HAWAII


For many, Hawaii is less our 50^th state than it is a magical, sun-drenched tropical kingdom – somewhat appropriate for a state that actually was a kingdom prior to joining the United States. Hawaii sits in the middle of the tropics, about 2,300 miles away from the Continental U.S. Still, if you’re looking to relocate, Hawaii has much more to recommend itself than the sun and the surf…though that’s certainly a selling point.

Hawaii has about 1.2 million residents, most of whom live in and around the capital city of Honolulu. Almost 60% of Hawaii’s residents are Asian, and the remaining 40% are white. The median annual income is $53,000, 8^th in the nation. Hawaii’s leading industries are agriculture (sandalwood, pineapple, sugarcane and whaling), tourism, military and education. Hawaii has seven military installations, the most famous of which is Pearl Harbor, and the Hale Koa Hotel military resort. As well, Hawaii has a growing film and television industry, all of which is administered through the Hawaii Film Office. You may already have guessed that Hawaii Five-0 was filmed on location in Hawaii, but so were From Here to Eternity, South Pacific, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Waterworld, Six Days Seven Nights, George of the Jungle, 50 First Dates and Pearl Harbor. Hawaii also hosts the prominent Hawaii International Film Festival.

All of Hawaii’s primary and secondary schools are operated under a unified state system. As well, Hawaii educates more students in independent primary and secondary schools than any other state in the nation. Perhaps the best known of these private schools are the prestigious Kamehameha Schools, which were established under the will of the last descendant of King Kamehameha the Great and, somewhat controversially, give admission preference to Native Hawaiians (Polynesians). Hawaii has several institutes of higher education, the largest of which are in the University of Hawaii System. Well-known private universities include Chaminade University of Honolulu, Brigham Young University of Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific University.

Traditional Polynesian culture has little influence on Hawaiian culture these days, though there are many movements and festivals to revive traditional culture. For instance, there is growing interest in learning the Hawaiian language, which was recently made the state’s second official language and is increasingly taught in public and private schools. Hawaii’s public schools have a Hawaiian language immersion program in which all school subjects are taught in Hawaiian, and the University of Hawaii has the only Hawaiian graduate study program in the world.