anyone know anything about honokaa? is it green? (Hilo, Waimea: for sale, rent)

[jmcewen]

My husband and I are trying to decide where to buy on the east side of the B.I. We want green but not rain 24/7. We are looking to buy 1 or more acres either north or south of hilo... i hear puna is pretty impoverished. Where would a white couple be 'recieved well'? I used to live on oahu about 10 yrs ago and my husbands name is kimo and he was born on maui... but hes a white as they come! lol. Is Honokaa nice? Any advice would be awesome!

[KonaKat]

I think Honoka'a is lovely. Very green, charming little town. One of my daughter's friends moved there last year from Kona, and loves it. Not much in the way of work tho, you'd have to go to Hilo or the resort area, or Kona for that. And, not a lot of hiring going on. When are you coming out to check out various areas? Happy hunting!

[hotzcatz]

You could try the Laupahoehoe area, it is very green and not quite as rainy as Hilo or misty all day like Waimea. Lots of haoles in the area, too. Lots of everyone else, too, but that's Hawaii. All kinds of folks living next to all kinds of other folks.

Actually, don't buy anything until you've come over and rented for six months or so. You can't find the perfect spot in one week of looking since there are so many different areas and they all have their own charms and some not so charming aspects. One week of looking and you will be able to know where to start but that's about all. Once you find an area, then rent close by and see if it is somewhere you want to stay.

We can have climate changes from one side of a town to the other, just look at Waimea with it's "wet" side and it's "dry" side. The climate also changes according to elevation. The weather at the bottom of Ocean view is worlds away from the weather at the top of that sub. There is also the distance to things to take into consideration. Depending on what amenities you want, that will determine your choices, too.

[cynmkolohe]

Honokaa is an area I really like as well...Just close enough to the Kohala coast for beach access, but still green and charming. It is, as hotzcatz says, a place you will want to visit and consider carefully to be sure it meets your expectations. You might also consider doing a bit of research on Ahualoa (about 6 miles from Honokaa)--a google search will pull up a couple of interesting websites with links to personal sites and businesses.

[KoaHawaii]

honoka'a is very green and has the feel of an old sugar cane plantation town (as that is where it's history lies) majority of my family is from/living in honoka'a. it does rain often though not year round. the hamakua coast (from waipio valley to just outside hilo) is very lush and green, due to all the rain teh area gets. you won't find work in honoka'a. better luck in hilo or kona. it is difficult in general to find a job in hawaii especially in smaller towns like honoka'a. as long as you are warm and welcoming to those that live there you should be fine, though many families have lived their all their lives and for generations. it isn't necessarily as tight nit as some smaller communities where everyone knows you but it is really close. you will stick out being white as the town is mostly japanese/hawaiian. as others have mentioned i would check out the area first. also you are going to have a difficult time finding an acre of land for sale, let alone one that isn't a fortune. the few lots (i think there are one or two at the moment) are closer to 7,000-10,000 sqft and between $130,000 and $200,000. you would have better luck finding a lot that already has a house built and check the property out. many homes are older so you'd want to check the structure first as usual before buying etc.
there is only one school in honoka'a, it is a k-12. their is also a small golf course, though it is on a hill so that makes for interesting play, sorry no golf carts. close proximity to waimea. nice ocean views from some parts of the town. nice 'main street', with mom and pop shops, a very small movie theater, grocery store, hotel, feed store etc. um can't think of anything else, just ask if you have any other specific questions
good luck

[hotzcatz]

The feed store closed several months ago so the nearest one is now in Waimea or Hilo. Maybe another one will open again. Honokaa does have Ikeuchi's Hardware, that's a very quaint hardware store. A lot of the little shops just relocated all over the place in the last several months, too. They didn't go out of business, just moved down the street across the street or up the street so now they aren't where you expect to find them.

[KoaHawaii]

it is a very slow paced laid back town so if that is what you're looking for that is good. it can be difficult if you were expecting many little shops or places to eat. there are a few like cj's, etc. but you'll find more variety in waimea which isn't that far. let us know a little more of what you're looking for =)

[hotzcatz]

Eh, KoaHawaii, I can just imagine da kine in CJ's! Trying for bus me up, or what?