Hilo : what part of Hilo can I grow fruit trees and manage a large garden? (Waimea: insurance, mortgage)

[AlisonA]

Hi Birdmove,

I read your posts about HPP with great interest. My husband and I are headed to Big Island in about six weeks for a scouting trip. I hadn't looked much at HPP because I thought it was all in Lava Flow Zone 2, but I see that most of it is actually LFZ 3. Nice!

If you can help by answering a few questions, I'd so appreciate it.

First, how are the mosquitoes generally in that area? We've been told that they are really bad in Hilo, and less so outside the city. I'm THAT person who will get bitten first, and continuously, even when slathered in DEET. We know that they are there in Hawaii but are hoping to land somewhere that they are less prevalent, rather than more. And for anyone who wants to tell me not to move to Hawaii due to mosquitoes, let me just say that we currently live in Texas. So anywhere except Alaska, the Louisiana bayou, and the Amazon jungle will probably be better than here when it comes to mosquitoes!

Second, how is the vog in HPP compared to other areas nearby? Like mosquitoes, we are hoping to land somewhere that vog is less prevalent rather than more.

Third, is HPP more or less rainy than Hilo, or perhaps Mountain View?

Thanks in advance for any answers that you can share!

Alison

[birdmove]

Aloha, Alison. We do have mosquitoes. They aren't a big bother to me, but we usually go in around dusk. I think they my bother you some at first, but mostly it gets better. I don't get into Hilo too much at night, so don't know. But, I've never even seen one there. My son, on the other hand, the first few times he came to visit, they are him up. They aren't so hard on him on his more recent visits.
I'm going to suggest you join the Punatalk forum. it's free and easy. You can ask the folks there these questions too to get more perspectives.

Punatalk - Punatalk

The vog is seldom noticeable by myself. My neighbor has asthma, and it does bother him.

The thing about HPP is that, it is so big, that the weather varies within it. If your lot is down close to the ocean, they get a lot less rain and higher temps. Here is a google I did:

"Keaau, Hawaii, gets 157 inches of rain per year. The US average is 39. Snowfall is 0 inches. The average US city gets 26 inches of snow per year."

"Within the city of Hilo, average rainfall varies from about 130 inches a year near the shore to as much as 200 inches upslope. The wettest part of the island, with a mean annual rainfall exceeding 300 inches, lies about 6 miles upslope from the city limits."

I think Mountain View gets more rain than HPP. This winter has really been a rainy one. Often, we get rain at night, and nice sunnier days. That suits me, as I ride motorcycles and scooters. Most of HPP is on a rainwater catchment system. Only the lots right on the highway have county or city water piped in. The rest of us have large PVC pipes that run the water from our rain gutters into a large tank. These tanks are above ground, and look like a big above ground swimming pool. From the tanks, the water is pumped to the house via an electric pump, and goes through one to three filters, and, if the house uses this water for drinking (like we do), it goes through a UV light that serves to kill any living organisms. The filters need to be changed periodically. Some do it every ,month, but I often get three months out of them. You are drinking filtered rain water, so there is no additives such as floride. There is also no water bill. To me, our water tastes great.

HPP is the second biggest housing development in the US, and the biggest one is also on the big island. HPP has 4 main roads off the highway, and these roads are one mile apart. It's about 6 miles from the highway to the water. So, if you lived close to the water, and on the farthest road towards Pahoa, that might ad as much as 18 miles to a round trip commute to Hilo. We are closer to the highway, and Hilo is about 12 miles away.

Join up at the forum I mentioned above. It's quite good for information about the area. Also, there
are a couple of HPP Facebook pages too.

We've been here about 6 1/2 years now, and came here from the Seattle area. We intend to stay too.Though we have a Keaau address, we are like 6 miles from Keauu. So, Keauu is another town you might look at. We really love Hilo and go there often. You'll find houses more expensive there than in HPP.

Best of luck, and ask more questions if you want.

Jon

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by AlisonA

Third, is HPP more or less rainy than Hilo, or perhaps Mountain View?

Thanks in advance for any answers that you can share!

Alison

HPP may be slightly less rainy than Hilo, while Mountain View is significantly wetter than either. 185 inches/year vs 130 for Hilo.

Check out this interactive map. Obviously the darker colors mean more rainfall. Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii | Interactive Map

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by birdmove

The average US city gets 26 inches of snow per year."

Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Houston, San Antonio, San Diego, Austin, Las Vegas, etc.....may of course disagree with you.

[AlisonA]

Thanks so much, Birdmove - that is great info! I have joined Punaweb and am getting a great education These forums are invaluable for those of us who are considering a move from afar.

We definitely prefer, whether on vacation or not, to be outside the main city, but within driving distance. We are pretty sure one of the Puna regions will suit us just fine. But since we haven't been yet, we won't know till we experience it. For our upcoming trip, we booked two days Kona-side so we could do some snorkeling over there. But since Hilo-side is where we could afford to live, we booked the rest of the time at an AirBnB in the Puna area. That way, we can experience what it is like to drive to Hilo frequently, just how loud those frogs really are, etc.

We are super blessed in that my excellent job goes wherever the Internet can reach, and my husband's retirement pay does, as well. So my only other question for now is about Internet speeds and costs. I tried searching Punaweb but it seems to be down this morning.

Mahalo!

[AlisonA]

That map is great - thank you, Blind Cleric!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Alison, have you considered somewhere between Kona and Hilo? I live in Discovery Harbour, near South Point, and we get about half the rainfall as the communities Hilo-side. VOG usually gets blown by us due to the trade winds, and we have very few coqui frogs.

You can PM me if you would like to discuss further.

[AlisonA]

Thanks, Dreaming! I just checked it out online and it looks gorgeous. Unfortunately, I think it is too far from any good-sized town for our needs. I didn't mention in my previous email that our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids are coming along, as well. They need/want to be closer to a decent-sized town, for a variety of reasons with which I won't bore everyone here. But we will make sure to travel down that way while we are visiting, just in case. Ya just never know, right? Thanks again!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by AlisonA

Thanks, Dreaming! I just checked it out online and it looks gorgeous. Unfortunately, I think it is too far from any good-sized town for our needs. I didn't mention in my previous email that our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids are coming along, as well. They need/want to be closer to a decent-sized town, for a variety of reasons with which I won't bore everyone here. But we will make sure to travel down that way while we are visiting, just in case. Ya just never know, right? Thanks again!

Having (school age) kids makes a BIG difference! Good luck with your search.

[hotzcatz]

Depending on how you define a 'decent sized town' we may not have any of them on this island. Visit first before deciding where to buy, preferably live here for six months to a year before buying a house. You may find out that you prefer to live directly in town since town isn't much of a town. Or you may want to be off in the back of beyond, it's hard to tell. It'd be bummers if you bought a place in HPP and then found out later it was the Volcano area that you would have preferred.