Hawaii I love you, but you’re bringing me down

Hawaii, it’s a struggle to love you. I feel like I’m dating a girl that’s way out of my league who cheats on me constantly. I love you unconditionally, I don’t ask questions, and I believe everything you say because you’re just so damn good to look at. You promise that things will get better, that you’ll change. Housing will become affordable, the rail will be completed, there will be more business opportunities, your state officials will stop the corruption and tap-dancing on the law, and even though I know in the back of my mind these are lies, I believe you. I put up with your shit because of how beautiful you are. But after 4 years, I’m finally fed up. Under all that beauty there’s a real ugliness.

It’s not that I hate you, it’s just hard to survive here. For the first 2 years, I was convinced I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. The islands are awe-inspiring in their beauty and the people are some of the kindest and most hospitable I have ever met in my life. There’s also camaraderie in the struggle that bonds us all together. Everybody is compromising in one way or another, whether it be living in a small, A/C-less apartment because of the rent and house prices, working for way less money than we could be making on the mainland, or exclusively buying Kirkland brand products. Despite these issues, I fell in love with the Aloha spirit for countless reasons and it helped me become a better person.

I’ve met best friends that I’ll have until I die (or they die). But they keep leaving, and as…