Potential move to Hawaii for health reasons (Honokaa: organic, living in)

[Irish Eyes_Mrs. Z]

Just curious, as I don't live on any of the Hawaiian islands, but from what I read, I get the impression that VOG isn't much of an issue on the east side of the Big Island--at least not compared to the west side of the island, or many of the other islands. Is that fairly correct, and if so, might the Hilo side of the BI be a decent choice for her?

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Irish Eyes_Mrs. Z

Just curious, as I don't live on any of the Hawaiian islands, but from what I read, I get the impression that VOG isn't much of an issue on the east side of the Big Island--at least not compared to the west side of the island, or many of the other islands. Is that fairly correct, and if so, might the Hilo side of the BI be a decent choice for her?

Hilo gets vog - just not as much as the Kona side.

You can't escape vog right now with a fairly active volcano.

[terracore]

Here's the vog current conditions and forecast: Vog Measurement and Prediction (VMAP) | Home

The east side gets is share of vog but you are correct there is a sweet spot that almost never gets vog. It is roughly from the airport area to just past Leilani. Though in the past year that same area has seen its share of forest fire smoke and fumes from the lava from the June 27th flow. A few times in the past year when the sweet spot did get vog it happened to be when both the fire smoke and the flow fumes were at their worst. It was a pretty horrible mix. Though, fortunately, short lived.

[Mikala43]

Oahu's out, every time we get VOG my sinuses and a literal headache.

I don't know. I have fibro and have never noticed it being worse in major cities. I spent weeks in San Fran.

I've never had my doctor tell me "lucky you live here!"

[Buckeye77]

Originally Posted by Irish Eyes_Mrs. Z

Just curious, as I don't live on any of the Hawaiian islands, but from what I read, I get the impression that VOG isn't much of an issue on the east side of the Big Island--at least not compared to the west side of the island, or many of the other islands. Is that fairly correct, and if so, might the Hilo side of the BI be a decent choice for her?

Just moved to Ka'u district (Discovery Harbour) 3 months ago - so far the trades have kept the vog away. Of course, the nearest McD's is 50 miles away and we have to drive to Hilo once a week (1 1/2 hours each way), but hey, you take the bad with the good

p.s.my wife also has fibro - no noticeable difference here from when we lived in Florida.

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Before you get any further, research "vog", the toxic emissions(mainly sulfur dioxide) from the volcano. Although the volcano is located on the Big Island, affects of the vog can be felt as far away as Oahu. I have a friend here on the Big Island who suffers from fibromyalgia, and she has to stay inside on many days when the vog levels are high.

Agree. This is important statement about the VOG. From the Big Island. It reaches all the way up to Oahu and Kauai. It happens when the Variable winds show up, to block the trade winds, usually in the winter time frame.
Be sure to check with your Doctors about this.
Best of luck

[KonaKat]

First of all, healthcare in Hawaii is not that great. Sure there are some good and some great doctors but nothing like you have in the mainland. Health care coverage is great but not the care (yes I am generalizing a bit but it's the truth). Hawaii is not the best place for people with serious, complicated, chronic health problems.

There are a multitude of rural communities on the mainland where you could avoid most of the irritants that affect you. Where your husband might work however is not going to be close to any rural area no matter what state in which you may live.

[nerdlette]

Same here. VOG days = indoor days for me. I get serious congestion and migraines without fail.

Originally Posted by Mikala43

Oahu's out, every time we get VOG my sinuses and a literal headache.

[KauaiHiker]

Originally Posted by Kristin85

The vog wouldn't be much of an issue if minniemom2014 moved to Kauai. Out of the major Hawaiian islands, it would also be the one with the lowest amount of chemicals/pesticides. However, there are so few non-hospitality jobs on Kauai that her husband would probably need to work remotely for a company on the mainland. Assuming he makes less than $40K, there are affordable housing options available on Kauai (though I believe there's a wait list to be in a new building.)

As others have mentioned, Kauai has it's share of vog when the winds change. In fact, from the shape of the island chain, it is sometimes the first to be hit by the plume. We get our share of hazy, blue mountain days, and while not as strong as on the Big Island, people here complain about headaches as well.

Also, what makes you think Kauai has the "lowest amount of chemicals/pesticides"? An unfortunate secret on Kauai is the amount of GMO seed crops being developed and grown here. These are the "round-up ready" kind of crops, so there is a lot of round-up being sprayed. They are also testing other herbicide-resistant crops, the next generation of herbicides stronger than round-up (and chemically similar to agent orange). In fact, some residents just won a lawsuit about dust nuisances in Waimea against the ag companies--without them admitting to what they were spraying.

Fortunately, the GMO fields are located on the west side, though they sometimes plant as far east as Lihue (not that they disclose any actual GMO platings, but fairly easy to see). But there were sugar plantations all over the island, and they had motor pools that leaked gas and oil, as well as fertilizer and pesticide storage that leaked. One incident in Kilauea found superfund-worthy levels of dioxin in the ground.

Speaking of agent orange, another little known secret is that the US Army did open air testing of agent orange in parts of our forest--which at the time was a jungle training camp for the military.

Finally, we have cell towers everywhere here, except up in the mountains where there is no housing and out in Haena where properties cost over a million. Also, smart meters are everywhere and I know they have strong EMF bursts. You can opt out with an analog meter for $10 extra per month.

Yes, when the tradewinds blow, we get fresh ocean air, and our water is mostly from wells that are clean, and you can find clean soil if you look. But you can't say everything is pristine on Kauai, and by far.

[pj737]

Bottom line, no place on earth that provides modern services will be free of pollutants and chemicals. I have bad allergies too (was on prescription meds for nearly a decade) but I simply avoid doing any high-heart rate outdoor activities when the vog gets really thick... which is really only 10-20 days a year.