corpus christi looks intriguing, also. honestly, when we started talking about pulling up stakes, it was austin we were thinking about. there are TONS of RT jobs in austin/san antonio/corpus christi.

ain't that the truth. it was patently obvious when we were on kuaui. and we were only there for two weeks.

Google "vog"; its a problem on the big island, so you're probably in luck as a RT.

Corpus is smaller and industrial. And Padre is close by. You will have to adjust, cause it's not the heat, it's the humidity.

Imagine a place where you get all of the cold weather and road salt and 4 months of cloud cover, but you never get the snow, that's St. Louis.
Funny, I'd give my right one to be in Utah right now....
Perspectives.

yeah, vog: nothing like breathing toxic volcanic gases and glass.

humidity doesn't bother me. i grew up in kentucky.

i wouldn't live in st. louis. ever! no offense. i lived in kansas city, and it was horrible.

San Antonio seemed like a nice town when I was there in May. The riverwalk is awesome. Not saying I'd live there though... But I hate big cities... Have you thought about OKC or Tulsa? Housing is cheap here. I know someone selling a 3bed 2bath with a 2car garage in Edmond for 135k...

not sure that i'd fit in very well in oklahoma. i sure didn't fit in anywhere in kansas, that is for sure.

What makes you say that? We are a little less backwards than Kansas... Reddest state in the Union which might be a problem for some...

i spent about a year total in kansas, wichita, pratt, kansas city, lawrence. actually, lawrence was ok. the rest of it felt like a children of the corn episode.

If you have kids, figure you will have to teach them to read and write English yourself if they go to public school in Hawaii.

This pretty much sums it up. It was like this 20 years ago and only getting worse. In all my time there and many, many friends - I only know one guy who adapted and really came part of the community.

Great place to visit. Great place to have lots of money. Not so great to make a living and make it home..

If you have kids do NOT go to Hawaii. They will hate school big time. Every Friday is "kill haoule day". White folks are haoules so every Friday you get in a fight. You flat don't go to school on the last Friday of the school year. I don't care how tough you are you can't whip all the boys in school at once. I had two boys that were assigned to be my tormentors. Everyday they did something to me.

When I think of the SLC area I think of the Wasatch Mountains, skiing, trail running, rock climbing, backpacking, etc. When I think of Hawaii, I think of a nice place to visit but not a nice place to live. When I think of Texas, I think of humidity and chiggers.

Make a change, move somewhere appealing, and then report back. Now is the time. Do it.

MAn this hit it on the head!

stayed in and around kona numerous times now. got to know really well "KONA BOY". kona boy owns kona boy surfboard/boogie board/snorkal shop. he was a navy brat from birth there. both peeps in the navy stationed at pearl.

all he did was get his ass beat cuz he was white. those damn lokals grow real damn big eating POI and ding dongs/doritos(once again think indian rez high diabetes diet) and he HATED IT!

as an adult he got into it numerous times cuz his biz overlapped a lokals same biz. giant PITA to deal with LOKALS!

crime is bad there.captive meth audience) dont let tourista industry B.S. you. standard op for lokals is spy a rental car(has number or sticker on it), watch you get out, go to beach, frolick on beach, break into car,steal ya blind, and laugh their asses off cuz THEY KNOW to be prosecuted you must come back to testify in court and the laklihood of you coming back to prosecute is about as high as the sun coming up in the west. they have this down to a science.

try lugging (2) sets of scuba gear, (3) unta wata cameras and strobes all over hells acre and NOT GET RIPPED OFF!

nerve wracking to say the least.


its very much like dealing with american indians and biker trash...............when around them.............YOU MUST ACT CRAZIER THAN A FREEKING LOON and they will give you wide berth. at 6'3" 215# i am a midget in comparison to most of the fat ass lokal bruddahs. just act crazy and they will leave you alone.


having a .44 mag single shot bang stick(federal 240JHP waterproofed) and a triple band spear gun kind of helps also ! and thats LEGAL!


always leave yer crap in hotel safe or have insurance on your dive gear(DAN network is cheap).

read FBI crime stats about each island and you will POO yerself!

okay, i get it. hawaii is bad. worse if you are a white kid going to school. actually, what you describe pretty well sums up my experience at school in utah, only it was because i had suthren accent.

i just got an email from the folks in hilo. i can't afford it.

$23.40/hour, 6% shaved off the top for 'state retirement' and i don't vest for 5 years, mandatory union contributions, and health insurance of about $500/month. they will pay $2100 towards relocation (about what it would cost to fly us out there and maybe the cost to relocate my motorcycle). add to this the higher cost of everything. this would be financially disastrous.

I love Hilo... but as has been said you are next door to a volcano (VOG) and in tsunami country... but if I had a chance I would still move there. Much prefer Kauai but I see that is not your style. I have one friend that was born there (Big island) and a couple that have moved there... key to surviving the cost of living in the islands is growing your own food... get a couple chickens... fruit and veggies practically grow themselves... go fishing...

Best of luck in your search...

Hold the phone... you are in Utah!

How about just moving out of Salt lake city?

its not the city i have a problem with. its the weather in the winter. among other things. the cost of living is actually pretty high. not compared to kauai or new york city, but the wages here are low as well. everyone here has a degree so the competition for jobs is fierce.

So if it's the weather that you have such disdain for, what's wrong with San Diego?
AHHHH, BREATH IT IN!