Best family neighborhood near HPA (Kailua, Waimea: for sale, rental, new house)

[bigoldmom]

I am moving my family with 4 kids, 17, 13, 9, and 4 to Waimea area to attend HPA. Which neighborhood is the best atmosphere for raising children? 4 bedroom minimum, prefer 5. Other families nearby, parks, stores, riding bikes,etc. Is there one neighborhood which stands out as most desirable? Thanks in advance.

[hotzcatz]

Nob Hill is considered desirable, but you may have difficulty finding a large enough house.

[harrypritikin]

There are three four bedroom homes for sale in the Lualai Subdivision from $465K to $545K. Nob Hill prices start at around $845K then go up to over three million. Lualai is very much a family neighborhood. A well planned subdivision "close to schools and shopping". I see kids riding their bikes in the streets all the time. I suggest you post your question on the Kona Web forum for more targeted responses from people who actually live in the area.

[bigoldmom]

Thank you! Now we are looking at shipping costs for cars, boat, etc. Also, does amazon charge more to ship there?

[hotzcatz]

Anywhere from Vista View on the dry side to just before Lakeland on the wet side would be close to HPA and shopping and such. There is a shuttle bus that goes around in Waimea, but I'm not certain of it's route or times.

There's a newish subdivision being built over beside Waimea Middle School, is that Lualai? That one is nice and almost within walking distance to town if you're at the town end of the subdivision.

There's another one out on the dry side just before you get to the transfer station and I've chatted with someone who bought a house there and they weren't all that happy with their house, but they weren't happy about a lot of stuff so it may not have just been the house.

Right across from the park in Waimea are some new houses, but I don't know how big they are. In any case, find somewhere to rent first, when you are there you will be able to look around at the different areas and houses and find the one that fits. You'll also get a feel for what areas you go to the most and want to be closest to. As well as the climate. In Waimea it changes within a couple of miles so it's hard to find the exact sweet spot unless you're there.

Shipping for cars is all pretty much through Matson, Horizon or wasn't there another as well? But it gets discussed in detail here on the forum, a search would turn up loads of info.

Is this a boat that lives in a yard on a trailer? If it isn't, you may have a hard time finding a slip for it. Is it an ocean capable boat? If it's a lake boat you may as well leave it on the mainland since there's no protected waters to boat in, it's pretty much open ocean as soon as you leave the harbor. I suppose if it's a trailer boat and your rental doesn't allow trailers you could see about keeping it either at the boat yard over in Kailua-Kona or at a storage yard. There may be an area over by Kawaihae to keep it, too. I'm not certain, it's been awhile since we've had boats.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by bigoldmom

Thank you! Now we are looking at shipping costs for cars, boat, etc. Also, does amazon charge more to ship there?

Everyone charges more to ship to Hawaii! The best thing to do is join Amazon Prime. If you are looking for a new appliance at Sears, expect to tack on an additional $50 to their national ads, even when buying directly from the store.

Also, some places, like overstock.com, don't ship to Hawaii at all.