Wind, Cane burning, and Pesticides (Kihei, Lahaina: extended stay, sale, real estate)

[FuzzySuzie]

Hello All,
First time poster but have been lurking here reading...nice forum and most all are very helpful!

I did a search and could not find enough information so I thought I should just ask.

I went to school in Oahu in the early '70s...got married, and had our 1st born at Queen's in 1975. Had to leave...for various reasons. Now we're ready to retire and return back to the islands...Maui in particular. We have narrowed our choices to Kihei, Maui Meadows, or Pukalani to live. We will probably not need to have a mortgage payment and have 4k-5k a month to live on.

Our main concern is the cane burning...I saw the "black snow" on YouTube falling on Kihei and read the thread. Is it like this in Pukalani too? And just below Pukalani...(on Google maps) is a lot of manicured farmland...do they burn these? Do they crop dust with pesticides? We understand that North Maui is the windward side...and one of my co-workers who has in-laws in Lahaina says that Upcountry has places so windy all the time that kids don't even play outdoors. Is he full of beer?

Thanks in Advance!

FuzzySuzie

[xstonedrocker]

aloha

your friend is full of beer

maybe several cases no less

rare on cane burning even coming to kihei

in fact maui meadows has a sign posted no black snow permitted

just be aware than the hi way in that area has signs posted for 30 mph ...heck you can walk faster than that

i drive 3 to 5 daze a week across island its ok

just bring money


xstonedrocker

[Calico Salsa]

I think xstonedrocker is messing with you.

I live in Kihei, and we do indeed get the ash from cane burning. If they are burning cane and you are upcountry, you can look down and see the burn cloud that drifts south down over Kihei.

It affects some more than others. Some are very sensitive to it, others don't seem to get bothered at all. I've gotten a headache, and tend to close my open doors when the air is tainted.

Winward side is actually more the Eastern side, but with regular and trade winds almost every area is affected. Northern Kihei on up to Maalaea Harbor has a lot more wind than central Kihei.

Kihei is warmer than Maui Meadows, sometimes by 10 degrees. Kihei is in town, so easier to walk to a store, but more people and traffic. Mix of residential and commercial. Beaches of course are closer. Recent tsunami scare meant evacuation for everyone below the water mark. Mixed neighborhoods, from very nice to very not-nice.

Maui Meadows (which is really technically Kihei) is a residential area. Windy roads, some better views, people walk their dogs, good garage sales. No evacuation for tsunamis. Will have to drive for all errands. The houses right near the highway will have the traffic noise. The speed limit is not 30 MPH, except maybe at the very end where the highway flows into a street. Lots of older homes in MM; be sure to check for termites, rot, etc. Becasue MM is on a slope, many lots are on a steep grade, so if you want a garden or patio, look for the properties that already have flat areas, with good terracing walls.

If at all possible, you might consider renting for a few months to get the real feel of living here before you buy.

Watch out for neighborhoods with LOTS of cars parked all over the yards and several in the driveway. Visit the neighborhood in both daytime and evening. Some neighborhoods look fine at noon, but if you go by at 6pm you see the homeless in a nearby field, or bunches of working guys drinking lots of beers outside. I've got nothing against drinking beer, but boisterous guys and beer means noise and debris and some drama.

Seeing a neighborhood in the early evening will also show if the kids do play outside or not. Personally I like having kids outside playing along with their parents. Ours is a safer neighborhood with the residents outside chatting and keeping an eye out.

[xstonedrocker]

aloha

well im not messing with you


i guess i am not as sensitive ..


my car has not seen any black snow ...in 6 months

i live on kihei road

if anything i see more vog on island ..

as far as walking to places ...what a joke ...i dont have any friends who walk to go shopping and carry their bags with stuff in them ..

gas stations sell lots of gas ...

gee i guess the best answer is ... come and check out the area for yourself


opinions are like ........ we all have one ..

a famous quote from

xstonedrocker

[Calico Salsa]

You are so cute. I didn't mean any disrespect, hope you didn't take it that way.

We walk, and enjoy it. We also drive, and enjoy that too. We wouldn't walk to a store if we planned to buy lots and lots, but we would if we only plan to carry a couple of bags. With our reusable bags, they don't cut into our hands like plastic, and the walk is pleasant and healthy. Many of our visitors will walk to go get breakfast or run an errand.

The ash falling all depends on where you live, and how the wind blows. It just so happens that we get it regularly. We live one block of South Kihei Road, near Welakahao. Others who don't live in the plume won't have the same problem. The difficulty with knowing this when shopping for a house is that you can only ask the neighbors. Don't count on asking the real estate agent, because they can't definitively tell you one way or the other. The neighbors will know.

[FuzzySuzie]

Mahalo for the input...still curious if pesticides are used by agriculture and if the residue gets into any residential areas.

And we do plan on an extended stay and get the feel of the various neighborhoods and micro climates before we commit.

FuzzySuzie

[Calico Salsa]

Oh yes, of course lots of pesticides, fertilizers, and additives in agriculture. Also on golf courses. Have never seen a crop duster, but they are sprayed on from the ground and via irrigation.

A long while ago there was a tragic story of a local gal who drowned in one of the ag runnoff channels. I can't believe anyone would want to swim in that runoff water, it has to be so filled with chemicals that exposure would be a great cancer risk.

[xstonedrocker]

i dont know how we could live without chemicals

what a modern day invention

just bought on sale at ,,, times market 3 cans of tuna for 99 cents ...limit 6 sure sure '

but i had to look the expiration date is 3 years from today

hmmmmm hmmmmm

organic strawberries ...sold on the side of the road in so. california ...they were so organic ..only thing was they grew from smog ...

suzie ...we live so close ....i am either down the block from you or you are up the block ...

if you are planning on moving ...i would certainly check out ...call some gov organization who deals with it ...

what is the vog todays reading ... what does vog do to the body...

only your local gov, agency knows ...but wont tell....


better living thru chemicals hahahaha

if drinking milk for 99 years wont do it ...then i dont know what

i always thought people who worked die ..maybe its the air


xstoneocker

[xstonedrocker]

aloha


oops i called you suzie ...please forgive my crs


im so old


xstonedrocker

[NandVsMom]

Last summer was our first experience with cane burn. Woke to a super smokey smell and haze in the air. Kids went to soccer camp anyway. Vog, when the winds change, has caused more allergies for me than cane burn. Sinus headaches by the afternoon - nothing a tylenol and sudafed couldn't help! If you're particularly sensitive you might want to get details. Gov offices are supposed post cane burn dates. If you have AC you can keep the house closed up and keep the AC on and stay inside, that's supposed to help. Saw the video of the really bad ash on youTube too. Haven't see it that bad but I haven't been here that long. Somebody's doing something wrong if it gets that bad. None of it so far is as bad as the LA smog that we came from, if that's any comparison.