Originally Posted by
DELee
What they expected/hoped for: Warm, warm, warm of Kona - they were tired of the cold and rain in Los Angeles during that period (they're in their 70s). A property investment that potentially becomes a draw option for the kids (my brother and I) and grandkids (my brother's kid and my kids) to visit them on the BI.
What they got: House that hadn't been cleaned prior to their arrival with geckos having had the run of the place - and their droppings everywhere... Food options that they could go and eat out at were far, far more limited than what they had in the Los Angeles area - particularly Cantonese. While the island's Costco is/was on the Kona side, it didn't have the same selection they were used to out of the ones that they shopped in LA. Similarly for supermarkets. Trying to get their health insurance transferred from California to Hawaii wasn't working out. Other issues with the house (septic tank, water, etc.). They don't do computers or cell/smartphones so they were tied to their landline and their cable service (Spectrum? Tine Warner?) was being a pain.
Other issues: With the always warm weather, critters were an issue. Even though they had a weekly trash pick up service, after a day or so, any food garbage begins to smell and attract at least ants (and if you left the trash cans outside the garage, other critters). After a certain point, my dad would, daily, grab up their trash, get into the car (he and she are mobility limited, mind you), drive down to Kaminami Drive to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway, wait for the light to change, drive the one lane southbound (while County of Hawaii's road contractors continued to laboriously labor on adding lanes...) about 5 miles, get in the left turn at Hale Makai, drive into the Kealakehe Transfer Station, wait in line, park, get out of his car, toss his one bag of garbage, get back into his car, and make his way home - at least an hour each day. None of their friends were anywhere close. They're not big on driving around and exploring. As other threads in this forum note, BI clearly has more of the "island time" response factor so going places and finding that they'd closed - or not even opened for the day - wasn't so uncommon. Also, I'm likely the only one who might have gotten on a plane to visit them - but I'm on a plane anyway but usually headed somewhere else than Hawaii because of work.
I could go on. Likely, they would have done better on Oahu but, similarly as my daughter decided last year in selecting UCLA over UH, Honolulu isn't/wasn't much different than Los Angeles - just a bit more humid with mosquitos.
So, in the end, the heat/warmth they were seeking didn't outweigh all of the limitations of BI as the paradise they'd hope for. So, Eastward Ho and return to California.
David
David,
Thanks for that insightful post! Definitely very true about bugs. We live in a high rise condo in the middle of Honolulu and we STILL sometimes, not often, find the occasional big here and there. I've been to the big island several times on inter-island trips and indeed it is lot more tropical in certain places and you definitely need to manage organic waste to minimize bugs in the home. Unless it is one of those hugely expensive modern mansions ($$$$+), normal avg homes will get some bugs here and there....honestly part of living in the tropics.
But the location does meet their basic criteria....the warm weather and of course a location in paradise. But of course sometimes it's better to do a temporary rental/long-term vacation for a few months to see if newcomers can withstand some of the negatives.
Unless one is extremely wealthy and is able to afford one of those ultra luxurious homes on the high hill/cliff side with regular cleaning staff...living in "paradise" is not as dreamy as one would imagine when looking at desktop wallpapers or home magazines.