be family. At least on the west end where the homesteaders are. But once you tell them, "wow I love this place so much I want to live here" suddenly you're outcast and off you go to the east side.
          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

            Doesn't Molokai also have a problem with the lack of medical and dental services?

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

              Originally posted by susie View Post
              All kinds of advice and opinions are appreciated...I love hearing opinions, too. Even the negative ones are interesting.
              Originally posted by susie View Post
              Just give me all the opinions you can...
              Originally posted by susie View Post
              Please don't post suggesting that I am completely starry eyed and ignorant.
              Originally posted by susie View Post
              I must say I was getting a bit frustrated/disappointed in the kinds of responces I was getting.
              So...do you want honest responses, or just ones that tell you what you'd like to hear?

              Susie, I think the key thing that's coming through from folks here is that nothing compares to an actual visit - no amount of internet research, book reading, googling or movie watching.

              It sounds like you've already been doing quite a bit of research, so you've made a great start. Asking questions (like you are doing here) will also help you out - but you can't just reject the responses that disappoint you.

              In your first post in another thread, you said you recognized how expensive it is to visit Hawai`i, and that's a big reason why you've not yet done so (though I have no doubt you will). As expensive as it is to visit, it's even more so to move there and to live there as a resident.

              Let the negative aspects come at you; take them in, realize that they are not meant to scare you off, but to strengthen you for what you will experience. If you can work your way through all the hardest and harshest aspects of considering such a move, you stand a better chance of succeeding if you finally follow through on your goal.

              Oh...and regarding "Pidgin To Da Max"? When you do visit Hawai`i, don't, under ANY circumstances, try to speak pidgin based on what you've learned from that book. It'll help you to understand some of what the locals are saying - but trying to speak it when you didn't grow up with it will make you enemies faster than almost anything else!)

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              • #22
                Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                What's your website?

                Another thing you might want to investigate is how reliable the 'net connections are out there so you can maintain your site efficiently, and to check out if there's any issues with shipping and receiving goods. You are going to need to be able to get your products out and your supplies in.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                  Originally posted by acousticlady View Post
                  You say you are from Iowa or Missouri. Either one is a place I have absolutely no idea about other than it is land-locked in the middle of the country. All I picture is flat corn fields and Dorothy (sorry Leo and whoever else is from there - chalk it up to cultural ignorance ).
                  That's funny, AL!

                  As I mentioned earlier, those of us who didn't grow up in Hawai`i have heads full of misconceptions about that "paradise" state. It's hard to accept that we've been fed a lot of it, cleaned up and Disney-fied, from the State's own visitor's bureau - and that Hawai`i is a very different place than what we thought. Takes a lot of work to shake those off - but it's the people of Hawai`i (those still there and those who moved away) who help us to get the truth into our heads.

                  And cultural ignorance runs both ways. A lot of people think the same things you do about Midwestern states - no offense taken by me. Yep, many parts of Iowa are largely flat (though "gently rolling hills" can be found in much of the state - think of Grant Wood's famous paintings with the round trees); LOTS of corn fields, and soybeans, and pig farms, and cattle; but Dorothy is from Kansas (which, along with Nebraska, is mighty flat). As is the case everywhere, there is much beauty to be found, in both the landscape AND the people.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                    Originally posted by susie View Post
                    [...]I really want to live somewhere rual[...]
                    You're getting really good, honest advice here so I won't offer more of the same. I do have a curiosity question, however. I've noticed your use of the word "rual" throughout your posts and am curious if that word is used in place of "rural" in the midwest. I'd never seen the use of "rual" before. Again, just curious...

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                    • #25
                      Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                      What Hawaii represents to so many...an island paradise...so does Iowa to we of the agricultural bent. I've been to Iowa numerous times, and I have to say the land there has to be some of most fertile and arable land I ever seen on Earth. Not at all a bad place to be, winters notwithstanding, if you're an old farmboy like me.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                        Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                        So...do you want honest responses, or just ones that tell you what you'd like to hear?


                        Oh...and regarding "Pidgin To Da Max"? When you do visit Hawai`i, don't, under ANY circumstances, try to speak pidgin based on what you've learned from that book. It'll help you to understand some of what the locals are saying - but trying to speak it when you didn't grow up with it will make you enemies faster than almost anything else!)
                        I do want and appreciate all the opinions and advice, positive and negative. I just am disappointed, as I bet anyone would be, that most of what I am getting is negative.
                        And regarding "Pidgin to da Max". I would never attempt to speak pidgin, I bought the book because it seemed interesting and it does come in handy to help me understand what folks are saying.



                        Originally posted by tutusue View Post
                        You're getting really good, honest advice here so I won't offer more of the same. I do have a curiosity question, however. I've noticed your use of the word "rual" throughout your posts and am curious if that word is used in place of "rural" in the midwest. I'd never seen the use of "rual" before. Again, just curious...
                        I am a horrible speller. I realize that when the only way we get to communicate is through typing back and forth bad spelling makes me seem unintelligent or uneducated. It helps if you don't judge me based on my spelling errors. Every one has their flaws.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                          I see on the bottom of the home page, that 'Molokainews' is our newest member. Maybe they will print our posts in their newspaper!

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                          • #28
                            Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                            Originally posted by Sharilyn View Post
                            I see on the bottom of the home page, that 'Molokainews' is our newest member. Maybe they will print our posts in their newspaper!
                            I have a friend who lives on Molokai who was recently followed by someone with that exact Twitter account name. (Molokainews) I looked the account on Twitter and I'm not quite sure what its purpose of is. Seems the owner of this Molokainews account does a lot @ replies and RTs.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                              Originally posted by susie View Post
                              As far as reversing the question... The town I lived in in rual missouri could not possibly be compared to rual Hawaii. There were around 150 people there. There are no beaches there. The climate is harsh most times of the year. There is very little natural beauty aside from a few muddy creeks and rivers. Most people I knew back then don't even live there anymore. If a Hawaiian family moved there, we probably would have been astounded on why they would have wanted to come here of all places from Hawaii of all places. But, nonetheless, I don't think most folks would've been unkind to them.
                              Like all analogies, mine has its flaws. My point was that you could take the view of a Molokai resident hearing your announcement that you're making Molokai your new home.

                              Originally posted by susie View Post
                              What I hear you telling me is that the locals will hate us for coming, and we will not be socially excepted, and that I probably won't make it because of this. If its so bad, why do you all love it so much? Why is it so unbelievable that I would love it too, in my own way?
                              Are all 7000 people on Molokai people who were born and raised there? Is it impossible to transplant there and be happy? I know I wasn't lucky enough to be born and raised in Hawaii, but does that mean I can't be happy if I move there?
                              Well, now I think you're stuffing words in my mouth. "Hate"? No. "Unkind"? Nope. "Cynical & skeptical'? You bet. "Slow to be socially accepted"? Absolutely.

                              Keep in mind that you'd be the latest in a long line of outsiders who've decided to make Molokai their home... and 99.9% of those outsiders who preceeded you have already left because they couldn't find what they were seeking.

                              It's not "bad" here, just different. When my spouse's parents moved here to watch their grandkid grow up, we spent a lot of time explaining local culture & practices. They'd spent a month or two here every year for over a decade. They should've known what they were getting into.

                              But when they tried to impose their expectations of their daily lives on this place, they never acculturated. They couldn't handle local cuisine. "Pidgin" was equated with "uneducated". Any misunderstandings between them and locals were caused by Hawaii's "poor public-school system". They couldn't make day trips. (?!?) They were always telling people what it was like on the Mainland, never asking how it was on Oahu. After a 30-year career in TV news, they thought local commercials were hilariously crude.* Politics was just so provincial & unsophisticated compared to four decades near Washington, DC. The newspapers were so inadequate compared to the Washington Post. They missed being able to visit Civil War sites and going on Elderhostels. They missed Southern cuisine (whatever that meant to them). Shipping expenses were so ridiculously high. Roads were so poor. The traffic was so bad. (?!??!!) Everything was better on the Mainland.

                              They gave it six years (about five years longer than they should have), they left over two years ago, and we're still recovering from the drama.

                              Cost them a lot of money, too. They sold their house and put the money in CDs, but real estate doubled while they were gone. Then they bought back in at the top of the market and, in their 70s, found themselves applying for a mortgage.

                              Not, of course, that I'm implying any of their experiences apply to you. Only you can discern that. But they're just one example of the progression from fantasy through disillusionment to reality.

                              My spouse and I have "only" lived here for 20 years and our kid has been raised here. After living all over the world, we appreciate Hawaii for having what the rest of the world (including the Mainland) lacks. We accept the flaws. We enjoy the nature and the culture the most, and we have as many friends as we can handle. But there's always a line drawn here between "local" and "not local", knowing that we lack the roots and family. We might move away any day to take care of our parents or to someday see our own grandkids, leaving our "local" friends to find a new set of friends.

                              You could be happy here. But in my opinion you have no basis in experience or reality to make that assessment. And as you've said, you have a lot of visiting to do.

                              Originally posted by susie View Post
                              I know that there is a stereotype about newcomers. There have been a lot of suggesting that I will come and not know what I have gotten myself into and be miserable.
                              This is why I'm talking to you all. So I can get some questions answered and know all that I can so I would know what I am getting myself into. Please don't post suggesting that I am completely starry eyed and ignorant. I may have a few stars in my eyes, but I'm not irrational.
                              And I do want to come to visit. It will just take some time.
                              I've watched hundreds of families move here over the last couple decades, and we've watched dozens more go through the process on this board. I'm one of the more outspoken posters who will air my disagreement with your opinions while others choose to say nothing. Frankly I think it is "starry eyed and ignorant" to suggest in your very first post that Molokai might be the place for you. If you don't like the answers, then why ask the questions? Before getting prickly & defensive about the responses, let alone shooting the messengers, you should spend a few months experiencing what people are telling you. Then maybe, unlike now, you'll appreciate the different perspective.

                              * (Tutusue, I'm talking about Lex Brodie's animated caveman and Garrick Paikai's "No can. Can?!?" character. My father-in-law's career was with CBS as a camera operator/technician.)
                              Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                              Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                              We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                              Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Thinking about making the move to Molokai

                                Originally posted by susie View Post
                                I do want and appreciate all the opinions and advice, positive and negative. I just am disappointed, as I bet anyone would be, that most of what I am getting is negative.[...]
                                You are getting HONEST input and that, after all, is what you want...isn't it?
                                Originally posted by tutusue View Post
                                You're getting really good, honest advice here so I won't offer more of the same. I do have a curiosity question, however. I've noticed your use of the word "rual" throughout your posts and am curious if that word is used in place of "rural" in the midwest. I'd never seen the use of "rual" before. Again, just curious...
                                Originally posted by susie View Post
                                I am a horrible speller. I realize that when the only way we get to communicate is through typing back and forth bad spelling makes me seem unintelligent or uneducated. It helps if you don't judge me based on my spelling errors. Every one has their flaws.
                                Susie...please reread what I wrote. Nowhere did I judge you. I was sincerely curious if the word "rual" might be a regional spelling as your spelling is otherwise fine throughout your posts. Nowhere was "unintelligent" or "uneducated" assumed or even implied. Hawaii is full of local words that outsiders don't understand and spellings that differ from the norm...eg: rubbah slippahs=rubber slippers, li'dat= like that. I could go on and on.

                                You've asked questions and you're not getting the answers you want so now you're getting defensive. That attitude won't fly when you're physically located in Hawaii. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that you might easily have a tough time adjusting to Hawaii, in general, not just Molokai. I know you don't want to hear that but your defensiveness and unwillingness to see answers and advice from locals as honest vs negative are great indicators, imnsho.
                                Originally posted by Nords View Post
                                [...]
                                * (Tutusue, I'm talking about Lex Brodie's animated caveman and Garrick Paikai's "No can. Can?!?" character. My father-in-law's career was with CBS as a camera operator/technician.)
                                Like any other region in the country, we have our share of inexpensively produced commercials that, well, show it!

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