You Won’t Believe How Much Hawaii Has in Common with Montana

Whenever I travel out of Montana, I can’t help but compare our home with wherever I vacation, comparing the similarities and the differences. Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii for the first time, and I was surprised at the many similarities between Hawaii and Montana.  

Aside from the obvious differences—Montana’s mountains and Hawaii’s islands—there are surprising similarities.

Shared Challenges and Local Life

Weather- Even though parts of Hawaii get a lot of rainfall, it doesn’t always translate to keeping everything green. When it rained while we were there, we heard more than one person, and meteorologist say, “We need it!” That sounded like what we hear regularly in Montana.   

Tourism- Hawaii and Montana both rely a lot on tourism. The Hawaiian tourist season is much longer than Montana’s season. We were told we were there during the offseason. For being offseason, it still seemed crowded to us, I can’t imagine what it would be like during the height of tourist season. 

READ MORE: The Most Must See Places to Visit in Montana

Cost of Living- The cost of living in Hawaii and Montana is high for the locals. Home prices are high and aren’t dropping anytime soon. A few people we spoke to are looking to move away because the cost of living has gotten so high. 

Sketchy Roads- There are some really sketchy roads in both places. We thought, that being from Montana, we had seen some scary roads. We weren’t prepared for a one lane narrow road that could barely fit one vehicle with no place wide enough to let cars pass on the side of a mountain. We ended up having to drive in reverse for almost half a mile to let a car pass. 

Cheers to Local Flavor

Local Breweries- Hawaii, like Montana, is proud of its local breweries. Every restaurant, bar, or excursion we went on featured mostly locally brewed beer. 

READ MORE: What Montanans Really Want Tourists to Know Before Visiting

Californians- We met quite a few people from California while in Hawaii. There was a couple who was planning on moving there. They were sick of California and wanted to get out as soon as they could. That sounded familiar.

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Attractions That Can Kill You- There are signs and warnings about attractions and locations that, if you aren’t careful, can kill you. That reminded us of some areas in Yellowstone and Glacier that can be deadly if you aren’t careful. 

We weren’t in Hawaii for long, but I am sure if we spent more time there, we would probably find even more similarities between our two states.