Leaving Paradise...

[Rickyrab]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Question: why is the economy so sour over in the 'aina, and what would you want to do about it if you were, say, governor?

[Miulang]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Question: why is the economy so sour over in the 'aina, and what would you want to do about it if you were, say, governor?

The economy's going gangbusters (lowest unemployment rate in the country). Problem is with the high cost of living and low wages. Quite a few individuals have to work at least 2 jobs in order to survive, which is about all that you can do if you're working 12-16 hours a day.

Miulang

[DaveNSoKona]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Well gang, It's for real we are leaving paradise...



Help the new owners of Kona Mist Coffee (of Hawaiian ancestry) feel at home by ordering lots of great coffee...once they get up to speed and the harvest comes in.

[1stwahine]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Good Luck, God Speed, visit us often!

Happy Holidays to you and your family DaveSoKona!

Auntie Lynn and family!!!!

[Miulang]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Good luck Dave! May you and your family have a peaceful and prosperous life in Oregon.

Miulang

[AbsolutChaos]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Here's an article that backs up the alarming housing rental situation on Oahu...makes me terrified to even attempt to look for a new apartment, even though my current one is no longer suiting my needs anymore...

Housing costs lift rents out of reach, study finds

[Lisheous]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Oh, 1stWahine,

I know exactly how you feel. My husband and I left for 2 reasons, he missed his family so much and for financial reasons. He has been away for 18 years and our rent was so sky high. ($1250) He made pretty good money as a US postal carrier, but that was going to rent, food and bills and not much left to have fun or go out on family outings. I worked at the Grosvenor Center on Bishop st. for a brokerage company as a secretary. So we actually lived from paycheck to paycheck, I did pretty good, but it still wasn't enough.

My husband thought we could do better in the mainland, because the cost of living was cheaper and so were the homes there. We have bought a new home for $19,000, yes, at an auction. We paid for it in 9 years. We now bought another home and rent our first home, which pays our mortgage. We bought our new home on sale for $122,000, very spacious with 3,000 sq ft.(originally 140,000), comes with an acre of land, if it was compared to the homes back there, it would probably be worth almost 7 or $800,000. It used to be our former Pastor's home in a upper scale neighborhood. I would love to email you some pictures of it sometime. The food here is very reasonable and there are lots of dollar stores. The chinese restaurants are not as tasty as back home, they don't know what "won ton min" is or manapua LOL! I miss eating at Lin's, Liliha Times Square.

But I do miss home and the local drive in's. I'm lucky that I can afford to come home very year after 7 years, I have lived in VA for over 10 years. We are pretty much stable now as far as financial wise and very happy where I want to be in life. Praise the Lord.

We can live comfortably and eat well. A whole chicken here is $2.00, cheap yeah, a loaf of bread is .78 cents, king size. I don't' work, I have 6 children, my first 2 girls are grown, a paramedic in the Air Force and the other one is a flight attendant for PACE Airlines. Then I have 4 children that are still in school. As a matter of fact my parents lives at Kauluwela's condo. near Times right across Kukui Gardens, I was raised at MWH. So we were neighbors of a sort. I looked at your profile and you're the same age as my sister, Francine Castillo, maybe you may know her.

Anyway, I don't mean to go on and on, atleast I can communitcate with my homies back home now. So glad to have found this site. Thank you for listening! Enjoy the rest of your day!

*Melissa*

[Miulang]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

We can live comfortably and eat well. ...I was raised at MWH. So we were neighbors of a sort. I looked at your profile and you're the same age as my sister, Francine Castillo, maybe you may know her.
*Melissa*

Wow! Local girl does good on Mainland! Just goes to show, no matter how far away you go or how long you've been away, you still cannot take memories of small kid times in Hawai'i away from us expats.

Welcome to HT, Melissa. You going have good fun here, especially now that Auntie Lynn knows you one MWH alumna!

Miulang

[Shan-n]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Thank you Auntie Lynn for posting this topic! I was born in the mainland but came to Hawaii when I was about 11. My father came to Hawaii to visit a really good friend. Well he loved Hawaii so much he moved our family here a year later! I went to public school here on the windward side truly have always felt like a local girl! Some of my friends say I am a local girl trapped in a haole girls body I still live with my father and we have been in the same house since we moved to Hawaii.

Well I am a single mom of an 8 yr old son and although I have a pretty good job I have been considering relocating to the mainland (Washington State) for the past year. I am familiar with Washington as I visit there about 2 times a year. The cost of living here in Hawaii is just too expensive. I am 28 and want to buy a house by the time I am 30. I CANNOT do that here in Hawaii with the cost of a house averaging $605,000 !! But if I move to Washington then I would have no problem. I could rent a house here in Hawaii for the rest of my life but with the cost of rentals nowadays I just can't justify it. I also could wait for prince charming to come sweep me off my feet but I am not holding my breath hahahah!!

I am extremely nervous about the thought of moving as Hawaii is all I have known. My son isn't exactly happy at the thought of moving but he understands that life may be better there. So here I am looking at the pros and cons of leaving the place I love, the only place I really know, the place my son was born and raised... How do I actually make the decision to move my son and I to the mainland and start fresh?? Sometimes I hate being an adult and having to make decisions like this!!

So for all of you who have moved to the mainland I give you lots of credit and I look up to you. I just hope and pray that if I do decide to move that it will be the best decision I ever made.

[1stwahine]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Aloha Lisheous and Shan-n! Great way to end my day. Mahalo. Lisheous, I graduated with your sis at MHS 74! I'm glad for you in your wonderful life in which you made with your family. Next time you come visit ~ give Auntie a call.

Shan-n, it's quite hard for anyone to make it in Hawai'i. Housing is at such a high rate that I'm amazed my own daughter and son-inlaw is actually in the process of buying their first home. They're taking advantage of the Military benefits which is darn good. My other two will eventually do the same.

I wish you luck wherever you may go and do. May God bless you and your family.

Happy New Year Ladies!

Auntie Lynn

P.S. No wait for Prince Charming, I still waiting for mine and I "50"!

[Lisheous]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Hi Auntie Lynne,

It's so nice to hear from you again, I still keep in touch with the news, through the Honolulu Starbulletin daily emails. I remember seeing your nice article, about the children getting some rubbah slippahs for Christmas. It was a wonderful thing for the children to have. You seemed to be well known and lots of people thinks highly of you and I'm happy for you.

You must also know the Clemente's, my best friend Sharleen is married to Patrick. Yes, I truly miss her and I'm always in touch. I will definitely try to meet with you sometime this summer, when I come in June to visit, probably in the second week.

I also went to your website and enjoyed looking at your pictures, especially the all food ones, mmm___, it made so me hungry. LOL!

You have a lovely family.

Aloha,

*Lisheous*

[1stwahine]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Aloha Lisheous! What a small world it is! Sharleen is my cousin! Patrick and her will be moving across of me soon. I'll take a picture of them in a few days and post it on my Blog for you.

As for being well known and highly thought of...that's cute! Not yesterday. I was naughty. Today, is a new day.

I'm just a mother of three soldiers, a grandma, a Pupule Wahine who running for Governor! A daughter, a sista, an auntie to many, and a widow/prisoner's bitxh!

The Christmas Slippahs are still on the children's feet. It's a wonderful sight to open my door and see feets with colorful slippahs on running, walking, all ova instead of barefooted ones.

In Christ,

Aunty Lynn

[Lei K]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Not yesterday. I was naughty. Today, is a new day.

Yeah Auntie, what happpened to that New Years Resolution eh?

Like I said Auntie, you always make me smile. God Bless.

[Miulang]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

[FONT=Arial]Well I am a single mom of an 8 yr old son and although I have a pretty good job I have been considering relocating to the mainland (Washington State) for the past year. I am familiar with Washington as I visit there about 2 times a year. The cost of living here in Hawaii is just too expensive. I am 28 and want to buy a house by the time I am 30. I CANNOT do that here in Hawaii with the cost of a house averaging $605,000 !! But if I move to Washington then I would have no problem.

Shan-n: Whatever you decide, it will be the best decision you can make. Lots of locals have moved up here to the Pacific NW and made very good lives for themselves. The cost of living is certainly lower than Hawai'i, housing is slightly cheaper and wages are about 20% higher than in Hawai'i, depending on your profession.

In the Seattle area, it would be really difficult to go without local food for long. We have an L&L and many many teriyaki joints and Hawaiian style restaurants. Almost anything you ate at home you can find up here, either in the restaurants or at Uwajimaya.

The only thing I really miss (besides my parents) is the warm waters around Hawai'i. We have Puget Sound but it's nothing compared to the blue waters of the Pacific.

I love living up here because I can get in the car and drive for a couple of hours (like I did on Jan. 2) and see bald eagles perched in trees. Or going West, I can eventually get to the Coast and see the Pacific Ocean. North a couple of hours and I'm in Vancouver, BC. I love the cooler weather (I hate humidity). Yes, the Mainland has been good to me.

When it comes to "home", though, it will always be Hawai'i. Seattle has been a good alternative in the meantime, but eventually (like within the next 5 years) I'll probably be back on Maui or the Big Island, raising native plants.

Good luck with your decision. It would be a much easier one to make if you didn't have your son's feelings to consider.

Miulang

[Lisheous]

Re: Leaving Paradise...

Oh my gosh, really Auntie Lynne, I can't believe it! Your cousin! LOL! I never heard of you, but maybe I seen you before and I don't recongnize your picture. Sharleena told me they were moving but she didn't know when, oh wow, how exciting! Now I really want to come home! She called me the day before, to wish me Happy late New Year and I wasn't home, oh shucks! Snap!. I was out somewhere.

Maybe she can show you some pictures of my house, I sent her a few, just recently. I was going to call her yesterday, but I didn't, so I guess I'll call her sometime today. I'm expecting one of my husband's client, to pick up her computer, my husband is a computer technician too, besides a Minister and US postal carrier. After she comes and pick up her computer, I'll give Sharleens a call, cause we like to laugh and talk a long time about the good ole days. She was away for 13 years and I was back home there and when she came home, I left. Oh I'm so glad to meet you, I'm very excited and happy to have found this site accidently. I have no idea how I got here.

I bookmarked this site several weeks ago and only now I registered and posted messages. She gave me the name Lisheous. Waving, smiling, jumping up and down!

Wow! Local girl does good on Mainland! Just goes to show, no matter how far away you go or how long you've been away, you still cannot take memories of small kid times in Hawai'i away from us expats.

Welcome to HT, Melissa. You going have good fun here, especially now that Auntie Lynn knows you one MWH alumna!

Thank you Muilang, yeah I know, I'm already having fun now! Oh I cannot wait to come home to see my family and friends.

Aloha, Lisheous