Moved from Thailand to Big Island of Hawaii

[Cohen]

Why did you moved there? Or you did not check the place before you moved? Hmmm.

[Justfine]

Hawaiian would be a good place to live if cheaper. Easy to avoid junk food - you don't buy it.

[atyclb]

21 hours ago, James2020 said:

Last year we moved from Maui to Thailand.  Much of it was due to my particular circumstances, but Thailand is much better for us.  We lived on Maui for 4 years and built a house on the West side.  My wife is Thai and didn't like it at all.  It took us most of the day to shop for food, going to 5 or 6 places to get what we wanted, if it was available.  There is one highway to the West side which is jammed with traffic most of the day.  My wife refused to go back to any of the Thai restaurants on the island, and we tried them all.  The staff usually cook for themselves rather than eat the expensive westernized Thai food.  Many of the hundred or so Thai women on the island were into gambling and drinking, which didn't suit us, so my wife felt isolated.  The cost of living is very high, i.e. $25/hr for a maid, $80/hr for an electrician.  Healthcare on Maui is pretty bad.  The last straw were the wild pigs and fire ants - I'll tell you about them sometime...  In Thailand, services are much better and way cheaper, and our lifestyle is much better, in spite of it being a developing country, with all of the attendant problems.  Hawaii is a beautiful place with weather about as perfect as you can find on this planet, but as it's said, living there is quite different from visiting.

 

 

lack of multiple roads is a problem in hawaii.  oahu had some decent thai places but most not so good.

 

the majority of thai gals on oahu seemed to be transplants from the bar scene with the usual vices.

 

i did have a thai psychiatrist friend that was training in a local hospital. she since is married.

 

check the price of licensed electricians and plumbers in other states, very high.

 

 

why was healthcare bad?

[chubby]

On 5/20/2018 at 8:18 PM, ev1lchris said:

Wow, quite a response.

 

I live on the Big Island in a town called Keaau which is 30 minutes drive time away from Hilo.  It really upsets me when people call "Hilo" the real Hawaii because I think the city and this particular island are really shitty.

 

There are not a lot of attractive Japanese women, or any other women of that kind.  The other day I was coming out of Taco Bell and I was watching this huge fat woman vape and blow her smoke up in the air and though of how she looked like a giant fat dumb ass dragon.  Those are the women here.

 

I'm living at my mommy's rent free so for me it's cheaper than Thailand.

 

I don't find the people here friendly and especially not when you compare them to the Thai.  I think a lot of people here are frustrated and angry and don't like people coming to "their island."  Just what you would expect from a colonized culture.

 

There is little to no nightlife.  I imagine it's different in Kona.

 

A lot of the natives are addicted to meth.  If you Google search the statistics you can find multiple sources saying it's four times the national USA average.

 

Right now I'm in an Information Technology program so that someday I can work remotely from Asia and live there on a more permanent basis. 

well, there's your problem, you one malihini  555,  Hilo folks are pretty anti-haole,    parts of Kona are probably less "local" , PS don't call them  "natives"  lol

 

The island of hawaii, maui, kauai, really are only livable if you are from there or part of a community IMO ; Oahu  has more variety, but it's own share of problems, but at least its not just 2 lane roads and toursits .   IMO try Kona, but you might have to pay rent, which won't be that great there either.   Puna and HOVE, side   low rent, but  isolated, and not for everyone

[ev1lchris]

6 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

 

lack of multiple roads is a problem in hawaii.  oahu had some decent thai places but most not so good.

 

the majority of thai gals on oahu seemed to be transplants from the bar scene with the usual vices.

 

i did have a thai psychiatrist friend that was training in a local hospital. she since is married.

 

check the price of licensed electricians and plumbers in other states, very high.

 

 

why was healthcare bad?

My mom lives full-time on the Mainland because the healthcare here is so bad.  They are just not competent.  This is a major problem for everyone.  I overheard a conversation that the doctors on the islands totally didn't catch someone's pancreatic cancer and when it was found he was already at stage four.  It's seriously a life and death issue here.

[James2020]

19 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

 

lack of multiple roads is a problem in hawaii.  oahu had some decent thai places but most not so good.

 

the majority of thai gals on oahu seemed to be transplants from the bar scene with the usual vices.

 

i did have a thai psychiatrist friend that was training in a local hospital. she since is married.

 

check the price of licensed electricians and plumbers in other states, very 

 

 

why was healthcare bad?

If you're young and healthy, probably no problem with the local health care system, but even my PCP didn't do some things he should have, like checking my prostate or updating my vaccinations (and I'm a retired MD).  For anything serious or if seeing a specialist, you'll probably have to go off island, to Honolulu or the mainland, which is inconvenient and expensive.  From my own experience, there was only one gastroenterologist on the island, and you needed a diagnosis of cancer to see her within three months.  I called the half dozen in Honolulu, and never talked to a real person.  I ended up going to the mainland.  There's only one hospital in Kahului, so the ambulance ride is about 45 minutes away, although they are building a small one on the west side.  I was in my PCP's office one day, and a boy came in with a burn on his foot.  The family was told to go to the hospital.  In most places the PCP's offices are equipped to handle such things.  And don't expect nice offices with good parking, etc. - they just don't exist on Maui.  After all, it's a small place in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

[Hawaiian]

Maui's economy started with the whaling industry and was gradually replaced by sugar and pineapple which have been replaced by tourism.  In the past much of the medical care was provided by plantation doctors and clinics.  The hospital system is in turmoil because of a dispute with the government hospital workers union.  They are fighting over privatization of the state hospital.  And the state is stonewalling the construction of a new private hospital because it will compete with the state hospital. 

One reason for the shortage of medical doctors in Hawaii is the high cost of living and a state government that is in bed with the two major health insurance providers.  Thank goodness I have medical insurance that let's me go to any doctor without a referral.  It also helps that my PCP is "local" and went to same private school I went to.

Edited May 23, 2018 by Hawaiian

[quandow]

Shouldn't you really be asking "Has anyone ever had to move from Southeast Asia to Hawaii then moved back?"

 

I moved to Mexico out of frustration for the many little "Thainess" features in LOS.

 

I was back in 6 weeks.

[lionsincity]

2 hours ago, quandow said:

Shouldn't you really be asking "Has anyone ever had to move from Southeast Asia to Hawaii then moved back?"

 

I moved to Mexico out of frustration for the many little "Thainess" features in LOS.

 

I was back in 6 weeks.

 

what didn't you like about Mexico?

[Justfine]

6 minutes ago, lionsincity said:

 

what didn't you like about Mexico?

The people?

[lionsincity]

5 minutes ago, Justfine said:

The people?

 

what city or town?

I aways found them ok

[ev1lchris]

Shame to hear about you not liking Mexico.  I would love to go there but it's a bit unsafe for the past ten years.

 

I've been to Baja and I kind of love it.  Mexican food is my favorite.  I love Mexican women too.

 

Maybe I can get a job somewhere along a border town so I can dip in occasionally. 

[quandow]

On 5/24/2018 at 3:04 PM, lionsincity said:

 

what didn't you like about Mexico?

There was NOTHING TO DO!!! I moved to Zijuatanejo (remember Tim Robbins "The Shawshank Redemption?) - NO movie theaters, NO clubs to speak of, I couldn't ride my bicycle as the traffic was WORSE than Jomtien, NO gyms that didn't look like rejects from a prison, and the whole 6 weeks I was there I only saw ONE woman I'd even CONSIDER talking to let alone swap fluids. It was primarily a retirement community for Canadian snowbirds - it just doesn't get any more exciting than THAT, eh? I went to Mexico City a few times, just another Bangkok where they didn't speak a whole lot of English. The only thing I miss were the tamales - a U.S. dollar bought you a BUNCH of them, and they were delicious.

[watcharacters]

1 hour ago, quandow said:

There was NOTHING TO DO!!! I moved to Zijuatanejo (remember Tim Robbins "The Shawshank Redemption?) - NO movie theaters, NO clubs to speak of, I couldn't ride my bicycle as the traffic was WORSE than Jomtien, NO gyms that didn't look like rejects from a prison, and the whole 6 weeks I was there I only saw ONE woman I'd even CONSIDER talking to let alone swap fluids. It was primarily a retirement community for Canadian snowbirds - it just doesn't get any more exciting than THAT, eh? I went to Mexico City a few times, just another Bangkok where they didn't speak a whole lot of English. The only thing I miss were the tamales - a U.S. dollar bought you a BUNCH of them, and they were delicious.

 

 

And Montezuma's?

 

[quandow]

20 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

And Montezuma's?

 

Nah, after eating Thai food NOTHING Montezuma could throw my way had any affect. THAT might even have been interesting - it was THAT BORING!!!

[watcharacters]

4 hours ago, quandow said:

Nah, after eating Thai food NOTHING Montezuma could throw my way had any affect. THAT might even have been interesting - it was THAT BORING!!!

 

That doesn't sound very complimentary about Thai food,  does it?

 

I  do not disagree with you.

 

 

 

 

[lionsincity]

On 5/31/2018 at 4:14 AM, quandow said:

Nah, after eating Thai food NOTHING Montezuma could throw my way had any affect. THAT might even have been interesting - it was THAT BORING!!!

 

what about other places like Puerto Vallarta?

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

There was NOTHING TO DO!!! I moved to Zijuatanejo (remember Tim Robbins "The Shawshank Redemption?) - NO movie theaters, NO clubs to speak of, I couldn't ride my bicycle as the traffic was WORSE than Jomtien, NO gyms that didn't look like rejects from a prison, and the whole 6 weeks I was there I only saw ONE woman I'd even CONSIDER talking to let alone swap fluids. It was primarily a retirement community for Canadian snowbirds - it just doesn't get any more exciting than THAT, eh? I went to Mexico City a few times, just another Bangkok where they didn't speak a whole lot of English. The only thing I miss were the tamales - a U.S. dollar bought you a BUNCH of them, and they were delicious.

My parents went to Club Med Zihuatanejo in the 1970s, their only vacation without us kids.

Later I heard it was known for wife-swapping parties and Cocaine.

[JimmyJ]

On 5/20/2018 at 9:53 PM, James2020 said:

   Many of the hundred or so Thai women on the island were into gambling and drinking, which didn't suit us, so my wife felt isolated. 

Hawaii is one of 6 US states with no lottery, and casinos are illegal.

 

I assume the gambling is bingo?