What Hawaiian island is best for this couple? (Kihei, Paia: fit in, transplants)

[Dr. Vox]

My friend is considering moving to Hawaii with his wife. Unlike many of my oher friends,he and his wife march to the beat of their own drum. They are both friendly and very accepting of other peoples cultures, and very tolerant of differences.While he and his wife have both been successful educators, they are laid back people, almost to a fault. Here are some characteristics about both of them. I think Maui would be best, but I'd love others opinions. I'm debating between Kauai and Maui.

1. About as laid back and hippy of a couple as you will find.

2. Both are kind, thoughtful and extremly friendly, almost to a fault

3. Hobbies for both include(what they like)- bike riding, surfing, walking with their dogs, painting together, playing music together(she plays guitar, he plays piano), photography, participating in charaities that benefit kids, meditating, going to church, reading by the beach

4. Things that this couple DOES Not like- RUDE people, people who drive extremly fast(they like things to move at a snails pace and cannot handle fast drivers), crowds of people(they both can't handle this, so you can imagine they both needed therapy after coming back from Las Vegas for the first time).


5. They operate on a "less a more" mentality. They both are like transplants from the 60's, if that makes any sense.



Maybe Kauai?

[PacificFlights]

all of that is available on any of the islands so tell them to get their behinds on an airplane and see for themself what works for them. their idea of "laid back" may not be anyones else idea. since all these are individual things, i would not depend on others trying to figure out who and what they are. you would not beleive how many people move to an island based on never seeing it but taking others words only to find out they hate it.

[Balad1]

I think Kauai would foot the bill for them; probably the North Shore area of Hanalei would be best.

[Dr. Vox]

^ Yes, I was thinking Princeville as well might be perfect for them, but they do tend to like some activites and things to do.I know Maui has more restaurants that are available, which is somethng they like. They also love to hear music, and local bands of all different kinds. Doesn't Maui have more offerings of this? Also, I thought the Maui Cultural Arts Center, would be right up there alley as well since they love this kind of stuff. But again, I do see a lot of why Hanalei area would be great for them. They are definetely people that would thrive in that type of enviornment, but I'm worried there might not not be enough for them as far as arts and entertainment go. Again, they are both in their 30's, and are both usually in bed by 10pm, so nightlife isn't a big deal, but they do want to be near places to hike, play basketball(mostly my friend), practive their Yoga. They are also big time vegetarians(not vegans), so I don't know if one island would be better than another for meeting their needs in that department. Does anyone know?

[KonaKat]

Or, Puna or Hawi/Kapa'au on the Big Island.

[mdand3boys]

Puna does not need more hippie wanna-bees.

[hotzcatz]

Pahoa in Puna is about as hippy as it gets. Or as KonaKat mentioned, Hawi as well. I think Hawi and Kapa'au are slower than Pahoa these days.

[KonaKat]

Well, mdand3boys, these folks appear to be the real thing so it's probably okay if they come check things out

[Dr. Vox]

Would Kihei work for them? Yes, I'm sure Hana or Paia would be beter for them on Maui, but could Kihei work for this couple?

[whynot?]

Originally Posted by Dr. Vox

Would Kihei work for them? Yes, I'm sure Hana or Paia would be beter for them on Maui, but could Kihei work for this couple?

I can't see any reason why Kihei wouldn't work -- it's a nice town with beautiful beaches and one of the very few places where you can live and walk (or bike) to about everything you need on a day-to-day basis. There are many kinds of "laid-back." I don't see much benefit in pigeonholing a specific place where they might live on Maui. People manage to do it all over the island from what I see.

Hana, Paia, and Kihei have very little in common IMHO. Paia and Kihei are both towns, but different kinds of towns. (Paia still has a low-slung, small-town feel, while Kihei has lots of highrises.) That said, both bustle in their own ways and have a lot of traffic. Hana, on the other hand, is so remote and removed from commercialism as to feel like a village.

It's a small island, and it doesn't take most people very long to figure out where they're most comfortable and where they prefer to "just visit." For us, the bigger adjustment was learning *how* to live here, not picking a place where we felt like home.

Best of luck.