Building a Home In Hawaii

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Once again, those of us who are trying to give a REALISTIC look at what life in Hawaii is like get slapped.

I have a different take on the realistic part. While I strive to be "realistic" I'm amazed at the shear number of people who lie in follow up posts. It's funny how people come here for "help" then come back with an unrealistic/impossible I got this great rent response (and you locals who live here must be idiots since I found this completely unrealistic place), essentially lie then you ask where this nirvana is (because they asked for places to begin with) and then they won't say where (it would help others) and to that I say BS.

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I have a different take on the realistic part. While I strive to be "realistic" I'm amazed at the shear number of people who lie in follow up posts. It's funny how people come here for "help" then come back with an unrealistic/impossible I got this great rent response (and you locals who live here must be idiots since I found this completely unrealistic place), essentially lie then you ask where this nirvana is (because they asked for places to begin with) and then they won't say where (it would help others) and to that I say BS.

One thing that may be a factor to those posters that relate experiences that seem unrealistic. This would be the inherent nature of some people's personal life trajectory. What I mean is that some people just seem to always have life's breaks going for them and others are always on the losing side of things. Karma? Fate? The power of positive thought? Who knows, but it definitely is a factor.
My story is a case in point. We bought our house here while living on the mainland (wife flew over with our realtor to look at it, I never saw it until we moved); guess what, it was perfect.

We live in an area that is rumored to be second only to the slums of Mogadishu for rates of violent crime and theft. In two years we have had zero issues and love the community.

My teenage haole daughter has acclimated well to school and has many friends.

Both my wife and I have found well-paying jobs in an area that has few employment opportunities.

But the above is just sort of how my life has always gone. I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy.

So perhaps all the dreamers should be told to take an honest assessment of how life tends to work for them.

Do you seem to have four-leaf clover falling out your o'kele? Then maybe you'll beat the odds and be fine here.

Do you seem to end up getting more than your share of tough breaks? Then you probably won't buck the trend of what have been the collective experiences of the members here.

Just my $.02

[hotzcatz]

Originally Posted by flipsidem

We have a plan. We will be there next week to see how being there in person fits with the ideas in our heads. Wish us luck. I hope all the negativity on this forum has gotten me into a mindset that will leave me pleasantly surprised after we visit.

Plans are good, although who was that Chinese fellow who said plans never survived the first contact with the enemy? Sun Sun Lau? Hmm, no, Sun Sun Lau was the Chinese restaurant that used to be in Hilo. Ah, Google to the rescue! (What did we ever do before Google?) It was Helmuth von Moltke, a 19th-century head of the Prussian army who is supposed to have said something along those lines.

I wish you lots of luck and pleasant surprises!

Which side of the island are you planning to visit? If you're in Hilo during the Merrie Monarch festival, frequently you can get tickets for the hula events from folks in line waiting to get in. They usually sell them for the same price they paid since it's not considered pono to scalp them. Even if you can't get into the official hula events, there's all sorts of other festival happenings going on in Hilo during Merrie Monarch week.

[flipsidem]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I have a different take on the realistic part. While I strive to be "realistic" I'm amazed at the shear number of people who lie in follow up posts. It's funny how people come here for "help" then come back with an unrealistic/impossible I got this great rent response (and you locals who live here must be idiots since I found this completely unrealistic place), essentially lie then you ask where this nirvana is (because they asked for places to begin with) and then they won't say where (it would help others) and to that I say BS.

I think I know exactly which post you are referencing. I agree that it does smell fishy. If that post is (or the details of it are) fabricated, that poster is a sicko.

[flipsidem]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Plans are good, although who was that Chinese fellow who said plans never survived the first contact with the enemy? Sun Sun Lau? Hmm, no, Sun Sun Lau was the Chinese restaurant that used to be in Hilo. Ah, Google to the rescue! (What did we ever do before Google?) It was Helmuth von Moltke, a 19th-century head of the Prussian army who is supposed to have said something along those lines.

I wish you lots of luck and pleasant surprises!

Which side of the island are you planning to visit? If you're in Hilo during the Merrie Monarch festival, frequently you can get tickets for the hula events from folks in line waiting to get in. They usually sell them for the same price they paid since it's not considered pono to scalp them. Even if you can't get into the official hula events, there's all sorts of other festival happenings going on in Hilo during Merrie Monarch week.

Yes, I know, we've had plans before. I was pretty nervous about what we want to find there and what we will actually find. I've noticed that all my worries have kinda faded away in the last couple days. I think the fact that we are going to be in Hawaii in a few days has really helped my mental state.

The plan is to spend most of the time looking around in the Kona/Kohala districts. I really want to get a look at the Hilo area, so I'm going to have to push to make that happen. I have an acquaintance that owns a place in Volcano that he's never seen, so I would really like to go there to take some pictures for him. We will see what happens. That whole plan thing again.

When I last look at the Merrie Monarch website, it looked like 2016 wasn't there. I will have to go look again.

[hotzcatz]

Yup, it's hard to beat feet on the ground time for settling worries. Even if it's a drive through the area, you'll get a feel for how things are at least in a general sense of things.

Kohala is lovely, but kinda away from things. That can be good or bad depending on how often you need more supplies than you can get from a small grocery, a small hardware and a few touristy boutiques. Check Waimea and Honokaa, too, those are still rural yet a bit easier to get to the big shopping areas of either Hilo or Kailua-Kona. Kailua-Kona is too hot and full of vog these days, IMHO, but the do have the beaches there.

[mauialoha]

I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy.

I think you've said a lot right there grassyknoll So am I and I know that a challenge is usually something you learn from.

My wife and I have bought a condo on Maui and hope to retire and move over in a year or two and I really look forward to the next chapter in our lives.

I think there are some glass half empty guys here (probably Trump supporters )