We are here!

[BradW]

Kathy, let's go out.

[PaulW]

"You, and Paul, and some others on punaweb, miss the point."

Please, I'm a bit slow, tell me what the "point" is.

Is it: if you buy a cheap house in a cheap neighborhood you may end up with less than salubrious neighbours? Why not just move to a better neighborhood?

[Midnight Rambler]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BradW

You, and Paul, and some others on punaweb, miss the point. Some places in Puna are ugly. I know, I know, so can anywhere else be. But I don't live in those places because I don't like the odds.

---

Funny that you say this now, because people have said exactly this to you repeatedly, and yet you keep coming back to Punaweb to tell us that all of Hawaii is $#!*, and what fools we are for living here.

[Hunt Stoddard]

Both BradW and ericlp have points.

As John Milton wrote: “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven...”

If what ericlp means is that a person is ultimately in control of how they perceive their own reality, then I agree. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean you can change reality, but other people will react to either your positive or negative attitude, so in a way you actually can change your reality with attitude. One caveat is that this won't always work. Sometimes a horrible neighbor is going to remain a horrible neighbor, no matter how you interact with them.

On the flip side, BradW is correct that if your surroundings suck, and you don't want to go through life in a transcendent meditative state in order to overcome it, then you shouldn't be required to do so. You should just admit that your situation is one that dissatisfies you and not waste more time in denial.

[MarkP]

I myself just sort of wound up here, which for me is Eden Roc, which frankly has a bad reputation. I didn't shop around at all, I just made a snap decision because a good friend bought the property next door. I thought "How bad can it be?" Well, the unhappy and unfriendly neighbors next door made it sort of bad but I must admit they could have made it much worse. Then my friend sold his property and I thought "Well this really sucks!" Then the people who bought the property put up a very nice house and I thanked my lucky stars. Mainly at this point I am embarrassed that I didn't pick someplace more upscale, with some soil and a view and without the bad rep, with more sun and less rain. I am frankly a little embarrassed that I still like the place so much after the scales have more or less fallen from my eyes. There is stuff not to like but I guess I just don't know any better.

I don't think that it is all about attitude. It is what it is. In most cases it is not as bad as BradW makes it out to be but many of the negatives mentioned here are real. I often think that maybe I should have stayed back on the mainland and ponder on the foolishness of youth that made me leave just to be somewhere else. On the other hand there are some serious issues I am dealing with that color my view on life that I have not mentioned so it would be inaccurate to lay this all on the cost of living, etc. I frankly know some great people here that I can't imagine leaving but then again I would probably have made those friendships wherever I wound up. Meanwhile, I seem to love a lost cause and so my cup runneth over. There are coquis to battle, slugs to kill, and strawberry guava to cut down. There is the challenge of making soil on my very own patch of almost barren lava and of trying to grow something, anything really, edible. My banana trees are only about a year old and they are frankly going bananas. They are growing by leaps and bounds. Some of my chestnut trees are still alive. There is compost to make. As long as I don't lift my eyes too high I seem to have a pretty good time. I know this wouldn't appeal to everyone though.

[BradW]

Not sure I bought a cheap house in a cheap neighborhood, I'll have to remember to ask my friends who still live there and own their homes, and see what they think.

Simply did not ever make any reference to all of Hawaii. "Me thinks thou doest protest too much". WSS

[maud gonne]

I understand BradW's point 100% I am lucky thus far to have good neighbors on all sides, and I cultivate those relationships, I put a lot of energy into them. But I also realize things could change drastically and quickly, if new neighbors moved in. There have been a few times when I have heard domestic screaming and super loud metal music, and I get a glimmer of how bad it could get - through NO FAULT OF MY OWN. It has nothing to do (in my case) with not doing my "homework" before buying, although if money was not a factor in purchasing a property it's possible I might have bought a larger more "upscale" estate where neighbors would be so far away as to be irrelevant. Other than money limitations, good vs bad neighbors has everything to do with luck. I'm lucky at the moment. Brad became unlucky, as many of us could, with bad neighbors. And he did what many of us would do in that situation if we could, i.e., we would move (not always an option, but a wise choice).

[PaulW]

"Simply did not ever make any reference to all of Hawaii."

Ever? Any?

"Hawaii is it's [sic] own worst enemy."

"I would have been better off in many ways to have skipped the whole living in Hawaii life"

"'Managed, controlled by peer pressure', is what Hawaii was to me"

[pslamont]

It is sad to hear all this discontent. I must admit we "fell" into our place. We are in Upper Puna 8 miles or so from Volcano. We found 30 acres of land, all in deep soil. Most of the properties here are owned by families that have had them for generations so there is a sense of belonging. Neighbors are quiet and friendly for the most part. We had one that wrecked havoc on us especially but really the entire road (N. Glenwood) but he ran from police and is hiding out in Maui. One or two bad years because of him out of our seven. Now all is warm and fuzzy. We couldn't have made a better decision than to get out of the rat race of So.California and learn a new way of life.

Oh, and if anyone needs dirt, contact me. We have a tractor with a bucket to load it right into your truck. It is heavy clay but if you know what to do with it (I can show you vis a vis our garden) it is rich in nutrient and things grow wonderfully. You just need to help a bit with a shovel . We screen it before putting it in the garden and it is delightful.

E Komo Mai to you all. Live Hawaiian; Share what you have in Abundance. The true Hawaiian's have been warm and welcoming, teaching us about the culture so we can fit in comfortably. It is very hard when neighbors are just not kind and respectful. Every neighborhood is a micro climate both literally and socially. Choose carefully and you too can find happiness here in the Pacific.

Gosh, I must have taken a happy pill! LOL. Pam

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[BradW]

Well Paul, you're certainly fixated on me, don't know whether to be flattered or spooked. Have to say your attention is actually pretty icky. You've taken my thoughts and posts out of context, and I think on at least some level you know it. I used to suggest that you consider therapy, but perhaps anger management would be more appropriate. Aloha.