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What to Pack?
#1
I would like to pick the brain of all who have made the move from mainland to Puna. What are the things you are sorry you brought? What are the thing you wish you had brought? Start with this one, will my down comforter survive in Puna? I'm sure we will need it for those "chilly" Puna nights. I appreciate all input!
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#2
Leave the down comforter. Takes up alot of packing space and you only need a comforter here maybe a couple nights a year (unless you live above 1000 feet in elevation).

Things I was sorry I brought:

1) my TV...It's better to sell whatever TV you have now and buy a new one here (Sears or someplace that offers extended service plans). Electronic equipment doesn't seem to hold well in high humidity.

2) all my books. Books get saturated by the humidity and heat and they deteriorate rapidly. Better off just donate them to your local used book store there and then check out books from the local library here. I was amazed what I found in the Hilo Library.
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#3
Bring all of your umbrellas
Clothes, unless needed at work (probably not) most dress clothes are not neccessary (even when the symphony was here, it was 'dress casual'), no need for nylons, leave leather items unless you are wearing them almost daily.
Pack your stuff in your plastic storage bins (cardboard storage boxes don't hold up well here, so look at how you plan to store things here), bring things that have strong emotional ties (remember that the sun, humidity, salt spray & VOG all will work against your treasures), soft woods (pine & such) are easy snacks for termites & powder post beatles - even harder woods have problems) We have found that our heavy, fluffy towels are not as practical as the thinnest towels - the thick owns don't dry out quick enough & tend to get musty fast (same thing for any clothing, linens & such)
Some of what to bring does depend on where you are from & where you are moving to (the difference of 1,000 feet elevation here can change temp & rain & humidity) and how you plan to live (we decided that we wanted to lighten up, go more with lanai type furniture & not bring our overstuffed furniture...
Oh, look at all of your electronics, eletricity rate is 3X the national average....
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#4
Is this a permanent move for you? My husband and I moved here with the intent on staying for a year, so my input may not be as useful if you are planning to move here permanently. I will give it some thought though and let you know if I think of anything helpful.

Oh, one thing was our car. If I had to do it over, I would have sold my car and bought another one here. We came from Denver so we had to get it over to the west coast to ship it. It was a hassle and then we had to get a rental car anyway for almost three weeks until my car got here and that was very expensive.
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#5
Bring the down comforter! An electric blanket if you have one, too. Electric blankets don't use that much electricity (we are off the grid and have one) and on cold nights those will be the only "heaters" you have in your house.

Actually, you don't need as much stuff here as you do on the mainland. No seasonal clothing, no dress up clothing, no jewelry, not even a watch is necessary half the time. A junk old car works fine since there aren't that many places to drive anyway. Stuff for being outside is good. Anything esoteric that you like to use since guaranteed you won't be able to replace it here. I dunno what size your house is on the mainland, but over here if it is over 2,000 square feet it is considered huge. Pick out your favorite stuff and ditch the rest. If you need it again, you can pick something you like better than what you left.

"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales." 
Kurt Wilson
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#6
I really appreciate thise of you who have taken the time to give thoughtful replies to my questions. Yes, this is a permanent move. I am planning to bring my 11 year old Subaru. It runs well and I trust it. Best of all, no car payment. I am sitting here watching the snow (which is supposed to continue for the next 5 days) so I keep looking at the picture of our Leilani house posted on the refrigerator door and thinking about pulling weeds, trying to stay focused on packing. I am surrounded by boxes and plastic tubs. I will bring the electric blanket. Thank you for that idea. Here are several more questions: Mechanical clocks, we have a coo coo from Germany and a wind up regulator, will they survive the humidity? We have a large collection of cookbooks. If we keep them is plastic tubs, will that help them? Maybe I should wrap the electric blanket around the cookbooks! Keep the tips coming. I am grateful for all.
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#7
Cuckoos work fine! You may want to have the mechanical clocks serviced on the mainland before bringing them over though since we don't have any official clock folks over here. I can clean, oil and repair cuckoos and other mechanical clocks if they need it but it's just a hobby for me and not a business. I don't know of anyone else doing such things. There did used to be a fellow on Kona side who did, but I think he's not there anymore.

Humidity is really high, but if you keep things ventilated it is workable. Anything constructed of particle board you may as well not bring over, though. That will swell up in the humidity and fall apart. Books aren't so bad, they do fine. Leather stuff if it is stored somewhere without any ventilation will grow mold all over it.

We have loads of ventilation (old single wall house) so we don't have much problem with mold and mildew. We do have a problem with dust, though, so if it's not one thing, it's another.

"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales." 
Kurt Wilson
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#8
I still remember 3 years ago when we were where you are, shoveling snow & knowing in months we would be in Hawaii!
We paired down our books, but still brought a bookcase full (I had over 6' of cookbooks alone! Just couldn't part with all of them!) We bought a glass front cabinet (here, used) & keep the books & the games we couldn't part with in that (with kitty litter desicant (open container with a pouch of kitty litter, I like using the crystal stuff, but the clay litter works but hasa little more clay-ey smell) Oh, finding the glass front is more hit'n'miss, you may find one at a store, but stock here is not consistant.
We didn't bring our down comforter, but did bring 3 quilts my mother-in-law made (these actually flew over with us...) To get them smaller, we folded them to chair top size, slipped them in heavy duty (contracter weight) bags, set them on a non-cushoined chair, sat on the bag to get the air out, twisted the top really tight, taped the top, fold & tape again (sorta like the vacuum bagging, but without the cost & stuff) did the same to pillows, got them down to thinner than a folded sheet. Use sheets, towels, cloth napkins, fluffy clothes & such as packing fillers (if you have the filler space, even packing a few of the raggy towels & such for mopping up things here...but only if you need the packing, sure beats buying bubble wrap or packing old newspapers here...)
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#9
Bring shorts/Tshirts/sarong/swimsuit and slippah's...... Good to go.

Forget all the other stuff 'cept maybe your car.

I brought all the junk over in a container when shipping was cheaper and we had no Walmart.... still wish I hadnt.
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#10
All this information is so helpful! We will be there next week to check out more houses (and to confirm the one we want, is really the one we want). Then, hopefully in March, we'll be making the move!

Anyway, thanks again for all the info. Everyone responding is really helping!!!
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