Help a haole get set up in Hawaii

Rosstafari

Rosstafari

Hello, this is Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer
Somehow I managed to convince a 135 carrier in Hawaii to let me fly a PC-12 around. I’ve been domiciled away from home before, but Hawaii’s got some... unique differences.

Anyone here familiar with a resource to find good info on being based out there? Finding a crash pad? A car? Etc etc. Was thinking about getting in touch with HAL’s ALPA group, but wasn’t sure if they can help a non-member.

Thanks guys.
 
I can't help you any of the logistics. But, I have a friend who lives there. According to her, be sure to leave your mainland attitudes on the mainland. Hawaiians have a different ethos. Learn to embrace it.
 
Congrats! I can’t really add much since I haven’t been working there since 2013. There were many beater cars to purchase just make sure you have some connections with the inspection facilities.
 
QXDX said:
I can't help you any of the logistics. But, I have a friend who lives there. According to her, be sure to leave your mainland attitudes on the mainland. Hawaiians have a different ethos. Learn to embrace it.
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I tried to embrace it. Everyone was nice to me on a personal level. I just couldn't take the way the government runs. The way they went after vacation rentals on the big island was corrupt and nobody stepped up to challenge it like they are where I live in WA. Too much government waste and a lack of accountability. The way they let this small vocal group stop the TMT was the final straw. There were so many little things about the place that drove me crazy I finally decided it just wasn't going to be for me long term. I closed last March. Great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.
 
DE727UPS said:
I tried to embrace it. Everyone was nice to me on a personal level. I just couldn't take the way the government runs. The way they went after vacation rentals on the big island was corrupt and nobody stepped up to challenge it like they are where I live in WA. Too much government waste and a lack of accountability. The way they let this small vocal group stop the TMT was the final straw. There were so many little things about the place that drove me crazy I finally decided it just wasn't going to be for me long term. I closed last March. Great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.
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In Kona where you were, the vacation rental market is really, just that. In other locations, that market has absolutely destroyed the single family home market. Pre covid, due to out of state/country buyers looking for either vacation rental or second (or third) home properties, the average single family house cost is now about $920,000. Thanks to very low property taxes, somebody can pay just a few thousand dollars a year on a $1 million dollar house, so there is very little downside to an owner that rents it out all the time, or uses it themselves for just a few days a year.

The local government here is pretty messed up, I'll give you that.

TMT... it's a tough issue. The overthrow of the Kingdom is an issue that has never really been resolved, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has never really done the job it was designed to do. While the idea of the TMT was a good one, the execution and gathering of support for the project was a huge screw up from the beginning.

It's really not that hard to adapt to living out here. You just have to accept a lot of things for being the way they are, and work slowly to change them for the better. You also have to respect the idea of a culture that feels like they were unjustly cast aside, whether you personally believe it or not. If you can do those things (and accept that Amazon Prime 2 day shipping really isn't 2 days) you'll be fine.
 
I got a vibe that some locals didn't like being part of the US and just wanted their county back. However, they were more than happy to reap the benefits of being part of the US and don't even think about taking any of the benefits they were used to away. I always felt like I was in a foreign country when I was there. So your right, you need to adapt to the culture, and I wasn't really interested in doing that. I was not really in Kona, I was out in the sticks 45 minutes south of Kona. Anyhow, nothing against Hawaii. It just wasn't for me. There are some other reasons it wasn't going to work out long term. I want to do more GA flying after I retire and it's pretty non-existent there. Also, I won't be able to fly for free anymore starting in June.
 
DE727UPS said:
I got a vibe that some locals didn't like being part of the US and just wanted their county back. However, they were more than happy to reap the benefits of being part of the US and don't even think about taking any of the benefits they were used to away. I always felt like I was in a foreign country when I was there. So your right, you need to adapt to the culture, and I wasn't really interested in doing that. I was not really in Kona, I was out in the sticks 45 minutes south of Kona. Anyhow, nothing against Hawaii. It just wasn't for me. There are some other reasons it wasn't going to work out long term. I want to do more GA flying after I retire and it's pretty non-existent there. Also, I won't be able to fly for free anymore starting in June.
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@Rosstafari
Lived and flew in Maui for 6 months as my first flying gig back in '08. It was a blast but the locals were unwelcoming. Lowest high school test scores in the States was all I needed to know. I'm not patriotic, but If it wasn't for the US, Hawaii would be Tonga. Forgotten and insignificant (no offense Tongans). Don't look a gift horse in the mouth...

P.S. "haole" is like the n-word, it's offensive. Locals use it as a slur.
 
BobDDuck said:
Many locals are haole though. It's used as a description, not a slur. If you put an expletive in front of it, it becomes a slur.
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I normally agree with stuff you say, but if a pre-fix makes the difference regarding hate speech, then you're wrong about this one. Just because it's tolerated doesn't make it right. It's used as a derogatory word, and that shouldn't be acceptable.
 
If you’re HNL based. Just up the road is a Marine Corps base. Many military folk sell cars and bikes for good deals once they get orders elsewhere. Same for Pearl, I have seen cars for insanely low prices on Craigslist HNL.
 
BobDDuck said:
Many locals are haole though. It's used as a description, not a slur. If you put an expletive in front of it, it becomes a slur.
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It also used to be a day of year... kill haole day... older brother beat up in high school on that day.


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ComplexHiAv8r said:
It also used to be a day of year... kill haole day... older brother beat up in high school on that day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Ooooooh, I worked with Tongan Crips in SLC, in juvenile detention. They were ummmm HUGE! I felt like David and they were Goliath, but figured if we went to guns, it wasn't going to end biblical. Be fair. Show no fear, do and say what you say. Don't get punked out. I survived unscathed.

I feel for your brother.
 
I lived in Kailua on Oahu back in the 70's while I was in 5th or 6th grade. I always thought Haole was just how they described white people. Heck Haole's called other white people that. I got called Shark Bait in a derogatory way in school but it did not bother me much.
 
BEEF SUPREME said:
Which island will you be based at?
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Sorry, I got behind on the thread -- flying out and first few days of indoc have been busy.

In HNL, so plenty of options. Haven't been able to leave the hotel in Ala Moana much, but was able to do a quick spin around the metro area and and out and back to Kailua / Kaneohe since a lot of crews live out there. I think it'll just be me for the time being, so I may just stay in close to the water in something small... seems like there are the most choices in this area anyway. Kailua seemed nice for families.

I'm already seeing some of the good and bad parts people are mentioning. Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions so far. I'll gladly take any others you have. A lot more to get used to out here.
 
BobDDuck said:
Many locals are haole though. It's used as a description, not a slur. If you put an expletive in front of it, it becomes a slur.
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A bit off topic, but do Hawaiians appreciate mainlanders using Aloha/Mahalo in greetings or because it is their language would they prefer you not?
 
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