I bet you’re scratching your head, thinking, that I must be some type of nut for laying out such a bold claim. But hold your horses, maybe I have a point. And maybe, I have some statistics to back it up – just maybe.
If you google “size of Honolulu” you’ll find that this Hawaiian city has a footprint of 68.42 square miles and a population of 374, 658 people. 68 miles, I have to admit, isn’t that large. But what’s missing is a little asterisk of an unknown fact that the City and County of Honolulu’s jurisdiction encompass the entire island of Oahu, not just Honolulu. The Mayor and City Council are responsible for the maintenance and safety of the entire island of Oahu. Each of our small towns on Oahu does not have their own mayor, police, or fire department. We are all under one roof.
Technically, the City and County of Honolulu is 597 square miles. Just for your information, it’s quite common for cities to be made up of more than one county. New York City is, for example, is not limited to Manhattan, but also Long Island counties, and Staten Island.
So where does that put Oahu next to the other major cities in the United States?
- Los Angeles is 503 square miles
- San Diego is 372.4 square miles
- New York City is 304 square miles
- Dallas is 385 square miles
- Houston is 627 square miles
- Nashville is 526 square miles
- Atlanta is 134 square miles
- Seattle is 83 square miles
How about other cities in the world?
- Toronto is 243 square miles
- Tokyo is 845 square miles!
- Singapore is only 278 square miles
- Cairo is 203.9 square miles
- London is 607 square miles
- Madrid is 233 square miles
- Paris is 40.7 square miles
- Seoul is 233.7 square miles
The great news is that, while having one of the larger cities in America, we are not as populated as the others. There are only 1 million people living on Oahu. Cities such as NYC, have 8.5 million people living in a small footprint – vertically.
On another note:
Like all major cities, we have a mayor and city council that are a bunch of dumbos; certified idiots would be a compliment, in my opinion. They have no idea how to manage our island; let alone, have the creativity to solve problems. We have an unfinished rail transit system that threatens to bankrupt our city. An island-wide sewer system that is under constant repair. An electrical grid and generator that is severely outdated. And talk about the homeless problem, it’s pretty bad. There are some crazy dudes walking our streets now. Don’t get me started on traffic – it’s bad here during rush hour, some say the worst in the nation. Don’t we sound like your city? The problem with Honolulu is that we have a government that can’t figure out that we are a big city with big problems. We have small minded politicians, pea brains, ruining paradise.
So, here are some other cool facts that you need to know about Honolulu. Even though we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, this little island tends to make waves that are heard around our country, not to mention the world.
- America’s Entry into World War II was started right here. Who can forget Pearl Harbor?
- The only Royal Palace in the United States, the Iolani Palace, is found here. It’s really cool. You should check it out.
Let’s fast-forward to modern times:
- NCAA Football – Are you a fan of college ball? Well, local quarterbacks have been all the buzz as of late.
- McKenzie Milton – the quarterback for UCF, blew out the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl
- Jordan Taamu – the quarterback for Ole Miss, is the starting QB and looks to be very promising
- Tua Tagovailoa – the quarterback of Alabama. I’m pretty sure he’ll be starting. But who can forget his performance at the National Championships?
- NFL Football
- Marcus Mariota – the quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, seems to have a promising future (if he gets the right coach). There are a lot more players in the NFL from Hawaii, but he’s the most notable.
- President Barack Obama – I’m not a fan of his. But he was born and raised here. Next, to the Clintons, he’s the star of the Democrat party, make no mistake.
- VeriFone – Ever heard of it? That’s the credit card swiping machine! That was invented here. I bet that guy is enjoying life.
- Cell Phone Wireless Data – That tech as invented here at our University and was called “Alohanet” Pretty insane, huh
- Countless Movies are still filmed here on Oahu, most recently, Jumanji and Jurassic World.
- The Rock – Went to school here. His family also wrestled here.
- Bruno Mars – He’s from Waikiki. He’s the next Michael Jackson, isn’t he?
- Nicole Kidman – was born in Honolulu… really? Just googled that
- Jason Mamoa – Aquaman, born right here. Talk about an alpha male.
- Bette Midler – from Hawaii. Is she still popular?
- Tetris Owner, Henk Rogers, is here in Honolulu – does anyone stll play that?
- Pierre Omidyar founder of Ebay, lives in Honolulu – Isn’t he named after bottled water?
- Doug Chin – not a fan, but he’s the attorney general who put a stop to President Trump’s travel ban, which was completely out of his jurisdiction. He was so busy doing that, he failed to recognize that our Honolulu Police Cheif was committing federal crimes, and stealing millions from his family to support a lavish lifestyle.
- Oh, our Police Chief and lead Prosector (his wife) – are extremely corrupt, idicted by the FBI, and are most likely headed to Federal Prison. I think that’s a 1st in the nation!
- We are also recognized for the BIGGEST BONEHEADED PERSON IN THE UNITED STATES – The worker who thought a military exercise was a real nuclear missile threat and issued a false warning to residents and tourist that an ICBM was headed for Oahu. For 20 minutes, over 1 million people thought they were going to roast. It was uncovered that this wasn’t the first time this worker thought we were under attack. There were two other times! And why didn’t he get fired then? Well….who knows. Yes, he’s America’s greatest idiot and he’s from Honolulu.
I can, of course, keep going down the list of what makes Oahu, notable. But I think I’ve written enough. Of course, all of this doesn’t matter. What makes Oahu notable for most of my clients is that this is where they chose to start the second chapter in their life. Yes, I’m talking about marriage! And that’s what makes Hawaii special for them!
Talk to you all again soon :)
Steve Young
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