Military Family Possibly Relocating to Hilo

[TeeDB]

Aloha! We have only been to the islands once, and went to Maui. Now we find out there's an opening for my husbands position in Hilo. We are excited about the prospect of moving there, but I would really like to find out more details about the ins and outs of Big Island living. Any information you could give would be helpful. Also we have 2 dogs and I know there is much I need to do to prepare them, any tips or advice?

Mahalo


T DB

[oink]

If you have school age children you should use due diligence in learning about that topic. Otherwise I think the Big Island is great. I love the Hilo area and Puna too.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Hotzcatz]

Slow and small town. Comfortable but not upscale. The Big Island used to be defined by what it didn't have (specific chain stores, fast food places, operas, etc.) but more and more of those sorts of things are showing up. Not a lot, though. There is still a lot of stuff we don't have. (But we probably don't need it anyway.)

The Big Island isn't Maui it is less concerned with what it looks like and the Hilo side is less concerned with the whole illusion of "paradise" than Kona or Maui. I guess the folks in Hilo don't pay proper attention to the Hawaii Tourist Bureau's proclamations.

[Carey]

This is a good start for the pet routine:
http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info

Schools here are not the best, but vigilence on the parents end can make it better... there are some exceptional teachers out there, & things like the 'running start' program are awesome...

Location of the job will most likely direct the location of your housing. The County of Hawaii does have a bus system that can get you around the island (eventually), but the Pahoa-Hilo route is the best set up for communting into Hilo for work....

Hilo does have a fairly good university (great for some things, one of the top for student diversity, and the only university in the world with a dedicated program to Masters in indigenous language study...) Many great cultural outlets... one of the finest black sand beaches in the world, some nifty little coral gardens to snorkel...

[DanielP]

T DB,

Hit the link that Carey gave you. If you start right away, your dogs might be ready for immediate release in 4 months! The OIE-FAVN test and the rabies vaccinations are the timing issues.

Dan

[Guest]

As much as I disagree with this war,

I just wanted to say thank you TeeDB and your Husband for fighting for my freedom and being in the military.

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Lower your expectations and be ready for anything.