10 Undeniable Things You Will Find In Every Hawaii Home
The Hawaiian Islands are as unique as the homes you’ll find throughout across the state. And here in paradise, there are certain things that you will only find in a Hawaiian home — or at least, have a different meaning on the islands. Here are 10 undeniable things you will (most likely) find in every Hawaii home.
1. More beach stuff than you know what to do with.
Depending on how long you’ve been living on the island — or how frequently you move — you might have an excessive amount of beach towels, four beach chairs, three boogie boards, five snorkels, and various other beach accessories you’ve collected throughout your life. If these items aren't in your house, they're probably in your car — permanently.
Even if you don’t go to the beach very often, sand will find its way into your home. No matter how often I go to the beach, whether it's four times in one week, or it's been months since I stepped foot on the sand (thanks, Covid-19), there will always be a small pile of sand somewhere in the house — even if I vacuumed every day!
Trust us — you want the geckos because they will usually eat the small bugs before they can grow any larger. I picked up our newspaper the other day and something jumped out. I screamed, thinking it was a cockroach. When I looked closely, I realized it was a gecko, and I gave it free rein of our house. There's also a gecko currently living above our kitchen cabinets.
It could be a professional family photo or a picture you took on your iPhone — either way works, but there’s bound to be a Hawaiian beach photo somewhere in your house. After all, most of us aren't lucky enough to enjoy beach views from our homes.
5. A case — or five — of water in the closet for hurricane season.
This is meant to be a portion of your disaster preparedness kit. You might not ever need this water, but you will keep it all year until you realize that water has an expiration date and you should trade it in for a new case.
6. A shipping box you’ve been meaning to tear apart and recycle.
Because there is so much we have delivered since shopping options are quite limited, especially when you leave Oahu. If we're being honest, I get more mail from Amazon Prime than everyone else combined.
It doesn’t matter if you have an entire guest bedroom, a pull-out sofa, futon or even just an air mattress in the living room, most Hawaiian homes include a "bed" for visitors — because you will get visitors on a regular basis.
You could live in the middle of an island and your things would still be rusty. Soon enough, the rust on your car, bicycle, or even patio furniture will become something you don’t even care about anymore. It just happens.
Maybe it’s your favorite blend to drink daily or it’s an expensive bag that you only break out when you have visitors over. Either way, it’s there, making your cabinet smell amazing.
Well, that's a subjective question. Just like choosing your ideal place to live, it will depend on your lifestyle. If you abhor the city, I'd stay away from the capital city of Honolulu. If you want access to great amenities, you likely wouldn't enjoy living in a remote town on the island of Maui. The only advice we can definitively give, though, is that no matter where you choose to live in Hawaii, you'll sure to fall in love.
What does it cost to live in Hawaii?
I'll warn you: living in Hawaii can be expensive and rife with sticker shock. The average price of a single-family home in Hawaii is $780,000 and the average price of a condo is $428,000. And that's just the home prices: Hawaii residents can expect to pay more money than Americans on the mainland for pretty much everything, including food, electricity, gas, and household goods.
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With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
