Possibly moving to the Big Island (Kapaa, Waimea: rentals, how much, month to)

[mthom112]

Aloha,

I was recently offered a position (through AmeriCorps) in the Kapaau/Hawi area and was wondering if you all could inform me on the area a bit (things to do, places to look for housing, do's & don'ts, advice. Etc.) If I accept I will be relocating from Virginia Beach Virginia and plan to stay longer after my stent with AmeriCorps so some good tips would be helpful

Thank you all for your time

[hotzcatz]

Have you tried Google Walking (checking out the area on Google Street View) to see the area? Kapaau & Hawai is a lovely end of the island, but it is very rural. No need to worry about lava in Kohala. There is some ocean access, but not really much in the way of beaches. Lovely rolling green hills, lots of tropical foliage. Both Hawi and Kapaau are small towns with tourists.

[bolus]

Nice people, rural, wet, moldy, centipedes as big as snakes, tree chickens, roof rats, suicidal road pigs, windy, hour from costco, 40 minutes from starbucks, 30 minutes to a beach, good view of Maui, actual relatively inexpensive groceries at Takata's, very fast internet, occasional escaped cows,

Otherwise not much to do

(Oh, and I'm sure those two shootouts that happened recently arent going to become a regular thing.)

[Nyfinestbxtf]

What in the world is Americorp?

[hotzcatz]

Originally Posted by bolus

Nice people, rural, wet, moldy, centipedes as big as snakes, tree chickens, roof rats, suicidal road pigs, windy, hour from costco, 40 minutes from starbucks, 30 minutes to a beach, good view of Maui, actual relatively inexpensive groceries at Takata's, very fast internet, occasional escaped cows,

Otherwise not much to do

(Oh, and I'm sure those two shootouts that happened recently arent going to become a regular thing.)

Nope, the centipedes are BIGGER than our snakes. The snakes are only as big as an earthworm and unless you notice it moves funny, you'll think it is an earthworm. The centipedes get much bigger than that.


And a nice hike at the end of the road, don't forget that!

[mthom112]

Originally Posted by Nyfinestbxtf

What in the world is Americorp?

It's a national service agency that partners with foundations, non profits, schools, etc. You can apply and work/volunteer with agencies all over the US

[sk290]

Are they providing you with room and board? If not, it'll be difficult to find affordable housing in the area. This is a very small and rural area with not much to do. Groceries are quite expensive. We make the drive up to Waimea for better prices more options. Once a month or so we make the hour drive to 'the big city' (Kona) for a Costco run. So it depends on how you like to live your life and how much 'action' you need.

[mthom112]

Originally Posted by sk290

Are they providing you with room and board? If not, it'll be difficult to find affordable housing in the area. This is a very small and rural area with not much to do. Groceries are quite expensive. We make the drive up to Waimea for better prices more options. Once a month or so we make the hour drive to 'the big city' (Kona) for a Costco run. So it depends on how you like to live your life and how much 'action' you need.

They're working on staff housing, so I'm trying to prepare just incase I do need to find a place. How's public transportation on the island? Like the bus, Uber, etc?

[bolus]

Originally Posted by mthom112

They're working on staff housing, so I'm trying to prepare just incase I do need to find a place. How's public transportation on the island? Like the bus, Uber, etc?

too bad they could not rent out the old coast guard station. The coast guard keeps it as a 2nd emergency backup base for disasters. They just had new windows and roofs installed but it stays empty. Plus its right on the water



https://www.google.com/maps/@20.2482.../data=!3m1!1e3


You'd need a vehicle in this area. You probably wont find a rental home. I had to move between 7 different expensive vacation rentals when I moved here before I got my house. Everyone who could rent month to month just puts it on AirBNB instead. Then people buy up the houses to use as vacation rentals.

[sk290]

Housing options are very few and they go fast. The best place I've found to find out about what's going on in the community and housing available is to look at the community board at the post office.

Public transportation.. haha! You can look up the schedule for the Hele bus but it has a +-3 hour deviation if it shows up at all. I think you are better off getting an old bike.

Also, there is only one road in and out of Kapaau so if there is a road slide (due to too much rain), tree trimming by the county (which happens often), or a shooting you either can't go anywhere or it'll take you hours.

If you are okay with this pace of life you might really enjoy it up here.