In high school, my then-boyfriend, from ‘Aiea, drove us to Mililani for a “country” adventure. At a restaurant filled with locals, he mused, “These people think I’m a townie. That means they think you’re a super high-class townie.”

I never gave much thought to what areas of Honolulu are actually “town.” I was born and raised in upper Liliha, went to McKinley High School, and worked most of my career in the area spanning Downtown to Ala Moana. I’m a lifelong, bona fide townie.

The designation of “townie” used to be defined not just by our neighborhood, but how we dressed and talked. If your clothes were from Liberty House, San Francisco Rag Shop and Kramer’s (yes, I’m dating myself), you were “town” because you shopped at Ala Moana Center. At the cool nightclubs—all in town—we wore even trendier clothes, from Ala Moana.

Original image: DigitalVision Vectors, composite: James Nakamura

This is a contentious topic among many people I know.

Fast forward to 2025, and O‘ahu’s landscape has changed. Kapolei is now considered a “second city,” and some of my high school friends have moved there for more affordable housing. Instead of having to head east on the H-1, West and Central O‘ahu now have their own hip restaurants, stores and businesses.

But town is still town. When I joked with my expat friends that they had turned in their townie cards, some were visibly offended. So that got me thinking: Within what borders do you need to live to be considered a townie? This is a contentious topic among many people I know. To answer the question, I asked those who, in my mind, would have a legitimate opinion: my high school friends, or other townies like me.

After lengthy discussions, we agreed that the area from the outer edges of Kalihi to Kāhala are the boundaries. Yes, this may shock those of you who live in ‘Āina Haina or Moanalua. There’s no term for people from these outer areas, so I decided to research definitions.

SEE ALSO: O‘ahu’s Great Neighborhoods

Townies are from the “urban core,” which I Googled and received results defining it as a densely populated central area of a city, with a downtown, that serves as a shopping, dining and entertainment hub. For me, Honolulu’s urban core encompasses Kalihi (up to the populated area of Likelike Highway), Downtown, Nu‘uanu (up to the populated area of Pali Highway), Kaka‘ako, Ala Moana, Waikīkī, Makiki Heights, Mānoa, Kaimukī and Kāhala.

Suburbs, meanwhile, would be right outside a city or town.

So there ya go. But what about people who live a step beyond the outskirts of town, but do everything in town, including their work? One classmate offered this spin: “If I lived in Kahuku but did everything in town, that wouldn’t make me a townie because you need to reside there.”

Don’t bother asking non-townies for boundaries. I asked my country friends, and many said town was any area in O‘ahu with a ZIP code that starts with 968. My own niece, a lifelong Mililani resident, thought Kailua was part of town. My high school friends who are still townies thought it was an amusing topic, but they didn’t get fired up like those now defined as “not from town.”

“Hey girls,” my friend, Cathy, a townie, texted. “You know you’re kūpuna when you spend your Saturday night trying to figure out what town is. I hope you’re on your way out to enjoy a beer or a glass of wine somewhere fun.”

And that, I thought, was the stance of a true townie. We’re not worked up about the definition because we already know what we are. If you’ve made it this far without getting upset, know that I’m raising a glass to you from one of the new, trendy bars in town.