Hilo vs Kona for living full time (Kailua, Pahoa: apartment, lease)

[cozarino]

I'm currently living in Hilo (for 3 months) but am wondering in Kona would be more "fun"! Weather is not so much as issue, rain isn't too bad, but its seems more "serious" in Hilo and no beaches only rocky ones and the ocean is very cold from deep fresh water springs. I could afford to buy a small home in Hilo but only a small condo in Kona. Also, I have heard that Kona is too much like California, missing a "local feel". Kona just seems more upbeat....is it or is it just my imagination? Thank you.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by cozarino

I'm currently living in Hilo (for 3 months) but am wondering in Kona would be more "fun"! Weather is not so much as issue, rain isn't too bad, but its seems more "serious" in Hilo and no beaches only rocky ones and the ocean is very cold from deep fresh water springs. I could afford to buy a small home in Hilo but only a small condo in Kona. Also, I have heard that Kona is too much like California, missing a "local feel". Kona just seems more upbeat....is it or is it just my imagination? Thank you.

They're pretty much different worlds, for a number of reasons. To name just a few...

Although small... about 44,000 residents... Hilo is a town that feels like a small city, with federal, state, and county government offices, and pretty much everything a person needs, including a university and an airport and big central park, and a history that goes back well into the 1800s, with some prominent buildings dating to the early 1900s. But since it has always been centered around agriculture, it keeps farmer's hours... many Hilo businesses open between 7 & 8am, then close at 3 - 4pm, and the sidewalks get rolled up around 9pm.

By contrast, Kailua-Kona, at about 15,000 people in the actual town, was little more than a sleepy fishing village until Japanese investors built three large resorts along the Kona coast around the time the Kona Airport opened in 1970. That shifted the focus of Big Island tourist business away from Hilo, which had been devastated, including losing most of its hotels in the terrible 1960 tsunami. So the town grew up and spread out and flourished on the tourist trade, where it stands today. That's why there are more restaurants and bars and shops that stay open later, because tourists expect that. And there are more condos there due to the dryer weather than Hilo, especially in winter. But the town and its surrounds seem more suburban than urban to me, more like a resort area than an actual community. Better beaches, no question, but herds of tourists everywhere. It all depends on what you like.

There's a simple way to find out if you prefer it... spend more time there. With a Hilo address you can get kama'aina rates at Kona hotels, and there are a couple of inexpensive places that cater to locals, so you can just hang out over the weekend a few times and see how it goes.

[mdand3boys]

Hilo - wetter and cooler
Kona - hotter and drier

Hilo - more local feel
Kona - more tourists

Hilo - cheaper to live in
Kona - more expensive to live in

[KaraBenNemsi]

Check South Kona out (Keauhou to mm100). Some beaches, warmer water, close to Kailua. Not too dry, not too rainy. Gorgeous sunsets. More expensive than Hilo but less than Kailua.

[Linrobark]

We like you moved here and with a lot of questions about which side to stay on, we lived in Hilo a couple of months and then moved over to Kona for 5 months. We thought that the Kona side would be something where we wanted to be. We couldn't afford it, the housing and rent are out of site, the food prices are higher. A person can be comfortable where ever they are if your flexible.
There are so many questions that you need to consider, More activities in Kona, but they'll cost you. It's hot down around the beach but the beaches are beautiful and nice. If your single the Kona side has a lot for you to do. I can't tell you what we've learned in just a short time here on the island, BUT make sure you feel comfortable wherever you go. People are nice wherever you go.
We moved back to Hilo due to the cost of living and now we're making the best of it!
It's been really rough learning all the in's and out's and still have a lot to learn "It's so different"
I always say, if you have questions and can afford it move to different areas of the island. Don't sign a long lease you'll regret it!!

[hotzcatz]

Since it sounds like you're renting, try moving to Kailua and see if you like the Kona side. After three months over there, you'll have a better idea which side you prefer. Maybe you'll like the Kona side enough that a small apartment is okay.

[Badlanding]

My family and I have been in the Hilo area for about 18 months and I love it. Now my family has found it a little harder to adjust to than I have but I grew up in a very small cattle/farming town in Northeast WA. state. The rest of the family grew up on the East coast and the shock was very real when they moved over here. I find that I like to take short trips to the "Kona Side". Its fun for us because it feels so different from the Hilo community. But by the time we are heading back to Hilo it feels like coming home.

When we want to enjoy a sandy beach and a fancy restaurant we head to Kona(and bring a lot of sunblock), when we want some local vibe (and some of the kindest people I have ever met) we drive on into Hilo. Its the diversity of the "Island Culture" that allows for such a vast spectrum of life in such a small population. Just the county we moved from had 3 times the population of the Big Island so it makes places like Pahoa seem like a little dot on the map, but its a nice little dot( I really like the pizza joints in downtown Pahoa). But the pool at the Hilton in Kona is absolutely wonderful.

Its really cool that the flavors of the island can be so different and yet very similar at the same time. I believe it helps us new comers to avoid the dreaded "Island Fever" that strikes so many of us, and a few of my extended family at times in the last 18 months. So for sure go hang in Kona for a while and soak it up. Its small and if you can tune out the tourist vibe and really feel the local life the answer should come to you quickly. Good luck friend.

[GraceKrispy]

I lived in Kona for 10 years, but liked Hilo a lot. South Kona was my favorite place to live for the scenery and community and weather. The vog really sucked, though. I liked Hilo for the community/local feel and the set up of the town and scenery. Kona had a wide variety of people, a lot more transient population, a touristy feel (which my best friend, who lives in Hilo, really liked), and drier weather. If that is what you are looking for, then Kona might be more to your liking. I would live there for a few months to check it out first.

[cozarino]

Thank you everyone for your helpful and excellent ideas and suggestions!

[Naomi Manischewitz]

I lived in Hilo and liked it a lot but I think I would have liked Kona more. Just seems more fun to me.