Yeah that’s gonna depend heavily on where you live in Hawaii. There is aloha almost everywhere, but at the same time, Oahu in particular is one of the most expensive places to live in the world, and its not like the jobs here really pay well. The result is some very very poor local communities, and as a function of that poverty, relatively high rates of crime. Take a look at the local high schools testing scores: https://www.publicschoolreview.com/waianae-high-school-profile. About 15% of graduating Sr. can do math at their grade level and about 40% can read at the appropriate grade level (but hey that’s up from around 5% and 20% respectively, so we doing alright).
You can look at the crime statistics, but I can tell you personally they are BS, because simply put, after you call the cops once around here once, you figure out quick why no one bothers with them. So these numbers are like, massively under-reported. Probably on the order of 5-10x. The feds had to step in and take over parts of the HPD because HPD is so corrupt and was on the take for the gambling and trap houses, and there are at least 5 active gambling/trap houses on just my block (after some raids last summer).
Its also a culture in some ways defined by violence. The Hawaiian people are famous and proud for their fighting ability. Max Holloway, BJ Penn, Ray Cooper, these guys are all hometown heroes and the fireworks go off pretty much every time MMA is on. Fighting here is like surfing. Kids grow up doing it so they get excellent at it.
So if you in an extremely white area of Oahu, ymmv, but its not all roses and a white washed version of aloha. If you sticking to the tourist areas, I suppose its fine, but the same would be true of a Sandals resort in the Caribbean. But that tourist areas and resorts are a specifically composed fiction, and I would argue that the same is true of the gentrified areas of Hawaii (kako ako, ala moana, etc…). The reality is that a lack of education drives poverty, poverty drives desperation, and desperation drives people to violence.
That all being said, its pretty chill. Just hope you like Biggie.
Yeah that’s gonna depend heavily on where you live in Hawaii. There is aloha almost everywhere, but at the same time, Oahu in particular is one of the most expensive places to live in the world, and its not like the jobs here really pay well. The result is some very very poor local communities, and as a function of that poverty, relatively high rates of crime. Take a look at the local high schools testing scores: https://www.publicschoolreview.com/waianae-high-school-profile. About 15% of graduating Sr. can do math at their grade level and about 40% can read at the appropriate grade level (but hey that’s up from around 5% and 20% respectively, so we doing alright).
You can look at the crime statistics, but I can tell you personally they are BS, because simply put, after you call the cops once around here once, you figure out quick why no one bothers with them. So these numbers are like, massively under-reported. Probably on the order of 5-10x. The feds had to step in and take over parts of the HPD because HPD is so corrupt and was on the take for the gambling and trap houses, and there are at least 5 active gambling/trap houses on just my block (after some raids last summer).
Its also a culture in some ways defined by violence. The Hawaiian people are famous and proud for their fighting ability. Max Holloway, BJ Penn, Ray Cooper, these guys are all hometown heroes and the fireworks go off pretty much every time MMA is on. Fighting here is like surfing. Kids grow up doing it so they get excellent at it.
So if you in an extremely white area of Oahu, ymmv, but its not all roses and a white washed version of aloha. If you sticking to the tourist areas, I suppose its fine, but the same would be true of a Sandals resort in the Caribbean. But that tourist areas and resorts are a specifically composed fiction, and I would argue that the same is true of the gentrified areas of Hawaii (kako ako, ala moana, etc…). The reality is that a lack of education drives poverty, poverty drives desperation, and desperation drives people to violence.
That all being said, its pretty chill. Just hope you like Biggie.