Why do you live in the boonies?

[peregrine]

With all the discussions on varying topics related to growth and development, I am wondering what are some of the reasons people have chosen to live on small lots in rural subdivisions on Ag land with few amenities but potential for more development sometime in the future. I can think of a few basic reasons, such as:
1)You wanted to live in the boonies, like it, accept the challenges, and hope development doesn't happen. You bought what you could and hope no one builds on the 1/5 acre lots around you.
2)You thought you wanted to live in the boonies, got out here, and realized you missed the convenience of a more urban life. Now you want services but hope development is very controlled.
3)You bought where your dollar went farther, with the vision that one day it wouldn't be the boonies anymore. You want more development (but maybe through someone else's backyard).

This is a bit over simplified, and I'm sure there are other reasons, but that is why I am asking. I think that knowing our motives is essential to any discussion about the direction of growth and development.

[robguz]

1) Not far off the mark for me.

I want to live somewhere where I can walk or drive for under 5 minutes and be somewhere where there is no sign of development whatsoever, only nature. Where I live is about the only affordable place in Puna with an ocean view and an actual beach. And it just happens to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the state. Other than people building their own homes on the lots they own, or farming more on these ag lots, I'd prefer there be no development, or very low impact development anywhere in the lower Puna triangle. Keeping it all in Pahoa and north is fine with me. Once I leave Pahoa, I fell like I'm in a rural area, it has a completely different feeling, and I love it!

[james weatherford]

4) Wanted to live in a rural community, like it, accept the challenges. Bought where dollar went farther, with the recognition that one day it might change and with the hope that change serves the interest of the community rather than developers and investors somewhere else.

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[John S. Rabi]

I can think of some agencies that might have an interest in me, and please don't watch America's Most Wanted either![][][]

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,PB,ABR,CRB,CM,FHS
808.327.3185
johnrabi@johnrabi.com
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"

[csgray]

I grew up mostly in a rural area and like the lifestyle. I also wanted to be able to emulate my mother who is almost 90 and to this day grows ALL her own fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes for all her own sauce and paste. We couldn't afford 20 acres, but with a 12 month growing season you can sure grow a lot of food on an acre.

We are on a fairly built out street in HPP, we already have neighbors next to, behind, across from and diagonally across and behind us, I can see or hear 10 to 12 households from our lot, so we didn't have expectations that we were moving into the wilderness. I actually really wish someone would develop the jungle lot diagonally behind us, once the albezia are gone we will have a distant ocean view! But I also wish I could buy the lot next to us as a buffer and to grow more fruit trees. My commute to work is only 20 minutes, less than 1/2 what it was when we lived in Seaview, and no longer than the one I had on the mainland, so maybe for me HPP isn't really the "boonies". I grew up 40 minutes from the nearest town or gas station, and the town was too small to even support a movie theater. That's the "boonies".

Carol

[peregrine]

HPP is relatively suburban compared to Seaview or parts of Kapoho. I guess depending on one's exact locale, it may be more or less "boonies". There is a broad range of living situations in Puna, but I generalized some commonalities in my topic post because I have noticed that many people, wherever they are here, either want amenities and services that aren't available, or they complain about every new house going up. That's why I am curious about the experience and expectations which brought us all to this (more or less) backwater and fuel the debates about so many aspects of development.
Personally, my expectations, though not actual situation, are most closely aligned with Carol.

[Carey]

I, too, grew up in the boonies (in the midwest, but it was much like the story of many of the private subdivisions here...marginal ag land subdivided into small acreage lots in the mid 50's with very marginal roads graveled in) & lived all but a couple of years of my life in the boonies (last mainlad house was in a private sub. much like HPP, on a very tiny scale)

But now, here, I am enjoying town life, with many amenities that I have never had before (DSL, county water, mail service to the house, paved roads, little buses for our senior neighbors, many options for buses, walk to just about everything...) We had planned to continue our boonies way of life when we moved here, and did rent in HPP, but we started to realize that it was far easier to live in town, and we really wanted to have less land, house & all so that we could have much more time to play more here....(those of you who know, can laugh now...eta: studying for the GRE is NOT fun!)

[JerryCarr]

I live in HPP and it doesn't seem like the boonies to me. But then I grew up in rural West Texas, so my perspective is skewed.

[Ryan.]

We'll pick #1. We purchased the biggest lot we could afford (5 acres), in the furthest place we'd be comfortable commuting from (Kapoho). We're not convinced development won't come someday, but we sure hope it takes its sweet time. We're not unfriendly or antisocial, we just enjoy the peace and serenity of wide open and unpopulated spaces. The lots surrounding our place are 7, 10 & 25 acres - spreading out and minimizing the number of potential neighbors, which is just as we'd like it to be.

[Kelena]

I think Puna is about as rural as you can get. When I first visited Puna (some of you remember!), it felt like what it is: a sparsely populated area of a volcanic island on the most remote island chain in the world. That was part of the attraction for me. Since the break up my relationship, I have been rethinking whether being older and alone in such a place is a good idea.

I don't want wide-scale development. The roads can't handle it and neither can the island, really. I would like more small shopping centers so that people wouldn't have to drive so far. That is, something along the lines of the old Japanese stores along the belt road, or smaller versions of the Malama Marketplace area.

I did buy in Puna because you got more for your money. You still do.

I was also attracted to the idea that you could take some steps toward becoming self-sustaining.

Once I get there, if I do, I don't think I will miss the conveniences of urban life. Anyone who wants that is headed for the wrong place. There are some aspects of urban life that are missing and would give me pause. I have two dogs that have required medical attention in the past including emergency care, and one with a treatable, chronic condition. They mean the world to me. Here, I have a choice of 24 hour vet services. There, I do not. The island will never be a reach-out-and-grab what you need kind of place. So, there's a choice to make. For true beauty, there is nothing like the absence of civilization. However, the absence of civilization (development) results in many inconveniences and, when it comes to pets at least, some perils.

P.S. I DO plan to visit my thread!