reasons to move to Hawaii

[nnickle]

The fact that the maximum speed limit is 55 MPH is a plus in my estimation.
LOL tell that to the people driving on the roads. They think it is 65 or 70. They don't relize that 35 is not 45 and 45 is not 55.

[Carolann R]

The land, the people, the "Hawaiian Time," The fresh air, black sand, Pele, IZ, REALLY fresh coffee, malasadas, whales, honu, dolphins, rain (currently live in Arizona), slippahs, chickens in my yard, fresh bananas and pineapple from my yard AND -- The beautiful turquois Pacific Ocean pounding on the rocks - hypnotic. Oh yeah - and the MAKUU MARKET!!!

Carrie

"The opportunities to reach into the lives of others in an inspiring way arise in countless ways every single day..." Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

http://www.hellophoenix.com/art

[KeithLee]

And the lullaby of the coqui...

Just passin time waiting for the Vogon ship to come and trying not to panic.

[leilaniguy]

To me, along with the great weather, it's the acceptance, the unusual combination of liberal thinking in a rural area. I'm not sure if it's the Aloha spirit, or just "I don't give a flying rats *ss what you do, just don't bug me" but people here are more open and accepting to just about anything, anyone, definitely way more open minded than Southern Oregon ever was, or is now.



Edited by - leilaniguy on 08/22/2006 22:50:29

[KeithLee]

"I don't give a flying rats *ss what you do, just don't bug me..."
To this I will add "...and don't drop by unless you've called first."

"You wouldn't worry about what other people are thinking about you if you knew how little they actually do." Not sure whose quote that us.

[David D]

The main reason for us is that Hawaii fells like home, a place were we feel comfortable and at peace. Home.

[pslamont]

David, you hit the nail on the head for me. It feels like home here..... exacty! ya Hoooooooo.

Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!

[Hotzcatz]

Aloha Lee & Punatics,

Well, Lee, there really aren't a lot of reasons why the medical personnel, skilled tradespeople or entrepreneurs should move to Hawaii.

The medical folks have about three hospitals on this island to choose from and those are not top level hospitals with loads of research going on such as Mayo, John Hopkins, Yale, etc. I would think those mainland hospitals would be more of a "hospital of choice" for the best doctors and medical personnel. John Hopkins has surgical robots, do we even have any of those on Oahu? Do we have any on this island? If you are not aspiring to be the best possible medical person but just want a nice regular job working in a hospital somewhere with good weather, then Hawaii would be a good choice. After working out here in the boondocks, though, your medical skills may not be up to the level of doctors working in those mainland research hospitals. There aren't a lot of the upper level clubs or activities for doctors, either. No fancy private clubs, no fancy restaurants, no fancy opera or other socialite sort of things, so even though they are a doctor, they don't have a lot of the social perks here. Also, a lot of folks married to doctors are married partly for the social prestige and there isn't a lot of that around here so spouses of doctors may not want to live in Hawaii. Vacation here, yes, but to live here? "How barbaric! The grocery stores don't even deliver, how can anyone live here?" (Hey, that's what she said when I asked a visiting doctor's spouse!)

Okay, the skilled tradespeople. Well, forget about all the tool and die workers! Nothing in manufacturing, not much need for higher level programmers other than some telemetry and some work at Keck or the other observatories. Banking facilities other than car loans and residential mortgages? Not enough to really support many banks. We are in the wrong time zone for the stock market. What industries does our island support? What industries CAN it support? We are 2,500 miles away from the closest major market and most of the supplies necessary for manufacturing or industry.

Okay, you want to be an industrial entrepreneur. Let's see, you invent "widgets" and are going to corner the market on them. Well, first you need a place to make widgets. We have very little commercial or industrial real estate around here, either for rent or to buy and the rentals and buy prices are not favorable when compared to mainland ones. Then you will need machines to make widgets - gotta ship those in as well as a widget machine repair person. Then you have to find a widget part supplier. After you finally make these widgets, then you either have to sell them all in a small local market or ship them 2,500 miles away to your nearest market. Who is gonna go sell them to those markets 2,500 miles away? Wouldn't it be easier to just make widgets in Chicago or Pittsburgh and take long vacations in Hawaii?

Okay, now the skilled workers and entrepreneurs we CAN support are those who don't need a wide industrial or manufacturing support base. Artisans, sculpters, artists, novelists, folks who can sell their product via the internet or can work over the computer and don't have to worry about shipping costs would be the types of skilled tradespeople or entrepreneurs who the island can support. Artisans who can make things to sell to the tourists instead of shipping in tourist gewgaws made in China!

The island can support niche farming if the farmers can afford the land. Although, even the farmers lack adequate support facilities. There are very few processing facilities, the farmers have the same shipping problems and there are no major agricultural equipment suppliers, etc. We also don't have the background knowledgebase of farming. Cane was an industrial crop and the workers weren't farmers.

My cousins are farmers and ranchers. They all graduated from Texas A & M and have degrees in ranching and farming. We need that sort of educational level in our farmers here as well, however it would need to be education tailored to our type of farming. The sort of farming they do on the mainland won't work here. My cousins farm about 110,000 acres of wheat. They have a combine the size of a house and a co-op they share it with. There are grain elevators with trains to carry the grain away in the nearby tiny town. We don't have any of that level of support for our farmers.

If I was going to farm around here, I'd look at the shipping lists of what is shipped into the island (it is online you can research this stuff) and grow that. We ship in tons of green beans so there is a market for green beans. Green and red peppers get a pretty good per pound price, too. Ask the ocean liners what sort of produce they would like and then supply them. Find out what the local market wants and then fill the need.

Well, I've ranted on long enough - gotta get back to the drawing board since the plotter is done printing now.

A hui hou!
Cathy

[KeithLee]

Hi Cathy,
Great perspective on the realities of opportunity here.
Your last paragraph regarding produce is a very real concept that an entrepeneur should look in to. Not sure whether it has real potential.
I don't believe you would need more than a good size green house to supply the market place you mentioned. But then I am a know very little in this area.
We went by a guys house yesterday that has a green house 16x20 that he had put in for a reasonable price.
I'm gonna go out on an ignorance limb here and say that even many of the "produce" vendors at farmer's markets are basically selling the same stuff the grocery store sells coming from the same distributor, Hilo Products.
When I worked in produce at KTA I saw the same boxes I see in the vendor stalls.
The green beans often available are not good.
Do a little market research and talk to produce managers on island. KTA in Kona had many local vendors supplying fruits. Not so much veggies.
Perhaps this should be moved to the business opportunity thread.
Tony

"You wouldn't worry about what other people are thinking about you if you knew how little they actually do." Not sure whose quote that us.

[Keith]

The greenhouse idea could be good but you need high value long season crops to make it work. Green beans are a crop that gets rust when the humidity is high so the plants don't hold us very well.

After 25 years in vegetable seed sales and production I can give a little advice.

Keith