Safe neighborhoods in or near Hilo!? (Waimea, Mountain View: rent, purchase, public schools)

[Luvstef2000]

Hello,

I will be moving to Hilo this summer with my seven year old little girl. I am a 29 year old woman and want to know if anyone has any suggestions of safe neighborhoods or areas that I could purchase or rent a home? I also like to be at least 800 feet above sea level. I don't like being super close to my neighbors, but I would like to be close enough to make friends.
Thanks in advance

[hotzcatz]

Up the coast from Hilo is generally pretty good. That would be "north" in mainland directions. I've heard good things about Pauuilo public school, if you were looking for good schools. Pauuilo is a safe neighborhood. Actually, anything from roughly Honomu to Waimea is pretty good. Pauuilo isn't exactly Hilo, though. Did you want to live in Hilo itself? Will you have to commute to Hilo for work or school?

[Luvstef2000]

Yes, I will be attending college in Hilo, so I wanted to be at most 35 minutes away. I also like the rainy weather in Hilo:-).

[OpenD]

It's tough, and puzzling, to meet your requirement to be above 800' altitude. Hilo itself is sea level to maybe 150 feet IIRC. Obviously there is higher ground surrounding, but no housing up there. So you have to either head out of town, northwest along the coast where the road is elevated from the ocean, as Hotzcatz suggested, or south into Puna district. But the altitude gain going south is slow at first. Kea'au, which was once called Nine Mile, is only about 500'.

Keep going south on Hwy 11 and you'll get to Mountain View, altitude about 1,400' and about 17 miles out, which translates to about a 30 minute drive. The elementary and intermediate public schools for the region are there, right on the highway. There are a few shops, but the nearest supermarket is in Kea'au, about 8 miles north.

Paauilo, by comparison, is about 34 miles to Hilo, perhaps a 45 minute drive. Does have elementary and intermediate schools, and more businesses than Mountain View.

But you probably should consider that with gas prices approaching $4 per gallon, longer daily drives get expensive, and there's little to no public transportation outside the central core.

[KauaiHiker]

I remember visiting Rainbow falls and Kaumana caves on Saddle road due west of downtown Hilo, and there were some nice spread-out housing along the roads up there. According to Google terrain maps, Kaumana caves is just above 800 feet:

https://maps.google.com/?ll=19.69116...06173&t=p&z=14

We must've driven that straight-ish road that connects between Waianuenue Rd and Kaumana Dr. There are denser neighborhoods around 600' elev. along Kaumana Dr. Also lots of housing just a bit further south along Anako Rd. around 400' and sparser above 600' and 800'. You can do a virtual drive around those roads using Google maps street view, and hopefully a local can tell you which area is "safe." Also, is there a reason you prefer 800'?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by KauaiHiker

I remember visiting Rainbow falls and Kaumana caves on Saddle road due west of downtown Hilo, and there were some nice spread-out housing along the roads up there. According to Google terrain maps, Kaumana caves is just above 800 feet:

Oh, good call. I didn't realize it was that high. I think the U of H Hilo campus is only at about 400,' but maybe I'm mistaken.

Also, is there a reason you prefer 800'?

Yeah, that's my question too.

[Luvstef2000]

I am very grateful for all the helpful information. Thank you for these posts. I want to live at 800 feet above sea because I kind of have an extreme fear of tsunamis. I figure the higher I am above sea level the safer I am from them.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Luvstef2000

I am very grateful for all the helpful information. Thank you for these posts. I want to live at 800 feet above sea because I kind of have an extreme fear of tsunamis. I figure the higher I am above sea level the safer I am from them.

Ahhhhhh, I thought that might be the case. My suggestion would be, rather than setting some arbitrary altitude you think will make you safe, is to consult the information compiled by FEMA and NOOA and the Tsunami Museum about what areas are at risk in case of a tsunami, which are designated as Tsunami Evacuation Zones. These are considered very conservative and safe projections based on all the latest data.

Here's the Tsunami Museum's page. Select the area of interest (island, area) to go to a special Google map which shows the evacuation area. You can zoom in on this map, or enter the address you are interested in checking. If you look, you will see that the UofH Hilo campus is outside the danger zone, and it's only at about 400' altitude, as I recall.

The Pacific Tsunami Museum Programs; NOAA Web Mapping Tool

Here's NOOA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center website with a similar feature:

http://ptwc.weather.gov/hawaii.php

And here's a map list of evacuation centers to go to in case you hear the warnings and need to get out of the at-risk zone. I see 4 within 5 miles of Hilo Bay, and Puueo Community Center at 145 Wainaku St. is less than a mile from the bay, and Piihonua Gym at 850 Waianuenue Avenue is a little over a mile.

Tsunami Evacuation Centers for the Big Island | Hawaii 24/7 | Hawaii247.com | Hawaii's News Now – News, Weather, Sports from the Big Island

And here's a tip... if you ever hear the Tsunami warning sirens go off (other than the designated test time of 11:45 am) and don't know if you need to evacuate, and if so where to go, and don't have your computer handy. find a phone book. The evac zone map and details can be found there.

[Luvstef2000]

Wow! Thanks for all the information sources I am going to check them out ASAP.

[mdand3boys]

There is a lot of housing in Hilo at 800 feet or above - and lots of new housing being built as well, but that new stuff is most likely out of a student's price range. Remember, the higher you go in the Hilo area - the more rain you get...