Cost of Living in Honolulu

I'm a single male living in a small 1 brm for 1110.00 a month incl prkng right next to an extremely loud freeway onramp - and it's a STEAL. Yet my monthly Social Security check is way too low to cover all my everyday needs. A beat up 2009 car will cost me nearly $400 bucks! I'm a month behind on rent and I go to a local foodbank because the cost of groceries is ridiculously HIGH. A gallon of milk is 7.00 on sale! Eggs are just as unbelievable, and we're talking mainland eggs. Local eggs and milk are a premium splurge here. You'd think there is a shortage of cows and chickens! A $6.00 loaf of white bread?? Not to mention a food tax of nearly five percent. Now I, Kanaka Maoli, need to move to Cincinnati... Auwe!

Please don't move here. People who have lived here for generations, including myself, have been effectively forced off the island because of how little we are paid and how much it costs. I feel that we are exploited. Our local culture has been mocked and marketed by people who come here thinking they're moving to paradise, but are disillusioned by eating with chopsticks and not everyone speaking perfect English. Military men beating up locals because of what they're wearing; snowbirds who leave an empty home here for more than 6 months at a time while there's a housing crisis; hikers trampling and littering on trails so heavily they need to be closed- and then ignoring that closure. It's tiring. Long gone are the days of sharing your fruits with your neighbors, instead people try to sell their bounty. The winds have changed, they are hot and foul.

If your here trying to raise a family and your household income is under $100,000 a year consider moving to the mainland. If you're not in the islands already, consider not coming. There are a lot of great things about Hawaii, but the prices of food, housing, electricity and daily living are pretty crazy. If you have a household income of only 50,000 - 80,000 a year and you don't already own property here you will probably be living pay check to pay check, unless you are single and have kids, you'll end up nearly broke living here.

The ongoing trend for migration to Hawaii is living on the beach as permanent campers. No taxes and no rent. Parolees from the U.S. mainland receive a one way ticket to anywhere there choose and many choose Hawaii as the weather is great and virtually no cost or a very low cost of living as the ancient hawaiians once did. Many of the military stay on Hawaii beaches once discharged from active duty. you also have the locals that save a ton of money by living the outdoor paradise lifestyle of yore. The laws and police are very weak in Hawaii so the worst thing that happens is campers get asked to vacate every so often and they just move camp elsewhere. You must be an outdoorsy type for this alternative lifestyle however it has become a very popular trend on the islands with hundreds of new outdoor residents relocating to Hawaii every month. Many buy an older and cheap van to sleep in as overnight street parking is permitted in many areas in Hawaii. Permanent campers use the beach bath houses for showers, sinks and toilets. Churches provide meals.