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im 100% southern american girl but born and raised in hawaii, no hawaiian blood. I am a RN and a LMT, my husband has a six figure job now so im not worried about the financial aspect of him finding a job quickly . Yes my english is broken at 548 in the morning when I wrote my post....sorry, after looking with several real estate sites I dont see 250k being that bad at all in houses I have seen from what my realtor is showing me. maybe life is all rainbows and butterflies in my expectations in moving back, the only big concern I have is safety on that side I could care less about frogs and vog and rain,we have two luxury vehicles that we are shipping no matter what I have decided to bring our cars I know the risks. Kona is way out of our budget and the school we are planning to send our daughter to is on hilo side. along with our church, saftey is my number one concern on moving back and where we have chosen to live.
Thanks for the update and clarification. There's still some things that are confusing and don't make a lot of sense though. Since you are an RN and LMT, that is a job skill that does have a good income possibility. Although the job might pay less in Hawaii than other areas. Are you licensed to practice in Hawaii? If not, you would have to do what it takes to become licensed. Do you have any job offers on the Big Island? Is the job an on-call job with a minimum expected response time? If so, this will be the primary limiting factor of where you can live on the island.
If your husband has a six figure income, plus your income, you would be in the neighborhood of approaching $200K. Assuming you had savings, I don't understand why Kona is not affordable. Depending on your savings debts, and credit score, you should be able to purchase a $500K to $600K home.
I think the rain, frogs, and VOG should be a serious concern. Some people get very tired of putting up with those negatives. There are some areas I've driven through where the VOG was nasty and started to make my throat sore. I wasn't there long enough to experience the frogs or the heavy rain. We stayed in Waikoloa Village, which is a dry area about 20 minutes from Kona and it was very quiet and peaceful at night. We visit the Hilo area many times over the course of a week, and it was dry most of the time. However, we only stayed on the Big Island for a week. The next visit will be much longer.
Can your husband work remotely? If the move means resigning two good paying jobs for uncertain jobs in Hawaii, that is very risky. If your husband can work remotely, then that cuts the risk significantly.
I don't understand the luxury vehicles part of the post. We personally do not own any luxury cars even though we could afford them. I think most people who own luxury cars should not own luxury cars unless they have enough income to purchase them with cash. We feel it makes more sense to put money into the house to pay it off, which we did, plus save a lot of money for retirement. We live debt free and we are in the top 5% for income earning. We purchase new cars with cash, but keep the cars for ten to fifteen years. Some people feel that purchasing a new car is a bad idea because of the immediate depreciation, but we prefer to do it that way.
Are you planing on sending your daughter to a private school? A private school may cost about $15K to $20K per year. For many people, the cost to move to Hawaii is about $10K to $20K. You need enough savings to move back if things don't work out.
We plan to visit the Big Island many times over the next five years to determine if living on the Big Island is a viable option for us. Each visit will be longer than the previous visit. We then plan to rent for a longer term to lower the risk of investing in a property. We don't plan on living in Hawaii until we are retired in 5 and a half years. Our plan eliminates the risks and complications with employment. We might decide that Hawaii is not right for us, depending on how things go over the next five years. But we have the time and the patience to reduce the risk of making a bad life changing decision.
I don't think the crime rates are very high on the Big Island, although many people talk about the higher crime rates in the Puna area, where more properties are under $250K. You may need to spend more to live in an area with less crime. I do understand about living below your means to save a lot of money for retirement, which could be the reason to limit your housing budget to $250K at your income level. A lot of debt is another reason.
Can you give more clarification on why you want to limit your housing budget to $250K and more information about the income earning and savings? I think that would make it easier for people to give you better answers to your questions.
so im 39 and finally husband and I decided its time to move back to hawaii, we live in North florida now, so in 8 mos Nov of this year 2014 we will be making the move with 2 cars small very small household of furniture one dog and a 11 year old girl, why not right? I was born and raised for most but not all of my life in Oahu. so things have changed the last 15 years I know since living there although yearly visits keep me going. so keeau is my go to place it has reasonable homes, not to far form shopping and work for my husband and I and its affordable living nice homes as they show on the realtor sites, I figure my plan is go there is september get a house I will be buying I dont have a choice to rent being we want something to call our own and not have any landlords kona would be the idea spot but we cant afford that living over there so im content with south hilo area any tips on this, I havent lived on that side of the island ever and Im not too concerned with anything like cultural shock but reading these posts I feel like im in for a reality slap in the face concerning buying a home and moving maybe im in la la land thing thinking this is going to be a peace of cake, our budget is nothing over 250k.
Keaau is convenient to shopping and to a few private, public and charter schools. Buses pick-up right at the park if you do not want to drive. I also would not worry about safety in Keaau, especially coming from Florida. VOG is also not a real issue for most. It is much worse on the Kona side. I would pause if your daughter loves to go to the beach and snorkeling like mine does. We drive to the west side of the island multiple times a week to swim. It is worth it for us because we love where we live and do not mind spending the money and the time to drive. Your daughter might have completely other interests and she is young enough to still really love Coconut Island and Richardson's, but she might outgrow them fast. As for employment, since your move date is already set, I'm sure that you know where you will be working and consider the drive reasonable.
so keeau is my go to place it has reasonable homes, not to far form shopping and work for my husband and I and its affordable living nice homes as they show on the realtor sites, I figure my plan is go there is september get a house I will be buying I dont have a choice to rent being we want something to call our own and not have any landlords kona would be the idea spot but we cant afford that living over there so im content with south hilo area any tips on this, I havent lived on that side of the island ever and Im not too concerned with anything like cultural shock but reading these posts I feel like im in for a reality slap in the face concerning buying a home and moving maybe im in la la land thing thinking this is going to be a peace of cake, our budget is nothing over 250k.
Yes, if your daughter is going to be in school in Hilo, and you are looking to work in Hilo, then living someplace as far away as Waikoloa would be out of the question. Many years ago Kea'au was called Nine Mile Camp, so that gives you an idea of its proximity to Hilo. At peak commuting times the traffic is very congested between Hilo and Kea'au, where Hwy 130 down into Lower Puna meets Hwy 11 through Upper Puna to Volcano. Off peak it's busy but not bad.
With a CDP population around 2,300 (12,000 in the zip code), and its position at a major crossroads, Kea'u has more convenient amenities than many small Hawaiian towns its size... supermarket, drug store, health food store, hardware store, barbers and salons, schools, restaurants, fast food, dry cleaners, farmer's market, gas stations and car repairs, etc. So the schlep into South Hilo can be less frequent, for big box and department store shopping, movies etc. And you can also look at Kurtistown, the next little town on Hwy 11, about a mile south of Kea'au.
Dreaming of Hawai'i brought up the issue of water, which is something you need to be aware of everywhere on the Big Island. Some of the houses in Kea'au are on County Water supplies, some are on private wells, and some are on rainwater catchment. Each has different implications for ownership, so you should educate yourself on the differences and be sure what the properties you're interested in have. Perhaps the biggest practical factor is that houses with rainwater systems do not current qualify for VA loans, if that is any concern to you. In any case, you can find lots of info on rainwater catchment in the archives here.
As far as crime goes, violent crime is low, while property crime is more of an issue, and thefts of opportunity are probably tops. A lot of it is petty stuff, like tool sheds being pilfered, stuff disappearing from unlocked cars, etc. Being mindful and careful of what might be attractive to a thief will go a long way towards keeping you safe.
Since your husband is earning "six figures" and you should abviously make 50K+ and you are shipping your "luxury cars", you must be attached to higher end lifestyle so I agree with DavePhan.....you should have no problem qualifying for 600K+. I am not sure what the "risk" is with the "luxury cars"? Is there something that the rest of us don't know? I'm curious to hear what the risk is.
Since your husband is earning "six figures" and you should abviously make 50K+ and you are shipping your "luxury cars", you must be attached to higher end lifestyle so I agree with DavePhan.....you should have no problem qualifying for 600K+. I am not sure what the "risk" is with the "luxury cars"? Is there something that the rest of us don't know? I'm curious to hear what the risk is.
Good Luck with your move!
That's the part I don't understand. A six figure income could be more than $100K, sometimes quite a bit more. A nurse could earn $50K to maybe $80K. So the family income could be in the neighborhood of $200K. With an income in that range, properties in Kona are within the budget. Unless some part of the story is missing, such as a lot of debt or something else going on. It could certainly be the strong desire to save a lot of money. Just because you earn a lot of money doesn't mean you are willing to spend a lot of money. I put myself in that category, saving a lot of money for retirement. Although the two luxury vehicles part of the story implies the desire to save a lot of money may not be the case.
I have read posts about cars being shipped to Hawaii being damaged in the shipping process, but those posts are pretty uncommon, if that is the 'risk' that is referred.
The story doesn't make a lot of sense given the income level, budget, lack of concern about the rain, VOG, and frogs. The concern about safety and desire to locate in an area with higher crime, although it may only be property crimes, is contradicting, considering the income level. The low lava zone numbers in that area also weren't a concern or weren't brought up.
This was post number 1 and 2 from this OP, so it makes me wonder if it is legitimate, given things just don't seem to make a lot of sense.
This was post number 1 and 2 from this OP, so it makes me wonder if it is legitimate, given things just don't seem to make a lot of sense.
Why the concern? What difference does it make, one way or another? If you have something you feel you want to contribute to the thread, do so. If you don't, just pass on by.
Hundred and hundreds of people read the average thread here and never post. Even if someone is in a complete fantasy world when they ask their questions, there are many others who can benefit from reading the responses.
thank you for all your remarks they seem to be more personal opinions about my lifestyle then that actual question of pahoa hilo area.
That's a really curious attitude. I thought that nearly ALL of the posts addressed what we thought were issues of concern with living in the Hilo area. I saw that in one post you stated that you weren't interested in most of the issues that we brought up -- availability of jobs, quality of schools, noise from the frogs, breathing problems from the VOG, and traffic. Several of us did discuss price of housing.
I guess this thread should be closed because there's nothing else that we can contribute to you.
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