Moving this Year-Hilo Vs. Kona

[lluberesm]

Aloha Jdirgo,

I am sure it is and I hope to make it my home soon.

Mahalo



Lenny LLuberesm
lluberesm@optonline.net

[lluberesm]

Thank you Allen for your input I appreciate it. Although I am not sure what you mean by "converting"?



Lenny LLuberesm
lluberesm@optonline.net

[allensylves]

Lenny,
What I mean is that some people come from California or other places to 'get away from it all' but then try to change everything that is different to what they are used to. That defeats the whole purpose of moving to Hawaii! There are annoyances with things happening on 'Island time', etc., but I am used to 'Thai people time' so I do not worry about it. Reportedly Konaside is being 'converted', traffic jams and all, and that is what most of those of us that like Hiloside want to avoid.

Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP

[Carolann R]

WOW! What a HOT topic this is! I haven't seen the hair on the backs of the forums rise for a while! Konawebbers doin' the same over there! Lenny - you should know right off that this is a subject that gets people going! Kona and East Side famous for spitting nasties at each other. I'm not saying there no foundation for the spats, and certainly there's EMOTION to go on forever, but it's been goin' on a while - and looks like it always will. After the heat dies down it makes me giggle 'cause it's still the same as before. Hilo - local; not touristy; laid back...Kona - costly; much tourism; faster pace.

Enjoy the fireworks!!!

Carrie

[lluberesm]

Thank you so much for clearing that up for me Allen. I really understand where you are coming from and believe me that is the sort of thing that turns me off about a lot of the people on this side of the country. It is also exactly what I want and need to get away from. The purpose of my research is to know how I can integrate my family into the lifestyle in Hawaii and not the other way around. I move with only the best of intentions and intend to live as Hawaii lives because that is what I am looking for and need.

Mahalo,

Lenny

Lenny LLuberesm
lluberesm@optonline.net

[Howard]

We have visited Kona three times over the last seven years, and lived in Puna for three months last winter before returning to Philadelphia, where we have lived for many years. Thus our perspective is somewhat different from the many people on this board who are actually living in Puna fulltime or in the process of moving there.

We found Kona to be a pleasant please to visit, with plenty of facilities aimed at tourists and plenty of tourists there to enjoy them. As far as living there, however, we were reminded of Gertrude Stein's description of Oakland: "There is no there there." It just didn't seem to us to be a place where we could live and feel at home.

Puna, on the other hand was wonderful. We especially liked the many people we met, who were warm and friendly to newcomers in a way that big-city people like us could hardly imagine. We liked the environment, the warm weather all winter, and the casual living that made it possible to enjoy the best restaurants around while dressed in just t-shirts and shorts. Going to the Makuu farmers' market on Sundays quickly became more an eagerly-awaited weekly ritual than a shopping trip. As for nearby Hilo, we both found it to be a wonderful place to be, even if neither of us could ever really explain exactly what it was that made us feel that way about it.

Since we both enjoyed Hilo and Puna so much, the obvious question is why we did not choose to move there permanently. For us, there were two key issues that could not be surmounted.

The first is health care. There have been plenty of comments on this board, and articles in the Honolulu and Hilo newspapers, about the limited availability of health care on the Big Island, and specifically in Puna. Someone who is in good health on arrival may feel that it is worth the risk, and if something goes wrong in the future it can be dealt with then. For someone such as my wife, who already has underlying potentially serious (even though currently well-controlled) health problems, the risk is much greater, and we did not want to be so far from the level of medical care to which we are accustomed here.

The second issue is family. We have grown children and grandchildren scattered across the east coast, from New England to North Carolina, and that is obviously very far from Puna. We could not see them as much as we wanted, and they could not visit us as often, if we lived some 7000 miles away. We have a granddaughter in Manhattan who will be six years old next month; the time we spent in Puna was the only time in her life that we have gone more than six weeks without seeing her. In the two months since our return to Philadelphia, she has already been here twice, once for a three-day weekend. That is a lot to give up.

If you want to live in Hawaii, and you are healthy, and do not have close ties to too many people too far away, by all means make the move. Under different circumstances, we would be there to greet you when you arrived.

Howard

[lluberesm]

Wow, what a wonderful perspective on my concerns. I really feel what everyone has had to say but something about the way you worded it really hit home. You couldn't be any more right and I appreciate all you have said. I thank my new Puna friend for directing me to this forum and allowing me the opportunity to meet such well and intelligent group. Thank you akoniv!

Mahalo to all!



Lenny LLuberesm
lluberesm@optonline.net

[Robin C]

Lenny.

I'm glad that both forums have provided so much information so quickly.
Keep coming back.
The forum members are a wealth of knowledge.

Robin

[Carolann R]

Howard! So good to see a post from you. Has it been two months ALREADY? Seems like you just left 3 weeks ago. My mother has several medical issues that she is doing well at keeping under control. We will be moving to Puna, however. We are doing our best to check out the medical situation there in Hilo so she can have a regular doctor and her monthly check-ups. She is on Medicare. We were talking to a friend who lived east side and said he actually missed the medical attention he got in Hilo once he moved back to the mainland. I guess I need to do more research in this area!

However, you are in our hearts and minds...glad to hear you're enjoying the little ones - they grow like Albezia trees!!

Mahalo Nui Loa!

Carrie Rojo

P.S. - Tony and I will be perusing the district to find a comfortable, if humble home to live in - our house hopefully on the market this month. Inch by inch we creep closer to our dream.

[lluberesm]

Aloha Robin,

I realize now that you can not go just by what a couple of people might have to say. The research must really be done and it must be done in depth. I am following not only the advice of all you lovely, intelligent and extremely open minded people but also my heart and instincts. I will ofcores check out the neighborhoods but my move is definitely going to be to the Hilo, Puna, and Volcano side of the island like I originally wanted. I will be there at the end of this month with my family for a visit and will try and make the best of my researching days. Maybe someday I can have some of you over for dinner in my new home in Hawaii! I give great casual and fun get together, full of laughter and amazing conversation. I am a great cook if I do say so myself. :-)

Thank you all so much for all your insight. It has been amazing and eye-opening. Believe it or not I feel here what I felt in Hawaii when I visited several years ago. It is a different type of warmth. Real warmth. The kind that comes with assertiveness when speaking your mind but with no intent to judge of misguide, just speaking the truth. I believe that is what being real is all about and I can not wait to be surrounded and emerged in a culture that values those qualities. It’s what life is all about.

Last question Promise! How is the flooding situation on that side of the island? My husband’s friend was there for several weeks in February working and he said it rained the entire time he was there. He said the flooding was incredible and that the sewers and cesspools were overflowing? Is it a common problem? Where can I buy to avoid that if it is even possible? Also what is your view on buying vs. building? I am an advocate for conserving land, but would also like to do what makes the most sense to my family and I, when it comes to the comfort and financial aspects.

Lenny LLuberesm
lluberesm@optonline.net