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Hello everyone! I'm new here, and finding the forum very helpful!
My husband and I will be moving to Oahu in January for his job (we're moving from Ohio - and winter is the perfect time to be leaving).
At the moment I am having a terribly hard time deciding on which part of the island to look for a place to rent. I have found some great places in the Kapolei area, but I am worried about the commute for my husband to work at Hickam AFB.
Someone told me that commuting from the Kaneohe area is less of a hassle than the Kapolei area. Any thoughts on that?
Which "side" or area of the island should we look at for the most resonable commute to Hickam?
We aren't all that interested in living in Honolulu (we're not really big city people) and Kaneohe looks to be more our speed, but is the commute worse from there? Better? About the same?
Any advice or opinions would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
P.S. - and my appologies if this is discussed someplace else. I did a search but didn't really find anything... If this discussion is out there somewhere please just point me in the right direction.
Hello everyone! I'm new here, and finding the forum very helpful!...
...I am worried about the commute for my husband to work at Hickam AFB.
Someone told me that commuting from the Kaneohe area is less of a hassle than the Kapolei area. Any thoughts on that?
Which "side" or area of the island should we look at for the most resonable commute to Hickam?
We aren't all that interested in living in Honolulu (we're not really big city people) and Kaneohe looks to be more our speed, but is the commute worse from there? Better? About the same?
Sorry to report, but the commute from anywhere to anywhere on Oahu is absolutely horrible ... one of the VERY WORST you can experience anywhere in the U.S. The commute from Kaneohe to Hickam Sucks, in a word. And, nice as Kaneohe is, I suspect you think of it as a nice quiet suburban community in the sense of mainland suburbs. Uh, not. Most all of Oahu, the entire island (except for the ag areas toward the north shore) functions pretty nearly as one big city.
Good news? Hmmm... try:
1. High gas prices will be forcing more residents into smaller and more efficient cars and scooters. That may alleviate traffic slightly?
2. Drivers are fairly nice on the whole (part of the reason traffic moves slowly )
3. Hickam itself is one of the loveliest spots on Oahu ... the favorite spot of mine (along with Bellows Field) ... quiet and green and pretty with nice pathways and a great little family beach ... would consider going back into 30 years more of military if I could be stationed — and billeted — there the whole time
Enjoy ... but traffic could not be more dismal pretty much EVERYWHERE on Oahu
At the moment I am having a terribly hard time deciding on which part of the island to look for a place to rent. I have found some great places in the Kapolei area, but I am worried about the commute for my husband to work at Hickam AFB.
Someone told me that commuting from the Kaneohe area is less of a hassle than the Kapolei area. Any thoughts on that?
Which "side" or area of the island should we look at for the most resonable commute to Hickam?
I seriosly differ with Nullgeo.
The commute from Kaneohe or from Kailua to Hickam will be MUCH better than from Kapolei.
I live in Kailua, and I know. You would take the H3 freeway to connect to the H1 near the stadium, and then about two miles on H1. The only slow traffic on that whole trip will be the H1 portion. The H3 portion speeds will be 55-65 all the way. The commute time from my house in Kailua is just about thirty minutes, any time of day. H3 practically never slows down.
The commute from Kaneohe or from Kailua to Hickam will be MUCH better than from Kapolei.
I live in Kailua, and I know. You would take the H3 freeway to connect to the H1 near the stadium, and then about two miles on H1. The only slow traffic on that whole trip will be the H1 portion. The H3 portion speeds will be 55-65 all the way. The commute time from my house in Kailua is just about thirty minutes, any time of day. H3 practically never slows down.
Hank
Hank, you are right about the difference of commuting to Hickam from Kaneohe, vs. from Kapolei ... in fact, from Kapolei is 3x worse. However, I stand by my opinion of commuting anywhere on Oahu in general ... and I think that your 30 minutes estimate is pretty generous during typical commuting times. Also, that trip from Kaneohe is 15 miles ... and in my experience it is often 40 minutes + ... which for 15 miles of freeway Sucks.
Then again, I hate ALL traffic, so I am terribly hard to please. I now live on a 10 sq. mile island near the Canadian border in Puget Sound Washington. We have 1000 people living and sharing a little ferry on this speck of dirt and I can't even tolerate the several dozen cars a day that go by my place. When I had to travel Nimitz daily on Oahu, to and from Hickam, I thought I'd shoot myself. When I went to Windward to escape for the day at Bellows and north I muttered obscenities except for the actual freeway stretch near the tunnels, as you describe. Either end of that, especially once in Honolulu, was torture.
Where? I'd be reasonably comfortable with a scooter on the neighbor isles, and okay (maybe?) in Honolulu, but not from an outer area of Oahu riding into Honolulu. (And many roads here have minimum speeds posted, which effectively prohibit most scooters.)
Where? I'd be reasonably comfortable with a scooter on the neighbor isles, and okay (maybe?) in Honolulu, but not from an outer area of Oahu riding into Honolulu. (And many roads here have minimum speeds posted, which effectively prohibit most scooters.)
Guess I'd second that notion ... yes, there are scooters all around Hawaii ... my wife always wanted one when we lived there. It depends on how much you value your life. Hawaii drivers are fairly easy going in general ... but you gotta factor in that there are always a hundred thousand or more tourists driving around without being familiar with where they are going ... or how to read the signs even, in many cases
Thanks for the input everyone! I know that we will have a commute no matter where we live, I am just trying to pick the commute with the least amount of hassle. I think I would rather drive for 30 min and actually get somewhere then spend 30-45 min sitting in traffic. Good to know - and I am always open to more opinions. Thanks again!
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