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Hi! I finally have my username activated and can post here! I have been very much enjoying reading the posts here and wanted to say hello and introduce myself. We have had a 5 year detailed plan to move to the BI. Time is up in the fall so we are getting ready to move and trying to find a house. Our search has taken us to Nanawale estates and we have found a few houses in our price range there. Does anyone on here live there? How do you like it? We did drive around much when we were there in January and researched areas that we liked. It is now coming down to what we can afford.
We are a small  hardworking family of 6 and plan on homeschooling after we move. WE also run a business from our home at the moment, but at some point my hubby plans on getting some sort of electrician job. -He is almost done w/school. Currently we live in frosty Montana and are excited for a change and more sunshine.
I would love your thoughts on this area and to meet all of you as well
Laura
Its a colorful life!
Posts: 1,252
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Welcome to the forum and the Big Island.
Can I make some suggestions?
--Plan to rent a house for a while until you get to know the area in person. What looks great on vacation or on paper may not be what you really want long-term. for instance, Nanawale is pretty, but the low elevations are too hot and muggy for me. You might love it!
--Don't bring everything you own. A lot of stuff won't last here-leather, books, particle board, for instance all rot pretty quick. If possible, store stuff you really love in the snow zone...er, Montana...and ship it over once you get settled. There are some great moving sales where people brought EVERYTHING over here, and decided they didn't like living here. It's expensive to ship it all back, so it gets sold cheap, and you can furnish your temporary home inexpensively.
--BRING YOUR TRUCK!!! Or even buy one and bring it over. You need a truck to take your garbage to the dump, haul plants and soil, bring home your garage sale finds... Trucks really hold their value--check blue book in the 96720 zip code (Hilo) and see what I'm talking about.
Good Luck!
Lee
><(((*> ~~~~ ><(("> ~~~~ ><'> ~~~~ >(>
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Rent first, seriously! Each subdivision has it's ups and downs. Heck and that can change from street to street!
Dayna
http://www.FarmingAloha.com
www.E-Z-Caps.com
Dayna Robertson
At Home Hawaii
Real Estate Sales and Property Management
RS-85517
Dayna.JustListedInHawaii.com
Dayna.Robertson@gmail.com
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Nanavale is a nice "family-oriented" subdivision with CC&Rs to match; beware the albizzia infestation.
Running a business from home is either "home occupation permit" (if RS), "special use permit" (if Ag), or "do it quietly and hope nobody notices" (seems to be most people -- any zoning). If your business includes food preparation and/or customers from the general public, you'll probably want to be closer to Hilo, because that's where most (all) of the commercial space is located.
It is "very difficult" to get into the trades, especially electricial/plumbing, so have a backup plan (or two).
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Aloha!
I live in Nanawale AND I'm originally from Montana. Small world huh? [ ] What part of MT are you from? I used to live just outside Glacier NP.
I personally love Nanawale. I think I got pretty lucky though. I looked at quite few places around Puna and nothing grabbed me like the house/property I have here. It's about 550 feet where I am. Except for a few times in the summer when it has not rained for a few days, I find the temperature to be perfect. I can grow tons of stuff here. That said, Dayna and Lee both make valuable points. There are streets in Nanawale where I would not want to live and a truck is good to have here.
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Hi Laura, Glad to see you posting on Punaweb!
Though every ones' path here is different, the suggestions by Lee & Dayna are very sound...(add:& you must see what SI grows there!)
Nanawale is a great place to look at & we have friends that enjoy living there. It would be a great place to look for a house to rent, as there could be a potential that your hubby were to get a Hilo based position down the line, but would be a good start to look, esp if you are able to rent first...( just to make sure the neighborhoods, the weather & travel into Hilo & such is OK for all of your family needs)
I do understand that not everyone does get the chance to rent before hand,(this is true with any move to anywhere, just this is a longer move than most!)
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Punaweb is great for getting the "real" information. And welcome to the forum. I, too, connected with this forum two years before moving here and I had a very good picture of what life was like here in Puna. And the surprises have been very few. This is a beautiful place to live.
Suggestions from this Nanawale dweller:
Rent first.
Consider a larger piece of land for your family. Lots in Nanawale average 1/5 acre.
Presuming you want to have a garden, check out each area for its own microclimate.
If you are church-goers, I would recommend Puna Baptist Church which is close to Nanawale. They are very community and family oriented.
I love Nanawale by the way! It has a great long house, playground, pool. My neighborhood is friendly and we all look out for each other.
Pahoa is only 2 miles away, the Lava Tree State Park is a mile away (and you can walk to it by taking Forest Rd. from Nanawale), and then you have the ocean only 9 miles away.
If you do buy in Nanawale, get a house with extra lots attached.
Watch for Albizias, they are beautiful but deadly and cause horrible damage. They grow fast, build up a huge canopy that blocks sunlight so consider them when checking out property, not only the lot you are interested in but the neighboring lots, too.
He who hoots with owls at night cannot soar with the eagles in the morning.
He who hoots with owls at night cannot soar with the eagles in the morning.
I have lived a few times in Nanawale and never had a good experience. Mostly small lots, dirt roads with huge pot holes, lots of mosquitos and loud frogs, Plenty of traffic very few sidewalks, Lots of drugs, robberies or domestic disputes happen to close for comfort. The geothermal is next door and in many parts of Nanawale you are blessed with the Geothermal rotten-egg smelling waste or the noise from the drilling. The price is high for what you get and its expensive trying to protect what you have, I recommend renting in a few places before Buying.
I've been looking at homes for months,and been on this board getting peoples thoughts for a while now. The only thing I have learned is, i dont know **** about Puna, except a lot of peoples differing opinions and you know what they say about opinions...
I've determined you can not really know much untill you are in Puna and smelling, feeling, breathing and sensing each area to determine which is your calling.
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quote:
If you do buy in Nanawale, get a house with extra lots attached.
Not to pick nits, but there are two "Nanavale": the "Estates" are 7500sf with CC&R, the nearby "Farm Lots" are 1-2 acres.
On at least one occasion, the Estates HOA has allowed a Farm Lots resident to join the HOA and have access to the roads and other amenities.
Note that most HOA dues are based on the original lot size, even if lots are later conjoined; a double lot in Nanavale will pay double fees.
Supposedly Nanavale Estates has no SSPP fees.
Mentioned above, but can't repeat it often enough: most subdivisions are so large as to have regional differences within -- more so if there are edges/corners/dead-ends. In some cases, successive lava flows have stopped at different points, so the trees/soil can vary widely from one end of a subdivision to the other.
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