VOG on Big Island = The Emperor's New Clothes??? (Hilo, Naalehu: sales, real estate)

[DoDreamsComeTrue]

For starters, I don't live in Hawaii, but I did visit all the islands a few weeks ago on a cruise ship. Now what I did notice once I got to Kona is how thick the vog (volcanic fog) was. I could barely see the island from the ship and once I got to the island, I could not see the horizon. I then checked on real estate prices there and recent sales and was surprised that people are still buying at a high price tag under these conditions.
What is going on? Am I the only one that noticed how severe the vog really is or what? Aren't people bothered by it? How come there is so little news about it? Why are people pretending it does not exist? Was the day I was there the only bad day of the year? I doubt that. Now honestly folks, can you enlighten me on this issue because I am truly puzzled by this.
Why are people still moving there? Is the vog this thick all over the island or just in Kona? Any honest answer would be greatly appreciated.

[Terryj]

From my understanding the VOG has got worse since a new vent opened up in March 2008. As to why people still choose to buy their homes there, I don't know. Maybe, just maybe, the appeal of living on the Big Island out ways any common sense. I love Hawaii, the Big Island is my favorite island, I have cut down my visits there due to the VOG and now spend most of my vacations on Kaua'i.

[hotzcatz]

The really heavy vog is fairly new and frequently folks look at an area while on vacation and then buy a house in the area later online. This can be up to several years later, too. Amazingly enough, other folks just buy online and don't even come look first.

Real estate sales have dropped way off in numbers although they are still expensive properties. The prices are starting to come down and with the overall economy along with the vog prices still have a long way to go. In some parts of Ka'u there is almost no property sales at all. There used to be a few agricultural jobs and such in that area but the vog has killed a lot of the crops and plants and so now those folks are out of work, too.

A friend visited on the cruise ship and we picked him up at the pier in Kona and immediately left the area since the vog was real heavy that day. On vacation, the vog can be dealt with since you can always go to the side of the island it isn't on that day, but when you buy a house it is hard to be so flexible.

[KonaKat]

The vog bothers some people a lot, others not at all. Esthetically it is a drag because we miss those blue skies!
Housing is affected by many factors of which vog is only one.
However that said, there are those of us that would stay here no matter what! Personally the only issue that would force me to move would be a medical condition for which I needed specialized care that is unavailable on the Big Island.
A lot of people move to Hawaii then move back to the mainland after a couple of years. The #1 reason is probably missing family members. #2 would be employment closely followed by #3 which is insufficient medical care in some areas. Cost of living is high. Others get island fever or miss "big city" life.

[hotzcatz]

There is public discussion about the vog and it has makes the local news and newspapers frequently but those news items may not be picked up by mainland newspapers. Also the Hawaii Tourism Bureau isn't keen on announcing vog to the world so although they don't actively suppress the information, they don't go out of their way to mention it, either.

The vog wanders around and is sometimes there and then gone again. Sometimes it is thick, sometimes it isn't. It is a lot like rain during rainy season. More than likely there will be some sometime soon but nobody quite knows when or where.

[Angel Bear]

I was on the Big Island for 10 days in November--so, last month. I was totally fine with the vog and I tend towards upper respiratory stuff where I currently live. I was totally fine though, even at the volcano national park as well as a trip to watch the lava show at Kalapana. I circumnavigated most of the island on this trip except one small arear on the western side. I found that most days, it was incredibly sunny and even when the vog made it not so sunny, it was only part of the day. The weather was gorgeous on the Big Island...everything is perfect there in my eyes I'd move from the mainland to the Big Island in a heartbeat, but probably not for another 10 years or so...

[almost_hawaiian]

I've been visiting Kona the past 3 yrs in the summer. The increase in vog was inescapable and seemed to blow in in the aft. We also got a sense that tourism was way down. We heard stories of some people leaving the island and we heard of the crops failing. But we looked at houses in Naalehu and the sky was blue there, even though I read afterwards that the trade winds do blow the vog that way. So maybe the difference is that it blows right away from Sth Pt, ... but is stagnant over Kona.
And given that it's lava zone 6, we feel safe enough to buy there.

[bnlkmtka]

My wife and I are considering moving to Hawaii from Minnesota(need I say more) in 1-2 years for retirement. Maui and the Big Island are the two islands we are considering. I saw this discussion a few months ago. Would you describe the VOG conditions since your original post in December?

[KonaKat]

It's about the same, varies from day to day.

[hotzcatz]

It's only been six months since the original post and volcanic events go on their own timetable. Pele could be restless for years, she could settle down tomorrow. She doesn't give us any advance warnings although at least on the Hilo side she puts her lava out slowly enough that folks can get out of the way. When there is an eruption on the Kona side the time for the lava to go from the mountain to the ocean is much quicker since it is steeper terrain. I forget when the last time Hualaulei erupted but someone told me it the lava could have made it to the ocean in forty five minutes. It isn't in a a zone as likely to have an eruption, but Pele will do as She wants.