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We are on 23rd in HPP near Kalili. Stuff grows very well here. It is wetter than my daughters place on 3rd and Makuu, but our catchment tank stays full. The weather is good enough for me to use a motorcycle or scooter a lot and save gas money. Being closer to the highway makes a run to Hilo a lot quicker than the above mentioned 3rd and Makuu. Hilo is 15 minutes away. I'm retired but get into Hilo a lot as I belong to Aloha Fitness.
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Jon in Keaau/HPP
Posts: 246
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Joined: Feb 2012
My daughter has to drive close to 2 hrs one way for her job in Oregon. I have a 15 - 20 minute drive into town which I consider as nothing but folks who live in town exclaim it is too far!! lol
HPP areas are very convenient plus the lots have a rural feel. We liked that we had choices there, go to Pahoa or Keaau for dinner or a little longer drive to Hilo. Leilani really didn't feel like too much further down the road from Pahoa. Getting back from Hilo area there was a bottle neck area where the highway changed from 4 lane to 2 lane. An alternating green light between the two merging lanes seems as though it would help make that transition quicker for traffic movement.
I think we will be thrilled to be in most of the Puna areas other than those that are congested housing such as Ainaloa or Nanawale. We prefer a little room around us and more privacy.
Any weigh in on Mountain View and Kurtistown areas? It seemed to have VOG the first time we snooped around that area and was drizzly rain. Is that a normal day for that area?
If you were commuting would you rather drive hwy 130 or hwy 11 (until they join of course)?
islandgirl
Posts: 274
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Joined: Jun 2010
Having spent most of my first 40 years in Southern California (including 3 years at one sales job where my market was San Diego border to Ventura) and I've come to realize that "traffic" here and "traffic" there are very different. Once your here for a while the 20/30 minutes to run into Hilo is traffic laden, forgetting all about the 30 minutes it takes to go a few miles in California.
http://www.wedekingphotography.com
Posts: 1,139
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Joined: Feb 2008
The Lamont Ranch is on N. Glenwood and we're (our rental) is off of S. Glenwood. They have more rain and deeper soil than we do. Her hydroponic veggies seem to do well up there along with her livestock (chickens, cows and sheep). If you're not familiar with this area, it's above Mountain View. Some people have their PO Box in Mtn. View while others have theirs in Volcano.
Even though our property is considered to be in the "rain belt", it seems to be dryer than Mountain View. Just a couple of miles up Hwy 11 and in the same subdivision of Fern Forest, it's dryer. Another couple of miles up is Volcano. Unless the wind direction changed, we didn't experience too much VOG. It's interesting with all the micro climates within the same subdivisions. It's been our experience to have more mold down here in Hawaiian Beaches than we did up in Glenwood.
I do really miss living in up in Glenwood where it's serene. If I drove, we wouldn't have moved here to the Beaches. Lots of ammenities here, but it's NOISY.
"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
w. james
"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."
w. james
Posts: 246
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Joined: Feb 2012
rain doesn't bother us too much, we come from a rain belt. We're located in the Tongass National Forest one of the rainiest places and the largest rain forest in North America
we do want to get away from rain some but appreciate a good down pour and the freshness it brings. but we like the sun and want to spend plenty of time in it as well. The rain and lushness it brings is why we are so attracted to Puna rather than Kona side.
I am enjoying hearing about your experiences in the area that you live. The micro climates in such close proximity is interesting, and also one of the things we like - if its raining drive 15 minutes and your out of the rain!
islandgirl
Posts: 2,490
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Joined: Dec 2005
quote:
Originally posted by kani-lehua
Lots of ammenities here, but it's NOISY.
Do you live close to Kahakai Blvd?
Posts: 7,798
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HPP is nice, but we found it was WAY too hot for us. We decided on property near Volcano. It is colder and wetter. Soil ranges from 0-8 inches deep (that we've found, could be deeper elsewhere on the property). Where we planted some things we had to build up planting beds first and it was backbreaking work. I'm sure the commute is going to get old really fast, especially when gas prices go up.
While I agree that Volcano has a nice community, for people who will work in Hilo and don't mind cooler and wetter, there are options above Hilo that no one ever mentions on this forum.
There is both pasture land and rain forest land in Waiakea Uka, some with views of Hilo Bay. It certainly can be wet up there, great place to grow anthuriums and orchids. I looked at property there. Anyway, something to think about rather than a commute on the highway. I looked at lots of property in that area; it is very rural up there, sort of the hidden Hilo.
Posts: 7,798
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Joined: Jun 2011
quote:
Originally posted by KathyH
While I agree that Volcano has a nice community, for people who will work in Hilo and don't mind cooler and wetter, there are options above Hilo that no one ever mentions on this forum.
There is both pasture land and rain forest land in Waiakea Uka, some with views of Hilo Bay. It certainly can be wet up there, great place to grow anthuriums and orchids. I looked at property there. Anyway, something to think about rather than a commute on the highway. I looked at lots of property in that area; it is very rural up there, sort of the hidden Hilo.
I look for places up there all the time (love the area). But either very little for sale or very expensive.
I didn't realize Volcano was that much cheaper.
Kaumana City used to be very affordable. (I wouldn't choose it, but I'm skittish about lava hazard.)
Of course there is nothing in Hilo district as cheap as the cheapest areas of Puna, but there's good reason for that, supply and demand.
I have a memory of an article or long letter to editor I read some years ago, written by a long time Volcano area resident, who was very unhappy with the people who were moving there and commuting. She said it was clogging the roads and that Volcano was proud NOT to be a bedroom community and to have a community of folks who lived and worked in Volcano. That was probably over 7 years ago.
I wonder if there is still a divide over that up there. Jackson? I know a lot of change has come since then.
