Want to live and work in Hawaii?

Living in Hawaii is expensive. Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Honolulu runs between $2,000 and $2,800/month in urban areas. On Maui or the Big Island, prices vary but rarely drop below $1,800 for something decent. Buying property is even harder: modest homes in Honolulu exceed $1 million.

Food is expensive because almost everything is imported by ship from the mainland. A gallon of milk (3.8 liters) can cost $8 to $10, versus $4 to $5 on the mainland. Casual restaurants charge $18 to $28. Gas is more expensive than the US average, and electricity rates are the highest in the country.

On the other hand, some services are not taxed and salaries in tourism, the military, and government are often adjusted for the cost of living. For remote workers earning mainland salaries, Hawaii can be viable. Those earning local low-wage salaries struggle significantly with the cost.

Tourism is the engine of Hawaii's economy. Hotels, restaurants, diving, surfing, helicopter tours, and luaus employ hundreds of thousands. Honolulu, Maui, and Kauai run on this. The pandemic showed how dependent the state is on the sector: when tourism stopped, the economy collapsed quickly.

The US Department of Defense has several bases in Hawaii: Pearl Harbor (Navy, on Oahu), Hickam (Air Force), and Schofield Barracks (Army). Military personnel and civilian defense workers form the second-largest economic pillar. Including families, more than 100,000 people are linked to the military.

Other sectors include tropical agriculture (pineapple, Kona coffee, macadamia), fishing, clean energy, the film industry (Jurassic Park, Lost were filmed there), and technology. Salaries in technology or the military are good, but tourism wages tend to be low. Remote work with mainland salaries has become a common solution.

Hawaii has one of the best health insurance coverage rates in the US. Since 1974, state law has required employers to offer health plans to any employee working more than 20 hours per week. This ensures that most workers have coverage, even in tourism jobs.

The main hospitals are Queen's Medical Center (Honolulu, the state's largest), Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, and Maui Memorial. Hospital quality is good, but rare specialized care may require travel to the mainland, especially from the Big Island and Kauai.

Low-income families have access to state Medicaid (Med-QUEST), with more inclusive criteria than many states. Documented immigrants qualify after a waiting period. Undocumented immigrants have restricted access (emergencies, pregnancy, children). Community clinics serve patients on multiple islands.

Hawaii has five commercial airports: Honolulu (HNL), the largest, on Oahu; Kahului (OGG) on Maui; Kona (KOA) on the Big Island; Lihue (LIH) on Kauai; and Hilo (ITO), also on the Big Island. Inter-island flights last 30-45 minutes and cost between $60 and $200 depending on the season. Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest dominate these routes.

Honolulu has TheBus, a bus system that covers Oahu reasonably well, and the Skyline, a recently inaugurated train connecting parts of the city. For daily life in Honolulu, it is possible to live without a car in some neighborhoods (Waikiki, downtown), but most residents have a vehicle.

On the other islands, a car is practically mandatory. Distances can be long and public transport is minimal. Renting a car at the airport upon arrival is common practice. There are small tourist ferries between some islands, but they do not serve as regular transport for residents.

Hawaiian culture is unique in the US. It has deep Polynesian roots: hula (traditional dance), Hawaiian music, the Hawaiian language (taught in schools), and values like ohana (extended family) and aloha (a greeting that means more than hello -- it is a philosophy of respect). Festivals like the Merrie Monarch (hula, in April) keep traditions alive.

Asian influence is strong because of waves of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, and Korean food are part of everyday life. Spam musubi (a local creation with Japanese influence), poke bowl, plate lunch, and shave ice are modern Hawaiian staples. Festivals like the Honolulu Festival celebrate this diversity.

Surfing is part of the identity. Hawaii is where modern surfing was born, and the North Shore of Oahu (Pipeline, Waimea Bay) hosts world championships from November to February. Diving, paddleboarding, and sailing are also part of daily life. The relationship with the ocean (kai) is cultural, spiritual, and practical.

Hawaii has roughly 290,000 residents born outside the United States, close to 20% of the population. Filipinos are by far the largest immigrant group, the result of decades of migration tied to sugarcane plantations and later to hotel and hospital work. They cluster in Oahu, especially in Waipahu, Kalihi, and Ewa Beach, with strong presence also in Pearl City and Hilo on the Big Island. Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese form older communities, today partly integrated but still visible in neighborhoods like Honolulu's Chinatown and Aiea. There is also a growing Marshallese, Chuukese, and Pacific Islander population from nations associated through the Compact of Free Association, living mostly in Honolulu, Waipahu, and Hilo.

The Pacific Gateway Center, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii's immigration unit, and the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu cover most of the legal and social services. Honolulu hosts consulates-general for Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and China, plus consular missions for the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, essential to the Pacific Islander communities. Filipino Catholic parishes, Japanese Buddhist temples, and Korean community centers serve as practical support hubs for newcomers.