On Maui It’s a 2-Year Itch to Leave Island, per Study

Some say there’s a 7-year itch in relationships. Others hint that there’s a 5-year itch for people working the same job.

On Maui, it takes 2 years on average for new residents to get an inkling that they should go back to where they came from, according to results of a recent survey of Maui residents.

“We found that the point when newcomers first think they should leave island, on average, is just about spot-on at 2 years,” said Geoffrey Podsednik of the Pacific Sociology Studyers Institute, a nonprofit that hires scientists to study societies on Pacific islands on a variety of matters.

The PSSI was founded only a couple of years ago, and the first island they chose to study on a variety of matters was Maui.

"The island just has such a diversity of climates, people, cultures, towns, and the like that we could not resist an opportunity to peel back the layers of the Maui onion and see what we might find underneath," said PSSI President Neil McDonald. 

Besides the fact that 2 years is the average when a person gets the itch to go back home, the recent PSSI report revealed some very interesting information, some known, some perhaps unknown until now:

• The worst tippers are Canadians, followed by Australians
• The speed bumps on the OGG entrance and exit roads are the biggest transportation annoyance on island; followed closely by roundabouts
• Maui residents do not like Hawaiian Electric Company work trucks parked in their neighborhoods
• Maui residents really dislike all the Steve’s Plumbing work trucks parked overnight every night in their neighborhoods
• Most Maui neighbors want gigantic work trucks parked overnight in a company or commercial yard where they belong
• That goes double for hideous neon green and yellow work trucks
• The Road to Hana is overrated; just sitting by the pool is way better for all visitors to do for their entire trip
• Taking the back road to Hana is rebellious. But don’t do it in a rental car. Or when it might rain.
• A majority of Maui residents, though not all, think the new Kihei roundabout is a bad idea
• Most Maui residents believe pedestrian foot traffic from a brand new high school should not be mixed with a big roundabout on a state highway
• The Mayor of Maui puts out way too many news releases on the County of Maui website
• Tourists can’t drive
• Vacation rentals are the root of all evil
• Use only reef-safe sunscreen or there might be trouble

“The work-trucks-parking-overnight-in-neighborhoods complaint rather surprised us,” Podsednik said. “I mean, going in we were warned about the Canadian tippers and the ginormous speed bumps at the airport. But the work trucks parking matter came out of the blue.”

The PSSI next plans to survey residents on Oahu for their tendencies and pet peeves, though Podsednik said he does not foresee that final report being as entertaining as what they compiled for Maui.

“We’ve driven through HNL airport, and the speed bumps there are normal,” he said. “And it doesn’t appear that state transportation decision-makers based in Honolulu are too fond of approving big roundabouts on highways right next to new high schools in Honolulu, or anywhere else on that island for that matter.”