Dinner with Friends. Kona so White.
Apr. 17th, 2022 09:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerHawaii April Travelog #22
Kailua-Kona - Tue, 12 Apr, 2022, 9pm
This evening we met up with friends over dinner in Kailua-Kona, 30 miles south of our condo in Waikoloa. Dave and his wife, "Lila" own a condo down there and are part time residents. They made reservations for the four of us at Magic's Beach Grill, an unassuming looking place on the ground floor of a small hotel overlooking the rocky coast and a nearby beach. Though the decor and service were casual the food was excellent. And the views were pretty good, too, especially because Dave and Lila have been there enough times to know not to reserve a table on the outdoors deck. Wind-whipped showers in the early evening tend to soak them!
Over dinner we talked about retirement, particularly about how Dave and Lila stay busy. They've got a combination of low-key activities they do together plus a few hobbies they enjoy individually.
One of the challenges with living on the island of Hawaii is that in many respects it's country living. Lila noted that the island is the size of Connecticut with a population of only 200,000. There aren't lots of stores— or restaurants. (They made our dinner reservation well in advance. 😅) There also isn't enough medical care. That's part of why they're part time residents. ...Not that they have crazy health needs. Just getting a general dental appointment involves an insane wait.
Another challenge of living on any island is "island fever". Even the Big Island is a small place, and you can get bored of it quickly. Let alone the island of Oahu, which is physically smaller even though it has a population of nearly 1 million. Anyone thinking of retiring, or even just relocating, to Hawaii needs to plan in their budget travel to other places. ...And that travel means flying a minimum of 2,500 miles east or 4,000 miles west to reach practically anything else.
We split up around 8 or 8:30. Hawk and I were getting tired, and Lila had to pack for a trip in the morning... she's returning to the Bay Area for a few weeks to catch up with friends, see some shows, etc.
Here on the Big Island, especially on the Kona side (west coast), it's different. You see ethnic Hawaiians working in the tourist industry but they're only about half of the workforce. There are a lot of White Americans here, too. And residential areas are full of White Americans, particularly older White Americans. This part of the state feels like a combination tourist/ex-pat retiree area.
Kailua-Kona - Tue, 12 Apr, 2022, 9pm
This evening we met up with friends over dinner in Kailua-Kona, 30 miles south of our condo in Waikoloa. Dave and his wife, "Lila" own a condo down there and are part time residents. They made reservations for the four of us at Magic's Beach Grill, an unassuming looking place on the ground floor of a small hotel overlooking the rocky coast and a nearby beach. Though the decor and service were casual the food was excellent. And the views were pretty good, too, especially because Dave and Lila have been there enough times to know not to reserve a table on the outdoors deck. Wind-whipped showers in the early evening tend to soak them!
Over dinner we talked about retirement, particularly about how Dave and Lila stay busy. They've got a combination of low-key activities they do together plus a few hobbies they enjoy individually.
One of the challenges with living on the island of Hawaii is that in many respects it's country living. Lila noted that the island is the size of Connecticut with a population of only 200,000. There aren't lots of stores— or restaurants. (They made our dinner reservation well in advance. 😅) There also isn't enough medical care. That's part of why they're part time residents. ...Not that they have crazy health needs. Just getting a general dental appointment involves an insane wait.
Another challenge of living on any island is "island fever". Even the Big Island is a small place, and you can get bored of it quickly. Let alone the island of Oahu, which is physically smaller even though it has a population of nearly 1 million. Anyone thinking of retiring, or even just relocating, to Hawaii needs to plan in their budget travel to other places. ...And that travel means flying a minimum of 2,500 miles east or 4,000 miles west to reach practically anything else.
We split up around 8 or 8:30. Hawk and I were getting tired, and Lila had to pack for a trip in the morning... she's returning to the Bay Area for a few weeks to catch up with friends, see some shows, etc.
Kona so White
One interesting thing Hawk and I noticed before, during, and after dinner today is that the island of Hawaii doesn't look like Oahu, demographically. On Oahu there are a lot of ethnic Hawaiians. Even in the tourist areas like Waikiki you see a lot of ethnic Hawaiians: they're working most of the jobs in all the hotels, restaurants, and stores. And outside Waikiki, in the more residential areas, the locals are predominantly Hawaiian.Here on the Big Island, especially on the Kona side (west coast), it's different. You see ethnic Hawaiians working in the tourist industry but they're only about half of the workforce. There are a lot of White Americans here, too. And residential areas are full of White Americans, particularly older White Americans. This part of the state feels like a combination tourist/ex-pat retiree area.
