About your dream… You could have said, out loud for everyone in both lines to hear, (wave your hand)…“Auntie, you don’t have to do all that work, the line formed a long time ago and the end of the line is here.” “Come! We already have a line!” ❤ That way she’s busted and you are the helpful one that everyone in line will be grateful for ❤
You're dream is my reality. I swim at Makiki pool. I got there first (no bid deal, its not a cimpetition) and was waiting for the pool to open. When they opened, people ran in front of me (I'm handicapped) and put their water bottles and flippers to "claim their lane". I took a shower and went out to swim but all the lanes were claimed and those people were standing around chatting. The lifeguard told me I could swim in the lane of my choice if no one else was already in the water. I'm glad I asked the lifeguard. Shame on those rude people. Hawaii has changed and we gotta stand up if we want to survive. I feel like a Lorax too.
Your thoughts and emotions tell me that you are struggling with being in Hawaii because of it's limitations and opportunities. You are there for your aging parents. You are middle age now with two kids and have concerns about raising them there. On the mainland, you probably can have better economic opportunities and a better life for your two kids. You don't really care about the beach, swimming or surfing in the ocean. About the food, it's only OK. I spent a month on the Big Island this past April and I was ready to come home. So, you are not missing much of Hawaii if your daily routine is just home and work. What you want is the American dream of owning a house with a wife, two kids, two cars in the suburbs where there open space and good public schools and not worry about sending the kids to expensive private schools. Things have changed in Hawaii since your growing up days.
Great points. I also enjoy Hawaii for other reasons besides my parents. And while I'm sure life would be easier elsewhere, I'd like to give it a try here because this is where I'm from and I'm not ready to move on from that yet. Retirement? Sure, I'm looking at Japan already 😅
@@HelloFromHawaii This is when you look at your kids and wonder if they are better off raising them on the mainland, especially on the issue of schools. They are at the age when they are going to start school. If you can afford private schools, then it's not a non-issue.
That's a goodtake for people like is type of Local. We have different opinions and like different things. I own my home and live the American dream here in Hawaii. When his Money takes off from youtube. Kahala is his next venture😂
Schools are so important and so are their peers . So are sports . Sports in a good public school on the mainland are free. Plus to exp diversity is very important .
The phrase 'grass is always greener on the other side' is used to say about individuals who are never happy with what they have and they constantly ponder if others have it better. Everyone in Hawaii were from earlier generations that used to live somewhere else. The ancestors always searched for that greener pasture, whether it was Asia, Europe, etc. They arrived in Hawaii and made the best of the situation to have their future generations have a better life. Maybe it's time for the move to another greener pasture. The risk takers will always make the best of the situation. After the move, people always searched for their roots on what life used to be like. With changes, we must move on. Everyone has their great grandparents who came from that other pasture. Live life to the fullest. Hawaii has changed and is not the same as 100 years ago.
I'm so impressed with your openness. This is a bold video for you to make. Thank you. Times are getting hard all around us. Housing is a problem. Food and fuel are crazy expensive... There are no easy answers, but we can't simply choose to do immoral things. Often, we have to choose the right things that our friends and families will give us pushback for... Good video.
Chris, Always thanks for your perspective. A former student of mine, Mom just packed up the entire family and moved to Vegas 😢. They are Kanaka. It’s sad. I pray Hawaii can keep Kanaka and Local families.
Aloha, Chris! Always a meaningful and relevant consideration, shared. Given the history of Hawaii; and given that your family was with you, perhaps the line behind you is not a random group of people but your future generations, that will follow you. Your children.. and your children's children. Sometimes, we need to be sufficiently motived to speak up. Perhaps the motivation to move...to engage... to take action... would come from having the much larger stake in the outcome, of your (and others') generations to come. What world will they inherit? Mahalo for your great generosity of Spirit!
I really appreciate your videos man! Been following for a couple years and I've learned so much about Hawaii culturally and historically that I would've never learned otherwise.
@@HelloFromHawaii: Is marketing of anything anytime, exactly what it seems or lasts forever? Whether the destination, the product, service or person, what it is, depending on the individual will always be a 'static' picture. A Dorian Grey portrait. The ideal location for a home, a perfect partner, a great job, best friend, worst enemy. It's amazing what static ideals that we keep on things we believe, know, or expect. Math we rely that 1 + 1 = 2. Life isn't alway 1 + 1. More like apples + oranges and other stuff.
Absolutely spot on!!! I live on a far away island very much like Hawai'i and I do go through that all the time!! It's good to know I'm not alone on that😊
The 80’s were like the last of the good times here in Hawaii. Most of my fave places are crowded now, mostly due to social media. But beauty is here for everyone to enjoy. So now I have different spots…and I ain’t saying where. LOL
One of my bosses sayings to staff, ‘choose your battles’ meaning oftentimes you should just forget about some gripes. But if it is something you really believe in and are mentally prepared to fight for your decisions, well then, ‘go to battle’ and realize this is a battle. Come prepared. Maybe I am off tangent of topic discussed but I imagine your situation of living in Hawaii is different than my situation of living in Hawaii. I am a recipient of shear dog luck. I was not the sharpest tool in the shed and I lived in a lower-middle class family in Hawaii. My father lived well below his means. I should not have been able to afford my own home in paradise but my father gifted me a down payment from his retirement stash when it was crazy perfect timing to get a beautiful, cheap 3br home in a nice community in Hawaii. I suppose in my situation ‘I cut in line’ because I had it easier than you. My kids grew up in this lovely Hawaii environment where IMHO was at times magical (in the simple stuff like camping, hiking, exploring, meeting people…)Yes, they had their share of frustrations but it was personal growing up issues and usually not environment/community related. They loved their experience growing up in Hawaii. My kids are way smarter than me and they can compete much better than me in today’s rat race but it will take way more than dog luck for them to buy a similar home that they grew up in. I unfortunately cannot hand them any down payments for a Hawaii home as I am tapped out from raising them. When it comes to a future home they are in a worse line than you. They are in a crowd of real estate anarchy where only the ultra rich survive.
Mahalo for sharing. I think what you described is common when it comes to passing money from this generation to the next. There just won't be any. Cost of housing and long-term care will eat up a lot of it. Then I'm not sure what will happen to that generation.
Living Kakaako for the last few years I’m not sure I felt some of these, However…… Where I work it feels like most of these and very much the culture you talked about. So in Context I would agree with you. Great Intro BTW!!! Love what your doing
Can can or no can. A part of me struggles when I hear about topics like this. So many ppl today want to show what real life is like today on the islands to destroy the outsuders theme park view. The reality is that todays life on the islands is so different from past generations. But what is paradise? The problem is not showing what reality is today but ignoring rhe problems of reality today. Paradise terminaligy used to be quality of life things. Stuff like enjoying ohana, community, keeping doors unlocked, cheaper living etc, etc. But todays life all these things seem to be an illusion or a fantasy today that cant possibly be true. But at one time we lived it on the islands. But how. So many say we cant go back. But once we realize how we lived that way in the past we can now judge tidays life and correct our direction. The biggest issue is ate we willing to change ourselves. Anyway keep up the good work chris.
Outsiders shouldn’t be moving here if they have no reason to it’s ok to come for vacation and enjoy yourself and all but don’t move to a place where your not wanted for a reason
@@Billy23562 most didn't 50 or 60 years ago. This was because life on the islands was so different back then from standard life on the mainland. Life was a cultural shock for most people wanting to move here. Not just in living but look at what we had to offer in businesses. The majority was totally foreign for most transplants or malahini from most places on the mainland. Even on Oahu. Our Island culture and the way we lived was a natural population determent. But that is lost today. But it wasn't lost suddenly and it wasn't caused by just progressing in our natural order. Had we remained loyal to our traditional cultural values as people of Hawaii. We wouldn't see 80% of the states population on Oahu because it's focused development to make it inviting to outside money wouldn't be there as much. Personally what makes Hawaii valued today is not that she is Hawaii with a unique culture, people, weather etc. If that was the case then every island would have 900k people on it. It's outsiders views on what's valuable. This is based on their cultural values. Still have the same amount of Aina that it was when prices for homes and Aina was 30k. When the population was far less than it is today. What is different besides the obvious.
Great points about addressing the issues of today, which don't seem to be new problems, as previous generations dealt with them before. And I'm sure future generations will face similar ones too
Sorry to see you down with a cold, hopefully you'll be able to kick it by the time this airs. To build upon your analogy, if Hawaii is the product we're selling, then at times, we are it's employees. How many times have you gone to a fast food restaurant and been personal with the employee?! We need to think of ourselves as 'Ambassadors of Aloha'. As for your dream, one of my thoughts is this. My dental hygienist puts it this way when I had a small dental issue. We can take care of it now, when the problem is small and less expensive, OR later when it's going to be more extensive, more time to resolve, much more cost, and probably more discomfort/pain. Speaking up when there's one 'auntie' in line, is better than when there more people behind her. I was told this other thing also "don't borrow problems from the future". In other words, the 'possible' conflict with the 'auntie' is just what it is, a possibility. There's also the possibility that she may just apologize and move to the back of the original line. As a 'possible' conflict with you, is nothing compared to all of the people behind you...after all, they got your proverbial back. Borrowing the problem is riddling yourself with the 'negative possibility' outcome of something before any engagement. Like not asking a stranger to dance because you feel she's going to say no...not asking is a NO also.
As a foreigner, I worry about living in hawaii and watch a lot of your videos to help me understand it. I hope the day that i do decide to live in hawaii and marry a hawaiian, things will be better so you and i don't have to feel like the lorax. ❤
For me, your dream perfectly sums up a lot of my frustration. I see it daily in traffic where a lane allows you to either turn left or go straight. The person ahead doesn't have a turn signal on, so some part of me foolishly thinks, "no turn signal - that person is going to go straight and I can pull up behind them." Then comes the green light for straight, and the person sits tight, waiting to turn left. I fall for that far too often, like Charlie Brown when Lucy promises to hold the football. It's basically small town behavior without the small town civic morals. In some small towns there are certain unwritten rules of behavior that locals know and make life work great for locals. The outsiders gum up the works. In Hawai'i, there are no clear unwritten rules to make everything run smoothly, and you also don't have the quick--thinking rationality you might see in a major city (enforced by shouts or even threats if someone does something clearly abusive or stupid). For me, the bright side of all this is I rarely see malicious and aggressively selfish behavior in Honolulu. People seem to merely be relaxed compared to other places. The mistakes they make that can cost me time don't seem usually to be intentional or opportunistic. I've been in traffic backed up so badly that it is clogging an intersection behind me, but the person in front of me stops to let a single car out of a parking lot. I'm sure that person was not thinking about the clogged intersection 5 cars back - just about how the person in the parking lot really wanted to turn onto the road.
Mahalo for the comments and insight. Great point that you make about mistakes here costing time, but don't seem intentional or opportunistic. Maybe some people have those intentions, but those mistakes are often just mistakes. And it's not like we all drive perfectly and haven't been there before. 🤙
Oh, I was that Auntie. I've lived in Hawaii for about three years and live in Kapolei and am used to my Costco but I was visiting Maui and had time before my flight back home so decided to stop at that Costco and get a snack. I didn't immediately notice that the food area had this snake pattern on the ground that defined the line so I assumed that each window was its own line. No one said anything for an awkward amount of time! Finally I noticed that a few people were fidgeting so I looked around and figured it out but honestly if someone had just politely let me know my mistake I would have been grateful.
No worry, Chris, you will not always be the only viewer of your channel. You will be behind me. Nah... I lined up behind you and spoke up for you when Aunty started to line up. Leaving isn't personal to be left behind. Think of the voyagers of the Pacific, not everybody left their island to see what's on the other side. Like the Irish with the potato famine, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans leaving, some for wealth, others for work, others to get away, they go for varied reasons. Some came back, others didn't. Usually our Asian ancestors were sojourners, only intending to leave to make money, intending to come back. Our departing locals are those intending to make it on their own elsewhere, much like the Polynesians/pioneers of the west, get something for themselves. It is still their choice of wanting to return, it's where their heart is, which, we never truly know where our heart will be in the future. Change is everywhere, anytime, which no one can predict what the changes will be. It's individual. Good video, but no worry. Obviously, you haven't remembered lining up for the first day opening for a major event/exhibit at the NBC for like black Friday or Made in Hawaii exhibition. The dream of Hawaii Kai Costco is a reality, everything, my wife and I stand in line for the first day, and choke people line up, but as it gets nearer to openning the doors, you see all the people milling around the front to cockroaching into squeezing inside, ignoring all the people in line waiting for hours. Getting to be like the video in China, where the women was just grabbing all the food for some event festivities, because it was put out to share with the attendees, but it was just a free-for-all. My aunties & uncles would have slapped our head, even as an senior adult if we ever acted in public like that.
You weren't imagining it ... when I came back home 33 years later ... and as a haole holo holo with my best old surfing Hawaiian buddy from the 60's ... I was SHOCKED! I could see how, even tho he went Kamehameha, it was as if he was groomed from an early age to be invisible AND subservient to tourists. It made me really angry!!! ... I even overheard a tourist once say, while walking thru a local craft fair, "Aren't you people so quaint!" ... WTFrack?!??? ... I also worked in the tourist industry and experienced some were really good people while others so unbelievably ignorant it was stunning! And at a farmer's market the haole snowbirds aggressively elbow into the line, pushing me from behind!!! So I stopped going until Winter was over. So this is what locals have to do and put up with that makes me really angry!!! ... And yeah, some locals are equally behaving like crap ... but not my job to call out anyone even tho I am 74. It's one them. But if they come after me ... they going get stink right back! ... Anyways, your dream is the ideal way to resolve this kind of thing! Get well soon!
The theme park analogy is an interesting one. I think it applies more to certain locals than others. And it's also how you were brought up and how much a person has traveled.
Working in downtown back on my early 20s eating my lunch watching people in Hotel st, i'd always say to myself if this is it being an adult living in the real world is like this "Hawaii?". Today I'm in CA and life is different and about 10yrs ahead. I bet some new age adult is thinking the same thing "why am I still here".
I know the feeling. It depends on the individual, their dreams, desires, willingness to work, willingness to sacrifice, what they enjoy, what they prioritize. We don't know who we are until we are faced with those challenges at any age/situation. If getting by is important, how stress/pressure, change might not be something desired. If regularity is important, constant strain/pressure isn't important. People change over time, so change on what they want, might change as those qualities that they liked in the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's changes. When one is young, speeding is exhilarating, when one is responsible for others being there, speed isn't a priority, it's getting safely. Nothing lasts forever.
Maybe we place a lot of pressure on ourselves and misuse our creativity. Sometimes a couple past negative experiences, or certain perceptions of others, can make us believe it'll be like this again. When in reality, for example, there's a high possibility that you're gonna get the lines sorted out fine, and nobody's gonna get offended. We live a lot in our own minds.
@@HelloFromHawaii Mahalo nui. I have been enjoying the language lessons on Duolingo for the language. I’m mostly learning it out of respect and stuff. I’ll also be learning Japanese later on. I will still live on the mainland for a year but I’ll move to hawai’i in around mid 2025. Appreciate the quick response 😊
Hawaii is a trap for people that grew up there. The military got me to leave. I had a chance to come back in the 90’s with a six figure job but saw how much better i could live on the mainland with the same pay. My whole family(mother, father,brother&fam) was still in Hawaii. I visited every two or three yeers, was the best decision in my life.
You are a great ambassador of Hawaii…locals can be irritating but you are able to articulate the pros and cons of living in Hawaii in entertaining way with out making locals look like dumbasses with exaggerated pidgin and over the top local norms.
Slightly off topic but let’s compare Costcos on Oahu and in where it originated in the PNW. The Alakawa Costco was much closer to my house but it’s plain nutz plus people get robbed and their cars get broken into there. Because of that I’d drive to the Hawaii Kai one which was less crazy. The one I go to up here has lots of parking and hardly any lines at checkout, even the gasoline line. Also, I guess due to cheaper and better distribution networks you don’t see the mom & pop owners buying trolleys of goods to resell up here, which also makes for shorter and faster lines. Until you see the difference you probably just think (as I did) that all Costcos are that busy. Keep in mind that Costco has no competition like Sam’s Club up here too. Oh, besides already lower prices there’s no sales tax on food or no sales tax at all in Oregon. Folks just have to decide if they can afford the Hawaii theme park or go to a different one.
It’s not news to me. Ive been hearing this for a long time now. Tourism is the main profit maker for Hawaii. Alot of people from the mainland who are rich are also buying land in Hawaii.
Living in Hawaii is like my dream of marrying my high school sweetheart (shhhh...he doesn't know). I set a secret wish (almost jokingly in my head) that we would get married on da rail when it gets to Town (dream analyze that buggah). When the rail actually got up and running last year, in my delulu romance novel kine head, I imagined what our wedding party would entail being able to see the views of home from a renewed point of view. With so much potential seeing the vistas of Waimalu, Pearl City, Waipahu, Makakilo, Kapolei side....in spite the views we see...every ... single day...that we gripe about...traffic, crime, back roads da kine stuff on Stolen Stuff Hawaii social media you cannot openly talk about...but it's actually there cause you cannot deny reality. One day I will write this fan-fic, young adult fiction, or romance novel about growth in relationship and readjustment of expectations.🤙..in a trilogy of three with vampires that sparkle and werewolves....lol.
I lived there for 15 years it was good before COVID then the locals started to lose their mind with insane amounts of fireworks every night of the year, endless explosion going off in neighborhood all hours of the night. It's completely destroyed the vibe Hawaii used to have.
I seriously would have spoken up and corrected Auntie ... yes, even local kine. I no like when people take cuts, evah! Careful how I do it though, but yes I have done.
Hey Lorax, hold down the fort. Was Auntie Chinese?You'd know if you've ever been to China? 😂 Success comes to those who take risks. In the past, many left their homeland to seek out better opportunities. It payed off for many.
Most of those 15,000 people that leave will live a better life, make more money, give their kids a better life and have a good retirement. They will also be able to go back to Hawaii and visit as tourist and it will be so much more fun because they wont have been there for a few years. Thats me. Grew up in Hawaii, moved to the mainland, retired at 52, my brother still lives there, lives in his mother in laws tiny house, still working, will never retire.
Thx for being authentic. Have you ever thought of getting a law degree? Hawaii needs lawyers with your commitment to community. I’m temporarily local here in Honolulu, partly (and perhaps oddly) bcuz of your videos. But you should think about it.
It's like approaching wildlife, right? You're local, and you have to make boundaries for visitors and help educated them that you're not a theme park or part of the zoo creatures. I hear you. I live a little like that in my small mountain town in Idyllwild. We are close to LA and SD and people don't think we live here. It's so dangerous here when they are letting their kids and dogs in the highway when it is snowing, but they just think it is uninhabited and they can go ahead and play everywhere. I am ready to leave after 11 years since it's getting worse in that regard, and visitors are getting more aggressive. I'm sorry, Bro.
If you’re in the wrong line, it’s on you, not the one telling you. The other people are capable of deciding for themselves. The analogy is if everyone else is moving, should you too? Hawaii is so far away, you’re really on an island literally. Japan and Taiwan are islands too. I’m visiting Japan next year. Their Tokyo Disneyland is superior to Disneyland in Anaheim. I’m established in California and I will likely retire here.
I think living in a condo with concrete under your feet, you are not in touch with the land, soil, nature of Hawaii that much, so Hawaii can feels like a theme park for tourists and just barely a home for you. You have nothing real to connect to beside your family. But if you got yourself a small house with a yard or some land and dug your hands into that land daily growing vegetables or flowers or fruit, you would feel a lot different about hawaii, far more connected and far more appreciative of what this tropical home has to offer. I am a haole and I don't feel like I am living in a tourist theme park, I feel like I am living in a tree park of my own making, with birds and bugs and wild pigs and chickens to keep me company, with hands stuck in the red dirt, growing food and feeling so close and appreciative of this warm land.
Interesting point. Living in town does something to you after a while. And if we could find a small house with a yard that we could afford, I'm all for moving 🤙
Gotta say, it was the worst during the height of the pandemic since we were "safe" places, but if you're in a small community with people flooding in, it's putting everyone local at risk. That was not easy to have the aloha spirit then when our families were at risk.
I lived there a full 13 months it’s not cool, people suffer from poverty and lack of education and drugs n alcohol, hard to get jobs, big ass potholes that destroy your small economy car suspension expensive to fix, the gov won’t let it grow, won’t encourage tourism to raise money for locals kids and education. Land could be used for eco resorts to help everyone , specially taxed resorts but win win. Something should be done to help the people.
@@butchpedit4871 yes it was I grew up in kam housing always left my bicycle out in the front yard never got stolen back in the day was better compared to now
Your state has about a million and a half residents and a million of them live on Oahu whose land area is about the size of Greater Houston, Texas. The visiting tourist is a separate group, "just passing through" albeit often. See your dilemma here? People will continue to move to Hawaii until your island starts to sink, that's obvious sarcasm but the majority of people living on Oahu are "locals" and your problems and solutions will come from within and to date not a very good job fixing things. You sure whine a lot. I guess you need to define a "local" too. Your bride is an immigrant so just how long will she need to live in Hawaii to be considered a "local" and sorry no pass she married into it. The "local" against the "them's" is what's been killing your state moving forward big time for the past 40+ years. The Lahaina mess was not caused by outsiders was it? As far has the haves and the have nots; you are aware that about 1% of Americans control about half our county's wealth right? Or a better perspective, closer to home, about 98% of Lanai is owned by Billionaire Larry Ellison (3rd wealthiest American, net worth -$142 BILLION). Or that the largest single landowner is the State of Hawaii (1.3 million acres), followed by the Feds at about 1/2 million acres then Kamehameha Schools trust (formerly the Bishop Trust) at about 363K acres. Affordable low income and moderate income housing, why doesn't the state build and finance them on your land? I think you can guess why. Sometimes it's a bitter pill to accept reality that the mess is family brewed and not all on the haole who is the convenient scapegoat. A good sized share of course, but not just them. As far as the annexation and all the sovereignty hostility that today is reeking the reality is that had it not been the U.S. after the Spanish American War it most likely would have been taken by Japan and Hawaii today would be under the Nippon flag much like Okinawa. The Japanese Army & Navy were a lot bigger than America was in 1899.
Mahalo for the comment. In response to what you were saying about the problems and solutions coming from within the State, it's true. However, we can also look outside for solutions, whether they are brought here directly or indirectly, by locals or non-locals. Sure, it will take time, but I think this is why it's so important for younger generations to leave Hawaii so that they can bring back, if they choose to move back, those experiences and ways of thinking to solve Hawaii's problems. 🤙
@@HelloFromHawaii First, look at your economy; tourism and government, more specifically the military. That's been in serious place since the early 1960s. One's growing again post pandemic, the other is getting smaller. You have no agriculture anymore. Unless you choose to become the marijuana growing capital of the planet. And, no matter how you shake it, tourism provides a ton of jobs that don't equate to being able to live on a reasonable level in Hawaii unless you work several of them. Not much debate. Housing. The government, particularly on Oahu, needs to decide, and quickly now, if they are going into the public housing business big time, hopefully avoiding all the pitfalls of the past (you know the neighborhoods) or utilizing state land to build small homes that can be offered for owner buy vs. tenant lease. And then an infra structure to move those workers around efficiently. Meaning; more rail. That's a giant leap, both in faith and cost and we both know that's asking a lot of your politicians. Then wages can be negotiated within the private sector to allow residents to make a decent income while still allowing a profit for the tourist industry. Failing to do this, you're totally screwed. "Urban planning" and Urban development" were catch phrases on the mainland in the 1940s-1960s) oftentimes with disastrous consequences. Does UH offer degrees in the subjects? If not, why?
