Hawaiian Ocean View Estates?

[RabbleRouser]

HOVE at the top of the world! Well, almost.

Former sugar cane plantation that got smothered out by a big bang. Many parts look like the moon with craggy lava rocks or lava beds and scraggly trees or plants poking up through the rock.

Other parts are grassier with trees. The subdivison goes up the mountain, so the elevation makes the difference in temp. etc.

What to expect? RURAL living. This means you have to drive an hour to a major CHAIN store like Walmart. Well, if you lived in Kansas, you might have to do the same thing. If you are expecting Manhattan conveniences, stay in Manhattan.

Nices houses to hippie camps. Everything on catchement, which in the old day was called cistern or rain barrel water. Ususally you see swimming pools (called doughboy systems cos they're doughboy pools lol) with rain gutters running over to them. You can buy private water and they bring it out in a truck and fill up your "doughboy". There are alternatives like "Water from Air" machines, but most people just use the ole doughboy.

Sewer is private septic. They used to let you use cesspools, but I think they did away with that about 5 years ago.

County is putting in water, but it will take a long time to cover 20,000 acres and they probably will only put it in where the majority of the homes are to start.

Some lots have excellent ocean views. Those are ususally the higher elevation, lava rock moon lots. So, there is something to be said about living on the moon on earth.

Crime? What place doesn't have crime? Please, name one. Enough said.

Drugs? What place doesn't have drugs. Please name one. Enough said.

Kona is very touristy town. Not really that big, lots of hotels, chain stores so if you REALLY have a hankerin' for Outback while living or visiting the gorgeous and unique Hawaiian Islands, you can still get an Aussie "mainland US" steak. Why not try the local fare while here and eat Outback when you Getback? --- just a thought

Hilo, not as touristy, kinda rundown, but old Hawaii. Much more colorful than Kona for locality.

Pahoa - ROFLMAO - couple of businesses with a road running through it. They say unique. Yeah, it's unique. Go there and then you can tell people you went.

I bought a lot in HOVE sight unseen via eBay. One of the best things I ever did. I am a nice rectangular lot (not spaghetti) with an AMAZING ocean view up at the top of the world on Pikake Lane.

If I don't move to Costa Rica in the next 6 months, I'll be moving to HOVE to live green, off grid, and look at the ocean every am.

If you are afraid of living, don't come to HOVE. It is not for the Starbuck's crowd. It is a stand alone community. That means you don't complain about what you don't have, but instead are thankful for what you do have.

A few people reading that sentence will nod their heads in agreement, the others just won't get it.

Mahalo

[hotzcatz]

Whatever you do, before buying a house over here come look at it first. Rent somewhere for six months, see if you can find employment and find neighborhood which works for you. Buying vacant land is one thing, but buying a house is usually a lot more expensive and shouldn't be done without looking at the neighborhood.

[Paddywagons]

I couldn't stop myself from saying how ugly my wife & I found HOVE. Yes, if you're into living in the middle of a barren 'moonscape' lava field for the most part, you probably would love it; but the only thing going for it it my opinion is mainly is that it's cheap to buy in, and dry if that's important to you. As some other writer just said: you BETTER go see it before you buy it! (If I offended any HOVE dweller, I apologize as I know everybody has their own taste, but honest HOVE dwellers have to at least admit, it's very unique!)

[hotzcatz]

Oh, it doesn't seem to be mentioned yet, but the average rainfall in HOVE is very low, somewhere around ten or twenty inches a year. Now this isn't usually a problem, but remember, there is no water service so that ten or twenty inches a year is your entire water allotment for the year unless you pay someone to haul a truckload of water out to you. Not a lot of gardening unless the plants are on a drip line.

A friend built a place there. He liked his yard (notice I did NOT use the word "lawn"?) because it didn't need to be mowed. He would pick the grasses he didn't like out of the lava rock and let the stuff he did like grow. He did fall down in his yard once and required stitches (the medical facility was an hour away). It is an arid semi-desert area, at least compared to many places on the island, for folks from a true desert, it probably wouldn't seem so dry.

Eerie, moonscape, dry and remote are all descriptive terms which fit HOVE. However, since it is a "new" sub-division ("new" as in within the past forty years or so) all the folks there are newbies so newcomers fit in pretty well. There are challenges to HOVE and they change depending on where in the sub you are. The roads are pretty driveable without a 4WD although they are cinder/gravel in many areas. A lot of the sub has power a lot of it doesn't. Not much water service but they are starting to put some in.

Most jobs are well outside the sub, probably a minimum of an hour away and there is only one road going to either Kona or Hilo so traffic can get ferocious. I think Hilo is about 70 miles away and Kona is a little bit closer. The maximum speed limit is 55 and frequently it is 45 except through Naalehu where it is 25 mph and strictly enforced so there isn't any getting to Kona or Hilo quickly. Those are the only two centers of population on this island which would fit within the designation of "towns" we don't really have cities on this island. There are villages widely scattered along the one road but they don't generally have any services other than a post office. You won't be driving into town to see a movie or pick up a quart of milk very often. Usually "going to town" will mean gathering up supplies for a week at a time.

Still, HOVE (frequently they now style themselves as merely "Oceanview") has grown in the past couple of decades and does have a bit more services than it did before.

[naniola]

Aloha Leilaniguy

My ohana and I are currently looking to move to Hilo bye this summer and have looked at few homes over the internet. I was wondering if you could tell me the difference between county water and private water? And if you could recommend any realtors up in Hilo and knows alot about Hilo and the areas and wouldn't mind doin the leg work for us since we live on Oahu. Much mahalo for your time!!

[kani-lehua]

naniola: i sent you a private message.

[leilaniguy]

Some subdivisions have their own water supply, meters and lines because the county was unwilling or unable to provide it. County water is available mostly near the main highways. Both get water from wells, so there's very little difference in quality. For a realtor you might contact cynmkolohe that posts here.

[cynmkolohe]

A good example of a private water company is Hawaiian Beaches Water Company (used to be Miller & Leib) which provides water to Hawaiian Shores Recreational Estates (HSRE) and the nearby subdivisions.

County water is provided through the Hawaii Department of Water Supply

[Part Hawaiian]

My son and daughter-in-law are moving to HOVE next month! They've been there to visit his uncle and like it. Don't know if they've experienced the VOG enough to know if it bothers them. He's a chef. She's a nanny. Both looking for jobs...any tips or offers? How much for a 3 bdrm. home that's nice? Is there any running water? Heathcare nearby? Hospital? If not, how far or how long to get to hospital? They want children so this is a concern for pregnacy & heathcare? Is heathcare in Hawaii free as I've heard for residents?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Your son is moving to HOVE next month and still has these kinds of questions? Why is he moving to HOVE, if I may ask? Why are they moving to Hawaii if they don't know anything about getting jobs there? This is a really bad time to be looking for jobs; the unemployment is way up.

HOVE is in the middle of nowhere, and he's probably going to have to commute to Kona for a job as a chef, maybe even further if he's looking at the resorts. That's going to be an hour drive under good conditions! I doubt your daughter-in-law could find a nanny job there, either.

Probably could get a nice 3 bedroom home there now for low to mid $200,000. No running water -- it's all catchment. There is a medical clinic in HOVE, but the nearest hospital is in Pahala which is probably a half hour away. Healthcare free? I've never heard that one.

This may all sound negative, but it sounds like they're jumping into something without checking it out carefully. Hopefully they have enough money to live on for a couple of months while they figure out what to do!