BI a good fit (Hilo, Kailua: 2015, rent, house)

[HRW]

Apologies to all for probably asking questions that have been answered previously, but after returning to the US four years ago and finding life to be unsatisfactory in two places, I am trying to really do my homework before committing to a move to the BI.

I lived outside the US for 21 years prior to returning in 2015. Prior to returning, I spent 12 years in Thailand. My wife is Thai. We are now retired and not rich, but money is not a major concern. Our passion is traveling to Mexico, Europe and Asia and this is where any excess funds are spent. We very seldom go to restaurants, a primary reason being that we really like Asian food and outside of a few large cities, the mainland is a desert for diversity in Asian food and culture.

When we returned to the US, we lived for two years in Oregon. Things we liked were the outdoor activities, open minded people and access to good Vietnamese food. Unfortunately, after being in sunny Thailand, the weather became unbearable - endless rain and grey skies. We also did not like the aggressive attitude of the homeless people.

Our last move was to the Charleston, SC area. Nice weather, reasonable cost of living and close to the beach and kayaking. Downsides are a complete lack of diversity in food and very materialistic people, who seem to have little interest in anything outside their universe.

We have been focusing on the BI initially because of the mix of cultures and ethnicity. While we enjoy going to the beach, it is mostly to take long walks. We would like to continue to kayak and hike. Being on an island is not a concern, because we do not take road trips and really do not like driving.

We find Kailua-Kona to be interesting because of the access to shopping without driving great distances and farmers markets.

Any thoughts you all may have are greatly appreciated

Please patronize me in responding to a concern that I have. I would appreciate not being lectured, but to just receive some frank answers. Living in Thailand, I was used to being called a Farang, which basically is the same as Haole, so this would not be a concern. However, in trying to do as much research as possible, I found other forums, blogs, in which people said that the prejudice and mistreatment of them as white people was open and prevalent. Should this be a concern? We are open minded, live and let live people.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

No, the prejudice is not open and prevelant. In fact, it hardly exists at all. Especially since your wife is Thai, and there are large populations of those of Asian and South Pacific descent. The only time in my nine years of living on the BI that I feel prejudice is in dealing with the government workers.

[Grassyknoll]

It sounds like it could be a good fit, but a nice long visit will lend you much more insight than anything that can be provided on this forum.

[whtviper1]

Have you actually been to the Big Island - specifically the Kailua-Kona area?

You mention in your post you are looking for cultural diversity, etc - and in my opinion, I've never found the Kailua-Kona area very culturally diverse (and quite frankly, the island in general) - it is by the way, the only island, where Caucasians are the dominant race - and more and more Caucasians appear to moving in. Sure, you'll find more Asian restaurants than Charleston SC - but you'd also find that practically anywhere in California and save yourself from living on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

[terracore]

"it is by the way, the only island, where Caucasians are the dominant race"

Not exactly:

"The racial makeup of the county was 34.5% White, 0.7% African American, 22.6% Asian, 12.4% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 29.2% from two or more races; 11.8% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_(island)


Get over to the East side. The weather is different, the terrain is different, the people are different.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by terracore

"it is by the way, the only island, where Caucasians are the dominant race"

Not exactly:

"The racial makeup of the county was 34.5% White, 0.7% African American, 22.6% Asian, 12.4% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 29.2% from two or more races; 11.8% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_(island)

Not exactly? 34.5% White - everyone else less. I don't need reading glasses yet but I don't see anyone above 34.5% (and I looked it up before I posted). More Caucasians as a percentage of the population than any ethnic group of any island in Hawaii. The stats are the stats. The dominant ethnicity on the BI - is White.

[hotzcatz]

Everyone eventually goes to Kona to go to Costco it seems. BUT, that's only Costco. Kona would be warmer, but everyone there is a farang it seems. Whether they're haole farang or asian farang, it seems most of Kailua-Kona is made of of people who came from somewhere else. It kinda lacks an honest community, IMHO. But, YMMV.


Don't buy a house without living on the island for at least six months. Visit for several weeks and pick what you think is a good spot, then rent there for six months to see if it is what you think it is.


You do have the right idea of sticking close to supplies and not driving far distances if possible. Too many people it seems, are trying to 'get away from it all' and end up in the back end of nowhere and then freak out because it takes them an hour or more to get to the grocery store and nobody will deliver pizza.

[Nyfinestbxtf]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Everyone eventually goes to Kona to go to Costco it seems. BUT, that's only Costco. Kona would be warmer, but everyone there is a farang it seems. Whether they're haole farang or asian farang, it seems most of Kailua-Kona is made of of people who came from somewhere else. It kinda lacks an honest community, IMHO. But, YMMV.


Don't buy a house without living on the island for at least six months. Visit for several weeks and pick what you think is a good spot, then rent there for six months to see if it is what you think it is.


You do have the right idea of sticking close to supplies and not driving far distances if possible. Too many people it seems, are trying to 'get away from it all' and end up in the back end of nowhere and then freak out because it takes them an hour or more to get to the grocery store and nobody will deliver pizza.

We are going back to the BI this summer and can’t wait. Last summer we went to Kauai and as beautiful as that island was, my wife and I prefer the BI. I noticed from our first visit that the island has two complete different vibes from the Kona side and Hilo side. Kona was very touristy where the Hilo side was not. I did find pleasantness on both sides though. I did notice in Kauai that no shirt no shoes is 100% acceptable anywhere you go even in grocery stores. Lol. I didn’t see that on the Kona side of the BI. The beach we really fell in love with on Kauai was Polihale beach, but we loved Hapuna more.

[terracore]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Not exactly? 34.5% White - everyone else less. I don't need reading glasses yet but I don't see anyone above 34.5% (and I looked it up before I posted). More Caucasians as a percentage of the population than any ethnic group of any island in Hawaii. The stats are the stats. The dominant ethnicity on the BI - is White.

Forget the reading glasses and grab the calculator. It means that 65.5% of the population is non-white. So yes, whites are a minority.

[whtviper1]

There are more whites than any other race on the BI. That makes them the the dominant race. Jeez. I didn’t say they were the majority.