Hilo or Kahului (Kihei, Wailuku, Lahaina: credit, school, university)

[timmy222]

Hello everybody! I'm an international student and thinking about going to the community college there. Ther is one in Hilo (Big Island) and one in Kahului (Maui). Which one should i choose? What is the living on both islands like, weather, cost of living etc.
Thanks, I appreciate any help.

[travel4fun:)]

Hilo is very small and rainy and Kona is the good part of the big island and to get to Kona it is a 2 1/2 hour drive. Yes the big island is very big and spread out.

Kahului on the other hand is quite close to all the beaches and hardly ever rains. Kahului is in Maui which is by far the best island of all of them in the Hawaiian chain.

Maui hands down (Kahului). Have fun Oh yeah, the cost of living is pretty close between Maui and the big island.

[Razzbar]

For school, definitely the Big Island. The community college campus is located a few blocks from the campus of a 4-year university, and you can take university classes, for university credit, via the CC.

I don't know about relative size of the community, or what it matters, but I think of Hilo as being a tiny bit more of a small city than Kahului/Wailuku.

As for weather, well... it rains more in Hilo, definitely. And the best beaches on the island are a couple hours drive away. What's the point of going there?

For beaches and resort-type recreation, Maui, for sure. For school, or life in general, the Big Island.

[winkosmosis]

If you go to school in Kahului you might be able to commute from Paia. I don't know what the bus schedule is like though.

[terracore]

Originally Posted by travel4fun:)

Hilo is very small and rainy and Kona is the good part of the big island and to get to Kona it is a 2 1/2 hour drive. Yes the big island is very big and spread out.

Kahului on the other hand is quite close to all the beaches and hardly ever rains. Kahului is in Maui which is by far the best island of all of them in the Hawaiian chain.

Maui hands down (Kahului). Have fun Oh yeah, the cost of living is pretty close between Maui and the big island.

"Kona is the good part of the big island" ?! Only if you like to bake on a dry, lifeless lava flow breathing vog. Kona SUCKS. The wet side of the island is "Hawaii". I don't know what the hell Kona is. It's closer to the lunar surface than Hawaii.

And the cost of living is pretty close? WRONG AGAIN! BI is cheaper, especially the Hilo side. Have you ever even been to Hawaii?

[orangecat]

Hilo is a very run down town with a high amount of rainfall. Getting out to the Kona side takes a long time and not done very often. In contrast, Kahului is also a run down town, but you can easily take a 20 minute drive to Kihei or 45 minutes to Lahaina to get a very different way of life.

Big Island has vastly more things to do than Maui as well. Honestly, Maui gets quite boring after a while, while the Big Island is simply, as the name implies, so large it takes a long time to do everything.

[CyberCity]

A good starting point would be contacting the colleges you are interested in and asking them about curriculum, housing, tuition, application process (requirements), etc. And you are aware that there are other community colleges besides the ones on Maui and Hawaii Island (matter of fact, Hawaii Island has two options: Hilo and the small University Center in West Hawaii near Kona)?

[FallenIntoGreatness]

Shouldn't forget the distance learning options either, if the courses you want/need are offered that way you could live just about anywhere in Hawaii to take them. I've heard the residency status is strictly enforced so you might want to spend a year working to establish that and earn the tuition discount.