It is possible to miss the mainland after your move to Hawaii. Although Hawaii is a beautiful, stunning and magical place, you may miss some things about the mainland after your move. I remember visiting home in Hawaii during college and missing a few things about the mainland experience that you cannot get in Hawaii. There are some popular chain restaurant foods that you cannot get in the islands, along with certain experiences – like Lake Tahoe!
You’ll Miss This from the Mainland #1: Seasonal Changes
As we all know, seasons do not change in the islands. It is warm year-round and there is only snow and cold weather on the top of Mauna Kea. So, when living in Hawaii, you will not experience the changing of the seasons. That means no snow, no fall leaves, no spring flowers and no late summer nights. Although on the mainland, daylight can stretch all the way until 9PM at night in the peak of summer time, that’s not the case in the islands. In Hawaii, the sun still goes down around 6PM during the summer months.
Snow boots don’t need to take up any more room in your closet. Pixabay image. No attribution required.
You’ll Miss This #2: Cross-country Road Trips
There’s no interstate to drive on between the islands to get to the mainland! This means no road trips, no easy cross country traveling and no weekend trips out of state. This should be something to keep in mind when moving to Hawaii because you will lose out on all of this. Traveling out of state for Hawaii is going to be at least $500 just to get off the island, per ticket. Keep this in mind. We love going on weekend road trips across states but you can’t do that in the islands!
Moving to Hawaii can be expensive.
moving house by Nathan O’Nions is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original
You’ll Miss This #3: Winter Sports
Winter sports are huge in the Reno Tahoe area. Everyone skis and snowboards at the resorts. It’s a big deal. If you’re into these winter sports, be prepared to not have them at all when you move to the islands. The closest thing to winter sports will be water sports but still, the two are very different. If you are a die-hard for your winter skiing passes, then I would have a conversation or two about if the move to Hawaii is really right for you. I know people at my university that will ditch school for days when the powder is good.
Wearing a winter coat in Hawaii would probably just give you heat stroke. Pixabay image. No attribution required.
You’ll Miss This #4: Mainland Chain Restaurants
Although this seems like a trivial thing, there is no In N Out in the islands. I am an In N Out fan myself and absolutely love their burgers . I miss it when I visit Hawaii for an extended period of time. If your mainland chain restaurants are important to you, then think again before moving to the islands! This is just one example of several other chains that are not in Hawaii, like Chick-Fil-A and Qdoba. There are a limited number of mainland chains in Hawaii, but we do have McDonald’s!
There’s no In N Out here in the islands.
Animal Fries + 3×3 Cheeseburger by punctuated is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original
