>Everyone I've ever spoken with about real life in Hawaii has said: 1) Schools are not good, IE for those with kids 2) Food, gas, etc are expensive 3) Tensions

>Everyone I've ever spoken with about real life in Hawaii has said: 1) Schools are not good, IE for those with kids 2) Food, gas, etc are expensive 3) Tensions with native Hawaiians, ie: "this is a locals-only beach" 4) Island madness is a real thing (desire to be somewhere not surrounded by water, experience an actual change in weather, etc) From my 3 years living there I'd say this is spot on. It's pretty bi-modal though, people tend to love it or get completely fed up within a couple years. The key is being able to hop on a plane and go somewhere 2-3 times a year. If you can't afford that it gets miserable.