South Kauai hot in summer? (Kapaa, Waimea: to rent, condos, electric bill)

[bduva]

Aloha - Soon to be retired couple looking to leave the cold north for a year. Want to rent and enjoy perfect climate for a while. Can't decide between Hanalei or Poipu. Leaning towards rain in north and pleasant summer. Understand that electricity is expensive and don't want to be running AC,not to mention don't like to have windows shut.Advice?
Mahalo

[KauaiHiker]

Hanalei is great in the winter, the flooding keeps the water bill down, and the power outages keep the electric bill down :-)

To really answer you question: yes Poipu is hotter in the summer, though not everybody has A/C. Hanapepe, Waimea, and Kekaha are hotter. Hanalei is certainly nice, but unless you have $$$, you're really looking at Princeville or Kilauea. Unless you're set on having beach-front (and ready to pay for it), you can find some places in Kalaheo, Lihue, and Kapaa that have better weather and are more convenient to get around. So if you're planning on being active, it might make more sense to be closer to the main road. Actually, Kapaa has tons of reasonable beachfront condos (too many for some people's taste), great weather (tradewinds), and very convenient (except when there's traffic).

In any case, you'll probably get a temporary place for a week or two, and drive around to find the place you prefer.