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Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, the only state south of the Tropic of Cancer, one of only two states, along with Florida, with regions that have a tropical climate, and one of the two U.S.Wikipedia

Hawaii occupies a category entirely its own in American real estate. Its isolation in the central Pacific, its tropical climate, and its limited developable land have combined to produce some of the highest housing costs in the nation relative to local wages. The economy depends heavily on tourism, the U.S. military, and federal employment — a mix that creates both economic resilience and vulnerability. Remote workers who arrived during the pandemic years largely found the lifestyle exactly what they imagined and the cost more punishing than expected.

Each island has a distinct character. Oahu — home to Honolulu and the North Shore — has all the density and infrastructure of a mainland city layered over one of the world's most beautiful natural settings. Maui attracts those prioritizing beauty and relative calm. The Big Island's volcanic landscape — from rain forests to active lava flows — is the most geologically dramatic place to live in the United States. Kauai remains the least developed of the major islands, preserved by building restrictions that have protected much of its landscape.