Winning the Green Card Lottery is one thing, but choosing where to live in the massive and beautiful landscape that is America is an entirely different issue! We’ll be publishing regular articles this month about some of the best places to live in the United States. Don’t have permanent residence? Find out how to get a green card here!
Hawaii has a reputation for being a tropical paradise all its own. A place where folks all over the United States and the Pacific rim travel to escape the ennui of their lives and recharge on vacation. Honolulu is a huge tourist destination, but it also ranks very high on lists for the best places to live in America.
Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii and is the home to the majority of the population of that state. Part of an island chain formed by volcanic activity in the middle of the Pacific Ocean the climate is warm and pleasant year-round.
Honolulu is a beautiful city and its skyline, one of the most striking in the United States, viewed from Diamond Head (a volcanic crater on the island) is a truly impressive sight.
Attractions accessible in Honolulu are vast. The geographic features of this archipelago located in the center of the Ring-of-Fire are endlessly fascinating and wonderful and active volcanoes continue to bubble and froth molten rock on many of the Hawaiian Islands. The island of Oahu, the island that Honolulu is located upon, is home to many beautiful beaches and bays. Many people like to spend their days in the crystal clear water of the beaches surfing on some of the largest waves that the world can offer. Surfing is an activity where a person stands up upon a board which is propelled and stabilized by a wave creating the effect of being able to glide upon water.
An important cultural center for the Pacific region, Honolulu is home to a multitude of museums, theaters and arenas. It is also known for being a popular location for filming movies and television shows such as Lost and Waterworld.
Honolulu is also known for a variety of famous people who called its shores their home. President Barack Obama was born and raised there and is the first president from Hawaii. Nicole Kidman, an actress known for her excellent roles in film, was also born there. Lois Lowrey, the author of the famed, but controversial children’s novel, The Giver, is from Honolulu. Even Robert Louis Stephenson, the author of Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde called the South shore of Oahu his home at one point.
Of all the places in the United States to visit, Honolulu is probably the most envious. Many Americans view Hawaii to be only a place to visit on a short vacation and to live there year round to be a special kind of paradise. Bloomberg Businessweek, a news magazine, ranks Honolulu third on its list of 50 best cities in which to live.