Normally people like to be number one, but in this case, being number one isn't such a good thing. According to this article, Hawaii has topped the list for most expensive place to live. Add to that the traffic jams everyday, stupid politicians, muggy weather and I wonder why any sane person would want to come live here.

:D

Better than Delaware, which in becoming more and more dangerous. I go to a small, private college and the first week of school, there were three shootings up the street. And we're not even in the ghetto.

Apparently, Austin, TX is the leader for the economy is the US. You'd think that is good, right? Well, yes, but also a big fat NOOOOO.

I love Austin. Not so much all the people moving here, despite that I understand that, well, Austin is just awesome. Of course you wanna live here. But the rush hour traffic SUCKS.

This poster sums up my feelings perfectly.

Full version here if anyone wants to read everything.

Austin sounds like California. That said, the last time I went to Austin I ended up getting a very San Fran./ LA vibe from it.

Also, I'm from CA so yeah, expensive cost of living... woot.

Canada is expensive too. When people tell me that it isn't, I side-eye them because really? Paying 250$ for water and electricity each month is a scam if you compare to California with ~100$ avg.

I say I'll live in a box.

- Sounds a bit like Florida, but at least Hawaii is pretty. There's nothing appealing about Florida. Sure, it's cheap here, but everything sucks. Do you know why Florida has so many strange news stories? It's because this is some sort of haven for the freakiest people ever to exist... and not freaky in a good way.

Central Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S.. Sure, you can swim during the summer, but expect to be kicked out of the pool around 2 pm every summer afternoon because of lightning in the distance. And, expect to hear this lightning for hours. When it's not storming, you're sweating within 2 minutes of standing outside, even at night. And prepared to be eaten alive by mosquitoes. There's no seasons here. Just a wet and dry season. During dry season, the temperatures are so bipolar that you can expect to get sick often.

Traffic is horrendous. The highways are clogged. The paid highways are clogged. The streets with hundreds of traffic lights are clogged. Any way you go, you're screwed during rush hours... yes... HOURS. Essentially, if it's daylight, you're stuck in traffic. Also, the roads aren't in the best shape, due to the intense heat.

I'm hoping once me and my bf are done with school, we can ditch this pit and go somewhere nice.

- Hawaii is slowly becoming like that though, that's the problem. A could days ago this 15 year old kid beat his mother to death :P The homeless beat each other up on a daily basis as well and many of them refuse to find help, they'd much rather harass people on the street :P

- I think we need a poster like that. Austin and Honolulu sound very, very similar.

- The normal electricity rate alone here is averaging around $300 dollars. Water's off the charts as well. I blame the fact that there are no other electric competitors here. HECO has all the power. Just got a letter from my electric company today saying that they're going to shut down my solar heating system because I'm hooked up illegally :P Well, this is the first time I know that I'm doing anything illegal. Jerks.

- Hawaii being pretty is a matter of opinion lol! Its gotten a lot worse over the years. Gosh, your highways sound exactly like ours! We have to leave the house before sunrise in order to get anywhere on time. Lately I've taken to sleeping in my car before my work shift just to make sure that I'm actually there on time. It used to take me 15 minutes to get to work from my house but now, it takes over 40. And we've got potholes because our highway authorities are too lazy to use quality asphalt.

Cities in Iowa is the place to move to. I've lived in four states as an adult and Iowa is the least expensive, the most liberal, and all around better place to be. The roads though... they're shitty. Maybe it's just my city though.

"traffic jams everyday, stupid politicians" - same everywhere...

Here in Austria life isn't very cheap too (and I live in the most expensive part of it)... but I have to say I love my home. I love the mountains, the seasonal weather and being able to travel to different countries in no time. But I'd love to visit Hawaii someday -

I lived in Austin for about 8 years when I was a kid, and it was pretty great. It was before the tech boom (like way back before the airport was moved, when they first started building out that way). It was really like a small-town, hippie chic kind of place. Really laid back, everyone was really relaxed and nice. There were plays put on in Zilker park every weekend, which there still are, but Austin was such a small community then it wasn't a hassle to get down there and find parking. It was lovely! Then sometime after the Yogurt Shop murders, it just started to feel different. Austinites kind of lost that sense of innocence because of that, I think. And then I moved to San Antonio, and while I was there the tech boom hit and Austin exploded. I moved back after I graduated from college in 2006, and I only lasted about 2 1/2 years before I ran back to my small college town. It's a nightmare now! XD I commuted 20 miles one way to work, and it took me 45 minutes in the morning and over 2 hours in the evening. Everything was SO expensive I was barely making ends meet and I was working a 12 hour day with the commute. So glad I left, haha. I still have flashbacks about being stuck for hours on MoPac on rainy Friday evenings LOL The one thing I did enjoy was that it was a nice liberal haven in Red Texas XD