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As a real person who actually moved from the mainland to Maui and then back to the Midwest after 4 years by choice, I have some decent insight. Most of the posts on here and comments seem fake.
I had been to Maui a handful of times. Moving to Maui is no different than up and moving to Chicago or San Francisco or Dallas... it will be an adjustment.
That being said it wasn’t what I thought it would be. People focus on cost and jobs and housing... and while a factor, it wasn’t the eventual reason I left.
It’s very pretty and the ocean is gorgeous. The mountains are equally pretty. The first year I was in awe of the natural beauty.
However, it’s a very odd place to live. The people who end up on Maui are strange at best. It’s the land of lost toys. Seems like people end up there running away from something. I’m talking about residents and not snow birds with condos in Wailea.
At first it was intriguing meet these odd ducks, but then I realized how basically dumb most people are who live there. No real education or insight, and a very insular lifestyle. This goes for locals and mainlanders alike. I really tried to make friendships and it was hard. I have no issues in Minneapolis.
People are not friendly at all. I met a few people with good souls, but far and few between. Everyone has drama and issues all the time. The gossip and coconut wireless is endless. I felt like people were phony with the Aloha and Howzit...it was the one place I couldn’t connect. I made a few friends but then some drama would happen. I’ve never met so many people with relationship, alcohol and drug problems in my life.
It took me about 3 years to get really awful island fever. I had constant anxiety and my blood pressure was high. I just always felt restless and wanted to get away, and small island weekend trips or mainland trips weren’t helping it like the didnat first. It’s also boring. There’s not a lot to do. I did ocean activities every weekend, but it wasn’t enough. I also missed my friends and family.
The heat is awful. I lived in Lahaina a year, Kihei two and Kula the last year. Kula was tolerable but far away from other things.
The huge spiders, centipedes and geckos were annoying. Everything is dusty and dirty all the time.
The dating is bizarre. It’s like every man with a criminal record ended up living there. Say goodbye to educated men with 9-5 jobs and a retirement account, because Kimo with his island tours and mango picking business will be your only choice....
The housing is meh... I pay $1300 in Minneapolis for a fancy high rise albeit small unit. Maui was cheaper, but it was old and run down, which is common there. The landlords are nuts. Like all of them! They are intrusive and you have no rights. Or you end up living in weird places that are noisy and have multiple units on the property.
Overall my health and my quality of life has improved since leaving Maui. I felt like life was just a struggle there. Job issues, drama, friend issues, long commute, housing....I now have a short commute, I make a better salary, and I work with intelligent and respectful people. I had to choose between lots of men who were awesome catches when I started dating in Minneapolis a year ago. Now I’m engaged.
It’s a nice vacation spot. But for a progressive, intelligent individual with ambition who wants a relationship it is not the best. Also if you want to buy a home that’s a challenge also.
I’d put my things in storage for a year and try it first. It’s seriously not all it’s cracked up to be. If I did it over I would have moved to Honolulu.
The dating is bizarre. It’s like every man with a criminal record ended up living there. Say goodbye to educated men with 9-5 jobs and a retirement account, because Kimo with his island tours and mango picking business will be your only choice....
Ha. Seems like that should make the dating scene easier for me. Not yet!
I donated / sold everything. I don't regret it. I would be surprised if I stay more than a couple years, but you never know.
It's 79 today and honestly the heat does feel worse than low 90s in Phoenix, because of the humidity. I don't have an issue with the people, but it does seem extremely hard to meet them.
I think that maybe when someone talks about what other people are like, it's really a reflection of themselves. I have heard how rude and unfriendly people are in MANY different places. However, when I spend serious time in those places, not just vacationing, I find most people to be just the opposite.
Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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Hell of a moniker for someone who wants to judge not only the Island, but also the majority of it's inhabitants. That being said, you've gotta be tough to live on Maui....
Real tough, it's not like Minnesota with those balmy winters
Maui just seems to be too small and have too small a number of people on it to live there permanently, unless you were born there. Honestly, after 3 trips there (we have a time share) we kind of run out of things to do even after just 2 weeks, that are interesting and not prohibitively expensive. I have heard the same thing about dating, that you eventually run through all of the available singles in your age group, and if you don't find someone in that small group, you are kind of stuck. Maybe living in Honolulu would be different, but I don't know...
My wife and I have been here for 2 years now. We love it even more than when we vacationed here.
It looks beautiful, and it feels beautiful.
We didn't come here looking for friends, or direction in life. We came here to live our lives.
We haven't found it difficult to connect with people, but that is not something that we concentrate on. Interestingly enough, the most authentic connections we have made are with Filipinos. Go figure...?
I now understand the often given advice of, "Yes, move here, but don't bring your bull**** with you."
I will say that there is a lot of "lost, searching, misfits", and I mean that in a descriptive, not demeaning way.
I joke with my wife and say, "I'm gonna get a shirt made that says, 'Welcome to Maui, where bat**** crazy blends in.'"...and I mean that in an endearing way.
Are Filipinos known for not making authentic connections on Maui?
It means that it is not other transplants that we have connected with, meaningfully. And, to suggest that those who move here and fail to find meaningful connections, may not be looking far enough outside of their comfort zone.
Sorry if that was confusing. A lot of my conversational nuance is lost on a forum.
As a real person who actually moved from the mainland to Maui and then back to the Midwest after 4 years by choice, I have some decent insight. Most of the posts on here and comments seem fake.
I had been to Maui a handful of times. Moving to Maui is no different than up and moving to Chicago or San Francisco or Dallas... it will be an adjustment.
That being said it wasn’t what I thought it would be. People focus on cost and jobs and housing... and while a factor, it wasn’t the eventual reason I left.
It’s very pretty and the ocean is gorgeous. The mountains are equally pretty. The first year I was in awe of the natural beauty.
However, it’s a very odd place to live. The people who end up on Maui are strange at best. It’s the land of lost toys. Seems like people end up there running away from something. I’m talking about residents and not snow birds with condos in Wailea.
At first it was intriguing meet these odd ducks, but then I realized how basically dumb most people are who live there. No real education or insight, and a very insular lifestyle. This goes for locals and mainlanders alike. I really tried to make friendships and it was hard. I have no issues in Minneapolis.
People are not friendly at all. I met a few people with good souls, but far and few between. Everyone has drama and issues all the time. The gossip and coconut wireless is endless. I felt like people were phony with the Aloha and Howzit...it was the one place I couldn’t connect. I made a few friends but then some drama would happen. I’ve never met so many people with relationship, alcohol and drug problems in my life.
It took me about 3 years to get really awful island fever. I had constant anxiety and my blood pressure was high. I just always felt restless and wanted to get away, and small island weekend trips or mainland trips weren’t helping it like the didnat first. It’s also boring. There’s not a lot to do. I did ocean activities every weekend, but it wasn’t enough. I also missed my friends and family.
The heat is awful. I lived in Lahaina a year, Kihei two and Kula the last year. Kula was tolerable but far away from other things.
The huge spiders, centipedes and geckos were annoying. Everything is dusty and dirty all the time.
The dating is bizarre. It’s like every man with a criminal record ended up living there. Say goodbye to educated men with 9-5 jobs and a retirement account, because Kimo with his island tours and mango picking business will be your only choice....
The housing is meh... I pay $1300 in Minneapolis for a fancy high rise albeit small unit. Maui was cheaper, but it was old and run down, which is common there. The landlords are nuts. Like all of them! They are intrusive and you have no rights. Or you end up living in weird places that are noisy and have multiple units on the property.
Overall my health and my quality of life has improved since leaving Maui. I felt like life was just a struggle there. Job issues, drama, friend issues, long commute, housing....I now have a short commute, I make a better salary, and I work with intelligent and respectful people. I had to choose between lots of men who were awesome catches when I started dating in Minneapolis a year ago. Now I’m engaged.
It’s a nice vacation spot. But for a progressive, intelligent individual with ambition who wants a relationship it is not the best. Also if you want to buy a home that’s a challenge also.
I’d put my things in storage for a year and try it first. It’s seriously not all it’s cracked up to be. If I did it over I would have moved to Honolulu.
We have a friend who relocated to the mainland from Maui. He said he started getting panic attacks from being on such a small island. He also said the storms seemed to be getting worse. He lived there 8 years and moved to N. Ga. where he is much happier.
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