Born and raised in Honolulu, left 5 years ago at age 24.
Physically, Hawaii is an island located over 2000 miles away from the continental US. It has a tropical climate, with varied landscapes. There are active volcanoes on one of the islands. There is little variation between seasons and the temperature usually doesn’t ever vary by more than 40 degrees. There are tall mountains, grassy plains, and of course, great beaches.
I think the reason Hawaii feels like a foreign place is because it is unlike anywhere else in the US, and because it is one of the most isolated places in the world. Hawaii is literally in the middle of the largest ocean on the planet, yet millions of people travel there annually because they perceive it as a fantastic getaway destination. I don’t think any other equally-isolated place receives as much flow as Hawaii does.
Of course, this geographic isolation does lend itself to a psychological isolation. I wouldn’t say that Hawaii folks think of themselves as not being part of the US, but we do think of ourselves differently. We think of local Japanese-Americans as being less Americanized than our mainland-born counterparts. We distinguish between local-born/longtime resident Caucasians and mainland-born/tourist Caucasians. The perceptions aren’t necessarily negative (though they can be), but we do tend to think of the Hawaii versions as more relaxed, and more likely to understand Hawaii things than anyone else. We are very much like a small town in that respect. But as a whole, we do seem nicer than average.
Ethnically speaking, we are roughly 70% some form of Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, etc.), and the rest is everything else (black, white, Indian, Portuguese, Native Hawaiian, etc.). Generally, when it comes to culture, people adopt both the local customs and those of their ethinic background. For instance, for New Year’s in January, I’d have dinner with my Japanese relatives, with all sorts of odd traditional NY’s foods, and then in February, for Chinese New Year, I’d go hang out in Chinatown and eat Chinese food and watch the lion dance performers. Then in May we’d talk about Lei Day (it was yesterday, incidentally). We observe birthdays of deceased Hawaiian royalty as holidays. Culturally-speaking, I’d say all we’re missing is a locally-based professional sports franchise that people actually care about and sustain.
I won’t bore you with history lessons, but Hawaii’s got a fascinating history. It’s made Hawaii one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse places in the world. And while we pride ourselves on that and talk about the “aloha spirit”, we’re like any other large collection of people. It’s a small state, but we have the same problems any other large city does: homelessness, drug abuse, racial conflict. (There was an ugly case recently about a part-Caucasian, part-something else father and son who assaulted a military Caucasian couple over a dent in the pair’s car. It was not cast as a hate crime because the couple was not targeted for their race, but during the incident, the son called the husband a “fucking haole.” [Haole means foreigner and is fairly neutral; any ethnic term sounds bad when preceded by the word “fucking”.]) It made me embarassed to be from Hawaii.
Economically, Hawaii is a tough place to get by. Generally it works out much better for tourists, as they are in vacation mode and probably won’t find it as objectionable to pay $3/gallon for gas… whereas if you’re a resident, it probably pisses you off quite a bit. The housing market is insane; the best I can say about it is it prepared me for the Southern California housing market. $1500-2000 rents for small apartments is about the norm. The median home resale price is $660k. I had planned to retire in Honolulu, preferably in Liliha, but that looks unlikely now.
The state seems to be doing better now. I haven’t read much about the so-called “brain drain”, the term for the good chunk of college graduates who leave home and do not become part of Hawaii’s workforce. There was a time most jobs were hospitality-oriented (working in hotels or for tour companies; speaking Japanese was a very, very strong plus), but that seems to have changed. I’ve heard of some biotech firms doing well there.
I can’t really say what is different about the place. Every place I’ve lived in has its qualities, and you have to just experience them to understand what it’s like. It has good food, crappy food, good people, utter wastes of skin, pretty places, and places that rival used toilets for atmosphere.
Generally, though, it’s a great place. I encourage everyone who expresses even a smidgen of interest to visit. I don’t ever guarantee it’s a life-changing experince or anything, but I do say that it’s nice, and likely a pleasant change from what you’re used to. I try to go back home every year, and I always am happy to be there.
