The Mainland Exodus

[olin137]

Maybe someone can clarify a question that occurs to me. There have been many posts referencing development and mainlanders moving to BI as a contributing pricing locals out of the housing market. However, wouldn't the actual cost of building be the same? The only difference would be cost of the land. Just for argument, let's say a Puna house costs $200,000 for materials, labor, permits, etc. If ten years ago a lot cost $10,000, and now it costs $50,000, that's only a difference in price of $210,000 vs $250,000 - maybe ~$200 a month more mortgage. Yes, even $200 can be a stretch for families on the edge, but I suspect most could manage it. Plus, even at the $210,000 figure, where in the US could they move to to get a house at that price? Not the west coast, and maybe not many places anyone wants to move to or that has jobs.

So, how to have jobs in Hawaii to pay for a decent lifestyle? They can't all be service jobs, and agriculture is never going to be the job source it was in US past. It's got to be something else. Are retirees the only growth industry in Hawaii right now? Add in that the cost of living is never going down since so much that people want to have has to be shipped in. Does Hawaii have any serious plans for job creation or is it all hand-wringing? One possibility might be combinations of high-tech and data-processing. If the US can farm out tens of thousands of software support, etc jobs to India, why couldn't some of those have come to Hawaii?