When you consider Moving the Big Island, you
might want to read this article Moving
to Hawaii - Vacation for ever?
Dreaming of Moving to Hawaii
Are you tired of the long cold winter months?
Do you dream of warmer times, sunny beaches and a more casual lifestyle?
Maybe you are dreaming of the Kohala Coast on the Big Island of
Hawaii. Allow me to tell you a little about moving to and life on
the Kohala Coast from the prospective of someone who has lived there
for 20+ years. Please when reading this know that all places have
positive and negative aspects and that we all view life from our
own prospective.
Just moving from the Mainland to the Big Island
can be a challenge on its own, since you cannot just load up a moving
van and drive to your new home. Unless you are moving here as I
did 30 years ago with all my belongings in a backpack, you are going
to need to do some careful planning.
Suggestions for Moving to the Big Island
My first suggestion is take a Big
Island vacation and stay on the Kohala Coast in a vacation rental
and explore the area you are interested in locating to. Talk
to Hawaii Big Island realtors, business owners and everyday
people, get a feel for the area. Check out job opportunities if
you need to work to sustain your lifestyle. Be aware that Hawaii's
main business, this includes the Big Island, is the tourist industry
with most jobs provided by the big hotels along the Kona Kohala
Coast of the Big Island.
Where to buy a home when moving to the
Big Island?
Quite a number of newcomers to the Big Island
decide to move to the east coast because buying a house there is
about half the costs of a house on the west coast. When moving the
Big Island in 1977, I bought a house in Honokaa on the Hamakua Coast,
which seemed a nice lush tropical climate to raise my family. After
10 years living in more rain (mold caused allergies in the kids)
than expected, we decided to move to drier grounds, to the dry side
of Waimea. Believe it or not, Waimea has a dry and a wet side within
a 3-mile range! Anyhow, if you live in Hilo or on the Hamakua Coast,
you definitely save on your house mortgage payments - Big Island
houses are half the price there compared to kohala coast houses
- but you will have to cope with hours commuting on a daily basis
when living on the east coast of the Big Island but working at a
Kohala Coast hotel. The Big Island is big, and Big
Island weather is a big factor to consider when moving to the
Big Island.
Moving to the Kohala Coast of the Big
Island
So let's assume after your vacation on the Big
Island you’ve decided that the Kohala Coast is your kind of
place and you are going back home to commence packing. At this point
I’d like to give you my views of life on the Kohala Coast.
The Kohala
Coast, located on the dry and sunny West coast of the Big Island,
is a large area ranging from North Kona to the south and the town
of Hawi in the north and to the town of Waimea to the east.
The area along the coast line is referred to as the Gold Coast for
obvious reasons as the land and housing prices are mostly out of
reach but for the wealthiest people. One exception may be the mauka
(mountain side) of Puako Beach Drive where a small house may still
be had for under 1 million. What I’m saying is to find somewhat
affordable housing you must give up the idea of living on the beach
and move upcountry of the Big Island. Living
upcountry like Waimea town area has other benefits, such as
a cooler climate, supportive communities and better access to shopping,
health care and services. Access to the two best Big Island white
sands beaches is still less than a 20-minute drive.
Life on the Big Island after moving
The Kohala Coast is also referred to as the Gold
Coast because of the amount of sunshine that bathes its shores each
and almost every day, this fact, the low rainfall and best beaches
have all conspired to bring about a boom in building. Condos have
sprouted up overnight bringing us more residents, tourists, and
increased traffic and as always the infrastructure has not kept
up. Traffic jams are everyday occurrences but if you can plan your
day around peak periods these can be largely avoided. Most traffic
jams happen going into Kona in the morning and leaving Kona in the
afternoon. You may also be prepared for traffic congestion driving
into Waimea when school starts or is out.
Big Island Costs of Living
The high cost of living in Hawaii cannot be avoided.
Almost everything you will consume has to be shipped in, first to
Oahu, then to the Big Island and then around the island by truck.
Some costs are less here because of the casual style of living,
no need for lots of “dress up” clothes or winter wear.
House heating can be kept to a minimum, although your electric bill
can be a real eye popper. I guess you can figure on paying 1/3 more
than on the Mainland, depending on your lifestyle. Being a member
of Costco helps to cut down your daily living expenses on food.
Of course, it depends how far you have moved from Kona where the
Big Island's Costco is located.
Planning your moving to the Big Island
If I haven’t scared you off yet, lets get
back to the actual move to the Big Island. Planning is essential,
what can you absolutely not live without, should you sell the stuff
you haven’t used in two years, should you burn your bridges?
These are questions only you can answer. Unless you hire a moving
company, you must figure out how much stuff you are shipping and
how large of a container you will need. Then you will need to measure
everything and see that it fits in nice and tight since things can
and probably will shift during the ocean trip. Shipping can take
10 days or more depending how far you live from the west coast.
All I can say is plan, plan, plan or load up the backpack as I did
and take off for paradise. To be continued, maybe...
>>>Read
more on Big Island Golf
>>>Read more on Big
Island Events
>>>Read more on Big
Island Real Estate
>>>Read more on Big Island
Vacation
>>>Read more on Big Island
Weather
If you did not find the Big Island moving information,
you were looking for, you may want to use our Big Island Vacation
Guide site or Google search for finding moving campanies, which
serve the Big Island.
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