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  • #16
    Re: Leaving Paradise...

    One of the first friends I made here was an engineer. He had moved here around the same time I did. Now he'll be moving back to the Mainland in a month, due to his Honolulu company treating him so shabbily. My friend hasn't had a single raise in the almost three years he has been here, all the people hired at the same time as him quit within a year of being hired, and the company chose to give him more and more responsibilities to make up for those who left, forcing him to pick up the slack, as well as compensate for the inexperience of the new hires. My friend warned his company that he was going to look for a new job, and it wasn't until he had an interview lined up on the Mainland that the company belatedly offered him is overdue raise. It's a matter of too little, too late, however...obviously the company didn't believe him when he said he was ready to leave, and now my friend and his wife are reluctantly packing to leave the island and move to AZ.

    It's sad that companies in HI choose to lose good employees like my friend, knowing full well that there are plenty of other young Mainland engineers fresh out of college who will jump at the chance to move to HI--it's a constant source of new workers without the "hassle" of providing them with raises.

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    • #17
      That's sad

      Young engineers are behind the 8-ball for a number of reasons. There's no union or sense of decency among bosses so you can work ungodly amounts of hours (I used to average 60 hrs a week at a mechanical engineering firm before I went to govt). You don't get much value to an engineering company unless you get either a) a Professional Engineering license or b) some significant time as an engineer where you can develop a decent name for yourself by running jobs or getting clients. Plus, how many places you know will willingly give a raise unless it is set by some system? Often you need to go somewhere else or threaten to get something. It is sad to see engineers go but these engineering companies can act like buttheads because there are more engineers willing to take the place of the last one who left be it from here or the mainland. So is the marketplace for engineers.

      From what I also know most companies here (and anywhere else) would rather hire anyone with some sort of local ties. There is much more of a chance for the local kids to stay here. PHNSY has had to hire some mainland engineers. Usually they are the first to go as well. The people with some Hawaii ties are ususally but not always more likely to put up with more crap cause they want to stay here for family reasons. I've met a number of engineers at PHNSY who hate what they do but stay at PHNSY because the job pays the bills and they get to live in Hawaii.

      Best of luck to all of us young professionals. It is tough to start off. On one hand you want to be a good professional and work hard to become good at what you do. On the other hand you want to have a life. Me and my fiancee think of this all the time. I've gotten offers from mainland companies but I decided to stay in Hawaii. I have started to change my mind and will look at some of these mainland companies again and others in states we might consider moving to.

      I would hate to leave. I love this clmate, the fact I get to see many friends from college, my family and this is my home. But to live in a place where the climate is okay but you have a better job, that's something to consider.

      To have to work two jobs to live here....that is tough..those of you who do it are amazing..you wonder if you have to work so hard and put with so much..do you get to enjoy the paradise you live in...when does it stay worth it to stay here...But man do I love Hawaii cause it is our home for better or worse.
      Last edited by saigonwarrior; August 17, 2005, 10:49 PM.

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      • #18
        Very torn

        You can also never totally leave. A piece of you stays behind and longs for home even after you leave. I think if I left I'd be going to L&L and getting food from Zippys.com way too often.
        Last edited by saigonwarrior; August 17, 2005, 10:53 PM.

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        • #19
          Re: Leaving Paradise...

          Originally posted by Miulang
          No matter how far away you get from the 'aina (both in time and distance), you know there will always be "something" tugging at you, otherwise, you would not visit HT, yeah?
          I was reminded of HT when Ryan spoke endlessly about it on his HawaiiUP podcast, and I posted because not everyone who's from Hawaii would necessarily want to move back. Hawaii is still very much frozen in time for me right around 1996, when things weren't too rosy. While I like hearing about what's happening now, I usually end up feeling better about having left.

          I won't rule out ever living in Hawaii again, but if it turns out I never move back, I don't think I'll be less for it.

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          • #20
            Re: Leaving Paradise...

            Originally posted by NemesisVex
            I was reminded of HT when Ryan spoke endlessly about it on his HawaiiUP podcast, and I posted because not everyone who's from Hawaii would necessarily want to move back. Hawaii is still very much frozen in time for me right around 1996, when things weren't too rosy. While I like hearing about what's happening now, I usually end up feeling better about having left.

            I won't rule out ever living in Hawaii again, but if it turns out I never move back, I don't think I'll be less for it.
            My point was, regardless whether you end up moving back to the 'aina or not, you will always have a part of you that's there. If it only means checking up on what's happening there periodically, you still want to know what's happening there. And that's as it should be. I was the same way when I left Maui to come to the Mainland for college. Swore I'd only visit occasionally but never return to live...here I am today, after way too many years, contemplating making that move back in about 5 years. Never say never. Just continue to say maybe.

            A hui hou,
            Miulang
            "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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            • #21
              Re: Leaving Paradise...

              Originally posted by Miulang
              Never say never. Just continue to say maybe.
              I prefer to say unlikely.

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              • #22
                Re: Leaving Paradise...

                Originally posted by NemesisVex
                I prefer to say unlikely.
                You've only been gone from Hawai'i since 1996. Wait about 20 or 30 years from now...

                Miulang
                "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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                • #23
                  Re: Leaving Paradise...

                  Originally posted by Miulang
                  You've only been gone from Hawai'i since 1996. Wait about 20 or 30 years from now...
                  Setting aside the dismissive way you project ...

                  I imagine there are people from Texas who still keep up with what's happening in Texas without ever wanting to be in Texas. I think it's possible to be connected to a place by maintaining distance, and my connection to Hawai`i is strengthened by the fact I don't live there.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Leaving Paradise...

                    I've met plenty of people from Hawaii who never want to come back. Whether they've been gone three years or thirty. Many of them are from Hilo.

                    Just as well. More space left for the rest of us.

                    That said, I miss NemesisVex. You might not miss the place, but please say you miss at least a few people!

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                    • #25
                      Re: Leaving Paradise...

                      I left Hawaii to go to college, and then didn't return because it was best for my career to be on the mainland. However, I miss Hawaii. I will always consider it my home. When we come home (usually once a year), my kids just fit in to the lifestyle here. Heck, they look totally local. My boy's skin turns a gorgeous golden/brown and his wavy hair looks good in the humidity. He loves to go boogie boarding, to string plumeria flowers, to eat shave ice. His naturally gregarious and kind disposition are much more appreciated in Hawaii than on the mainland. The ladies in the stores all seem to really take to him. My daughter is easy going, moves slowly, and loves being near her grandparents and aunt and uncle. Her naturally wavy ehu hair is not out of place here as it is in Seattle. The sun feels differently back home in Hawaii. The air is fragrant. I didn't really notice it or think about it until I moved away and then came back to visit. I swear that I can smell the fragrance of flowers wafting through the air on the freeway as I'm leaving the airport and going towards H3 (maybe I passed by lei stands and didn't realize it, lol). Being back home nourishes my spirit in a way that nothing else can. I am looking forward to long walks on the beach at sunset, to hiking in Nuuanu, to seeing my husband and children happy in the environment. Just 15 more hours!
                      * I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. *
                      - Anna Quindlen

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                      • #26
                        Re: Leaving Paradise...

                        The Drums of the islands and Flowers await you and your family back home! 8/25/2005!

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

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                        • #27
                          Re: Leaving Paradise...

                          Originally posted by NemesisVex
                          my connection to Hawai`i is strengthened by the fact I don't live there.


                          wot da hell!?

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                          • #28
                            Re: Leaving Paradise...

                            Originally posted by kimo55
                            wot da hell!?
                            If Hawai`i comes up in a conversation I have with someone here on the Mainland, I'll talk at great length about it, and I may even say something positive. And I can afford to because I'm not dealing with the crap that makes living in Hawai`i difficult.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Leaving Paradise...

                              Every place has it's pros and cons. Most have some characteristic that's undesireable. I'm just curous: what would be the "crap" you speak of that makes Hawaii such a difficult place to live? Is it the obvious, like cost of living and limited career opportunities or is there something more you would add?

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                              • #30
                                Re: Leaving Paradise...

                                Nope. I'm talking about the obvious stuff. I characterize it as crap because, well, it is. If it shouldn't be characterized as such, how should it be described?

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