Free Shipping (excluding Alaska & Hawaii)

Buyers beware! Internet shopping has become a fav! Don't be fooled with the "FREE SHIPPING" advertising. Chances are you'll be charged an arm, a leg and your first born. As the holidays draw near, plunk a few more pennies in the piggy bank for shipping Christmas gifts to the mainland. In some cases it has cost more to ship than the gift itself. I've had to wise up and be happy with sending gift cards. A 3lb box from Honolulu to Ohio can cost up to $10. And by-the-way, 3 day Priority has NEVER been received in 3 days. It typically takes 5 days. But then again, it's an island, and beautiful, and tropical.

Me, U and Edu

Island living is beautiful, unique and I'm honored to have the opportunity to experience Honolulu on a long term basis. That being said, I reiterate my point that paradise is just like any other city. Crime, drugs, homeless, prostitution, and yes, poor public education. Hawaii continuously scores below the national average in all four major subjects; math, reading, writing and science.

Over all, Hawaii is ranked #42 out of the 50 states for overall scores.

Guilty Truth About Paradise

I sit here in Honolulu complaining. Truth be told, things could be worse. I'm the luckiest person I know. I have a wonderful family. My husband and daughter are amazing. Our future is strong and secure. I have wonderful friends. Although I lost my mother to cancer a month ago, I know she would want me to "make lemonaide." Life's too short. I just finished reading a friends blog about her battle with breast cancer. She's about my age. After reading about everything she's been going through and watching my mother die, it's times like these that I feel most guilty about living in paradise.

Language Barrier

How would you feel if you paid $800 - $1,050 a month for pre-school where teachers have such heavy accents they can't pronounce the letters of the alphabet let alone teach proper english. I asked my daughters teacher what movie the kids were watching and she said, "Big MoBee." Wha...??? After several times having her repeat herself because I couldn't understand what she was saying, I finally realized she was saying "Pig Movie." The kids were watching Charlotte's Web. (paying for my child to watch DVDs in pre-school is another blog) My daughter is constantly bombarded with a bastardized blend of japanese, chinese, hawaiian, filipino, samoen and pidgeon languages. My daughter tinkles's or pees in the potty. We don't say "make shi-shi." We say "finished" at home, not "all pau." How is she supposed to learn proper english with these surroundings? The worst part is you PAY for bad english and poor role models. Family's with kids planning to move here, beware! Check out how your kids will learn to talk at Pigeon English. Fun for visiting, vacationing or for some cultural experience, but not a place to learn proper English. No wonder Hawaii is nearly last on the list for education.

Island Crime

About 90 days after getting settled in our house in Hawaii Kai (supposedly the nice place to live) we were victims of burglary and identity theft. It was not the pleasant "aloha" we anticipated from paradise. Personal property theft loss is staggering here in the islands. If you visit the link you'll see the statistics. Thankfully, violent crime is not as bad as other places on a national average.

Employment

Employment on Oahu is tough. The unemployment rate is probably one of the lowest in the U.S. This means there are too many people and not enough jobs. Employers shamfully take advantage of job seekers. It doesn't matter how much experience or education you have - the average "Joe" is still going to make at least $3 - $5 dollars less per hour than on the mainland. If you're an executive secretary making $15/hr you'll be lucky to get $10/hr. This may not seem like a big deal for ocean and beach, but remember, cost of living is 3x the mainland. You hard earned dollars don't go as far on the islands. It's tough to have fun with no money.

Hawaii Superferry

A multi million dollar mess! State and Federal government can't agree on what they previously agreed on. I'm no expert on the subject, but in plain english the issue revolves around whether or not the Superferry should be required to have an environmental study completed before operation begins. Federal government says no, the State government says yes. You'd think they'd have this worked out before millions of dollars were spent. The snafoo is funding. Superferry will lose federal funding if the state requires this study. Welcome to the bright visionaries of Hawaii. What's interesting is that the cruise ships that come and go on a daily basis throughout the islands are not required to have this "environmental study" completed. Oh, and PS, operations already started and were haulted by surfers in the water. People were stranded on outer islands for days because the state court ordered operations to stop. Superferry sits docked losing millions in revenue. Many are against the superferry for various reasons. Other are supporting the superferry. Take the poll! I'd love to hear from you.