Oahu areas combining public schools, better home purchases, least amount of rain opportunities (Honolulu: for sale)

[ystasino]

It seems that the Hawaii Kai area brings together the best elementary-to-high public school system on Oahu, offer slightly bigger homes for the prices, and have the least amount of rain and wind.

Would people here agree that for someone working in Town the Hawaii Kai would be the best place to buy a home.

I guess the traffic isn't planned to improve on that side of the island, but nothing is perfect.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by ystasino

It seems that the Hawaii Kai area brings together the best elementary-to-high public school system on Oahu, offer slightly bigger homes for the prices, and have the least amount of rain and wind.

Would people here agree that for someone working in Town the Hawaii Kai would be the best place to buy a home.

"offer slightly bigger homes for the prices" Compared to where? As of today, 7/23 - median sq ft price of houses for sale in 96825 (Hawaii Kai) is $463 vs. 96734 (Kailua) which is $474 so not much of a difference. Bang for the buck is really Kapolei, at $332/sq ft.

"and have the least amount of rain and wind." Hawaii Kai gets a fair amount of rain - according to NOAA, the Hawaii Kai Golf Course has received over 15 inches of rain since Jan 1. Compare that to the Honolulu Airport which has received about 12 inches. Depends on where in Hawaii Kai. I used to live in Hahaione Valley, and you'd get a fair amount of rain.

As far as wind goes, that really depends on the house - the ridge houses (up on the hills), can get a lot of wind. Depends on where in Hawaii Kai.

With that said, if you can afford it, Hawaii Kai is a great place to live - but it definitely is a pricier area of the Honolulu County.

[pj737]

Originally Posted by ystasino

It seems that the Hawaii Kai area brings together the best elementary-to-high public school system on Oahu, offer slightly bigger homes for the prices, and have the least amount of rain and wind.

Would people here agree that for someone working in Town the Hawaii Kai would be the best place to buy a home.

I guess the traffic isn't planned to improve on that side of the island, but nothing is perfect.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

If you want dry, want the best bang for your buck (square footage wise) don't mind a long commute and want to live in Hawaii Kai, I suggest you move to Kalama Valley. It's literally a desert. When we get Kona winds, the vog out there can get pretty bad though. It's also a long trek into town but houses out there are the most affordable in East Honolulu. Kalama Valley will get you into Kamiloiki Elementary, Niu Valley Middle and Kaiser High. All top performing public schools.

With the exception of deep into Hahaione Valley as viper mentioned (where I also lived at one point), Hawaii Kai is very dry. It's not dry like Kapolei or Ewa but compared to other areas of Oahu, it's one of the driest communities.

[whtviper1]

You have to be really careful about buying a home in Kalama Valley - when I was looking at homes there I thought I was in a fun house in most of them - many are still settling and a lot of uneven floors. Also a pain to get to grocery stores.