Puna vs Hamakua (Hilo, Volcano, Kilauea: power lines, rent, hotel)

[Mattks]

So I've been doing a lot of research on the Big Island and I can't get over the fact that land goes for 3 times more or higher in Hamakua then in Puna, even more in the "bad" parts of Puna. In Puna I was mostly looking closer to Volcano north or west of highway 11. I realize a lot of Puna has volcanic rock under the soil, and has greater chance for volcanic activity, but is that the only reason or main reason for the cost difference?
Is my assumption correct that soil north or west of 11 is not as volcanic as other areas of Puna? My wife and I are tea drinkers and have always thought it would be interesting to grow tea, but I wasn't sure if any land in Puna was capable of growing much. It definitely has the precipitation and temperature for growing and I did find 1 small tea farm near Volcano, but it seemed very poorly done. We do sell various teas in our restaurant, so in theory if the quality is good we would want to do that as well.
I was mostly looking at properties 5 to 10 acres. In Hamakua the cheapest I found was $270,000 and that's only the land for 5.2 acres, Puna I was able to find a seemingly decent house and 21 acres for $350,000 on the south side of 11 near mountain view. My guess is we are 2-3 years from buying anything and we will be taking a vacation/research trip to the Big Island within the next year or so.

My last question is does Volcano have many stores or is it primarily a tourist town, which is my assumption? I have heard that there are good restaurants there.

[JustBarb2014]

Volcano is an artists' town --- of course the Fed Park attracts many tourists and the food in the area is quite good ---
used to live in Kau and enjoyed going to Volcano --- and miss it now

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Mattks

My last question is does Volcano have many stores or is it primarily a tourist town, which is my assumption? I have heard that there are good restaurants there.

Not many stores, no. It's not very big.

Volcano was a summer resort area in the early 1900s, pre-air conditioning, because it is much cooler than Hilo in the summertime. Today it is a renowned artist colony, and also is the bedroom community for a lot of park rangers and professionals who work at the vulcanology observatory in the park, or in Hilo. It's also home to a lot of grand old pre-war houses, many of which are now B&Bs.

Starting at the Post Office, near Haunani Road and Old Volcano Road, heading north towards Hilo, there are 2 general stores, about 1200 ft apart, which more or less mark the ends of the "business district" , and between them are a gas station and another gas pump, a laundromat, 2 gift stores, a hardware store, a cafe, and a half dozen restaurants. At the far north end of the old road, a couple of blocks further, is an art gallery and lunch time cafe. South of the village, inside the park, is a hotel and restaurant (Kilauea Lodge and Thai Thai are excellent), an art and crafts gallery, and a restaurant, bar, laundromat and bowling alley that are open to the public in the KMC (Kilaeua Military Camp), an old military base turned resort. Mauka the park is a country club and restaurant, and a winery, the southernmost in the united States. And that's about it.

But it's sweet.

[67Cam]

Hey OpenD, how did you (and Volcano) fare in the tropical storm? I've got some areas on the Big Island I think I'd like to live in, but of course would rent for a few months before buying. I'm likely a year or two out from that at this point, but I'm working towards it.

Volcano sounds like a nice place, may be a bit colder than I prefer, but will definitely check it out. One of my leading candidates has me worried with recent events: Leilani Estates. Lava Zone 1, got it, understand the risk. Geothermal plant venting toxic gas when it lost power causing evacuation of L.E.? Huh, didn't anticipate that. It also seems like they got hammered a little harder from the storm than most. Not sure if that's geography/topology, just more reports from that area or what...

Amyway, hope you had no damage from the storm.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by 67Cam

Hey OpenD, how did you (and Volcano) fare in the tropical storm? I've got some areas on the Big Island I think I'd like to live in, but of course would rent for a few months before buying. I'm likely a year or two out from that at this point, but I'm working towards it.

Volcano sounds like a nice place, may be a bit colder than I prefer, but will definitely check it out. One of my leading candidates has me worried with recent events: Leilani Estates. Lava Zone 1, got it, understand the risk. Geothermal plant venting toxic gas when it lost power causing evacuation of L.E.? Huh, didn't anticipate that. It also seems like they got hammered a little harder from the storm than most. Not sure if that's geography/topology, just more reports from that area or what...

Amyway, hope you had no damage from the storm.

Mostly trees and power lines down. The water runs downhill from here.

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Mostly trees and power lines down. The water runs downhill from here.

Glad to hear that everyone is safe! The fact that it seems hurricanes are rare on Hawaii will help me in persuading my wife, the thought of a hurricane scares her. But we did experience a Typhoon in Hainan, China.

Out of curiosity, do you know of any elevation maps for Hawaii? I've looked and can't seem to find any.

[67Cam]

Originally Posted by Mattks

Glad to hear that everyone is safe! The fact that it seems hurricanes are rare on Hawaii will help me in persuading my wife, the thought of a hurricane scares her. But we did experience a Typhoon in Hainan, China.

Out of curiosity, do you know of any elevation maps for Hawaii? I've looked and can't seem to find any.

Try this one:

Hawaii, the Big Island Topo Map

Scroll down past the ad. It has issues when I try to zoom on the map, but I'm on an Ipad and a lot of websites have issues.

[hotzcatz]

I was chatting to one of our Kukuihaele refugees today (they were still out of power up until late afternoon so they were over here having hot showers and charging their cell phones). We were comparing how folks were reacting to Iselle in Puna versus how they were reacting to the power outages in Kukuihaele. In Puna, there's been bits on the news about residents confronting the electrical repair crews and some folks getting into a scuffle over ice. In Kukuihaele, folks are just friendly and checking to see if everyone is alright and no complaints or arguments. My friend had lived in Puna before he moved to Kukuihaele so he was amazed by the differences.

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by 67Cam

Try this one:

Hawaii, the Big Island Topo Map

Scroll down past the ad. It has issues when I try to zoom on the map, but I'm on an Ipad and a lot of websites have issues.

Thanks, exactly what I wanted!

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

I was chatting to one of our Kukuihaele refugees today (they were still out of power up until late afternoon so they were over here having hot showers and charging their cell phones). We were comparing how folks were reacting to Iselle in Puna versus how they were reacting to the power outages in Kukuihaele. In Puna, there's been bits on the news about residents confronting the electrical repair crews and some folks getting into a scuffle over ice. In Kukuihaele, folks are just friendly and checking to see if everyone is alright and no complaints or arguments. My friend had lived in Puna before he moved to Kukuihaele so he was amazed by the differences.

Thanks, that's good information to have. From what I have gathered hamakua is probably better for us, if it ends up being too expensive we will stay closer to Volcano.