The First Shock

My first shock happened the following day after my arrival to Honolulu. Since my temporary dwelling has a kitchenette, I decided to do some grocery shopping and cook something edible. It appears that one of the most common and popular grocery stores in Honolulu is Safeway (which also seems to be ubiquitous on the West Coast). So, having learned from CNN Money that the prices in Honolulu are on average 30% higher than in Connecticut (which, by the way, is the most expensive state in the contiguous US, according to the same CNN Money), I embraced this knowledge and headed to the store. And that's exactly where the first shock befell! Let me tell you: You need to try REALLY hard to find items that are 30% more expensive than in Connecticut. In reality, everything is 50-400% more expensive, with the majority of items costing the double of what you would be expected to pay on the East Coast. Below is a comparative chart of some of the items that I was looking for to buy at Safeway (all items listed are organic or locally grown produce, with the CT prices taken from stores like Stop&Shop, ShopRite, and Trader Joe's):

Item	Price in CT	Price in HI	Price Difference
Potatoes	$5 for a 5-lb bag ($1/lb)	$6 for a 3-lb bag ($2/lb)	+100%
Carrots	$1.20/lb	$2/lb	+67%
Milk	$6/gallon	$12/gallon	+100%
Yogurt	$3/32oz	$5.50/32oz	+83%
Spring mix	$5	$10	+100%
Mineral water	$1.50	$3.50	+133%
Cherries	$3/lb	$14/lb	+366%
Butter	$5/lb	$7.80/lb	+56%
Parsley	$1.20/bunch	$3/bunch	+150%
Dill	$1.50/bunch	$4/bunch	+166%
Baguette	$2	$3	+50%
Orange juice	$6/half a gallon	$3/half a gallon	+100%
Parmesan cheese	$8/lb	$20/lb	+150%
Quinoa	$5/lb	$7.70/lb	+54%
Olive oil	$10/liter	$20/liter	+100%

The winner is gas: Only $4.33 at 7-Eleven (compared to $3.78 in New Haven, CT), which is only 15% more expensive! It's one of those one-in-a-life-time moments when I wish I were a car, not a homo sapiens :).

So, the bottom line is that CNN Money sucks! Big time! And as one of the Safeway cashiers told me, "You have to pay for living in a paradise." I, however, resisted the urge to retort and simply thought to myself: "But at what point this 'paradise' becomes hell for all those people who simply cannot afford living here?" Now I think I know why there are so many homeless people here and, at the same time, so many cars...