1. Folks In Honolulu Are Fearless
Honolulu is a great surfing spot, duh. But the waves aren’t exactly recommended for the beginner. The waves can get huge, the water rough, and shark sightings are not uncommon. And crowding up the water on them with your brand new, squeaky clean board on them is a good way to make enemies fast.
And just as much as people live riding on top of the water here, they love jumping into it from way up high. From the freshwater ponds to the oceans, people are always hurling themselves in a cannonball off of a big rock somewhere and yelling, “Chance ‘um!” (meaning “go for it!” in Pigin)
2. Everyone In Honolulu Is Almost Famous
If you’ve lived in Honolulu for any length of time, chances are you know a lot of people who have been extras in a bunch of different movies and television shows. You might even have scored a spot in one or two of them yourself.
Don’t believe me? Here are only some thing that have been filmed in Honolulu: “Lost,” “Magnum P.I.,” and both versions of “Hawaii Five-O,” And just outside of Honolulu around the island of Oahu are the filming locations for movies like “50 First Dates,” “Pearl Harbor,” "Soul Surfer," "Blue Crush," and the “Jurassic Park” films.
With so many movies and shows, a large number of people end up scoring their five seconds of fame.
3. No One In Honolulu Needs Actual Snow To Go Sledding
When life gives you snow, you make snowballs and go sledding. But when life gives you day after day of sunny skies and shirtless weather? Well, you MacGyver a sled out some cardboard and you go down the green hill anyway.
Cardboard sliding is the Honolulu answer to the locals’ inability to ever have the chance of sledding. And it’s exactly what it sounds like: riding down a hill in Kakaako Waterfront Park or maybe Temple Valley around Honolulu a strip of cardboard, and it’s just as fun as the real thing.
4. Everyone In Honolulu Laughs At Your Idea Of “Creepy Crawly” Things
Honolulu does almost everything better than everywhere else. Weather? Check. Chill atmosphere, unique food, bucket list life? Check, check, and check. You know what else they do better than a lot of places? Bugs.
As you’re reminded constantly, most of them are much creepier-looking than they are at all dangerous. But they definitely take some getting used to. The cockroaches have affectionately earned the name of “B-52s,” if that sheds a little light. That crazy coqui frog plague around the rest of Hawaii hasn’t hit here yet, but trust me, everyone in Hawaii has a very good friend in their exterminator.
5. Honolulu Folks Love Island Life...Until They Remember Animal Fries
Gorgeous beaches, lots of sun, and a beautiful, a booming city with a tropical landscape, and the classic Hawaiian Aloha spirit… Everything good you’ve seen and heard about Honolulu is true. But eventually island fever strikes everyone.
You’ll find yourself tortured by advertisements for places that don’t exist in Honolulu. Endless bread baskets at Olive Garden, animal fries from In-N-Out...you won’t find either place here.
So when people do leave the island (which doesn’t happen nearly as much as you think it does) they make sure to take an extra empty suitcase because they’ll be bringing a LOT of stuff home with you from the mainland.
6. Everyone In Honolulu Works (Really) Hard To Live In Paradise
How expensive is life in Honolulu? Gas is in the upper $4 range and milk will cost you a few bucks more a gallon than anywhere else in the country. And the housing market? You could buy two insane McMansions in the Midwest for the same price as a shack near the beach in Honolulu.
And if you’re interested in one of the
nice houses? Well, these people have to have one of those highly-coveted, cushy Honolulu jobs waiting for that pays some serious coin for those. They’re paying for the land value and the luxury of living in paradise, and they have to work for it. But the payoff beats just about everything.
7. But They Aloha Even Harder
Source: YouTube user lbishaw
Assuming, of course, that you’re fortunate enough to make it in Honolulu with an office job, then Friday is everything to you. Because it’s not just any Friday. It’s Aloha Friday and there’s no work ‘til Monday, which means a whole weekend full of enjoying everything you moved to Hawaii for.
Most offices actually make Aloha Friday a thing, just like casual Friday anywhere else. Come in your best Aloha attire, maybe even get to pack things up a little early, and leave it all behind until Monday morning. Aloha is more than the Hawaiian way to say hello, and much more than a shirt. It’s the spirit of Hawaii. It is the heart of the state and of the people.
8. People In Honolulu Have The Patience Of A Saint When They Drive
I already mentioned that Honolulu is extremely dense, and it shows the most in the traffic. If you’re looking to get from Honolulu to West Oahu, you’re looking at a two-hour commute each way. But the people in Honolulu are totally used to it.
And Honolulu folks are the masters direction, because their city is crazy confusing to drive around in. If they don’t know exactly where they’re going they’ve got a pretty good chance of getting lost. So the next time you feel like complaining about the traffic in Los Angeles or New York, remember that people in Honolulu have you all beat—and they'll do it happily. After all, they live in Hawaii.
9. If You Can Make A Life Here You Can Make It Anywhere
In short, yes, Honolulu is paradise. There is no getting around the fact that it’s a tougher city to live in than you might think, between the traffic, the expense, and the bugs, some people can’t hack it.
But there’s no denying that there’s still no place on Earth like it. Even the people who leave will tell you that their heart will always belong to Honolulu. New York City might think they’re the toughest city to make it in, but everyone in Honolulu knows the truth. If you can make it here, you can seriously make it anywhere. Plus, you’re here, which is so much better than everywhere else.
Feature Image Source: Flickr user Lou
Did we miss anything? Tell us what you think is unique about Honolulu in the comments below!
