Kona or Austin (Kailua: sales, home, landscaping)

[revolve77]

Greetings. Im what you would call a newbie on this sight and Ive decided to try and obtain more information as to where would be a better fit for me and my family. Me and the Mrs. have 2 small kids (ages 12 and 9) and one more munchkin on the way. We recently sold our business here in Las Vegas and we are currently looking at 2 business opportunities, one Austin and another one in Kona. Both opportunities would provide a stable family environment in terms of quality time spent with the little ones and sufficient income. We are looking to get some insight as to how both cities stack up against one another in terms of family life as well as social aspects. We have friends and family all throughout Texas and various friends throughout Hawaii. We are not big partiers and very rarely drink. In regards to schooling we have determined that home schooling would be better served for our little ones. Any pros or cons would be appreciated. Thanks

[Robin Rossi]

Originally Posted by revolve77

Greetings. Im what you would call a newbie on this sight and Ive decided to try and obtain more information as to where would be a better fit for me and my family. Me and the Mrs. have 2 small kids (ages 12 and 9) and one more munchkin on the way. We recently sold our business here in Las Vegas and we are currently looking at 2 business opportunities, one Austin and another one in Kona. Both opportunities would provide a stable family environment in terms of quality time spent with the little ones and sufficient income. We are looking to get some insight as to how both cities stack up against one another in terms of family life as well as social aspects. We have friends and family all throughout Texas and various friends throughout Hawaii. We are not big partiers and very rarely drink. In regards to schooling we have determined that home schooling would be better served for our little ones. Any pros or cons would be appreciated. Thanks

If you have th ebucks and can sustain the culture shoc, I would vote Kona. Those are two big If's, though. Be thorough in your research. Good luck, either way.

[revolve77]

Originally Posted by Robin Rossi

If you have th ebucks and can sustain the culture shoc, I would vote Kona. Those are two big If's, though. Be thorough in your research. Good luck, either way.

Thanks for the help. How are schools around the Kona area?

[Robin Rossi]

Originally Posted by revolve77

Thanks for the help. How are schools around the Kona area?

Nary a clue, don't live there. My experience is on Oahu. Schools in HI, in general, are sub par.

If you don't mind, what kind of business are you looking at? HI isn't particularly business-friendly. It isn't Texas, that's for sure.

[revolve77]

We are looking at a landscaping business thats been there for several years. We are older now and dont mind the slower pace in life. Overall we are looking for our kids to have a gret upbringing around some wonderful people.

[Robin Rossi]

Originally Posted by revolve77

We are looking at a landscaping business thats been there for several years. We are older now and dont mind the slower pace in life. Overall we are looking for our kids to have a gret upbringing around some wonderful people.

Thx. Good luck to you in your endeavors.

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by revolve77

In regards to schooling we have determined that home schooling would be better served for our little ones. Any pros or cons would be appreciated.

Are you committed to home schooling the entire educational years, up through high school graduation? If not, then you should go back through the school threads and make note of some of the educational problems here in Hawaii, so that you can make a wise choice for your children.

Hawaii is a great place to live. The educational system presents problems, but those can be handled with advance planning (choice of schools, perhaps private school/ tutoring funds saving account, etc).

As for the business (landscaping), be sure to check the income records for the past couple of years. I know a very high-end landscaper in West Hawaii that is now doing "residental" type jobs that he'd never have had time for a few years ago, which helps show that the competition in the landscaping business for accounts will be sometime you'll need to deal with. Buying an existing account does not always equate to the current customers staying with the company, especially if their friend-the-landscaper is looking for new accounts due to a slowdown in their business.

Good luck!

[OpenD]

Aloha.

Kailua-Kona and Austin, as a Brit friend of mine would say, are as different as chalk and cheese. It's hard to think of anything they have in common.

Austin is a large and bustling metropolis, much larger than Las Vegas at nearly a million population in the city proper, and about 1.9 million in the metro area. Kailua is far smaller than Las Vegas, an overgrown village of about 12,000 within the North Kona district of about 25,000.

Austin is a bustling major technology center with employers like Dell, Samsung, IBM, Apple, Google, AMD etc., it's a state capital, and it's home to over 50,000 students who attend a major university, with thousands more attending several smaller universities. Kailua is none of those. It's basically a struggling tourist town with some additional revenues from incoming retirees and property investors, plus some agricultural commerce.

Public schools in Austin vary in quality, but there are a number of very good schools to choose from. Public schools in Hawai'i consistently rank among the worst in the country.

Although central Austin is liberal by Texas standards, overall the state is a red state, a political stronghold for Republicans, with no income tax but very high property taxes. As a "right to work" state unions have little power or influence in Texas. Pretty much the opposite, Hawai'i is a very blue state, a political stronghold for Democrats, and unions are quite powerful. Hawai'i has an income tax, and a General Excise Tax which applies to both sales and services, such as landscaping, but property taxes are relatively low for residents.

I could go on, but are you getting the drift yet? They're as different as chalk and cheese. And yes, they're both GREAT places to live and work, IF your personality and needs are a match for what those communities have to offer.

This is just a taste... I suggest you do some homework to flesh out the background info for yourself. Check the demographic comparison on the City-Data data pages for each community, and use the Search function to dig into the archives here, because all the general questions have been asked many times before.

Good luck!

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by CyberCity

I know a very high-end landscaper in West Hawaii that is now doing "residental" type jobs that he'd never have had time for a few years ago, which helps show that the competition in the landscaping business for accounts will be sometime you'll need to deal with.

To which I will say "Amen." If I owned a landscaping business in West Hawai'i today I'm sure I would be eager to sell it too!

[Robin Rossi]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Aloha.

Kailua-Kona and Austin, as a Brit friend of mine would say, are as different as chalk and cheese. It's hard to think of anything they have in common.

Austin is a large and bustling metropolis, much larger than Las Vegas at nearly a million population in the city proper, and about 1.9 million in the metro area. Kailua is far smaller than Las Vegas, an overgrown village of about 12,000 within the North Kona district of about 25,000.

Austin is a bustling major technology center with employers like Dell, Samsung, IBM, Apple, Google, AMD etc., it's a state capital, and it's home to over 50,000 students who attend a major university, with thousands more attending several smaller universities. Kailua is none of those. It's basically a struggling tourist town with some additional revenues from incoming retirees and property investors, plus some agricultural commerce.

Public schools in Austin vary in quality, but there are a number of very good schools to choose from. Public schools in Hawai'i consistently rank among the worst in the country.

Although central Austin is liberal by Texas standards, overall the state is a red state, a political stronghold for Republicans, with no income tax but very high property taxes. As a "right to work" state unions have little power or influence in Texas. Pretty much the opposite, Hawai'i is a very blue state, a political stronghold for Democrats, and unions are quite powerful. Hawai'i has an income tax, and a General Excise Tax which applies to both sales and services, such as landscaping, but property taxes are relatively low for residents.

I could go on, but are you getting the drift yet? They're as different as chalk and cheese. And yes, they're both GREAT places to live and work, IF your personality and needs are a match for what those communities have to offer.

This is just a taste... I suggest you do some homework to flesh out the background info for yourself. Check the demographic comparison on the City-Data data pages for each community, and use the Search function to dig into the archives here, because all the general questions have been asked many times before.

Good luck!

A veritable fount of information, you are. My compliments.


I'd usualy pick the cheese over chalk, most days!