Any info or thoughts on Waiokola Village. (Kailua, Waimea: cul-de-sac, sales)

[hey teach]

Looks like we will be spending several months (5 to 6) living in a parsonage at Waiokola Village (hope I spelled it correct). Any contributions in relation to what we can expect from this area of the islands would be appreciated. We have been told they have a great golf course. What else is there? Is it an area that has people of all ages or is this a retirement area? Thanks in advance for any replies.

[KonaKat]

There are people of every age. A very small shopping center. It's kind of hot and windy in Waikoloa. You are near some nice beaches at the Hilton Resort are and up further north the Mauna Lani then Spencer Beach and Hapuna Beach (although I have heard they all have been changed up a bit since the tsunami!)

You're about 40 minutes from Kailua Kona and also about 30 minutes I guess, from Waimea where there is more shopping, restaurants etc. Do you have children? They have a really nice park in Waimea.

Yes they have a nice golf course. That's about it

Good luck, hope you enjoy your months on the Big Island.

[AlohaHuey]

I stayed there for a few weeks until my house in Kona closed. The neighbors seemed really nice. You are pretty far from things like restaurants; there is a KTA grocery in the Village shopping center, and a gas station. Prices are higher there than in Kona; I recommend a Costco run with some frequency. Waimea is a great little town. The King's shops in Waikoloa Beach has a food court, some chains (Macaroni Grill, ugh) and some nice restaurants. As Konakat points out, you are close to great beaches. I was just at Hapuna Sunday and it's fine. You will definitely want to consolidate your errands. It is warmer and windy on that part of the island. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your stay.

[hotzcatz]

It's the world's largest cul-de-sac and they have great garage sales but you can get lost in the winding streets while you are searching for them. You'll be able to get almost any household item you need on most any Saturday morning at a yard sale.

It's kinda on a long sloping hillside overlooking the ocean, but it's sort of dry and rocky. It's about as far to Waimea (wet and green) as it is to the beaches. Kailua is rather a bit away down a hot dry road, but you'll end up going there for supplies fairly frequently since they have more than Waimea.

Waikoloa has a large retirement flavor to it but there are also a lot of families of folks who work at the resorts. It was probably originally built as worker housing for hotel workers but there are a lot of retired folks and vacationing folks there, too.

You'll probably need a car to live in Waikoloa and one with air conditioning is always jolly on that side of the island.

[hey teach]

Thanks for all the replies. My husband will be there advising a church on an expansion project. I will be taking a leave of absence from my teaching job and would like to visit some of the island schools just to get a feel for how schools run there. We are excited about this opportunity to see another part of the world and how folks there live.

[hotzcatz]

Just like anywhere else really although I think there's less grits, biscuits and gravy here. The grade school at Waiokola was built by the community, I think, and then given to the state Department of Education since if the state DOE would have had it built there would have been too many required expenses which means it wouldn't have ever been built. You could ask the folks there, they'd know the details.

[jeffington]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Just like anywhere else really although I think there's less grits, biscuits and gravy here. The grade school at Waiokola was built by the community, I think, and then given to the state Department of Education since if the state DOE would have had it built there would have been too many required expenses which means it wouldn't have ever been built. You could ask the folks there, they'd know the details.

I read in an earlier post that it was built on an fairly-recent lava flow and is much darker that surrounding areas, and therefor hotter. Satellite Imagery shows this as well.

[PacificFlights]

Originally Posted by hey teach

Looks like we will be spending several months (5 to 6) living in a parsonage at Waiokola Village (hope I spelled it correct). Any contributions in relation to what we can expect from this area of the islands would be appreciated. We have been told they have a great golf course. What else is there? Is it an area that has people of all ages or is this a retirement area? Thanks in advance for any replies.

Go to any subdivision in Arizona or Southern California and look around, that's Waiokoloa. Rumor has it that aliens beamed one of those subdivisions to Hawaii and the people never knew they were someplace else from the way it looks and feels.

The only thing that make you know you may not be in S. CA or AZ is the lack of Border Patrol vehicles. But there are some who are still confused and mistakenly call ICE when they see Hawaiians walking through a field thinking they are illegal mexicans.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by hey teach

Looks like we will be spending several months (5 to 6) living in a parsonage at Waiokola Village (hope I spelled it correct

No, you didn't, but most of us haoles* struggle with at least some of the names here. I start by trying to learn the pronunciation first, because written Hawaiian is quite phonetic.

To the best of my ability, this one is said: wy ko lo ah

And consequently it is spelled Wai ko lo a.... Waikoloa

Enjoy!


*haoles = foreigners, non-natives

[hey teach]

Thanks for the phonics lesson, OpenD. As a teacher, I really do want to get it correct.