Bring almost nothing when you move

[unknownjulie]

Yes, books will be ruined. PHotos will stick together. I think the best plan is to rent a very small space and then you wont be tempted to bring stuff with you. I live with 3 kids in 800 sq feet and love it. I can clean the whole place easily. A covered lanai and storage room off of the carport, and you are good to go. You just have to always leave windows open for the breezes. IT's a different lifestyle. If you want to keep lots of books, you'll really have to move over to the Kona side. I do know someone who hid some tools in their car when they shipped it. And I also would recommend bringing the winter clothes for the kids. They might want to go up the volcano to play in the snow and you wont be able to buy the stuff here easily. IT is also pretty cold here often (IMO). I wear 3 layers regularly.

[sputnut]

FIRST POST! Been reading this forum a few weeks and I must say I have learned a lot here. Thanks!
We are looking seriously into moving to the Puna area and I have done quite a bit of research. The mold thing does worry me, though. It's really that bad? how does the moisture problem affect electronics?
We live in central Illinois now, but will be moving this year if all goes well.
It seems as if Orchidland is the best area for what we are looking for. Nice size lots, most with things like electricity and phone / internet and what seem to be some of the best roads of the private subdivisions. Am I wrong in that? (there is only so much you can tell on the internet but "driving" the google car helps)
Some other areas I like are Hawaiian Beaches, no catchment but the lots are small.
Leilani estates? Nah. (Not sure why they put a subdivision in lava zone 1)I have no desire to be awakened by a volcano spouting in my living room with no warning. Lava slowly approaching is ok, though.
Hawaiian acres seems ok near the highway but the roads quickly turn into rugged terrain about a mile in. Fern acres, maybe, but what is the elevation there? We're moving to get away from cold.
And the vog... I read it's not too bad south of keaau, true? ( so many questions..) And where can one stay for a couple months until they get a house without running out of money paying for it? Vacation rentals are EXPENSIVE and everywhere else wants a lease.
I already figured out the trick with the one rate boxes, seems the best way, and that tools were cheaper to ship than re-buy, too.
I guess I will stop now before I wear out my welcome before I even arrive!

comin' your way soon!

[csgray]

We have had issues with electronics, mostly with the fans for our laptops. The tech people who do our repairs say they replace way more fans from Hawaii than anywhere else. It seems to be a worse problem the closer you are to the ocean. I know people who have had issues with their TVs too.

I will always buy whatever extended warranties are available for electronics or appliances here. The repair costs on just one item can pay for your warranty for everything. On the mainland we never bothered with buying the extended warranty, but here it is a worthwhile investment.

We lived in Orchidland when we first lived here, and couldn't wait to move, it may not get the most inches of rain but it gets the most minutes of rain, in the form of a non stop misty drizzle. Coming from the Pacific Northwest we were used to gray rainy days, but even so it was depressing. Rent first, buy later. It is way easier to move to a different place if you pick wrong and are a renter.

Carol

[unknownjulie]

Aloha and welcome! I like Orchidland. I also like Fern Acres. Fern Acres has all paved roads and they are not bad. They also have bus service. It is just slightly cooler up there- in my estimation. I think all of the lots are spagetti lots, and in Orchidland you can find mostly square ones. I bought in Orchidland because I did not know where the lot was and thought it was right off a paved road! When I actually had the land surveyed I found out, that it was actually down a dirtroad, but it's still a nice lot, and it was a killer deal. Anyhow, HA has really bad roads! And that's someone who has driven them for hours and has driven on other dirt roads in the area. Also, HA has less invasives and so the sound travels through the jungle more (IMO). I actually like some groves of strawberry guava because it is like bamboo and buffers sound. HPP is nice also, but is starting to get builtup and when I drove through there a bunch, I realized that an acre isnt really that large. There is some bill making it's way through congress that will give some money to private HOA's to improve roads but nothing happens here fast, so dont buy with the assumption of that!

[dayna]

Carol, how funny! We are in OrchidLand and also from the Pacific Northwest (se alaska and before that Portland) and are amazed at how much less drizzle we have here! hahaha!

Dayna

www.E-Z-Caps.com

[unknownjulie]

About mold. Yes, I do have green mildew on all of my leather shoes and I keep the windows open with breezes at all times. Also, all of my photos are stuck together. Electronics have faired better, and so far it doesnt seem to be a big deal but rust is everywhere. OUr rental has a stove that is 3 yrs old and it's even getting rust in places on the oven door, and that's with that heavy duty shellac that's on appliances.

[csgray]

Dayna,
It may just be that we were in one of those micro climates, but I was working in Kurtistown and it would be drizzling in Orchidland when I left and I would hit sun as I drove through Hawaiian Acres, get on and off showers and sun all day in Kurtistown, and drive home to drizzle. My husband would report it had drizzled all day while I saw lots of sun higher up the mountain. I really liked HA but my husband refuses to live someplace where you just have to have a PU truck. We are on a dead end half way up HPP and really like it, but we can hear neighbor noises from the streets below and above us pretty clearly, on the other hand we also hear the big waves at night in the winter.

Carol

[PaulW]

Sputnik, be sure to consider HPP too, it has the highest population in Puna for a reason. Orchidland is way too wet for me.
Not many problems with electronics but extended warranty is a very good idea.

[sputnut]

WOW!! This is an active community! Thanks for all the answers. The only problems I see with HPP is 1. it seems crowded with only one acre lots and 2. the vegetation there seems sparse and unhealthy, especially nearer the ocean, is it that much drier down there? I wish Hawaiian beaches had 1-2 acre lots, as they have water service and are in a drier area, too. Here in Illinois we had a really wet summer a couple years ago and we even had mold fingerprints on clothes in the closet! Everywhere you touched them mold would grow.
With your rates there, what is an average electric bill?

comin' your way soon!

[unknownjulie]

As for vegetation in HPP, alot of people have "pin-to-pin" cleared their lots. This is what I am trying to avoid doing in Ochidland and it is easier said than done. In order to get a cesspool dug you have to have a decent road onto your property and this usually requires a bulldozer. Then, you get a bulldozer moving soil around and a lot of the native Ohia can be killed. It's actually pretty tricky. Also, you cant even walk out onto your land and see what's there if it's jungle and that's why I thought the cardboard box idea (see other "cheapskate land clearing thread" was a great idea and worked well. As for rain, well, I suppose it might rain more in Orchidland but honestly, the entire area gets a lot of rain. NOt sure it's so significant, but I dont know the actual stats. The salt spray near the ocean is also hard on plants. When the lots are cleared, then 1 acre does seem fairly small to me. That's also why I like Orchidland. There has been less clearing and larger lots. Roads in HPP are much better overall than ORchidland but everywhere, they are slowly improving. I think HPP has higher HOA dues also. OK, as for electric, I only run the hotwater heater about an hour a day in the winter and about a half hour per day in the summer. For a family of 4, and an 800 sq foot house, my bill is usually around 100 per month on average year round, but I am very energy concious overall.