The facts on Waipahu....tell me... ;) (Waipio, Village Park: townhouses, neighborhoods, to live in)

[Tiger Beer]

I know this is suppose to be 'ghetto'...but I've driven all around Waipahu, and still LIKE it. For one, I like the prices, and I like the grocery stores filled with so many Asian foods! I remember seeing 1-2 shady streets, but still better than most other U.S. cities on the mainland where I've lived, that had MUCH worse and FELT it too...I never felt that in Waipahu at all.

I'm caucasian, and my wife is Filipina...we will very soon have one son...I love Asian culture, and have lived in Asia for 8-9 years...mostly Korea...currently in Japan, and have been in the Philippines MANY times and like it there a lot as well.

It seems that many people write-off Waipahu as a place they wouldn't want to live...but I have a feeling in my particular situation, it might be alright...

Anyone else with a similar situation or similar feeling...? OR want to post a comment...

[808n310]

Well, there are a lot of places that have a Waipahu zip code but aren't what most would consider Waipahu. Waipio Gentry, Village Park/Royal Kunia and Waikele are the examples that come to my mind....

Waipio Gentry, Waikele and Royal Kunia are all newer, and nicer neighborhoods than Waipahu south of H1. There's a pocket of newer homes by the cultural center I think called Renaissance or something like that...all those are pretty decent I would say. Other than that everything else is older, with some definite pockets of not so good....pretty much anything between Kunia Road / Ft Weaver, Waipahu Street, Waipahu Depot Street and Farrington Highway I would avoid, it's pretty much a big rectangle...that area is noooot good. East or diamond head of Paiwa all the way to H1 is not as bad...but if you can stay north of H1, even better.

[hotzcatz]

Since Arakawa's closed, I pretty much didn't have any reason to go to Waipahu anymore so haven't been there much lately. It sounds like it might be a good fit for you, though, especially if your wife is Filipino.

[kaimuki]

Tiger Beer, which part of Waiphu have you seen? While Waikele, Waipio, Kunia, Seaview and Crestview are all part of Waipahu, when someone says they live in Waipahu, in most cases, they mean Waipahu and not the other areas. Seaview and Crestview might be the exceptions though. I used to live in Waipahu, within a block from the Leeward Drive Inn, for a long time.

[TXLara]

I would not live in Waipahu because of traffic (both from the H-1 and from $#&*ing Ft. Weaver) and during the summer you wouldn't get any breeze flowing through, so it would be pretty hot. But you'd have a lot of stuff around you- stores and places to eat and things. Yeah, the "rectangle" isn't the prettiest neighborhood or even the most desirable, but I lived in Kalihi for a month and had no problems at all...and everyone is always talking about how awful Kalihi is. Of course, I didn't know that at the time, which might have made a difference. If you like it, go for it. Just be prepared for the traffic and the heat.

Oh, and they're also building a new neighborhood of townhouses on Roosevelt(?)- whatever street that's down to one lane that goes near the water plant going out of Ewa toward Kapolei- and that is going to really mess up traffic even more once those are done. Fun times!!