Puna, Hawaii (Hilo, Volcano, Keaau: purchase, theater, contractors)

[kspeed]

Wow,
I believe I've read over everything here. I have some awesome info to digest. My husband and I will be moving to East, HI (Big Isle) from the northeast USA. I'm pregnant now with twins, so we when we come my babies will probably be 6-7 months old or so.

My husband will be working in Hilo and we're strongly leaning towards purchasing a home there (we'd like his commute to be less than a half hour-any suggestions on where to move?). For career purposes we know we'll be there 2 years and may extend if we can up to 4 years. Is it worth it to still purchase for that type of time frame? Is it hard to resell your property? We've have an SUV and he's going to get a motorcycle before we leave for his transportation. Any comments on motorcycles, rain and dependable transportation? What are gas prices like there?

I am an RN, BSN and have my own company here. I began to research the Assisted Living, Group Homes rules and regulations for the Hawaiian Islands. Here in my Northeastern state, they must have RN oversight to assess residents every 45-90 days, the staff can receive training from the qualified/certified RN, and we make sure that the rules and regulations are followed. I was hoping that I could do something similiar in HI. I won't be working alot b/c my children will be small. Maybe 2-4 times a month or so. Child Care and trusting new people will be an issue for us. I was only going to work that much here in the Northeast had we not had this job change for my husband. I'm certified to teach a number of things CPR, First Aid, Food Safety, and many health related things. I like the freedom of my own business and consulting. I'm hoping I can do the same there. I'm researching really hard for other creative ways to participate with the HI Geriatric populations.

Sorry to ramble. My husband is Military also. I didn't find much on the Big Isle for military folks. Maybe a small exchange (equal to a wal-mart) at the Keaukahu Military Reservation. And Kilaeua Military Camp for vacationing. This was all I could find. Umlike Oahu which seemed packed with military bases etc. I think I'll like the less hustle and bustle on the Big Isle. I'm looking forward to it.

Since I am an East Coaster-I am concerned about living too low (tsunami's), mosquitos, land slides, volcanoes, too much rain, my husbands allergies etc. I can adapt like I always do, but I want to ensure that wherever we live I've done my homework (due diligence)to have the least amount of challenges. I'm sure that's what we all want.

I know I was rambling but if anyone can offer any input I would appreciate it.

Kspeed

[cleo]

This is a great post!!! Thanks everyone. My husband and I visited the island in Sep and we loved it. We are about 5 years from retirement, want to buy a piece of land (probably in orchid land estates or kurtistown) clear it and plant some trees (palm/bambou/fruit trees) then when we are ready to come over, we will build a house on it. I would like to get your opinion whether that is a reasonable plan or not. I have heard about the molds, but in orchid land or kurtistown, is it that bad? Besides flood and lava, anything else we should be watching out for?
Thanks
cleo

[leilaniguy]

Originally Posted by kspeed

Wow,
I believe I've read over everything here. I have some awesome info to digest. My husband and I will be moving to East, HI (Big Isle) from the northeast USA. I'm pregnant now with twins, so we when we come my babies will probably be 6-7 months old or so.

My husband will be working in Hilo and we're strongly leaning towards purchasing a home there (we'd like his commute to be less than a half hour-any suggestions on where to move?). For career purposes we know we'll be there 2 years and may extend if we can up to 4 years. Is it worth it to still purchase for that type of time frame? Is it hard to resell your property? We've have an SUV and he's going to get a motorcycle before we leave for his transportation. Any comments on motorcycles, rain and dependable transportation? What are gas prices like there?

I am an RN, BSN and have my own company here. I began to research the Assisted Living, Group Homes rules and regulations for the Hawaiian Islands. Here in my Northeastern state, they must have RN oversight to assess residents every 45-90 days, the staff can receive training from the qualified/certified RN, and we make sure that the rules and regulations are followed. I was hoping that I could do something similiar in HI. I won't be working alot b/c my children will be small. Maybe 2-4 times a month or so. Child Care and trusting new people will be an issue for us. I was only going to work that much here in the Northeast had we not had this job change for my husband. I'm certified to teach a number of things CPR, First Aid, Food Safety, and many health related things. I like the freedom of my own business and consulting. I'm hoping I can do the same there. I'm researching really hard for other creative ways to participate with the HI Geriatric populations.

Sorry to ramble. My husband is Military also. I didn't find much on the Big Isle for military folks. Maybe a small exchange (equal to a wal-mart) at the Keaukahu Military Reservation. And Kilaeua Military Camp for vacationing. This was all I could find. Umlike Oahu which seemed packed with military bases etc. I think I'll like the less hustle and bustle on the Big Isle. I'm looking forward to it.

Since I am an East Coaster-I am concerned about living too low (tsunami's), mosquitos, land slides, volcanoes, too much rain, my husbands allergies etc. I can adapt like I always do, but I want to ensure that wherever we live I've done my homework (due diligence)to have the least amount of challenges. I'm sure that's what we all want.

I know I was rambling but if anyone can offer any input I would appreciate it.

Kspeed

Aloha. stay above 5th Ave. in HPP, and above "the Red Road" (rt.137) anywhere in lower puna, you should be safe from tsunami above these roads. Any place above there is pretty close to Hilo and generally cheaper. As far as what tomorrow brings, who knows. I wish I had known what was going to happen a couple of years ago, I would have made megabucks. Prices on vacant land here went up 1000% then, now have dropped some, quite a bit actually, but I have no crystal ball, I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I'm just guessing, but you will probably not lose anything by investing as all the "Baby boomers" start to retire and seek "Paradise". A lot of people are ready to to leave North America and come here. But there are other considerations too, we live on a constantly erupting volcano, and just a few days ago we had a MAJOR, I MEAN MAJOR!, damaging earthquake. That's part of life in Puna too. As far as nursing, geriatrics has a big future here in that field.

[leilaniguy]

Originally Posted by cleo

This is a great post!!! Thanks everyone. My husband and I visited the island in Sep and we loved it. We are about 5 years from retirement, want to buy a piece of land (probably in orchid land estates or kurtistown) clear it and plant some trees (palm/bambou/fruit trees) then when we are ready to come over, we will build a house on it. I would like to get your opinion whether that is a reasonable plan or not. I have heard about the molds, but in orchid land or kurtistown, is it that bad? Besides flood and lava, anything else we should be watching out for?
Thanks
cleo

Aloha cleo, these two communities have basically the same climate, warm and humid, with Kurtistown being maybe 2-3 degrees cooler at any given time. This entire area is in lava zone 3, less hazardous than much of the rest of Puna. I wouldn't worry too much about mold if you take precautions with some items like books and papers, keeping them in ziplocks, or a closet with a piano heater or dehumidifier. And forego having furs, leather goods, etc. Be sure to demand from your realtor a disclosure statement about streamflows on your lot and the possibility of flooding. There are a few low-lying areas in Orchidland and Hawaiian Acres that occasionally become "The Puna River" which appears out of nowhere overnight in a hard rain. As to the other part of your question, yes, if you plant your fruit trees, etc. in 5 years or less you will have fruit and nice trees IF the weeds and trash trees haven't swallowed them up/ choked them out, everything grows like mad here. You will probably need to hire someone to weedeat every 3 months or so.

[kspeed]

Thanks Leilaniguy for answering my questions.

Can someone tell me their thoughts on the new development HILOLANI ? My husband will be working in Hilo and I'd rather he not have a long commute. If we lived in Puna or something. We're coming from the Northeast coast USA so we're learing alot from this forum and others.

Is it a high risk in the tsunami zone?
Where is it related to the lava zone and insurance?
I saw that Hilo gets the most rain, how are the mosquitos in this area?
How is crime?
Our children will be 6-7 months old by that time-is this area family oriented?
Our motorcycles typical transportation on the islands? I'm concerned about all the rain and my husband using it to commute to work. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Kspeed

[bzansky]

Aloha all, I have been reading over these posts and have found the info to be extremely useful. I was hoping maybe leilaniguy could give me some good advice. I have very good friends that live in Puna(all areas). I have been visiting them for years now and have been to the Big Island five times now for lengths of time. I am planning on moving to the Big Island come december. I am in my last semester of accounting at Temple University in Philadelphia. It has been my dream to move to the Big Island for a long time now. I had several interviews in Kona this summer and hopefully I will be able to find a suitable job, although I kind of want to do physical work at first just to settle myself in before a serious job but thats a whole other story. I am aware of pretty much all of the disadvantages of the Big Island and hawaii in general. You know what I think? I really dont care. Nothing is going to shake me(except for a 6.7) and I dont mind roughing it at first. I plan on renting and I've found some pretty inexpensive places to rent on the east side. The only thing that hurts me about that side of the island is the work I will be able to find. Other than that I love Hilo side way more than Kona side. Adding up the transportation costs of traveling back and forth to Kona and what not I'm starting to think it might be a wiser choice to pay a little more for rent and just live on the Kona side. I'm really at a loss now I don't know what to do when I thought I had it all figured out before. This is obviously a big move for me from the mean streets of Philly, but I've been to the Island more than enough times and I do have friends there to help out here and there. The time of moving is creeping up on me and I just need some reassurance that I should or should not follow my dream. Any wisdom would help from anyone. Mahalo, Bobby

[fireprotection]

Aloha all and greetings from the Pacific Northwest! I stumbled upon your forum and found it very informative. I am just getting home from visiting my uncle Franklin who lives in Kurtistown (where the frogs at night sound like a thousand birds chirping). I am a contractor and my uncle is a carpenter. I had the best lemon chicken ever at a smal chinese restuarant not far from the airport en route to Kurtistown. I am looking around the area for an acre where we could build a house (preferrably within a 15 minute drive to a Starbucks). One realtor online recommended HPP or Orchidland. I would appreciated any suggestions, advice, or observations... Mahalo, Vince fireprotection@comcast.net

[leilaniguy]

Aloha to Bobby & Vince. For Bobby; Are you prepared to spend 5 to 6 hours commuting to and from work each day on our bad roads? Some folks here do, but that really will cut into your enjoyment of life here. If you figure in your lost commute time and gas, wear-and-tear on your car, etc. it might be just as economically feasable to take a lower paying job Hilo-side, or get a 2nd part-time job, rather than spend all that time driving. My across-the-road neighbor is an accountant-taxprep, has made a living here in the Puna jungle for over 10 years now, she hasn't gotten rich, but is happy as a clam to be here. For Vince: There are nice areas in both Orchidland and HPP, but neither have CC&R's, so your neighbors may live in a mansion, or in an old schoolbus or tent. That's usually not a big issue, however, since much of the area is wooded and mostly 1 to 3 acre lots, (out of sight, out of mind). The roads in HPP are better maintained than in most of Orchidland. There is a part of Orchidland near Pohaku Drive that floods repeatedly, avoid that area. Both neighborhoods are probably about 15 min. from Starbuck's at Kuhio, depending on traffic. BTW Puna has been growing/producing some really good coffee of it's own lately!

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by cleo

This is a great post!!! Thanks everyone. My husband and I visited the island in Sep and we loved it. We are about 5 years from retirement, want to buy a piece of land (probably in orchid land estates or kurtistown) clear it and plant some trees (palm/bambou/fruit trees) then when we are ready to come over, we will build a house on it. I would like to get your opinion whether that is a reasonable plan or not. I have heard about the molds, but in orchid land or kurtistown, is it that bad? Besides flood and lava, anything else we should be watching out for?
Thanks
cleo

Buying a piece of land and building a house on it later on sounds like a reasonable plan; however, I'd advise against clearing it and planting trees on it until you're ready to live here. At one time, someone thought that it was a good idea to plant Albizia and strawberry guava trees. Unfortunately, both ended up becoming "invasive species" and irreparably damaged the native ecosystem.

Depending on the design and location of a house and how it is maintained, mold can be a problem. Floods, lava, hurricanes, and earthquakes are some of the major hazards that can potentially impact the Big Island. Again, home design and location and can mitigate some of the potential hazards.

[annswisher]

We welcome all new comers to our beautiful island. True it is hard to find a good paying job here. My husband still works in Alaska. You may find that office jobs are still the best type of work on the big island. Probably a little more dependable and higher hr wage with benefits. As soon as u have to pay your own health insurance the cost of living goes through the roof. Not everyone likes the wet area of the Puna district but I have found it to be a very pleasant place to live. We moved here from AK six years ago and I love it. We had never visited this side of the island before we moved here and bought our home sight unseen. Of course it was previously owned by a realator so i think that might have helped. He was very honest and everything was as expected. We moved our truck and personal belongings for just over $3000. If I can help let me know. Ann