Hawaii History and Lifestyle

Aloha. Known for its sandy white beaches, turquoise blue water and lush vegetation, Hawaii, to many, is a place to vacation. Millions of tourists flock to Hawaii, comprised of a link of eight islands including Maui, Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Molokai, Nihau, Kahoolawe and of course the Big Island of Hawaii. Together the group of islands stretch 1,600 miles in the Pacific.

Yes, there is sun, swimming, and scuba diving, but the state has so much more to offer than what is plastered on brochures at the local travel agency. Volcanoes, lava flows, acres of forest, coffee and macadamia plantations, and abandoned sugar cane fields are also what make Hawaii and each of its islands so unique and worth exploring.

For Oahu, comprising one-third of the population of Hawaii, it is the state capital of Honolulu and the Honolulu Harbor, which provides all of the imports and exports to the islands. History was made on this island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor at Waikiki Beach making the naval base there Hawaii's only national landmark.

The island of Maui, with some of the most expensive Hawaiian real estate, was formed from two volcanoes. Filled with resorts most heavily concentrated in Lahaina and Wailea, Maui is the second most populated of the Hawaiian Islands.

Molokai, once a place for defeated warriors and those who were stricken with Leprosy, today holds the largest percentage of native Hawaiians. It is on Molokai where you will find not only the longest white sand beach in the state, but where you will also find black sand beaches, comprised of sand originally born of volcanic lava. The art of Hula dancing is also said to have been born on Molokai.

The island of Hawaii, which is the largest island of the group, has the longest active and erupting volcano in the world. Agriculture and cattle ranching, not tourism, makes up the island's core economy and the island produces and exports coffee, (including the famous Kona coffee), mangos, macadamia nuts, and other tropical produce.

Hawaii Real Estate

Hawaii is one of the most expensive states in which to buy real estate or to reside. The cost of living in Hawaii is a full 30 percent higher than the national average.

Maui has traditionally been the most expensive of all the Hawaiian islands. However, in the first quarter of 2007 Maui had a median single-family home price of $690,000 which was down from $700,000 in April 2006 and was second to Kauai's average home price of $850,000. Kauai's median home price, on the other hand, took a significant leap since 2006 rising 30 percent from $651,250 to $850,000 to overtake Maui as the high real estate price leader in Hawaii. Oahu real estate prices also increased from year-to-year rising from $615,000 to $665,000.

If you are looking for Hawaii real estate bargains, the cheapest island to live on is the Big Island where average real estate prices also increased but still remain just under $400,000. In January 2007 the average price for a home on the Big Island was $398,000 compared to $385,899 at the same time in 2006. Because of its expensive housing market, Hawaii was ranked with one of lowest home ownership rates in the country with only 59.7 percent of people owning homes in 2005.

Hawaii Demographics

Hawaii, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as of 2006 had an estimated 1.3 million people. More than 40 percent of that population is Asian while 26.8 percent of residents in HI are white. And, 75 percent of the Hawaiian population is classified by the federal government as minority.

Nearly 85 percent of Hawaiian residents have a high school degree or higher and 26 percent of the population has a bachelors degree or higher. Still, Hawaii ranked last in the nation for the amount spent on education at both the local and state level.

Economy in Hawaii

The Hawaiian Islands relied mostly on sugar cane and pineapples as a major source of economic income since the early 1800s when sugar cane was first harvested. The crop grew from two tons in the late 1830s to nearly 13,000 tons by 1876. Sugar cane production continued to increase and in the mid 1980s Hawaii was producing on average one million tons of sugar each year. Sugar cane, however, was replaced by smaller crops including coffee and papaya. Production of sugar cane dropped by 70 percent in the last two decades and pineapple production dropped by 42 percent. Since the 1990s Hawaii has had to find creative ways to compete economically because tourism alone does not provide a continuous stream of income back to the island. All tourism income does not stay on the island as much of it is given back to investors from the mainland, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia who have plowed billions of investment dollars into Hawaii's buildings, resorts and tourism. In fact, large sectors of Hawaii's economy are owned by outside investors. And Hawaii spends more in imports to the state than it collects in export revenue.

The state has focused its efforts on science and technology and making the group of islands an interesting place for oceanographic and horticultural research and development. In fact, Hawaii is focused on using plants to develop pharmaceutical drugs and industrial chemicals cheaper and faster than factories.

Hawaii's economy for 2008 is expected to remain in a steady position according to early economic indicators. Experts say the Hawaii economy will piggyback the state of the Japanese and U.S. mainland economy.

Personal income, wage and salaried jobs will have continued moderate growth in 2007 and 2008. Median household income was $51,359 in 2004 up from $49,820 in 2000.