Future predictions for the Big Island, hawaii. (Honolulu, Hilo: 2009, appliances)

[skippyboy]

What will it be like to live on the Big Island, Hawaii, specifically the Hilo/Puna district, but also island wide, in ten to fifteen years? Will it be a good or bad place to call home, relative to other places in the U.S. or abroad?

[cynmkolohe]

Good question, skippy. I'll try to get back with a few thoughts soon, but I'm on the run today. Look forward to answers/ideas from other Big Islanders.

[mdand3boys]

Crowded and more expensive than now...

[SkyBob]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

Crowded and more expensive than now...

... and most likely larger ...

[hotzcatz]

It all depends on the price of oil, IMHO. If the price of oil gets over $200 a barrel, then our local tourist based economy will be shot and nothing will be available in the stores. Airplanes won't be bringing us herds of tourists and we will have to scramble to grow enough food to feed us AND Honolulu. We are a remote rock 2,500 miles away from just about anyplace else which imports about 85% of everything and if transportation costs go up, we get affected.

If the price of oil gets that high, the little villages scattered along the highway will probably become ghost towns when folks move to town to be closer to supplies and employment opportunities.

There are a lot of folks trying to become sustainable just in case, which is a good thing.

Since the sugar industry went down, there has been a push for diversified agriculture. That seems to be growing more all the time. Slow growth, but growing none-the-less. I think the Hilo side of the island will have more farmers and agriculture of all sorts of different crops. Maybe a farm supply store. Hopefully more college/university types of activity, too.

I don't see Hilo as ever becoming a tourist mecca like Kona did, although with Pele punching the vog out the way she's been doing for the past several years, Kona hasn't been the sunny place it used to be. Hilo has too much rain and lacks good beaches to bring in lots of tourists. But the price of oil being too high will keep it from becoming the bedroom community of Kona workers again if the tourists ever do come back.

[KonaKat]

I agree that we're in for several years of nothing close to the "boom" in recent past. However, the upside is less crowded, less traffic and some degree of return to the "ohana" way of living. Little farms, families living together with several generations. We actually have 3 generations in our home. Never have to hire a babysitter for the little ones, never have to call someone to get a ride, someone is almost always home to feed the critters, everyone works to some extent (most of the adults have full time jobs). And I just live on 1/3 acre above Kona!
I often wonder what will become of the big fancy resorts. I am sorry for locals that lose their jobs.

I also still see lots of skilled workers and management level employees imported from the mainland.......why? (that's a rhetorical question in case you're wondering but feel free to volunteer an answer)

[MickeyE]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

It all depends on the price of oil, IMHO. If the price of oil gets over $200 a barrel, then our local tourist based economy will be shot and nothing will be available in the stores. Airplanes won't be bringing us herds of tourists and we will have to scramble to grow enough food to feed us AND Honolulu. We are a remote rock 2,500 miles away from just about anyplace else which imports about 85% of everything and if transportation costs go up, we get affected.

If the price of oil gets that high, the little villages scattered along the highway will probably become ghost towns when folks move to town to be closer to supplies and employment opportunities.

There are a lot of folks trying to become sustainable just in case, which is a good thing.

Since the sugar industry went down, there has been a push for diversified agriculture. That seems to be growing more all the time. Slow growth, but growing none-the-less. I think the Hilo side of the island will have more farmers and agriculture of all sorts of different crops. Maybe a farm supply store. Hopefully more college/university types of activity, too.

I don't see Hilo as ever becoming a tourist mecca like Kona did, although with Pele punching the vog out the way she's been doing for the past several years, Kona hasn't been the sunny place it used to be. Hilo has too much rain and lacks good beaches to bring in lots of tourists. But the price of oil being too high will keep it from becoming the bedroom community of Kona workers again if the tourists ever do come back.

There could be a return of freight by tall ships. Google freight by sail to see some interesting info. Also, it might be a good idea to look at the Amish and Mennonite for learning how to live without all the "goodies". A very interesting article at The Technium: Amish Hackers
can give you some information on how the Amish use technology that could be useful in Hawaii. Pneumatic power for tools and appliances, solar electric, etc.

For good info on solar and wind power check out Green-Trust at Green Trust Renewable Energy & Self Sufficiency for good information on living "off-grid". The list of discussion groups on the right side of the page would be a good start to learn about off-grid living.

Mickey

[hotzcatz]

Aloha Mickey,

That was an interesting link on the Amish and technology. Although, they do use technology, they just use it their own way. The pneumatic technology mentioned looked interesting.

For what it's worth, I'm typing to you on an "off-grid" computer. We run on sunshine. I know a lot of folks who aren't connected to the power grid but make their own power, most of them with photovoltaic panels (sunshine) some with wind or generators. We are within range of the electric grid so for us being off grid was a choice not a necessity but for a lot of folks it isn't an option since the power poles are too far away or too expensive to hook into.

We also have a lot of folks who aren't connected to the water system since that isn't an option in their area either. Also folks without paved roads, mail service, sewer service, rubbish service. We have a lot of folks who do well with less "stuff" than many are used to. Living off grid sort of puts folks down to their core necessities and it is a more sustainable lifestyle than practiced by those who have to have the newest fashions and widgets all the time. Not that off-grid folks can't have the newest fashions and widgets, it's just that the mindset to embrace off-grid living doesn't seem to require those sorts of things. Now mention a new organic method of gardening and you'll get their attention.

I've seen a huge shift lately of folks trying to live sustainably, organically and much more connected to the earth and community. It might be those are just the ones who remained after the exodus of folks leaving from lack of work. I think it is a good shift and sustainable folks are a much better choice for folks who want to live in such a remote place. I'm hoping this trend will continue.

A hui hou!

[garden1der]

Hotzcatz, that's such a great reply and exactly why my husband and I are moving to the BI late next year. We want to be part of the sustainable community out there. We've tried various ways for over 30 years to live a sustainable lifestyle, including living in the south on a small farm. We moved to California to be around more open-minded folks and for more education. The waters' sooooo cold and property prices are out of our league. So we bought a few acres on the BI a few years ago. I understand what KonaKat is saying about importing people from the mainland, I just hope you'll let us in. We will contribute to the island in some way ... maybe, just our quiet, positive energy, I don't know. We're not tourist, just folks who want a home, very simple, as Hotzcatz describes it. We have some great friends who've lived in the Ocean View area for 30 or so years, off grid, water catchment, etc. They're both artist and very successful, wonderful folks and wouldn't live anywhere else. In fact, they said they don't ever go back to the mainland.
Thanks, Hotzcatz, I also hope the trend continues.

[hotzcatz]

There is a Big Island sustainability forum at sensiblesimplicity . They do a lot of forest gardening, composting, figuring out how to grow things on rocks, etc. They will also share sweet potato starts and taro starts once you get your garden ready. They are trying to put a loose sustainable community together, although they are kinda spread across half the island so they don't actually meet more than once a month or so.

Generally mainland people get imported for a specific skillset or mindset. Sometimes you want to have upper management who isn't related to anyone or has a doctorate in something-ner-other. So generally they have to import them.