Hawaii

[rdavisiii]

I am tossing around the idea of moving and was thinking outside the box and Hawaii has been mentioned. So that got me thinking of an ideal spot in Hawaii, some place great for hiking but close to civilization. The wife does esthetics/Spa work and I work from home so we are pretty flexible where we can live. I have only seen Hawaii on screen and in print but I moved to Az on a whim and that worked out pretty well. I have no idea where to start looking, any suggestions?

[PaleoRob]

Looks like you already have the right shirt.

[nonot]

I've always wondered if Hawaii was one of those places that is great to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there. I haven't made it out there myself yet, though someday...

[PLC92084]

Thought you were considering the East coast... Talk about climate change!

[rdavisiii]

Thought you were considering the East coast... Talk about climate change!

Yeah Maine is the current destination but I am having second thoughts about returning to a place I have already lived. The nomad in me says break the cycle go someplace new. I have been considering a move as short as the Flagstaff area, Summit County Colorado, Oregon, and you will strangle me for this one but California. It all has the same criteria must be plenty of hiking and not crammed with people every square foot. That is why Maine is high on my list, my neighbors would be a bear and a moose. I have given the PHX area 5 years, I like it but not as much as I like the woods. A big part of me thinks I am giving up on AZ to easily so that is why Flag is being considered.

[paulhubbard]

If I had to move to CA, it would be Fresno. That way I could venture into Kings Canyon as often as I wanted. What a fabulous area!:
http://www.pagesbypaul.com/California-2010/ca-kc-p1.htm

[DarthStiller]

The only bad thing I ever heard about Hawaii is that the cost of living is pretty high there.

[rdavisiii]

If I had to move to CA, it would be Fresno. That way I could venture into Kings Canyon as often as I wanted. What a fabulous area!:
http://www.pagesbypaul.com/California-2010/ca-kc-p1.htm

Big WOODS! Ca has a lot for cool places.

[rdavisiii]

The only bad thing I ever heard about Hawaii is that the cost of living is pretty high there.

You are not kiddin, I have been researching Hawaii and wow! There may be a visit inline before I make that leap.

[JimmyLyding]

Hawaii would be awesome for someone who can work anywhere unless you don't like getting up really early for those integrations. Hawaii has some cool trails, but it's fairly limited. Big Island has by far the best hiking from what I read (fair disclosure: I've only hiked on Maui but have been to the Big I), but remember that all of the Hawaiian islands has half-as-much land area as Maricopa County. It's awesome if you're into water sports. Cost of living is high, but the economy there is in very bad shape so I'm sure that real estate is a lot more reasonable than it was 4 years ago. Big Island has the most hiking, Maui the most overall recreation if one includes water sports, Oahu has by far the biggest economy, and Kauai is a sleepy resort island for the most part.

With respect to Paul H., if you're tired of metro Phoenix then you'd get tired of Fresno real quick. Same with pretty much every place in the Central Valley. Just my opinion. Maybe north of Sacramento like Redding or Chico? Bay Area is brutally expensive (at least the not-grubby areas), but your wife could probably find employment pretty easily as her industry is huge here. Santa Rosa?

[azbackpackr]

Not sure why you would say BI has most hiking. Maui has more miles of trail. BI is hard to find good places to hike, other than Waipio-Waimanu and Volcano NP.

I lived there for 8 years, in Kona and Ka'u districts, from 1978 to 1986. I lived very cheap. I bought an acre of land in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, near South Point, for $12K. Same piece of land now probably goes for about $20K. (Look it up if you don't believe me.) NO utilities. I also lived up mauka in Kona near Kealakekua, and also near Captain Cook and also mauka Honaunau, and up on Rabbit Hill, very, very cheaply, in old coffee shacks. The most I ever paid for rent was $150 a month. Those places still exist but you have to be there for awhile to figure it out, since they go via word of mouth. Best advice I can give is to say you can contact someone at the Ackerman Ranch between Kainaliu and Kealakekua to see if they have any rentals available, but you will have to have a 4 WD to get to those houses, or, you park up by the highway and walk to your house. And they are all pretty primitive and full of termites. Gorgeous place, though, the Ackerman Ranch. You would have a million dollar view of the ocean. And plenty of garden space.

You will not be welcomed in Hawaii with open arms. You are not from there, and they don't like that. You are the wrong ethnic group, the wrong color, etc. If you have kids, in some areas they will get beat up at school just for being white.

I have also heard, A LOT, that the pot growing thing has morphed into meth labs. So there are a lot of NOT VERY NICE people around, and you are stuck on a friggin' island with them. After about 6 years I wanted off, but could not raise the funds to get 5 of us off the island. We finally had to borrow from a family member to get off that friggin place. Don't do it.

[rdavisiii]

Thanks for the feedback. Between the input here and what I have read I have learned two things: 1. Hawaii is not a place to live if hiking and climbing are your main hobbies and 2. The next time I see a Hawaiian that moves to Maine I am going to mess with them until they are forced to flee to Massachusetts ;)

[PLC92084]

The next time I see a Hawaiian that moves to Maine I am going to mess with them until they are forced to flee to Massachusetts

That'll learn 'em!!

[azbackpackr]

Hawaiians move to Nevada and California, for the most part. It's funny, too, that when you talk to locals on the Big Island about the Mainland, their perspective is: Las Vegas and Disneyland. Period. That's the Mainland. Las Vegas and Disneyland.

I was talking to one gal who said, "I'd like to visit the Mainland, but I would like to go with someone who knows the area."

When I was getting ready to move I told a neighbor I was moving back to the Mainland. Her eyes got big and she said, "Ooooh,...COLD!"

The only ones who attain some sophistication regarding the Mainland, unless they move there, are people who join the military service. They generally have a better idea of the size of continents.

Speaking of sophistication, locals on the Big Island for the most part were some of the most ignorant people I have ever met. (Yes, even worse than people from Eagar...)

Do you really want to be stuck on an island with people like that? I can tell you from experience, it does get old, really fast.

[WoopTdo]

You are forgetting about one thing. If you move to Hawaii Hiking and climbing may not be your favorite hobbies for long . Please don't ban me. When I lived there (Oahu Mid 90's) I did a little hiking and wish I would of done more but what I miss the most is the diving. I do agree with Azbackpacker in I wouldn't want to raise kids there, I don't know if you have any or are planning on it but if you do I'd pick somewhere else. I defiantly think you should take a trip and check it out. As for the locals I didn't have much of a problem, you just have to be careful, the only problem was with some Navy guy but he was drunk and there was a girl involved, so no ill will towards the military. My advice is take a trip or if your not already do some tube time and watch Hawaii Five 0, they do showcase Oahu and it makes me want to go back everytime I watch, except now I do have kids, so will just be vacationing and not living.

[azbackpackr]

Yes, I got away from backpacking while living there, although I did do Waipio-Waimanu. I got into the whole back-to-the land thing, and lived pretty much outside for many years. Also enjoyed snorkeling. Sea kayaking had not yet arrived when I lived there. There are very few places to hike on the Big Island, anyway. Mostly private land. There is a lot of state forest land, but they don't build too many trails through it. So, you have Pololu, Waipio, a Kona coastal trail, Kealakekua Bay/Captain Cook Monument, a few trails on the windward side to waterfalls and swimming holes, and then you have the Hawaii Volcanoes national park, which is kind of cold and rainy a lot of the time. One thing I would like to do in good weather if I ever return would be to backpack to the top of Mauna Loa.

[rdavisiii]

@ azbackpackr, When I moved out here I was working for Dutch company and while meeting with them to discuss my move from NH to Az they dwelled on the part of me driving out taking 3 days. They could not believe you could drive for 3 days and still be in the same country, this was a prelude of things to come

@ WoopTdo, I hear ya about "new hobbies" taking over for tried and true ones. I do like diving and I bet there must be some cool diving out in those parts, but the treeline always pulls be back. That and ice, I love ice more then any of the rest of it. A long mellow Grade 2-3 with a little 4 sprinkled in there for good measure. My ice tools are sharpened, and my wife has been briefed that me and the boys have some flows to spend way too much time on. I like the idea of spending a few more years living in a different eco system but I think Hawaii will remain nothing more then a visit, the shadows of Katahdin are calling.

[base871]

I work there about 120 days a year. You couldnt pay me enough to live there.