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The Price Of Paradise
Aloha! To many, Hawaii is associated with that mythical place we call Paradise. At first glance, most see the beautiful beaches full of tanned, healthy tourists and kamaainas (locals). Huge, sleek hotels accommodate the thousands of visitors that come to the islands every single day of the year. Limousines are a regular sight; giant shopping centers appear to be booming with business. Thousands of young, old, slim and fat people are jogging, swimming, hiking, enjoying sunsets and most of all, spending a lot of money! All is well in the beautiful state of Hawaii..or is it? If one looks closely, the people, mostly the natives and the mentally ill and the addicted, can be seen almost as much as the tourists. Living on the beaches, sleeping in the parks, the discrepancy in lifestyles is at first astonishing and then saddening. Make no mistake about this, homelessness is at an all-time high in Paradise! One quick glance at the classifieds in the daily newspaper is enough to tell the story. In Hawaii, the average price of a home is around $600, 000. Ever tried to figure out what the loan is to pay for that kind of mortgage? The average 2 bedroom apartment on Oahu, the main island, rents for $1900.00/month! Unless two or three working folks are living together, the rent or mortgage for the average wage earner is out of reach. No wonder there are so many homeless, you say! Yes, and the saddest part of all of it is the fact that the native Hawaiians are the ones being affected by the incredible inflation. The other very concerning fact is that very little is being done about it! The State says they are building "affordable housing."
Affordable if you can afford a $2-3, 000.00 mortgage! Many of our local people earn little more than minimum wage and every decent job has so many folks applying for it that, unless you know someone, your chances of getting that decent job is pretty slim. A final picture that you quite often see is a group of tourist eating and drinking extravagantly at an outdoor restaurant in Waikiki completely oblivious to the poor local couple living in the bushes right across the street! Ah... the price of paradise...
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Contributor's Note
The author of this piece of intel is John Leary III, a kamaaina for the past 33 years, having moved to Hawaii in 1975. I have lived on both sides of the track, so to speak, and my heart goes out to all that are struggling just to stay alive in this land called Paradise.
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This intel was contributed by leimomi
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May, 2012
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