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Annual rainfall of 30" is very dry for around here. The soil here is volcanic and drains really well so you'd probably want higher rainfall to keep things green.
On the Big Island, some place at around 1,000 to 2,000 elevation might fit the bill.
You want anything else with that? Views? Access to markets and supplies?
Here's a rainfall map that should give you an idea what areas are between 30 - 50 inches of rain on average. It's the dark orange zones. Most of South Kona District is in that range. Or if you prefer, red is for under 30".
Then, once you've identified a place you're interested in, pull up the City Data Profile for the nearest town, and near the bottom is a weather profile of averages for the entire year, month by month, showing temperatures, humidity, rainfall, sunny days vs cloudy days, snowfall...
Here's the one for Captain Cook. One of the interesting things about this area on the leeward side of the Island of Hawai'i is that it is the only place in Hawai'i that normally gets more rain in the summer (Jul-Sep) than in the winter, when the rest of the state gets its biggest rains
You want to move to HI to live in the desert? Why not come to CA or AZ? The areas that get that little usually aren't looking that great vegetation wise, they are hotter than your requirements or have vog problems. Best thing you can do is use the precipitation maps and the temps maps and go see the places in person. If you think it is for you then jump in.
As I've said before, we have microclimates within just one subdivision. The houses at the lower end of my subdivision are at 800 foot elevation, and they receive half as much rain as those at the upper end at 1,400 feet. So, even though the rainfall map says 40 inches of rain a year, that doesn't hold true for the entire subdivision. Hotzcatz was right on with the recommendation of living around 1,000 to 2,000 feet. And I agree with the recommendation of the Captain Cook area.
However, I can't recommend where I live if you want a place that's "not too windy". We have a steady tradewind, which not only helps keep the temperature perfect but also blows the vog past us. But occasionally we can get heavy gusts that last for days
Might be vog in Captain Cook, though. How about the dry side of Waimea? Or Paauhau?
Using an arbitrary figure to decide the proper amount of rainfall may not be all that wise. You have to look at what the rainfall does in the area as well as how it shows up. Last night we went to sleep after laying around in the hot tub on the back deck watching the stars, counting meteorites and looking for satellites. It was starting to cloud up as we went inside. Then it rained probably about a half inch to three quarters of an inch of rain. Now this morning, it's clear and sunny with everything freshly washed and no rain in sight. We get about ninety inches of rain a year, yet a large percentage of it is the night time rains so it doesn't seem like that much.
The storm in 2000 that caused flooding dumped 36 inches of rain in 24 hours in Pahala.
The point is that I wouldn't use an annual rainfall chart to make a quality of life climate determination. Where I live in Puna it rains a lot, but we also have sun almost every day. 30 inches of rain can fall very quickly in the tropics, and can even indicate a drought.
We get about ninety inches of rain a year, yet a large percentage of it is the night time rains so it doesn't seem like that much.
Exactly, you may hate the rain but in some areas with heavy annual totals you are not going to be bothered by it since most of it comes at night. I usually plan my trips to Puna in Feb-Mar and Oct-Nov (cheaper tickets) and i'm always amazed how little rain falls during the day. As soon as you get past 10-11pm it usually starts. Makes for a good night sleep.
We've been to all islands many, many times but feel like we are just scratching the surface.
Like Dreaming said, there are lots of microclimates which is good, something for everyone.
One thing caught my attention on the links supplied by Openid, all dry side BI locations had lots of overcast/cloudy days compared to dry side Oahu & Maui.
I don't remember it being that overcast, maybe the statistics are misleading?
For what its worth, Kaloko is high on my list to visit next time, looks very beautiful!
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