09-30-2016, 04:24 AM
When I first moved here 30 something years ago, the lack of government "involvement" in Puna was the allure. Having come from a major metropolitan area it was simply glorious to(for example) park my car on the wrong side of the road and fear no ticket. Getting a cop to come out was a crap shoot. Country living on a remote tropical island with almost no interference, you took care of your own problems. The rare sightings of a building inspector were the only government officials to be seen in Puna.
The down side is that territorial marijuana growers completely exploited the situation and some were dangerous. Definitely a concern but mostly easy to navigate around them. This was still a true paradise IMO.
Unfortunately that critical population line has been crossed. Too many people renders the lack of government presence or concern no longer desirable. Many on handouts and the other group being those who want to live as though it's a major metropolis out here in the middle of nowhere. Then there are all the Micronesians and Filipino nationals who seem to live in their own large bubbles refusing to interact with the rest of us??? I've never seen so many dead pan facial expressions.
It's still heavenly here but the new conglomerated "culture" if you can call it that is definitely a challenge. If restaurants are indicators then we have a very bland and boring population with low quality ingredients.
The down side is that territorial marijuana growers completely exploited the situation and some were dangerous. Definitely a concern but mostly easy to navigate around them. This was still a true paradise IMO.
Unfortunately that critical population line has been crossed. Too many people renders the lack of government presence or concern no longer desirable. Many on handouts and the other group being those who want to live as though it's a major metropolis out here in the middle of nowhere. Then there are all the Micronesians and Filipino nationals who seem to live in their own large bubbles refusing to interact with the rest of us??? I've never seen so many dead pan facial expressions.
It's still heavenly here but the new conglomerated "culture" if you can call it that is definitely a challenge. If restaurants are indicators then we have a very bland and boring population with low quality ingredients.