Where are you paying $8 for milk?? Also, comparing cost of living with milk isn't very accurate. I've lived in both NYC and Hawaii and it definitely is more expensive to live in Hawaii. Here's a quick google result:
http://www.costoflivingbystate.org/c...-by-state.html
Hawaii ranks highest in cost of living, housing, and cost of food in 2008. Here's a 2011 study:
http://www.missourieconomy.org/indic...ving/index.stm
Hawaii's gas prices was craaazy too! I'm a sucker for nice weather though.