Mainlanders

[yahseeker]

Just curious what parts of the Big Island or Puna have the "least" number of people who originally came to the Big Island from the mainland.

Thanks.

[Rob Tucker]

Probably not Puna. I would guess Ka`u, Pahala or Nahalehu.

[csgray]

Check the new US census data, it at least lists ethnicity by community, and even subdivision, which will give you a clue. However, there are white people who have been here for generations, and Pacific Islanders who were born and raised in Las Vegas before moving here. And immigrants come here from all over Asia and the Pacific Islands.



Carol

[opihikao]

Keaukaha maybe? Hawaiian Homes land and lots of Hawaiian families still reside there, some for generations. FWIW.

[coppercoin40]

probably much like most cities in Alaska - use to be just the good old boys or indigenous people just 40 yrs ago, now it is a melting pot for people from everywhere. I think it is better now more diverse and more open minded and friendly to new people.

[yahseeker]

Thanks for the info.

[missydog1]

quote:

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Originally posted by coppercoin40

probably much like most cities in Alaska - use to be just the good old boys or indigenous people just 40 yrs ago, now it is a melting pot for people from everywhere. I think it is better now more diverse and more open minded and friendly to new people.

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Hawai'i is not a "melting pot" in the sense that people melt down their differences. It is more a soup with a lot of different ingredients that are not pure'ed into each other. Even the hapa folks are clear about distinct heritages.

Hamakua and north of Hilo have lots of people whose families worked for the sugar companies and lived in the worker camps. There are many remaining camps. In my immediate area, there are only three mainland origin households that I know of, and none of them have been here less than I, so no one newer than 9-10 years. My neighbor has been here 25 years.

Now if you go to the gentrified upscale subdivision in Pepe'ekeo, you'll find more recent transplants clumped there.

I'm glad there is a mix. We just had a large community meeting last month for the CDP final input, and it was a great mix of locals and transplants. Something that surprised me was that when we input answers to certain questions, like ethnicity and time we had lived there, and education -- 1/3 of the people in the room had at least a master's degree.

Most of the people in the room had been here more than ten years, and many had been born here. I don't remember the percentage of Caucasians (who were not born here Portuguese), but certainly a minority.

I would think that if you took the entire population of Hilo town, that it would have far and away more locals percentage wise than Puna. When I lived in an old established neighborhood in Waiakea, we were the only "haole" household in the vicinity. Everyone around us was ethnically Japanese, Hawaiian, Korean, or hapa one of those ... many of whom were blood relations to each other.