The Pros and Cons of Living in Hawaii

Okay, okay… I know you’re probably like “Autumn, what in the world could be a con of living in Hawaii”? Trust me, I thought that too, and while Hawaii is absolutely gorgeous and I am loving every minute of it, it also has its downsides. There are way more pros than cons to be honest, so I am only going to list the major ones. Let’s get started!

Pro: Living in ACTUAL paradise.

I cannot get over the views of the mountains and cliffs just minutes from my house, and you cannot beat living only a few minutes from the beach so you can really go whenever you feel the urge. The first time my husband drove me through the mountains I almost cried because of how happy I was to live among some of God’s greatest works of art. It still blows my mind that I am actually here, yet alone living here, but this leads me to my next point.

Con: It isn’t like being on vacation.

I had never gone on vacation in Hawaii before moving here. In fact, I had never even seen the Pacific Ocean before moving here. When people come on vacation, I’m sure its a whole different experience. They don’t have to worry about anything and can leave the real world behind. Living here, on the other hand, you have all those same responsibilities of having to make that phone call, scheduling that appointment, taking the car for an oil change, and calling the dentist office for the millionth time trying to make an appointment (my current situation). Of course doing all these things in a tropical wonderland is great, but it’s still real life.

Pro: The island is small.

Literally everything I need is within 10 miles of my house. Target is three miles away from my house so I mean come on now. Even if I needed to go across the island for an appointment or something it still only takes 45 minutes to get completely to the other side. Talk about convenience!

Con: The island is small.

Sometimes, you feel completely cut off from the rest of the world. We have been told that we shouldn’t do everything right away, that we should space it out over our time here because you could get bored pretty quickly if you do everything at once. We have only been here a couple months, and we have already done so much. Check out my My Hawaii Bucket List blog where I update on things we have done!

Pro: The weather is always around 80 degrees.

This is def a pro depending on who you talk too. If you’re like me and live for summer and warmer weather, than you would love it here. Where we lived before in Tennessee, we would have to set limits on ourselves such us “we need to do so and so before it starts getting cooler out,” but here there are no limitations. If we want to cook out or take a hike, we aren’t really limited by the weather. It rains periodically here (depending on which side of the mountains you’re on) but the rain usually wraps up really quickly so it doesn’t necessarily change plans. I will miss a cold Christmas though!

Con: Everything is more expensive.

Not surprisingly it costs a lot more to live here. Luckily, since we are military it isn’t as bad because our housing and utilities is pretty much covered by BAH, and we can shop at the Commissary so our food doesn’t cost near as much as it would elsewhere on the island. (The prices are still high) Not to mention the price of gas which is significantly more than it was in Tennessee (maybe not everywhere). It is taking some getting used too especially when even going to IHOP costs the same as going to a fancy restaurant where we used to live.

Pro: The people.

For the most part, the people we have met here have been sooooo friendly. Of course everywhere you go there will be people who woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but I have met more insanely friendly people here that at first it made me suspicious because of where we lived before! There is a word here called ‘Ohana’ which means ‘Family’ in the native language. We have heard it thrown around so many times and I have come to believe that Ohana is a huge part of living in Hawaii.

Con: The traffic.

OOF. We live right outside of Honolulu so let me tell you…. it can get crazy. On week day mornings going into the city is rough and evenings leaving the city is rough. Luckily, we can easily avoid it since we live in a super convenient location, but others aren’t quite as lucky. Driving the island on the weekend is normally perfectly fine, even when going through the city. So if you are coming to visit, keep that in mind. Well, its a hit or miss because it took us 30 minutes to get the 5 miles to Petco last weekend. OOF.

 Pro: Outdoor lifestyle.

I am loving waking up early on weekends and going on hikes or heading to the beach. We have so much we want to do like snorkeling, whale watching, and paddle boarding. Living in Hawaii truly shows you how to experience the outdoors and I LOVE IT! I love seeing the different wild life that aren’t on the mainland like the wild mongoose that runs by our sliding glass door every morning or the wild chickens and roosters with their babies following close behind. It has really given me a new appreciation for the great outdoors.

Con: When the great outdoors comes inside.

What I am about to talk about is so disgusting, but its something you have to live with in Hawaii. Cockroaches. The lady sitting next to me on the plane warned me that no matter what you do, you will have to co exist with cockroaches. I thought we would be above it. We set out roach traps, throw our trash out everyday, and make sure all the food and dishes are put away after each meal. THEY DON’T CARE. It’s a lot better than it was when we got here, but coexisting with them is one of the biggest cons. I always pride myself in keeping my house super clean but every where you go on the island they are crawling on the ground, so of course they would try to set up camp in our houses too. Ugh. I saw a 3 inch one the other day outside of a thrift store…. it was traumatizing. Oh, and let’s not forget about the centipedes. There was one in my kitchen sink the other week and I almost threw a fit. You always have to be sure to shake out your shoes before putting them on. We have caught a few lizards in our house too that only God knows how they got in there. I would honestly rather have those than roaches and centipedes though.

If you are still here, Thank you so much for reading! The pros FAR outweigh the cons here. If you ever have the chance to visit the islands, I highly recommend it! Stay tuned for more about Hawaii living!