From UTAH to HAWAII! What do I need to know? (Hilo: fit in, sales)

[Cloey_young]

Hello or Aloha!
My family is moving from Utah to Keaau Hawaii in 2 weeks!
My hubby got a job in Hilo.
My family consists of me, my hubby, and 3 little kids ages, 6,4,&2!
I am very nervous, and I'm seeking any possible insights or help I can get!
What are the must knows of this side of the Island?
We are LDS, and are looking for other members in the area.
My hubby will be working in Hilo, and commuting back to Keaau until I can find a more perminant place for us to live.

I would like to know where some good places to live are?
(somewhere close to the beach, median income housing, close to conveniences and an all around great area)

I am also having a difficult time getting my 6 yr old into a good school, and have heard that it is hard to get out of the school district you are in. Is that true?
We are trying to find a perminant place to settle.

Thank you in advance for all of your time and answers!
Mahalo!

Becky

[hotzcatz]

Try near Pauuilo since that has a good school, although your DH would have to commute about thirty miles to Hilo everyday unless his schedule would work around the County bus schedule. The HeleOn Bus is free at least, even though it doesn't have a very good schedule.

"Close to the beach" isn't gonna happen on the Hilo side since the nice white sandy beaches are all over in the Kona and Kohala districts.

"Near conveniences" isn't all that likely unless you are in either Hilo, Kailua, or Waimea although there are a few shops scattered in some of the other hamlets around the island. Depending on your rental, you may or may not have pavement, power and county water available to the house. Mail service to the house isn't all that likely for most of the Keaau area. A lot of water heaters, stoves and dryers run on propane because of the cost of electricity around here and gas is not piped to houses but you have to go fill up your propane tanks somewhere unless you have the gas company deliver.

Ask your LDS church where a good spot is since they would probably have a better idea of where the rest of the LDS folks like to be.

As far as the "must knows" for moving to the Hilo side of the island, it rains a lot. It's generally quite humid and furniture made of particle board disintegrates. Leather things, especially if they are stored in an unventilated place, will mildew. Because of the heat and humidity, natural fabrics such as cotton, linen and silk are much more comfortable than synthetic things such as polyester.

In general, folks in Hawaii don't dress up as much as the folks on the mainland. There are less formal occasions to wear dress up and when we do dress up, it isn't nearly as fancy as the mainland version. Folks aren't all that fussy about most material things such as cars, clothes and furniture. Most folks wouldn't notice a name brand whatever it is if it went and bit them.

Hilo has some of the big chain retail stores such as Ross, Walmart, Safeway and Home DePot. The Kona district has a K-Mart and the Costco is over there, too. We have some nice local chains such as KTA for some nice groceries and HPM for hardware and such. There is a Long's drugstore which is a California chain although they carry a lot of stuff geared towards island living. There is also a proliferation of the styrofoam food chains such as McD's and such. On the better end of things, there is a nice farmer's market in Hilo, a smaller one in Keaau and an interesting large one over near Pahoa on Sundays. The one near Pahoa is the Makuu Market and let's just label it as "really colorful". There is also a small one in Mountain View, too. That one has pretty much stuff grown or made locally. Up in Waimea are two farmer's markets on Saturday and those have a lot of vegetables grown by the folks selling them.

Just a note on buying things on an island - when you see something you want, get it while it's there. Many things are seasonal and when they've all sold out, that's all there will be until next year. These are generally things like Halloween pumpkins and Christmas trees, but things like fuzzy slippers are also some what seasonal. Ask your neighbors where to get things since sometimes things aren't sold where you'd expect them to be.

Hawaii has yard and garage sales all year around so you will be able to replace most of the usual household things very easily and fairly inexpensively. Drive around on the major roads on Saturday morning and look for boxes with "yard sale" written on them. Most times there's an arrow so just follow the arrows.

[Calico Salsa]

Hi Becky,
Don't be too nervous, it's a big change but you will do just fine.

Strong LDS wards on Hawaii, you will have plenty of support.

I can't answer about the Big Island, but wonder if you considered home schooling until you figure out where you are going to live. That way your child won't be moved around, and can also feel like s/he is helping you to settle in.

[Cloey_young]

Thank you for your quick reply and for all of the useful informaiton, I REALLY appretiate it!
Good to know stuff!

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Try near Pauuilo since that has a good school, although your DH would have to commute about thirty miles to Hilo everyday unless his schedule would work around the County bus schedule. The HeleOn Bus is free at least, even though it doesn't have a very good schedule.

"Close to the beach" isn't gonna happen on the Hilo side since the nice white sandy beaches are all over in the Kona and Kohala districts.

"Near conveniences" isn't all that likely unless you are in either Hilo, Kailua, or Waimea although there are a few shops scattered in some of the other hamlets around the island. Depending on your rental, you may or may not have pavement, power and county water available to the house. Mail service to the house isn't all that likely for most of the Keaau area. A lot of water heaters, stoves and dryers run on propane because of the cost of electricity around here and gas is not piped to houses but you have to go fill up your propane tanks somewhere unless you have the gas company deliver.

Ask your LDS church where a good spot is since they would probably have a better idea of where the rest of the LDS folks like to be.

As far as the "must knows" for moving to the Hilo side of the island, it rains a lot. It's generally quite humid and furniture made of particle board disintegrates. Leather things, especially if they are stored in an unventilated place, will mildew. Because of the heat and humidity, natural fabrics such as cotton, linen and silk are much more comfortable than synthetic things such as polyester.

In general, folks in Hawaii don't dress up as much as the folks on the mainland. There are less formal occasions to wear dress up and when we do dress up, it isn't nearly as fancy as the mainland version. Folks aren't all that fussy about most material things such as cars, clothes and furniture. Most folks wouldn't notice a name brand whatever it is if it went and bit them.

Hilo has some of the big chain retail stores such as Ross, Walmart, Safeway and Home DePot. The Kona district has a K-Mart and the Costco is over there, too. We have some nice local chains such as KTA for some nice groceries and HPM for hardware and such. There is a Long's drugstore which is a California chain although they carry a lot of stuff geared towards island living. There is also a proliferation of the styrofoam food chains such as McD's and such. On the better end of things, there is a nice farmer's market in Hilo, a smaller one in Keaau and an interesting large one over near Pahoa on Sundays. The one near Pahoa is the Makuu Market and let's just label it as "really colorful". There is also a small one in Mountain View, too. That one has pretty much stuff grown or made locally. Up in Waimea are two farmer's markets on Saturday and those have a lot of vegetables grown by the folks selling them.

Just a note on buying things on an island - when you see something you want, get it while it's there. Many things are seasonal and when they've all sold out, that's all there will be until next year. These are generally things like Halloween pumpkins and Christmas trees, but things like fuzzy slippers are also some what seasonal. Ask your neighbors where to get things since sometimes things aren't sold where you'd expect them to be.

Hawaii has yard and garage sales all year around so you will be able to replace most of the usual household things very easily and fairly inexpensively. Drive around on the major roads on Saturday morning and look for boxes with "yard sale" written on them. Most times there's an arrow so just follow the arrows.

[alexei27]

I lived in both Hawaii and Utah for years. We had just as many Mormon friends in HI as we did in Utah. There is a strong presence in the Aloha state.

Best wishes!!!

[mdand3boys]

There are 4 types of schools in Hawaii.
Public school system - the state is ONE district. Kea
Charter schools - these are filled by lottery and generally fill up the 1st day they are available - in February.
Private schools - these tend to cost $15k+ per year, per child.
Home school - there is a really good support system for this here.

Kea'au school complex ranks almost at the very bottom of all Hawaii state schools, despite having some of the best facilities on the island. Take that for what it is worth.

[kaileio]

How did things work out for the OP?
I am interested in finding out more about the LDS community too, any other thoughts?
Mahalo!
-Kai

[xpxexaxcxex]

Originally Posted by Cloey_young

Hello or Aloha!
My family is moving from Utah to Keaau Hawaii in 2 weeks!
My hubby got a job in Hilo.
My family consists of me, my hubby, and 3 little kids ages, 6,4,&2!
I am very nervous, and I'm seeking any possible insights or help I can get!
What are the must knows of this side of the Island?
We are LDS, and are looking for other members in the area.
My hubby will be working in Hilo, and commuting back to Keaau until I can find a more perminant place for us to live.

I would like to know where some good places to live are?
(somewhere close to the beach, median income housing, close to conveniences and an all around great area)

I am also having a difficult time getting my 6 yr old into a good school, and have heard that it is hard to get out of the school district you are in. Is that true?
We are trying to find a perminant place to settle.

Thank you in advance for all of your time and answers!
Mahalo!

Becky

Originally Posted by kaileio

How did things work out for the OP?
I am interested in finding out more about the LDS community too, any other thoughts?
Mahalo!
-Kai

The is a strong LDS presence in the Big Island. You'll fit in there.
We also have a temple. And it is so beautiful inside and out!