Best island to live on?

[lotusblossom9]

What do you think is the best island of Hawaii to live on and why?

[konamama]

they are all SOOOOO different, it really depends on what you are looking for...

[CTH3989]

I have only lived on Oahu so that is all I know. I like it.

[MangoMommy]

I'd agree with the idea of figuring out what you are looking for first.

Do you want rural? What kind of jobs do you need? What services do you want access to? Do you want a hospital, mall, Target, Walmart near you? Do you require special medical services such as therapies?

[lotusblossom9]

Thanks so much mamas for replying to my thread. I'll be more specific...

Do you want rural?
Rural is our first choice, suburban second, urban third. We are looking to rent.

What kind of jobs do you need?
DH is an RN and I am a special education teacher, so we would need to be fairly close (30 minutes or so) to a hospital, as well as a school. DH is currently a psychiatric nurse, and would prefer to work at a psychiatric hospital or a hospital with a mental health unit, but would consider another type of nursing if that is not available.

What services do you want access to?
Our family eats mostly raw fruits and vegetables (mostly fruits), so one of the most important factors would be access to affordable produce. We would ideally like to grow our own one day. A farm, community garden, farmer's market or co-op would be great. About how much does produce (i.e. mango, pineapple, oranges, papaya, lettuce) cost there?

Do you want a hospital, mall, Target, Walmart near you?
I don't need to be close to a mall or Walmart/Target. We love the outdoors (part of why we want to relocate there) so access to activities like hiking and bicycling would be great.

Do you require special medical services such as therapies?
No, not at this time.


Any suggestions of places that might fit?

Some other questions...

How are the public schools?

How do you get from island to island and what is the cost of
doing so?

Thanks so much mamas for your help. I appreciate it very much.

[lotusblossom9]

: Any suggestions?

[konamama]

there are pockets like what you describe on most of the islands - i imagine it will come down more to jobs and what type of a living situation you can find that suits your needs, which i imagine will require a visit to different islands :-)) they just feel different...

about your more specific questions:

- as of today, flying is the only way to get from island to island (there was a Ferry for the past year from some of the islands to some of the other islands but that has just been shut down for a variety of reasons and there is no word on when that will change) and the cost varies, on average around $200ish round trip?

- and the public schools are not great on a whole. there are some here and there that folks life for different reasons but overall, not so good. the charter school movement is pretty big here so that is an option, but done by lottery and some have long wait lists. private schools vary on quality, as they do everywhere.

hope this helps a bit.

[bigislandmama]

I would suggest checking out the North Kohala (Hawi/Kapa'au) area of the Big Island. Everything that you are looking for I think you would find it there. It is very beautiful, very rural, and about 30-45 minutes from Waimea with great schools and a hospital. There are also a few great farms in that area with yummy organic veggies and a farmers market under the Banyan Tree.

[amberskyfire]

Originally Posted by lotusblossom9

Thanks so much mamas for replying to my thread. I'll be more specific...

Do you want rural?
Rural is our first choice, suburban second, urban third. We are looking to rent.

What kind of jobs do you need?
DH is an RN and I am a special education teacher, so we would need to be fairly close (30 minutes or so) to a hospital, as well as a school. DH is currently a psychiatric nurse, and would prefer to work at a psychiatric hospital or a hospital with a mental health unit, but would consider another type of nursing if that is not available.

What services do you want access to?
Our family eats mostly raw fruits and vegetables (mostly fruits), so one of the most important factors would be access to affordable produce. We would ideally like to grow our own one day. A farm, community garden, farmer's market or co-op would be great. About how much does produce (i.e. mango, pineapple, oranges, papaya, lettuce) cost there?

Do you want a hospital, mall, Target, Walmart near you?
I don't need to be close to a mall or Walmart/Target. We love the outdoors (part of why we want to relocate there) so access to activities like hiking and bicycling would be great.

Do you require special medical services such as therapies?
No, not at this time.


Any suggestions of places that might fit?

Some other questions...

How are the public schools?

How do you get from island to island and what is the cost of
doing so?

Thanks so much mamas for your help. I appreciate it very much.

Just answering more questions for you since I'm browsing through posts.

-Hilo/Puna side of the Big Island is very rural
-our area is very rent-friendly and you can rent a nice place for not a lot
-you can grow all kinds of things here. Our garden has taken off. I like square foot gardening. You can do this in a relatively small space.
-island hopping costs around $50-80 a ticket depending on how far you want to go. We only do it for work, though. I've found I can see all of the beautiful things Hawaii has to offer right here on this one island.
-Hilo has one hospital that is in desperate need of doctors. I heard on the news that they were considering doing some kind of housing program. You may want to call the Hilo hospital to see if they are offering any kind of incentives for nurses to move out here.
-We have an affordable farmer's market, but if you make friends with your neighbors, you'll get a lot of your fruits and veggies free. Everyone shares here. Our neighbors are always bringing by fresh papayas, tangerines, passionfruit, avocadoes, guavas, and pinapples and leaving them on the porch for us.

HTH!

[bigeyes]

Originally Posted by konamama

there are pockets like what you describe on most of the islands - i imagine it will come down more to jobs and what type of a living situation you can find that suits your needs, which i imagine will require a visit to different islands :-)) they just feel different...

about your more specific questions:

- as of today, flying is the only way to get from island to island (there was a Ferry for the past year from some of the islands to some of the other islands but that has just been shut down for a variety of reasons and there is no word on when that will change) and the cost varies, on average around $200ish round trip?

- and the public schools are not great on a whole. there are some here and there that folks life for different reasons but overall, not so good. the charter school movement is pretty big here so that is an option, but done by lottery and some have long wait lists. private schools vary on quality, as they do everywhere.

hope this helps a bit.

we got into a charter school quickly once I found out we could, but we commute an hour and a half both ways and feel it's worth it. Our public school experience here was terrible.

I have heard good things about the school in Waimea, but overall I have not heard much good from anyone about public schools here and my dealings with the DOE left me unimpressed, to put it mildly. Getting an education for your dcs in Hawaii is hard work.

The good news is, an RN and a special ed teacher should be able to find work here.

[lovemykeiki]

We live on Maui, and we love it here. You can live a rural lifestyle out in Haiku, or Upcountry. We have two acres. There are a lot of rentals out here. I have friends who rent on 20 acres near the ocean, and it is beautiful.

You should be able to find work here as an RN and a SPED teacher. Both are needed here. I'm not sure if Maui Memorial has a mental health unit, but you could easily research that option. The schools seem to always need/want more staff in SPED. You could also become a skills trainer or behavioral specialist with a company like Nursefinders or Quality Behavioral Outcomes. Just an easy phone call to find out about opportunities there. Also call the DOE about teaching.

Not sure what produce usually costs, but there is a lot of bartering and trading fruits going on out here in Haiku. Our fruit trees are overflowing and I'm always giving fruit away. You can rent a property with fruit trees.

We live about 30 minutes from "town" (i.e. Walmart, etc.), and it feels very rural and quiet out here. Lots of opportunities for getting outdoors here - Twin Falls for hiking and swimming in the pools, the pine forest at the top of Olinda Road, the redwood forest up in Kula, hiking in the crater. hiking in Iao Valley, plenty in Hana, and so on...

Public schools - Kula and Haiku have decent elementary schools. Kihei Charter School is a good option for junior high and high school, IMHO.