Discovery Harbour Subdivision, Kau, Big Island - what you should know before moving there (for rent, homes)

[DH_Nirvana]

Aloha Hoot N Annie,

Congrats on your decision to move to DH. You will love it here. I'm originally from the east coast and it is too stinking hot. Here it seems to most always be perfect. On those hotter days ceiling fans are all you will need.

About the christmasberry.....even though it can be an irritant to some people I have not met anyone who has had a reaction. My next door neighbor has one in his front yard and we have one behind our house. Each has been pruned and they do make quite lovely looking trees when maintained. Not too big, smaller dense leaves and VERY resilient.

Hope you get your pet situation figured out. If you follow the instructions to the letter you will be able to take your dogs with you immediately.

Na'alehu is pronounced.....na (soft a), a (again soft a), lay, oo (like something yucky). Hope that all makes sense.

Have a safe trip. BTW, are you buying an established house or building?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Hoot N Annie

One big issue is bringing our 2 critters (Hoot, an 8# toy poodle and Annie, our 16# Shih Tzu). Our vet has already started the blood testing/etc protocol, but it looks like most airlines don't let you take small pets in the cabin.

Alaska Airlines does. They have to fit in an under-seat carrier. Costs $100. Limited availability, so book early.

Traveling with Pets | Alaska Airlines

One more thing -- how do you pronounce "Na'alehu"?

Most Hawaiian words break down into consonant/vowel pairs, so this is: na 'a le hu . If you say nah ah leh hoo you'll be most of the way there, then listen to local pronunciation once you're on the ground to refine it.

[imagtek]

I have issues with the way people are dissing Hawaiians as 'angry and dangerous' on this thread. I'm a haole, I've spent some years on the Big Island, and the only issues I've ever had with Hawaiians is the occasional rude person, no more nor less than any other racial group. I have also been treated with in-your-face kindness by Hawaiians. The bizarre notion that Hawaiians are supposed to be all smiles and politeness all the time or they are 'dangerous' is simple bigotry. Hawaiians are a minority on this island and if you ever get robbed it will probably be by a drug addicted recent transplant from the mainland, or some of the sketchy transplants from other pacific islands that will remain unnamed who may be mistaken for Hawaiian. Enough with dissing the Hawaiians already. Considering their sad history, they are magnanimous in their acceptance of outsiders. Sure crime happens, and it is going to get worse as the population increases, but do not blame the Hawaiians for this.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by Hoot N Annie

Aloha to All -
imagtek - thanks for the info on Christmasberry - never heard of it before. Google time! Our Florida house is on the market, had multiple showings, etc. One big issue is bringing our 2 critters (Hoot, an 8# toy poodle and Annie, our 16# Shih Tzu). Our vet has already started the blood testing/etc protocol, but it looks like most airlines don't let you take small pets in the cabin. I guess I'll let our travel agent work that out. We do usually splurge and fly first class, not sure if that makes it easier or harder. It also looks like we may have to take different flights.

It's been over 90 every day here for at least a month, and even with our own pool, it is just plain stinkin hot. Discovery Harbour is looking better every day!

One more thing -- how do you pronounce "Na'alehu"? I guess I need a Youtube video....

Mahalo!

Well, "officially" it should be pronounced "Na a lay who" because of the glottal stop (which OpenD has explained very well in a different thread). That's the way I pronounce it. However, locals don't always pronounce things the "official" way and so you very often hear people slurring over the break between the two a's. So sometimes I even end up pronouncing both a's but without the sharp break, more like a long "ah" - "naaaah lay who".

You'll just have to come live here and experience it for yourself! Good luck with the sale of the house

[DH_Nirvana]

Imagtek,

Just ignore the ignorant people. Stupidity and bigotry exists everywhere. My husband is hapa and all the Hawaiians/hapahawaiians we have met in DH are nice people. We have met some in other areas and on other islands that are not so friendly to the malihini, but there are times here on the BI that I have very little patience for their attitudes and driving.

[Buckeye77]

Aloha - DH_Nirvana - we are looking at existing houses. There's about a dozen listed right now in DH. We are working with a Clark Realty agent, and we are submitting an offer today. The sticking point is the pets - we can't show up until January, and most sellers don't want to wait 60 to 90 days to close.

Mahalo for the pronunciation help. I barely passed Spanish in high school and flunked Russian in college, so I need all the help I can get!

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Hoot N Annie

Mahalo for the pronunciation help. I barely passed Spanish in high school and flunked Russian in college, so I need all the help I can get!

Hawaiian pronunciation is much simpler and easier to learn than English or Spanish, or almost any other language you can think of for that matter, because at heart it is quite consistent in construction. Each syllable is made up of a consonant and a vowel, and each pair is always pronounced the same way. School kids learn these from a phonic table called the Hakalama, and from alphabet play songs and chants, that are all simply learned by rote repetition, and then combined into words.

There are lots of learning resources available on the internet to help, including printed Hakalama charts, audio recordings, and video recordings. Here are a few links...

Clear explanation of how to use Hakalama to practice, with printable chart and audio files. A0404: Hakalama Practice |

Many resources: https://sites.google.com/site/huihoo...awaii/my-forms

Short kids videos for Hakalama practice: Ka Hakalama - Hawaiian Studies

Fun video showing kids practicing Hakalama in class: Oiwi TV – Hakalama: P

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Hoot N Annie, it's commendable that you are trying to learn to speak and understand the language. It will be lots easier when you are here and you can take your cues from others. For the time being, you could start by learning simple words that are used every day, including "aloha, mahalo, pau, mauka and makai". I'm sure others who are currently living here could add in some others that they actually hear on a day-to-day basis.

Regarding your house purchase, I don't understand why you have to be here to close. You can do everything electronically these days, you just need to go to a local title company office and they can take care of everything. You said that you are submitting an offer today; is this on a house that you've seen or are you trusting your agent? If you like, you can contact me through the private messaging on this site and I can help you with any questions you may have.

[Buckeye77]

Dreaming -Aloha
Closing long distance isn't the issue - (1) because we're looking at a fannie mae property, we have to occupy within 60 days of close. (2) we can't show up with the critters until approx. January 1. (3) so we want to defer closing till at least November 1. Bank doesn't want to wait that long.

We both have real estate licenses here in Florida, and my lovely bride is the listing agent on our house here. And our broker shares an office (and ownership) with a title company Yes, we are buying a property sight unseen. (Our agent did take about 30 pictures for us.) But we've done crazier things. Purchase is contingent on termite/home inspections, etc. Plus in the last couple of years we've bought and rehabbed and resold several properties here. We know we are taking on a project, but that's what we want.

We appreciate your input!
Mahalo.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Hoot, I've sent you a private message.