Work, Play, and traffic (Kailua, Aiea: houses, living, price)

[adamphudson]

I am getting ready to move to Hawaii in FEB 09. I am trying to find a good place to live based on a few things:

1) I am in the Navy and will commute to AIEA/Pearl everyday, and want to avoid traffic - what part of the island would be best for my commute.

2) I am 25 years old, and am looking forward to enjoying the night life in Oahu. It doesn't have to be Waikiki - but it would be nice to live somewhere close to fun areas to go out to on weekends.

As always, price is a concern, but any help that could give me a feel for what to expect from the various parts of the island in regards to these two issues would be greatly appreciated.

[hotzcatz]

Perhaps Salt Lake area, that's pretty much just outside of Pearl Harbor. Can you stay in base housing for awhile so you will be able to look around before deciding? If you found out where you worked and then after work went out the easiest way and then looked for houses in that area you may find somewhere interesting. Will you be driving a car? Motorcycle? Moped? Bicycle? Isn't there a fairly nice bike path from Aiea to Pearl Harbor? The traffic is terrible so you'd want to live somewhere close to the base.

[HankDfrmSD]

The problem with living close to the Base at Pearl is that it's a long way to the beach!

I lived just outside the main gate of Pearl (in Navy housing) for two and a half years when I first came to Hawaii fifty one years ago. To go to the beach, we drove to Waikiki (Ft. DeRussey) or Barbers Point. The next tour at Pearl, I lived in Kailua.

Young people just moving to Hawaii usually want to spend time at the beach on their day off, without driving almost an hour.

I'd consider Kailua. The commute time on H-3 is just about 30 minutes, and the beach is five minutes.

Hank