Hawaii, big island

[johnnywishbone]

anyone have any feelings on the best area to live on the big island? been there, done that? i was thinking maybe to escape the cold for a while. i am 66 and just want to get away for a while. if i really like the place, i would come back just long enough to sell all my stuff. i've seen kauai and maui, never the big island. i was thinking the larger size would reduce "island fever". i spent two years on really tiny atolls, but i was younger then.
take care, jp

[enzo1]

Hmmm, no responses. Can't help u on ? but when I went there,Maui I asked a guy that had done it he said it was crazy expensive to live there and locals see outsiders( mainlanders) as just that as in not wanted, I too am interested in this ?... loved Hawaii and want to return to see more of it

[Mark Hjelm]

would go to the Kona side. The weather is a little hotter and it dosn't rain as much. Hilo is like a warm Seattle, nice and green but it rains alot.

[johnnywishbone]

Originally Posted by enzo1

Hmmm, no responses. Can't help u on ? but when I went there,Maui I asked a guy that had done it he said it was crazy expensive to live there and locals see outsiders( mainlanders) as just that as in not wanted, I too am interested in this ?... loved Hawaii and want to return to see more of it

i just did an upgrade on a small power plant on maui. maalea. not that many indigenous
natives there. normal homeless numbers and the usual meth problems. i like maui.

[tevake]

I spent a quite a few years in Kona. mauka as they say, at about 1200' ele just north of Kailua-kona over looking the airport. It is a nice area, a bit cooler than the coast. Nice views until the volcano started erupting in the early 80s. Then the vog set in, that is the air pollution from the volcano. Yuk, very hazy at times, can bother your breathing. Not good for asthmatics.

Some good drives to be had. Hawi at the north end of the island is some nice driving area. Hilo side in dry weather is beautiful.
It is a bit less expensive to live on the Big Island than most of the rest of Hawaii.
Each area of the island is very different than the other areas. It would be a good idea to vacation there and explore. Or go for a season and rent to get a feel for the place.
PM me if I can help with info about a specific area.

I love the Big Island, the vog not so much
I was living on a boat in the late 70s early 80s, and was sailing to kauai for summers. then kona for winters. till the vog started impacting the big island so much. Then settled in on Kauai.
Cheers Richard

[enzo1]

my wife has been around the world, many times.... when she came back from Australia she said if I could live anywhere that would be it "thats where I want to live". Me, I loved Maui (paradise) but I don't have much to compare... made a new acquaintance last night ( higher up with Bell Helicopters) he just got back from Chihuahua Mexico they're not smoking pot or doing cocaine... they're doing meth( no factories for them)

[tevake]

If you are a good diesel mechanic and into boats there is a good size fleet of sport fishing boats in kona, Really nice high price boats. Possible part time work there.
There are a lot of off grid homes there also.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by Mark Hjelm

would go to the Kona side. The weather is a little hotter and it dosn't rain as much. Hilo is like a warm Seattle, nice and green but it rains alot.

Agree with the above. The Kona side is the drier side. The Hilo side can be quite wet.

Visit before you make definite plans to settle down. The Big Island is the Hawaiian island with no beaches. Not literally, but if you have an aversion to large expanses of black volcanic rock, the Big Island might not be the Hawaiian island for you.

[Rufblackbird]

Originally Posted by tevake

It is a bit less expensive to live on the Big Island than most of the rest of Hawaii.

As far as home prices go, yes (a LOT more available land). As far as everything else goes, no. Everything has to get shipped to Hawaii, either by plane or by boat. Most food and supplies will go to Oahu first, and then to the neighbor islands. Gas will definitely be at least $0.50 to a dollar more a gallon on the big island.

Hilo has the better food places tho

[Z-man]

Hilo is less touristy, and is the quieter side of the island.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is amazing - even surrealistic.

And believe it or not, you can snow ski the volcano certain times of the year.

-Z-man.

[johnsjmc]

My dad and his wife lived about 1/2 way between Hilo and Kona on the north shore.She had a condo at diamond head and he lived on his 55 ft sailboat and worked as a diver for years then they thought they would retire to the big island. Beautiful setting at about 2 mi from shore. Snow capped Volcano to their rear and ocean view ahead of them . Expensive and she was always flying to Honolulu for work and later medical issues. Isolated country living not for everyone.

[Rusty Heap]

Been to Maui and Kauai, last island was the Big Island, stayed in Kona and the island is totally different than the first two I mentioned.

I can see me living there in 10-12-15 years. Thinking about buying now while the realestate market is low.

big island offers LOTS of variety of jungle, desert, watersports, and what I noticed last time is the general population seem to be less asian more caucasians than the other island, and "non-locals" suddenly fit right in if you're not acting like a Gawdy Tourist.

Best book in the world to read:

Amazon.com: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (9780981461007): Andrew Doughty: Books

283 Five Star reviews say something about this book, I own one for each of the islands we visited.


another good way to get a feel of costs, is just surf to Craigslist of the Big Island to get a feel of rent and cost of goods.

Yes Gas is about .50-70 cents more a gallon, but so what?, milk and eggs are expensive, but fresh fresh fish and seafood is cheap. Electricity is about triple the costs of here in Seattle, we pay around 9 cents / KW hour, I think it's 22 or 25 cents in Hawaii.

So just do your research and go into it with your eyes open. Condos and homes are Cheap over there now. Surf craigslist to see.


See you there soon!


go for it..........

[sailchef]

I lived on the Big Island for a few years, 86-88. It's not the same dynamics anymore, The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, and The Mauna Lani were the only two large resorts on the coast. Even at that time housing was starting to spring up everywhere. Kona side is dry , I wouldn't want to live in Hilo, its too far from Kona and west Hawaii, thats where everything is happening. What you want to do when you get there is to go down to the harbor @ 6AM in Kona, or better yet, in Kawaihae and introduce yourself to the locals paddeling canoe (outriggers). I paddled canoe for three years with the Kawaihea club and once you are "in" with the canoe club everything becomes a lot easier. Leave the mainland attitude at home and remember you are a guest of Madam Pele.

Photo of the skiis was taken at the top of the Mauna Kea. After my last run I left them there as a symbol of the aloha spirit. They may still be there.





Keep the aloha spirit bra.

[sammyg2]

I gots a job offer to go to work on Oahu making the same $$$ as I'm gittin now.
Iffn I was single I'd be there, but I aint so I won't.

[nostatic]

By SoCal standards the drive from Hilo to Kona is no big deal. I've driven around the island multiple times. I still think it can be tough for a haole on any of the islands, but probably less of an issue if you're not raising kids. As for island fever, depends on what you want to do. I have a fantasy of going there and playing music for the tourists by night, lounging by day after I retire. Would probably get old after awhile though, and from a music standpoint if you don't dig the "island sound" you'll kinda go nuts.