Return to HI, just pick a different island this time? (Honolulu: rental, how much)

[k9coach]

I can't believe I'm here. In the HI forum. I posted on the General U.S. board asking for relocation suggestions, and HI was recommended to me. Does my perfect place exist?

I live in Buffalo, NY now. And I moved here about 7 years ago from . . . Ewa Beach, Oahu. My husband's job there was done, so we moved back to where we met and married, western NY. While there is much I love about Buffalo, I can't suffer through one more winter here. We could simply move south, but that comes with BUGS that completely ruin my favorite season - summertime. I am not sure how much the Big Island varies from Oahu in this regard, but when I lived in Ewa Beach I was never bothered by wildlife or insects at all. We could just move to CA, but then we'd be leaving one mismanaged state for another, plus the Pacific is sooo cold off the California coast! I don't understand the point of living at the beach when you need a wet suit to even enjoy the water!

If you can find it in your heart (and your schedule), what I'd really appreciate is if you could help me determine: is HI the "perfect place" I'm looking for? If it is, I'll need more info. (particularly concerning bringing my FOUR dogs to the island.) But for now just tell me if HI is a good choice for me or not, based on my checklist:

1) I can't take these Buffalo winters anymore! (Obviously HI fits the bill there.)

2) I don't want to live in fear and misery over an out of control insect population. Lyme carrying ticks, West Nile and heartworm carrying mosquitoes, venomous spiders and snakes, no thanks.

3) I need to live near the ocean or a clean, clear, swimable lake (Again, HI should meet that requirement just fine.)

4) I don't want to end up in another NY state with over-reaching, inept government.

5) I am looking for a specific topography / landscape: I get sick of flat, flat, flat, but I also get uncomfortable driving in very mountainous terrain. Somewhere in between is ideal for me.

Kids and employment are not factors in our relocation. We'd be looking for a property that has more than a tiny yard, need some space for the dogs and a garden. We prefer to live a bit removed from population centers, yet not out in the middle of nowhere.

Any advice or guidance would be much appreciated!

[whtviper1]

Since employment is not a factor I'd pick up a vacation rental for a week at a time on some of the various islands and make an in person fact finding trip.

[terracore]

2) I don't want to live in fear and misery over an out of control insect population. Lyme carrying ticks, West Nile and heartworm carrying mosquitoes, venomous spiders and snakes, no thanks.

We don't have snakes or west nile (yet) but we have everything else on your list.

3) I need to live near the ocean or a clean, clear, swimable lake (Again, HI should meet that requirement just fine.)

Swimmable ocean around the BI is tough to find. Plenty of rocky cliffs though. Seems like at least once a week somebody gets sucked out to sea and is never seen again.

4) I don't want to end up in another NY state with over-reaching, inept government.

I believe that NY is bad but I think if you look up "inept government" in the dictionary it shows a picture of Hawaii as part of the definition.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by k9coach

But for now just tell me if HI is a good choice for me or not, based on my checklist:

Aloha

Let's start with the fact that there is no single "HI" to choose, and there are many Hawai'is to choose from. As I just said in another thread, Honolulu and Kona are like night and day, literally... a large urban city with an active night life vs a small town that rolls up the sidewalks at 9pm. Then get away into the more rural areas and you have many different flavors available. And each has appeal for different kinds of people.

1) I can't take these Buffalo winters anymore! (Obviously HI fits the bill there.)

True, but so does almost everything else, compared to Buffalo.

2) I don't want to live in fear and misery over an out of control insect population. Lyme carrying ticks, West Nile and heartworm carrying mosquitoes, venomous spiders and snakes, no thanks.

That's not Hawai'i's strongest suit, actually. It's the tropics, there are lots of bugs. Mostly just annoying, occasionally nasty. Use the Search function to pull up recent threads on this.

3) I need to live near the ocean or a clean, clear, swimable lake (Again, HI should meet that requirement just fine.)

We do have the ocean part, but it's colder around the Big Island than you might guess. Again, Search will turn up previous discussions.

4) I don't want to end up in another NY state with over-reaching, inept government.

Oops.

5) I am looking for a specific topography / landscape: I get sick of flat, flat, flat, but I also get uncomfortable driving in very mountainous terrain. Somewhere in between is ideal for me.

Again, there are many different topographies in Hawai'i although very little is either very mountainous or completely flat. And there are also many vastly different micro-climates. You really should spend some time here checking out what you feel the most affinty for.

Good luck!

[k9coach]

OK it sounds like I would not be doing myself any favors in the insect department by moving to HI. I don't remember ever being bothered by bugs when I lived in Ewa Beach, but again I was only there 2 years. The only "nuisance" wildlife I encountered was a couple roaches in the house (hilarity ensued as I beat them with a boot and learned they are immortal) a mongoose that got in the house through a dryer vent (worth it to watch the Samoan animal control guy wrangle her bare handed) and the geckos all over my walls and ceiling (who I adored and welcomed.) But I have been watching youtube videos of cane spiders. I know I couldn't... I just couldn't.

As for inept government, yep I remember from living there you're right, HI is pretty much right behind NY and CA. It's coming back to me now.

Surprised to hear that the ocean is no good for swimming around the Big Island, but good to know.

Waimea was the specific place recommended to me in response to my thread in the General U.S. forum. One thing I am pretty sure of is that if I did move back to any of the Hawaiian islands, I'd want to be on the dry side. That was something I liked about Ewa Beach. It was awesome visiting the wet side, but I would rather not live there. I wonder if locating on the dry side would mean lower insect numbers?

Thanks for all the info. so far!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

There are some lovely beaches with good swimming on the coast north of Kona. That's where the resorts are located. Granted, the water is cold, but it's the Pacific Ocean and you get used to it quickly.

Since kids and employment are not an issue for you, then you may very well like the BI. I agree with whtviper about doing a fact-finding trip. There are many different areas of the BI and, if you have the time, you could spend a week in each area. Waimea may be a good place for you to start.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by k9coach

Surprised to hear that the ocean is no good for swimming around the Big Island, but good to know.

It's not that it's bad, it's just colder than many expect.

Waimea was the specific place recommended to me in response to my thread in the General U.S. forum. One thing I am pretty sure of is that if I did move back to any of the Hawaiian islands, I'd want to be on the dry side.

Funny, but Waimea (on the Big Island, Post Office named Kamuela) is right on a weather cusp... one side of the town is wet, the other is dry. So take your pick.

That was something I liked about Ewa Beach. It was awesome visiting the wet side, but I would rather not live there. I wonder if locating on the dry side would mean lower insect numbers?

I'll let Hotzcatz reply to this one, since she has lived up that way for years. Again, you can also find previous discussions in the archives.

[k9coach]

Is the ocean colder off the Big Island than Oahu? I found the Oahu water temps heavenly year round. I was raised on the beaches of California and New England so I know cold ocean water!

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by k9coach

Is the ocean colder off the Big Island than Oahu?

That depends on where on the Big Island - the Hilo side is much colder - the Kona side not so much.

If public beaches are important where they are plentiful - check out Maui.

[hotzcatz]

The water is warmer when it has a shallow shelf such as Kaneohe Bay and Kailua/Lanikai. The Big Island has more immediate drop offs so it is the same as swimming out in deeper water. It still isn't that cold but it might be two or maybe three degrees cooler than say, Ala Moana Beach. The Big Island does have thermally heated swimming ponds over near Kapoho. Although there isn't any water treatment and there is a lot of people who swim in the pond, if it is after a tide that has washed the water clear it's probably not too bad. I haven't been to the hot pond for years, though. It used to be a private swimming pool behind someone's house and then it was made into a state park so the amount of folks in the water is greatly increased. It is really warm, though, about like bath water.

A visit to the islands might be in order. You can re-visit your previous place in Ewa and see if it is still there. There has been rampant construction out that way for years now but maybe it would still be a place you'd like. The bugs there are about the same as the bugs here on the Big Island so if you only saw cockroaches and geckos and one mongoose in the two years you were there, it would be about the same.

Waimea has a dry side as well as a wet side so you can pick which side you prefer. It is close to some really nice swimming beaches. Spencers, Hapuna, Anaeho`omalu (which is usually just called "A bay") and a bunch more. Here's a link to the Big Island beaches: http://www.kona123.com/beachmap.html

Waimea is a respectable town and doesn't have any sleazy places in it. I don't think they even have a tattoo parlour, although I haven't looked. So, it might be a good place to start looking.