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Just googled "Mauna Luan" and this was the first link to the web page for the property - I looked at the site and it has a ton of information and pix, if you haven't already found it. The links below it (on the Google search page) look like they should be really helpful as well, for pricing and availability as well as pix.
We looked at several condos in those Mauna Luan towers when we were moving out to Hawaii Kai - we were focusing on townhouses/condominiums at first so we saw a ton of them, in all the various buildings, probably something from almost every building or complex. We LOVED it in 2004 - not sure how much it would have changed in four years but the buildings and pools were very nice then - everything was very well-kept on the property. Everything we saw that was on the market had been renovated by the individual owners - tile, granite, everything. . .and everything we saw was on really high floors so the ocean view was amazing. We liked the floorplans and there were lots of windows if I remember right. I guess you've seen some recent pix though, and hopefully you will see more. . .the Craigslist pix should be realistic, probably for all of it but at least for the layout/window placement or whatever.
Anyway, of all the "older" buildings we saw, absolutely Mauna Luan was the one we liked the best for many reasons and when we were on Oahu just a couple of weeks ago, they still jumped out at us - they're just neat - Tim and I both said we could totally live there if we moved back (based on what we remembered. . . ). It seemed safe with very good security when we were looking around - looks like 24 hour gated/manned security is still in place - - and I think it's a really nice location as well - living off Hahaione would be (or should be) way more quiet and peaceful than living off Lunalilo Home Rd (going by how traffic and activity was two years ago, though)...the tradeoff is that it's farther away from Kaiser High (if that's a factor). The Colony is across from Kaiser- but Mauna Luan is still only about two miles away.
Thank you for all the helpful info! I am researching condos in Hawaii Kai daily! I don't know if you read my other posts, but I'm really afraid of insects especially centipedes and roachs. I know get over it, but in the meantime, I don't want to rent an old building just because of this problem. Do you think I would be pretty safe at the Moana Luan? Or is it better to try and stay in the newer places like the Colony?
Living in a high-rise should be your best bet for minimizing pests and while it seems logical that newer construction would harbor less pests, I absolutely wouldn't rule out the Mauna Luan or another older building at all if you liked most everything else about it . . . I really think pests would go into new construction, old construction, or stay outside almost equally - basically that they will pretty much go wherever the conditions are right for them. Whether buildings harbor any, more, or less pests is probably influenced somewhat by construction but also location and upkeep - seemingly a spin of the wheel unless someone who's lived there could say - it might be a problem, or just once in awhile - or not at all - even different from dwelling to dwelling, whether or not the building is old or new. Some condo buildings have routine pest control scheduled (ours was done monthly and was covered in our rent) so that might be something to check while you're looking around.
When we lived in Waikiki, it was in a condominium built in 1971 - older for sure - we lived ten stories up. We would see the occasional really tiny roach or spider only in the kitchen (and VERY randomly - just a few times in five years). Never saw centipedes, never saw giant roaches or palmetto bugs - we were stoked, thinking maybe Hawaii didn't have bugs like Florida did. When we moved to the house in Hawaii Kai, we saw huge palmetto bugs - not every day but often enough. We sprayed all the time around the perimeter of the property and the spray would kill many of them on the spot before they got close to the house (we would find them. . .) but still we would randomly see live ones inside - outside - on the pool deck where you wouldn't think they would like to be (nowhere to hide) - even on the ceiling sometimes (? ? ? ) - - and we are super-clean, never left food out, anything like that - it was crazy. It was just part of living in a tropical environment in a single-story dwelling - Tim said we were living in their territory, that we were the guests (which is true and we were ok with co-existing with the bugs in exchange for all the things we gained by moving out there). We never saw a centipede the whole time we lived in Hawaii, but enough palmetto bugs between Florida and Hawaii to last forever.
I said all that to say that as many pests as there were out in Hawaii Kai when we lived there, it seems impossible to think you wouldn't see them at all - but even in an older high-rise building out there I can't imagine it would be anywhere near as often as it was for us in the single-story house. As far as The Colony vs Mauna Luan or other buildings in Hawaii Kai, it sometimes seems that the "older" buildings have more solid construction and workmanship, maybe more barriers between adjoining units/floors or whatever - more cement/concrete used instead of wood (our building had concrete walls between units). I hope someone else will chime in also, because with our experiences alone we can only compare high-rise to single-story and in two really different locations. Waikiki is way less tropical than Hawaii Kai (just thinking out loud, I know you know that) so that might have been a factor, with all the cement and concrete around. Maybe the higher the floor the better, anywhere you choose (my logic is that if the pests are finding sustenance and shelter and whatever else they want on the lower floors, why climb higher). Thinking about it, we saw way more palmetto bugs inside when it was raining. . .
I wish I could tell you for sure - but I will tell you that if we were thinking about moving back out to Hawaii Kai, I would be just like you, so curious about which buildings had the most chance of being low-pest (I think pest-free is maybe impossible out there) - we would definitely not live in a single-story or low rise dwelling -we would choose a high-rise for sure and know the chances of encountering pests are there but that it would never be as bad as it was for us before. I stuck my head in the sand when we lived in the house because the tradeoff was worth it but it would be something we would try to avoid for sure if we moved back. This is one of the things we are loving about California - we haven't seen anything but a few random spiders in either apartment complex we've lived in here - it seems too good to be true - I still look around here at night and think how cool it is to NOT see palmetto bugs. I would absolutely never tell you to just get over it though - bugs and especially flying palmetto bugs (also called B-52s in Hawaii) are a huge factor. You are totally doing the right thing by considering all of this before you move because this is something that really can affect your life out there - especially if it's a major fear.
Hi. Thank you for ALL of your info. Since you really know about Hawaii Kai and the specific property I'm interested in, would you mind if I sent you a link to look at for me and tell me if it is too good to be true, Or if it looks like this in person??
Hello I just wanted to follow up with you and let you know Matson was great the car arrived in 14 days fromhen they picked it up we used A-AAA for delivery to them and it was a smooth transaction. I would highly recommend them to you, alos for moving your houshold goods we used ABF who also have been great so far are pods actually made it before we are which is tomorrow, so aside from unlocking are padlocks which we packed ourselves no complaints yet. Let me know if I can be of any help as we are just finishing up and fly in tomorrow............
I was just wondering if your car made it safely through Matson! Thank you for the update...I will be using them and it is so reassuring to know someone that can directly say good things about it...Which part of Hawaii are you moving to? Good luck with completing your move!
I grew up and spent most of my life here in Hawaii Kai.
It is predominantly a middle to high income level community, and being that, you get all the benefits associated with living in a upper income community.
The good about living here is that there is/was a good balance of blue collar and white collar mentality and atitudes, but the balance is tilting towards the white collar yuppie types. With the recent housing development there is an influx of upper class white Californian transplants. So being a transplant yourself, your transition may not be that bad (compared to adjusting to living in Waianae or Kalihi).
Went to Kaiser High and is one of the better public schools to go to. I wouldn't say the teachers or the campus is much better than other public schools, heck it may be even worse, but you'd figure that there would be a tendency for the other children going to Kaiser to be raised better, and be a little more civilized than kids who grew up in poorer communities. By this estimation, and my experience, I'd say your children would have a decent educational environment to learn from, short of going to a private school.
As for housing, the amount of money you have will determine how picky you can be,it is a rather expensive area to live in. Otherwise, in terms of living bug free, the higher off the ground you are and the farther away from green landscape or mountains, the less likely you will encounter creepy crawlies.
Stay away from houses with rock walls and homes built on raised flooring because thats where large 1"- 2" flying roaches live and harvest.
And stay away from homes in Kaimuki/Waialae, ALL the homes there are built on raised flooring on rock walls.
Traffic is bad and will only get worse, but I see it as, I'd rather live in HK and sit through 30-45 minute traffic just to go 15 miles everday to and from work surrounded by nice homes, parks, and big trees vs. driving through 45-60 minute highway traffic surrounded by concrete retaining walls to travel 25-40 miles to Salt Lake or Mililani.
I know this thread is a bit old, but I wanted to add that I shipped from the US to Oahu last year with A-1 Auto Transport and I would use them again. It depends how attached you are to your car though because it can get expensive and there can sometimes be delays if you don't have all your paperwork in order.
"Shipped from the U.S. To Oahu"? Did I miss something in the news last night? Last time I looked Hawaii WAS part of the U.S.!
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Thanks!
