hawaii

[momofkamnlela]

Pros? Cons? Friend of mine said she felt stranded and I've heard schools suck on here I think. Are certain islands good and certain bad? Dh has wanted to go there next and I'm really torn.

[thenguyenclan]

we were on Oahu....when i first got there i thought it sucked....then we left and i missed it so much :-(

you really dont need a car once you get to the island...i walked everywhere...even to the base :-) there are plenty of beaches (even private ones on the air force bases) ..plenty of places to eat....there are a lot of mom and pop shops..when we were there back in 2004 there wasnt a walmart or anything but they had a huge NEX :-)

the cons...well it is an island and im sure you might get bored of seeing the same thing over and over....and i do know that the school system there is one of the worst :-(  the hubster said if we ever got stationed there again our kids would have had to go to private school....

i havent been to any of the other islands but i have heard that Maui is more private than Oahu :-) 

[darbyakeep45]

We lived in Hawaii from 2004-2007 while my husband was on shore duty, and we loved it!  We didn't have a child at that point so that made things easier as we didn't have to think about schools or things like that.  We traveled a lot and went to Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island, and they were beautiful!  We lived in housing for a short time and then purchased a condo in Aiea.  I worked in downtown Honolulu, and I had a wonderful job that I loved...I worked in finance.  It was a wonderful first shore duty tour for my husband and we thoroughly enjoyed living there.  Good luck!

[sodsoldierwife]

We lived in Hawaii from 08-11. We lived close to North Shore. We miss it terribly. There is tons of shopping. The schools aren't the greatest but they're not horrible. Just be proactive with your child's education there and don't rely on the school system alone to teach.

There are beautiful beaches and tons of fun things to do, if you manage your time and money wisely. Hawaii is one of those duty stations you have to make the best out of, or you will not like it.

[jackiNicole]

I thought I hated Hawaii until I had to leave. Then I realized I loved my time there, and I miss it so much. I made so many great friends there, had a fun job, and there was a lot to do. I don't know much about schools because my kids weren't of school age while we were there. It was expensive, but there are military discounts all over Oahu. Some of the locals were less than friendly, but at the same time I had some extremely nice local friends. Traffic was pretty awful...island life! I had to live without the convenience of some of my favorite stores, but they recently built a Target and Victoria's Secret.

It was a fun experience. I would definitely go back, although it probably wouldn't be my first choice.

[momofkamnlela]

Is there a certain island thatsts better than the others? And which are army post located at?

[sodsoldierwife]

All the bases/posts are on Oahu.

[ma2calebzoeyeli]

We have orders to go there and can't wait.  The schools are bad but there are charter schools that are online schools that seem like a good option.  Look at Hawaii Technology Academy.  Most assignments are what you make of them. We are supposed to report in July.  I will say we are getting antsy though cause we haven't received any paper orders yet.

[momofkamnlela]

Oh when I was worried about schools being bad I meant for my dd who will be in elementary school. Did ppl mean schools were bad as far as college goes only?

Quoting ma2calebzoeyeli:

We have orders to go there and can't wait.  The schools are bad but there are charter schools that are online schools that seem like a good option.  Look at Hawaii Technology Academy.  Most assignments are what you make of them. We are supposed to report in July.  I will say we are getting antsy though cause we haven't received any paper orders yet.

[babowes]

We loved it there. We had two babies....no school. But we are trying to get back there. I would potentially homeschool there. It is a great place for visitors.

[momofkamnlela]

Yea my bf wants us to move there, only to visit and recapture her honeymoon! Lol but flight tickets are so high typically, I flew to Germany cheaper than what I found to go there : l

Quoting babowes:

We loved it there. We had two babies....no school. But we are trying to get back there. I would potentially homeschool there. It is a great place for visitors.