Posts tagged Oahu
Hawaii Kai Homes – Honolulu – Oahu
0Hawaii Kai Homes for Sale
There are numerous different neighborhoods to choose from including Anchorage, Hahaione-Lower, Hahaione-Upper, Kalama Valley, Kamehame Ridge, Kamilo Nui, Kamiloiki, Kealaula Kai, Koko Head Terrace, Koko Kai, Laulima, Luna Kai, Mariners Cove, Mariners Ridge, Mariners Valley, Napali Haweo, Napua Point, Paiko Lagoon, Portlock, Queens Gate, Spinnaker Isle, Triangle, and West Marina.
Koko Head Terrace as you can guess is on the slope of Koko Crater. on the back side of it, toward the Hawaii Kai Golf Course, you will find the Koko Head Botanical Garden. A two-mile loop trail leads visitors through a variety of dryland plant collections from Hawaii and around the world. Koko Crater is a large crater that is a strenuous 2-hour hike. The Queen’s Gate gated community is across the street from the garden. Koko Head Crater overlooks Makapu’u, Diamond Head, The Marina, Sandy Beach, and Hanauma Bay. Koko Head is the elevated, longer, flatter piece of land that extends into Maunalua Bay.
Honolulu – Hawaii Kai Homes
There are numerous shopping complexes and recreational activities. Shopping at Koko Marina, Hawaii Kai Towne Center, Costco, Safeway, Longs, Ross and more. Great restaurants such as Harbor Village, Blue Water Grill, The Shack, and my favorite, Kona Brewing.
Hanauma Bay, Makapuu Point Lighthouse, Sandy Beach (great kite flying here) and The Halona Blowhole are a short distance away. Here is a map of the area between Diamond Head and Makapuu.
Hawaii Loa Ridge Homes in Honolulu
0Hawaii Loa Ridge Homes – Honolulu
Here is a map of the Kuliouou / Hawaii Loa Ridge. As you can see, the Kuliouou Ridge Hike starts off of Kuliouou Road, whereas the Hawaii Loa Ridge hike starts on Puuikena Drive
Nearby communities are Wailupe, Waialai Iki, Kalana Iki, Aina Haina, Kahala, Kuliouou, Niu Valley, Paiko Lagoon, Waialae Nui Lower, Diamond Head and Kaimuki.
From Kalanianaole Hwy, turn onto Puuikena Drive (across from Kawaikui Beach Park). Tell the guard that you are a Hawaii resident and hiking the ridge. He will check your driver’s license (sometimes registration, and insurance) before letting you in. Proceed to the very end of the road and park at the trailhead.
In this area you will find “high end” Hawaii homes, located on, Ikena Circle, Kaialii Place, Kaulana Place, Kokololio Place, Lelekepue Place, Maono Loop, Maono Place, Moaniala Streeg, Puuikena Drive and Puuikena Place.
This community was named after Hawaii Loa, traditional discoverer of the land. It is also a form of Hawaiki, the traditional home of the Polynesians. A couple of theories exist on the origin of the name Hawaii. One theory has it that the name comes from a combination of the words “Hawa” and “ii” and means a small or new homeland; “Hawa” meaning a traditionl homeland and “ii” meaning small and raging. The other theory is that the name comes from the traditional discoverer of the islands, Hawaii Loa.
Honolulu-Hawaii-Hotels-Rentals
5I am often asked “Where is the best place to stay in Hawaii?” In Honolulu, there are dozens of hotels; the vast majority of them are located in Waikiki. Your budget will determine your choices. Whether you are coming here for a long-term or short-term rental, will determine another set of Hawaii homes, hotels, or rooms to choose from.
If you are coming here for the first time, you’ll want to get a feel for the cost of living. Rentals for the Downtown area: 1 Bedrooms start at $1600, 2 BRs are $2000 and up. Near the University of Hawaii, they are about 1/4 less. Add utilities costs to those (roughly $200 for cable, internet, electricity). Parking varies considerably. Email me if you need a list of rentals. I don’t charge or make anything from them or handle any rentals. Tip: keep a rental application handy (send me a request and I will send you one). I would fill it out before you arrive.
6 months expenses. That can range from $1500/month (no car, living with roommates, not much going out), to as much as you want to spend. In your own apartment, with a car, and able to eat out 2-3x/week – $2500 minimum, $3500 would be a lot nicer (large one bedroom for $1500-$1700/month) + car than runs ($500/month) + food and other stuff. I would say $20,000 and you could not work for 4-5 months.
On a fixed budget? Most likely you will want a roommate, so they can also sign a lease with you. Be sure to keep your personal references handy from wherever you are now. You’ll need a deposit equal to one month’s rent, + 1 month’s rent in advance. You also want to have a good list of professional references from work. Your present supervisor and/or manager and the new one as well.
Also check Craigslist Hawaii. Be careful, there are some ding dongs on Craigslist. I can check them out if you like. Personally I would try rent a room in Kahala, Waialae Iki, Hawaii Loa, Wailupe or Aina Haina. They aren’t too hard to find, and your credit won’t be as big an issue as getting an entire apartment.
OK, now for the juicy stuff. Vacation rentals. VRBO is by far the best place to check if you are renting a place for 3 months or less. The best approach is to send emails out to a half dozen places and see what kind of replies you get. Prices are negotiable. Many of these are in hotels too, so look around.
On a budget? Try the Queen Kapiolani Hotel, The Waikiki Parc, the Aqua Hotels or the Ohana Hotels. Keep in mind that these are small rooms. Almost all of these can be found on Expedia, Hotwire, Priceline, etc.
Interested in really living it up? Here’s the A list:
Fairmont Orchid – the Big Island
Four Seasons Hualalai – Kona Coast – The Big Island
Halekulani – Waikiki. Their restaurants are top notch. Select from the elegant La Mer (Hawaii’s only Five-Diamond Restaurant), Orchids for casual elegance or House Without A Key for relaxed resort dining until sunset.
Hotel Hana Maui
The Four Seasons at Wailea – Maui (lava stone massage)
The Kahala – get the Kona coffee and coconut-vanilla slimming wrap
Mauni Lani Resort
Do your homework and look for specials and internet deals. Same for cars and tours.
Honolulu Hawaii is the Best Place to Live
1Happy New Year!
We have certainly had a lot of bad news lately.
Honolulu consistently ranks in the “Best” lists among major magazines, however.
Fortune Magazine rated Honolulu as the #67 best place to live in 2009.
It also rated it as the one of the Best places for a long life.
Business Week listed Honolulu at Number 1 in the US from a study done by Mercer Consulting.
No. 28: Honolulu – U.S.
Mercer score: 103.1
2007 rank: No. 27
GDP: $13.86 trillion (2007 est.)
Population: 303,824,646 (total country); 380,000 (total city)
Life expectancy: 78.14 years
A handy calculator shows you how to figure out the difference between where you live and Honolulu. For example, if you make $50,000 in Los Angeles, you will need to make $53,987 since the cost of living is 8% higher. Here’s the catch: employers in Honolulu typically pay 1.9% less than employers in Los Angeles. That explains a lot, doesn’t it? Anyone that has tried to get a job here knows that pay rates are typically lower. My guess is because of the sheer number of retail and tourism jobs, which tend to bring the median wage down. The closest similar income I found is DC – Washington. Even San Francisco costs less than Hawaii.
If you want to get a good comparison of Hawaii home costs (PDF) compared to the mainland, see Paul Brewbaker’s (Senior Vice President and Chief Economist with Bank of Hawaii), reports. They are excellent. He has data on domestic and Japanese arrivals, employment, tourism, inflation, growth (including Honolulu’s CPI or Consumer Price Index) and forecasts. Good stuff.
Unfortunately, the number of bankruptcies in Hawaii hit a 3-year high last week, according to the Star Bulletin. Foreclosures are up as well, with the majority apparently being held by Countrywide Home Loans, particularly on the Leeward and Ewa areas. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, it would seem.
Now is a great time to visit your local library, bookstores (don’t forget Jelly’s Honolulu or in Aiea!) and parks. Go camping! Start a blog! Get in shape. Stay positive, and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.
Aloha,
Frank







