Nervous mainlander (transporting, rent, health insurance)

[leilaniguy]

Some good, some bad, just like everywhere, but progress hasn't kept pace with the phenomenal growth. There are places like HPP and even Nanawale where there were lands set aside specifically for services like stores, police substations, etc. that have not been utilized even as HPP passes 12,000 people with only 1 access road and no good plan. The county's answer has always been "go to Hilo". I can't decide if it was more peaceful back in the day, got robbed a couple of times. It was definitely "wilder" and yet in ways a lot more fun. Yes, I remember when the bypass was just a canefield and Pahoa village road would sometimes get blocked by people on acid dancing in the street. I'll take what I can get though, this is home.

[hotzcatz]

ROTFLMAO! "People on acid dancing in the street"! Bwahahahahah! A perfect description of Pahoa back in the day. Especially in front of that grocery store where there was always a traffic jam because of the lack of parking to go along with the traffic trying to get through town.

Yeah, it was a bit wilder and much more scary, I'd expect, to nervous mainlander sorts moving in. Nowadays, it's almost civilized sorta, in some areas at least. But it had more of a sense of community in some areas, kinda folks off in the wilderness together sorta thing. I lived in the middle of Hawaiian Acres at the time. One of the neighbors would call her husband home by shooting off a forty five. (And then he'd run towards her? :O !) Also built a house in Nanawale, back when it was a bit rougher around the edges. Living off in the back beyond without a lot of other folks around, you kinda got to know them.

Kinda wish Railroad Avenue would get a railroad again. Wouldn't it be great to take a train from Pahoa to Hilo? Either that or use Railroad Ave to connect the side of HPP to the backside of Hilo by a roadway. If HPP could get to Hilo without going through the Keaau bypass, it'd take a lot of pressure off the Keaau-Pahoa highway.

Or, better yet and bizarre idea! Make HPP a self contained area. Let there be some shopping and jobs where the houses are! Wouldn't that be new and different? Same same with most of the big "sub-divsions" in Puna that were made by just drawing lines on a map. Infrastructure? Who needs that? Sheesh!

Pahoa does have more shopping and services out that way than they used to have although it seems a lot of folks still have to go in to Hilo all the time.

I wonder if a boat ferry service could go from Pohoiki to Hilo? Probably not fast enough or inexpensive enough to get any of the traffic off the roads, though.

[leilaniguy]

It makes the most sense in HPP, but could work in any of the popular subdivisions. It would save everyone gas and money if there were a few Mom & Pops scattered around or a neighborhood gathering spot with a couple of shops & cafes, places to work, spend local money locally but no Vulcans here, no logic.

[MickeyE]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

<SNIP>

Kinda wish Railroad Avenue would get a railroad again. Wouldn't it be great to take a train from Pahoa to Hilo? <SNIP>

Y'all might get with the Railroads of Hawaii Yahoo group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/..._railways/info and see if they might be interested in a "project". Maybe a Kickstarter or GoGundMe campaign to raise money for equipment and donated time and energy to build, maintain and run the "project". Can you say Sugar Cane Train and The Hawaiian Railway Society's Ewa Train?

Mickey[CENTER]SaveSave[/CENTER]

[hotzcatz]

Originally Posted by MickeyE

Y'all might get with the Railroads of Hawaii Yahoo group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/..._railways/info and see if they might be interested in a "project". Maybe a Kickstarter or GoFundMe campaign to raise money for equipment and donated time and energy to build, maintain and run the "project". Can you say Sugar Cane Train and The Hawaiian Railway Society's Ewa Train?

Mickey

Not sure who owns the land that the old train tracks used to run on, but it might cost more to get the land than to build a train. The old railway kinda slashes across HPP at an odd angle. It's good idea to start a train group since even if they didn't get the train, they'd get enough attention that maybe a road would be built. But it's not my neighborhood. If I were to do a big community improvement project, it'd be sidewalks in my town or a new swimming pool with a really shallow end for keiki to learn to swim. Or a fancy one like they have at hotels, why let the tourists have all the good stuff?

Puna does have a lot of growth lately and the infrastructure is still struggling to keep up. The Keaau-Pahoa road has been improved by leaps and bounds (it used to be a really rough and narrow two lane blacktop with no shoulders for about half the distance between Keaau and Pahoa). It's still the only road, though, which is what a lot of folks moving here from the mainland don't always factor into their considerations. Making Railroad back into a connector between Pahoa and Hilo by either road or rail would be a good start, IMHO.

Earlier this week there was a car fire on Mamalahoa Highway between Ookala and Pauuilo. The road (notice folks refer to it as 'the road', not the highway or the street, it's the only road, hence 'The Road') was closed for half a day. The 'detour' in that particular area is to go back to Hilo (thirty miles), then go up and over Saddle road (forty to fifty miles? Sixty?), over to Waimea (another fifteen miles?) and then down to Pauuilo (another thirty miles?). That detour is over 100 miles long. There's quite a few places on this island that are only serviced BY ONE ROAD. It's not like it's just the most convenient or fastest, it's the ONLY road.

If lava covers the Keaau-Pahoa highway -as it almost did several years ago - the detour would be up through Volcano National Park. It would make an hour's trip to Hilo into a two and a half hour trip? Maybe longer? Double that for each way and then living in lower Puna and working in Hilo or getting groceries and supplies in Hilo is much more difficult. When the lava almost ate the road, they started making satellite schools and separating the kids by which side of the lava flow they'd end up on. There was talk about bringing supplies in via small boats to Pohoiki boat ramp.

A lot of times folks only consider the lava zones because they impact insurance rates and mortgages and I don't think they actually consider that the lava may really show up. There's a reason why banks won't loan on a house in lava zone 1 or 2 without lava insurance.

Just another difference between Hawaii and the mainland, I guess?

[Tisambas1]

Originally Posted by Tfox799947

Thank you very much...unfortunately renting is not an option…I will be bringing a dog and cat....my only family. I have read enough about the horrors of finding a rental that allows animals, and boarding them for months is not an option.
Yes, I know the difficulty and wait time for qualifying for the direct airport release is tedious, but I will do it.
Thanks to about the traffic information.

There is not a reason to give up renting because you have pets I have two dogs, one of them a Great Dane Mix. we found that money talks. I negotiated a higher rent and a large security deposit, that made me an attractive renter prospect.

[rya96797]

horror stories yes, but doesn't hurt to look. Especially if you're discussing with a landlord directly and offer more $$$$ up front and discuss your other strengths - maybe a professional? maybe small pets, super responsible renter, single, not a partier, long term renter, whatever. If landlords are asking for $1500, and you offer $1800, I bet you'll find a few landlords that would bite.

[hotzcatz]

Actually, I think it's illegal for a landlord to accept higher rent because of a pet, but I've not looked up the laws so it's just a guess on my part.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Actually, I think it's illegal for a landlord to accept higher rent because of a pet, but I've not looked up the laws so it's just a guess on my part.

Not illegal in Hawaii.

[hotzcatz]

Dratz, then, we should charge our renter with the goat more? It's kinda a lawn mower, though, and it's an outside only goat so it's a good goat. The other renter has dogs and they said they were outside only dogs, but I'm not going to go check on that one.