01-18-2008, 01:03 PM
HPP. Don't live there but I own there. That won't stop me from expressing an opinion. The appeal of HPP is that it is Lava Zone 3 (theoretically less lava-prone than zones 1 and 2, and insurance is less expensive and more available) and it is closer to Hilo.
When I describe it to people here, in Southern California, I say it is a subdivision in name only. It is a vast, primitive conglomeration of one acre and 1/2 acre lots (occasionally less) full of different climatic zones and sublocations, and homes that range from shacks to resorts. Realtor John Dirgo said something worth remembering on this forum (I paraphrse): Get to know not just your neighbors, but the neighbors a few blocks away, too (noise issues). By and large, people who buy or rent there are seeking the same thing: a peaceful home in Paradise. The crime rate is actually pretty low, but larceny is big problem throughout Puna, including, and perhaps especially, HPP. Leave a lawnmower out....and kiss it goodbye unless your property is fenced and guarded by vicious dogs. These are roving mauraders. They are not dangerous. Just larcenous. And the police drive their own cars, with little strap on blue lights, and they will not come when you call. They aren't paid enough to actually respond.
That said, I have never spent anything but a beautiful, quiet night there. It is not perfect, but as Grace Jones said, it's perfect for me. In Puna, the primitive is the pull. It is also the downside. Two sides of the same coin. You can find an incredible place in HPP and bargains abound.
For me, the closer you get to the ocean, the better, because it is drier and, well, you know you can see the damn thing. Insurance rates are higher. As for walking, I think the side streets are actually pretty walkable, although as noted above, there is an issue of loose dogs. This is an issue throughout Hawaii by the way. The perpetrators do not see dogs as potentially deadly instrumentalities. If there were two things I could "fix" in Hawaii with a wave of a wand it would be this: 1) the larceny (get your own, or I will share with you if you ask!) and 2) the mistreatment of animals.
The other thing I would fix is the nonsensical notion that you should not come to the islands to change bad things. Gotta leave 'em the way they are or you are a cultural interloper (that's supposed to be a bad thing). Anyway, HPP is a confused, completely unmanaged rural Hawaiian/Haole hodge podge of misfits, Federal witness program participants, lower, middle class, and upper middle class families and loose dogs and larcenous visitors.
I hear Leilani is nicer, but up there, the grounds smells like sulfur, as if George Bush himself had just visited!
When I describe it to people here, in Southern California, I say it is a subdivision in name only. It is a vast, primitive conglomeration of one acre and 1/2 acre lots (occasionally less) full of different climatic zones and sublocations, and homes that range from shacks to resorts. Realtor John Dirgo said something worth remembering on this forum (I paraphrse): Get to know not just your neighbors, but the neighbors a few blocks away, too (noise issues). By and large, people who buy or rent there are seeking the same thing: a peaceful home in Paradise. The crime rate is actually pretty low, but larceny is big problem throughout Puna, including, and perhaps especially, HPP. Leave a lawnmower out....and kiss it goodbye unless your property is fenced and guarded by vicious dogs. These are roving mauraders. They are not dangerous. Just larcenous. And the police drive their own cars, with little strap on blue lights, and they will not come when you call. They aren't paid enough to actually respond.
That said, I have never spent anything but a beautiful, quiet night there. It is not perfect, but as Grace Jones said, it's perfect for me. In Puna, the primitive is the pull. It is also the downside. Two sides of the same coin. You can find an incredible place in HPP and bargains abound.
For me, the closer you get to the ocean, the better, because it is drier and, well, you know you can see the damn thing. Insurance rates are higher. As for walking, I think the side streets are actually pretty walkable, although as noted above, there is an issue of loose dogs. This is an issue throughout Hawaii by the way. The perpetrators do not see dogs as potentially deadly instrumentalities. If there were two things I could "fix" in Hawaii with a wave of a wand it would be this: 1) the larceny (get your own, or I will share with you if you ask!) and 2) the mistreatment of animals.
The other thing I would fix is the nonsensical notion that you should not come to the islands to change bad things. Gotta leave 'em the way they are or you are a cultural interloper (that's supposed to be a bad thing). Anyway, HPP is a confused, completely unmanaged rural Hawaiian/Haole hodge podge of misfits, Federal witness program participants, lower, middle class, and upper middle class families and loose dogs and larcenous visitors.
I hear Leilani is nicer, but up there, the grounds smells like sulfur, as if George Bush himself had just visited!