What are the BEST Neighborhoods on the Kona Side of the Island...and Why? (Hilo: house, living in)

[Ford Beebe]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Not at all. When people compare Kona with Hilo, for instance, even the most casual observer can easily tell the difference between the dripping rich lushness of Hilo with the greenness of Kona. But why wouldn't they, when Hilo gets over 10 times as much rain?



I agree, and I didn't say that.



Fine, but "reasonably green" is not at all the same as "lush, " which connotes luxuriance, abundance, exceptional growth. The simple, inescapable fact is that by official weather records Kona is drier than the average for all American locations. Hilo, by comparison, is the wettest city in the country.

I would submit that compared to the mainland, most visitors find Hawaii both lush and green. Kona and Hilo.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Ford Beebe

I would submit that compared to the mainland, most visitors find Hawaii both lush and green. Kona and Hilo.

I'm curious... "most visitors"? Where did you get that information?

I'm OK with people believing whatever they want to believe, but I admit I'm always curious when someone's personal opinion runs counter to well documented facts.

A typical description of Kailua-Kona is "In West Hawaii, Kailua-Kona is typically a few degrees warmer and quite a bit more arid than tropical Hilo."*1 Arid means dry. Tropical means wet.

Or "Kona is generally dry, with a mean annual percipitation of 11.15 in." *2

Or "The Kona Coast of Hawaii's Big Island is known for its excellent dry and sunny. Like most of the Hawaii, the leeward or western sides of the islands are generally warmer and dryer than the windward or eastern sides.... Annual rainfall is about 10 inches." *3

Etc., etc., etc.

The weather maps show that except for a slender mid-slope band, average rainfall in Kona is actually less than the average experienced across the mainland, according to the national Weather Service. And more to the point, mainland population is concentrated in areas with more rainfall than Kona gets. *4, *5

The simple truth is that most visitors from the mainland come from areas that get more annual rain than Kona does. You think Kona is lush? You should visit Kentucky. Or Missouri. Or Washington. Or Louisiana. Or yes, even Puna District on the Big Island.


*1. Big Island Hawaii Rainfall Map - Hilo Kona Weather

*2. Kailua, Hawaii County, Hawaii - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

*3. Kailua-Kona Hawaii - A Profile of Kailua-Kona on Hawaii's Big Island

*4. http://www.hiloagent.com/images/Hawa...d_Rainfall.jpg

*5. Total 2011 Precipitation All on One Map - weather.com

[whtviper1]

I'm with you on this OpenD - most mainland visitors are probably really surprised to see the Kona area not lush at all and not very green. You want green around Kona - get a sprinkler (and some soil and grass) and water everyday.

[HiloDiver]

And, the reason we've chosen to move to Hilo for at least our first year. Lush and green and wet is awesome. Dry and brown stinks. But that's just us.

[CyberCity]

Kona side (Kohala) is called the "Gold Coast". Kona side is where those who can afford a multi-million dollar home often choose. Kona side has the island's 5 star hotels. Kona side has many communities of working peoples' nice homes. So why is the Kona side so attractive to people? Because the Kona side has the best daily weather in the entire state.

[HiloDiver]

Interesting, but not appealing.

[CyberCity]

That's the great part about being an adult ... you get to make your own choices on work, play, where to live, etc.

And some of us like sunny weather!! That's me!

[HiloDiver]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

That's the great part about being an adult ... you get to make your own choices on work, play, where to live, etc.

Exactly!!!!!

But it gets tiresome on here with everyone insisting that I'm not going to like Hilo when they don't even know me. The things people tell me that I won't like about Hilo are things that don't bother me, yet the redundant remarks continue (not just poking at you, Cyber, there are a few CDF posters who feel compelled to tell me this daily).

[hotzcatz]

I don't think it is so much the weather that separates the Hilo side from the Kona side of the island. True, there are weather differences, but more importantly to my mind are the mindsets of the folks who live on each side. The Hilo side of the island seems to be a much more pragmatic and down home sort of attitude whereas it frequently seems the Kona district has embraced the tourist destination attitude. Kind of a willingness to believe in rainbow colored dolphins. This isn't an attitude held by everyone there, of course, there are still a lot of real down to earth people in the Kona district, but the area just seems to have a lot of folks who are "living in Paradise" no matter what everyone else sees. Somewhat similar to Pahoa's under layer of old hippies. They may not even be the predominant personality in the area, but their attitudes are part of the personality of the landscape.

[HiloDiver]

Hotz, that is precisely why we changed our original plan from Kona to Hilo. We want laid back, small town, no pretentiousness, no huge resorts, and we think we've found it in Hilo. Time will tell, but a month into our "OMG we are moving to Hawai'i!!!" we changed from Kona to Hilo. We can always change back in 2013.....but we think our personalities are much more suited to Hilo.

There's a reason we live on St. Croix and not St. Thomas, and it's the same reason we chose Hilo over Kona.