About Julie's Dream

[topolino]

Julie's dream was actually more accurate than she realizes. While Hawai'i is beautiful, and is one of my favorite vacation destinations, there are a lot of run down areas, and there is a lot of poverty, especially within the city of Honolulu.

Hawai'i has a major drug problem too; there is a disproportionate amount of crystal meth dealers, users and arrests.

This shouldn't sway anyone from planning a trip to Hawai'i however. Unless you really leave the beaten path and explore strictly residential areas of Honolulu, you'll never even realize that these neighborhoods exist.

 

[BriarRosie]

Julie's dream was actually more accurate than she realizes. While Hawai'i is beautiful, and is one of my favorite vacation destinations, there are a lot of run down areas, and there is a lot of poverty, especially within the city of Honolulu.

Hawai'i has a major drug problem too; there is a disproportionate amount of crystal meth dealers, users and arrests.

This shouldn't sway anyone from planning a trip to Hawai'i however. Unless you really leave the beaten path and explore strictly residential areas of Honolulu, you'll never even realize that these neighborhoods exist.

You can get a general idea of that if you've watched "Dog the Bounty Hunter" on TV. I think they called the drug "Ice" when they referred to people who are using/dealing.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

You also have to keep in mind that Honolulu is a city about the size of Kansas City, MO and has the problems that a city that size has. Hence the drugs quoted in the previous posts. We've been to Oahu and Kauai many times and have never seen the issues with drugs first hand,even when we have seen the more economically depressed communities - and we tended to haunt kama'aina (local-frequented owned) eateries, markets, and businesses.

You will hit poverty in any island economy - especially is the population grows faster than the amount of jobs/support is still limited. That's a given.
Unfortunately, Hawaii has suffered this blow moreso from the "monetary invasion" of other nations and cultures. Japan, Portugal, the USA, etc. Many native Hawaiians have a plight similar to that of Native Mainland Americans.

That being said, there are many native Hawaiians that are trying to fight that stigma and show folks what a beautiful state they have. They are some of the warmest people you will ever meet - especially in the smaller islands and off the beaten path.

See the beauty of Hawaii for what it is and not what you are told to expect.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We just got back from our Hawaii Vacation last week. I absolutely LOVED our stay, but unfortunately we had some problems.

We stayed in the North Shore for half of our stay, then headed to the windward, or eastern side of the Island. One day of our trip we decided to spend on the Leeward, or western side of Oahu.

We went on a Dolphin Watch cruise in the morning. We were amazed to see several wildfires burning in the area. We were told that many fires were intentional or caused by the homeless in the area. When we returned from our cruise we found that our rental had been vandalized. We had been warned about car break-ins, so we didn't leave anything of value, but someone had smashed the tail lights out of the Buick Enclave that we rented. Luckily we purchased the extra rental car insurance.

We wanted to explore that side of the Island though, so we continued up the northern road that hugs the coastline. I have never seen so many homeless living along the road and beaches. (and I've been to many exotic places during my travels)

People approached our car at a couple of intersections asking for money or a ride. It was scary at times. We made it to the end of the road and headed back south, towards Ko Olina. This is the area where the Disney resort is being build. The area is made up of four man made lagoons. We were told to stay away from the southern lagoon, since it is for locals. The next two lagoons had time shares. The last lagoon will be shared by Disney and the Marriott Ko Olina resort. There is a guard shack as you enter the resort, but remember that the beaches are public anyone can gain access to a beach.

It will be interesting to see how Disney handles non resort guests. I would assume they would issue wristbands or room keys for ID.

I'm sure Disney will concentrate on keeping the area safe for their guests, but if we ever stayed at the resort we would just do the Disney Island excursions and not rent a car.