how cold is it at 2000 ft elevation?

[John S. Rabi]

You would be surprised but 2,000' elevation is different at every part of the island. However, they all are COLD, it's just a question of how COLD they are. BTW, do your friend a favor and work with an agent who is an expert in the area you prefer. It will save your friendship.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,ARB,BFT,CM,CBR,FHS,PB,RB
808.989.1314
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
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[missydog1]

hi again renea, it's good you have friends here and have done research. I was going by what you said about one visit as an adult ...

what lifestyle are you looking for that is unlike your friends?

North of Hilo (which is where I live), there's a spectrum of lifestyles. I like this area a lot.
Have you looked at Honoka'a by any chance? Waimea? Hawi? Just to look around ...
Where are you looking in Puna that makes you ask this question, and where are you from? I mean, how cold is it there?

[renea]

We live a very natural life style, some "hippie" things that I do are home school, homebirth, cloth diaper, garden, reduce, reuse, recycle. Just the kind of thing that my friends think are kinda silly. But I would love to live in a area that was excepting of this type of life style. As I am training to be a homebirth midwife.
We loved the area that my friends lived in but the price tag was MUCH higher. We are looking in the Fern Forest area. I have heard that this is not the best place, but I heard that if you stay in the first couple of blocks it is nice??
I should also mention that I am moving over with 2 other families. They are also student homebirth midwives. They have done tons of research and visits also. The three of us and our families all have the same life style and goals in life. We would all like to live in the same area.
We are from Norfolk Virginia[] We have soooooooo much military here, I have nothing against the Navy I just don't want to raise my children in a Navy town. This is nobodys home and people just don't care about the land and the future of it all, it just has no soul, but it has lots of Night Clubs[V]. The weather here is awesome in the summer. Humid and Hot, with the beach close. But winters are humid, cold and windy. I know people from Minnesota who visited in the winter and said it felt colder here then back home. The cold gets to your bones and you just can't shake it off[xx(] My son and I both have mild medical reasons to live in warm weather.
And my realestate friend owns a few homes in the Puna area. He knows alot.

[Kapohocat]

I dont know about 2000' this morning but it sure was cold in Kapoho this AM - 11' elevation!

[loffelkopffl]

i live at 1700' elevation, this year the coldest temp was 52 degrees in january

[Greg]

Isn't it brutal when it gets down into the fiftys? It helps to go down to the ocean and jump into the warm water.[8D]

[jimbo]

at 2000' ft expect low temps in the 40's.... Fern Forest is a mid- high elevation tropical rain forest area, so expect cool & wet as the norm (of course, when we are in low rainfall years like current, there are many not so rainy/wet days..)

Also this year there as been more VOG (volcanic 'smog' that has sulfur compounds & ash) than normal, and the trades have been light, this summer, so more VOG around the east side. Those with respiratory problems are noticing this increase... so this is something to think about if you are moving for health reasons.

There are many different types of people here, those that don't care for the land are here, and so are those that do.... There is a large army base on Hawaii Island, and if does have some sway in the politics & policy here....

All that said, this is an area where people can make a difference, and an area that needs those that want to work (hard) on improving the land, & regain the culture. This is one of the only areas I have heard of that sustained more people pre-industrial than live here now... So if you are willing too put up with some of the problems here, and continue researching the island (one of the best reference books to check out is "the Atlas of Hawaii" by Drs. Sonia & Jim Juvik, UH press) you may find that this is where you want to live.

Editted: This is by Carey...didn't realize Jimbo had logged on (& on HIS computer....the NERVE!)

[StillHope]

quote:

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Originally posted by jimbo

Editted: This is by Carey...didn't realize Jimbo had logged on (& on HIS computer....the NERVE!)

Edited by jimbo...

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[renea]

Thanks, I think that 2000' might be colder then what I am looking for. I wrote Fern Forest, but I ment Fern Acres. And that is at lower elevation, right?
We really want our children to grow up in a place like Hawaii. THis is our main reason for moving. I want them to know nature and the land.

[missydog1]

Renea, I have heard the Mountainview area is prone to flooding.

Something to keep in mind when you look at price tags, is that while SOME areas might be called over-inflated for what they are, in general, you get what you pay for. All areas are not alike and the current market price reflects the desirability to buyers.

When you get down to the cheapest tier of land and home, that means to me that it is undesirable on a lot of levels other than price, and low price is the main reason it sells at all. Fern Acres is not the worst, but neither does it make it into the top subdivisions list.

It may be tempting to think "oh, the other land is more money because it appeals to people with a more status-conscious materialistic lifestyle." I think it would be a mistake to assume that. A huge reason for increased price in Puna land would be quite simply a more stable organized neighborhood, where there is less chance of rape, murder, robbery and other heinous crimes, where people are working together to shape the community and make it safe to live and with less feeling of isolation.

To put it very bluntly, there are some BAD people in Puna who look at newbies from the mainland as "pickings." Live in the middle of isolation and you are vulnerable. You will need to feel paranoid.

I'm saying this because you don't seem to be quite paranoid enough yet ... you are thinking of price and weather. You have children, so think of safety above all, and also think of proximity to services for your family.

If you do a Google Search of "Fern Acres" + Hawaii + crime you will get some hits for topics on other boards where the topic has come up.

here is an article about recent vandalism to the Fern Acres Community Association board ... which is not a horrible crime, but it speaks to me that there's enough antisocial behavior around to take delight in messing with attempts to get the community together, which I find disturbing.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/p...1/80924089

Knowing that you have children, I even more think you should see how they thrive here before buying property that will be VERY difficult to sell for what you put into it, any time in the near future.