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I lived in Discovery Harbor for 6 months around the time the vent opened.
The VOG is worse than you think. You can test the effects by breathing on a voggy day. Or trying to see the ocean.
DH is a snowbird community; kind of empty during the summer, busy in the winter.
It's a really long way to shopping if you need something. The grocery that was there wasn't very good, and had high prices. (That was before Malama market opened in HOVE.) You think it's not a big deal, but wait until there's something you need. Of course, Amazon offers a lot more variety now than when I lived there. Did anybody mention that Amazon takes weeks to ship here?
The Ace Hardware was great (they even had black sewing thread when I needed it!)
More rain than Kona, less than Hilo.
You'd have to check, but I think you can't get Kaiser medical coverage there (they don't cover the entire island). Don't know about HMSA or private docs.
There is a hospital in Pahala, but it's really emergency care and send 'em off to Hilo or Kona.
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I almost moved to Pahala with my kids after a divorce years ago. I was actually looking at a (then very cheap) house. I was going to just ditch the whole mainland, corporate thing.
Got to talking to the home inspector. He had brought his kids to Hawaii, like I was planning to. Said it was the biggest mistake he ever made. Both of them had major problems growing up due to cultural issues, and were both back on the mainland and not doing so well due to the challenging school environment here.
So I let my kids grow up, put them through college, then I moved to Hawaii. They love to visit. but they do not want to live here.
Your experience may be different from mine.
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You can't fix Samsara.
Posts: 364
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This is a really good blog about someone who used to live on the mainland and is now farming/homesteading near South Point. Probably has a lot of answers and information you are looking for.
http://kaufarmer.blogspot.com
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Joined: Apr 2012
The vog can be very difficult for some people - if there is any tendency in the family toward asthma, then you
do not want to live in Ka'u. Although not extensively reported on, the vog also affected farm animals (cows, horses, goats) as well as people. Apparently the added sulfate that accumulated on the pastures caused nutritional problems for the grazers and there was enough fluoride (initially) that some showed clear signs of fluorosis. The intensity of the vog is not as bad as it was when the summit vent first opened up, but you should still give serious re-consideration to trying to farm and ranch there. This is a web-link to a vog plume dispersion map:
http://weather.hawaii.edu/vmap/. It will show you how the vog is expected to affect the Ka'u community based on local weather. You should understand that the vog won't go away until the current vent shuts down or the current eruption shuts off - we're approaching 34 years and counting on the latter...
I would also take very seriously the comments about your children - the social environment here is very different from that on the mainland. To say that they would have a difficult time adjusting is a gross understatement. For that reason alone, I would rethink your plans for relocating to Ka'u.
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Hawi - N.Kohala may be a better fit for you and your ohana.
Live here and rent 1st a year or two prior to actually buying
your dream acreage / farm / home .
Almost no vog in N.Kohala / Hawi areas.Deep soil less rain.Better schools .
Never ever just buy site unseen.
Pahala to O.V. very bad Vog, crime , schools sub par - lacks services .
This year first time in over a decade not a drought but the VOG will get you and the young lungs.
Rent 1st- a minimum one to two years- explore each area to it's fullest potential prior to the ideal farm you with to create.
Mrs.Mimosa
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JMHO, but the only "leg up" that corner of the island has is that's it's the cheapest real estate. Probably all lava zone 1. Little soil, little rain, not an AG paradise.
You can spend just a little bit more $ and get much better AG results in Puna.
You talked of livestock. The lack of rain and vegetation down there WILL make it easier to deal with hooves and parasites. On the other hand, you'll be paying $50 for a $3 bale of hay (prices on mainland vary $3-$20), AND you'll be driving 4 hours round trip to fetch it. If you're chasing the cheaper real estate, I can almost guarantee its incapable of supporting livestock, so you'll have to dry lot livestock with barged / trucked / purchased foods and you will find out it's cheaper to drive four hours round trip to hit up the nearest drive-through than growing your own food.
On the other hand, you can nearly self-sustain in Puna on a much smaller lot size for a similar purchase price if you're willing to work hard.
