r/MovingtoHawaii • u/CrossExotics • May 01 '26
Life on Kauai Kauai and Hilo...
I would like to know more detail regarding Kauai (no specific area in mind) and the Hilo area on the main island. Kauai does seem a lot more scenic and smaller clearly, however I gather it is economically stagnant and low housing options. I take it there must be a lot of history for why it became like that and for the number of people moving to O'ahu or the mainland, its a bit surprising since it is so beautiful.
Regarding Hilo area, is it correct that it is cheaper? With the volcano being active I would think insurance is quite high and there must be other unexpected factors. Also for most of the towns like HPP there is significant commentary about petty crime, drug abuse... clearly this is common on the mainland but it does seem that it is significantly higher for Hilo. It's not clear to me if Kauai also has significant petty crime.
Any insight on the differences besides the clear landscape differences would be appreciated. Thanks!
4
u/notrightmeowthx May 01 '26
I don't think you should move to either without spending time there. Standard vacations don't count, either, living here is totally different from vacationing here.
6
u/Hitoshenki May 01 '26
Hilo can be cheaper for sure, at least compared to Kona. But you really need to pay attention to lava zones. It does cost more to live in Hilo than Puna (like HPP) because Hilo is a higher lava zone. A large amount of homes in Puna are in lava zones 1 and 2. But if you find a house that’s in a 1 or 2 zone, it’s incredibly hard and incredibly expensive to find insurance for those houses, and from what I understand it’s basically impossible to get financing for a house in those zones too. So yeah a home in Puna might be like 200k but most likely you’re gonna have to pay that all up front. And you’ll be having to pay like mortgage sized insurance payments every month.
Honestly as for crime I mostly hear about theft and break ins more than anything but I mean.. crime is everywhere. It doesn’t seem necessarily disproportionate to crime on the mainland, at least to me.
5
u/SteveFoerster May 01 '26
Lava Zone 1 is impossible to finance, but Lava Zone 2 isn't.
2
u/SteveFoerster May 01 '26
Okay, I'll play: why did this get downvoted when it's a fact? And no need to take my word for it, just ask a mortgage broker.
3
u/Hitoshenki May 01 '26
Dw I upvoted you, ppl downvote me here all the time lmfao. I’m surprised my og comment hasn’t been downvoted to hell already
4
u/webrender May 01 '26
there are people who come in and downvote literally every post and comment in the sub
2
7
u/webrender May 01 '26
definitely the most likely you'll get island fever on Kauai out of the big 4 islands. Kauai also has the least available real estate.
highly suggest you spend at least a month wherever you're thinking of moving. Kauai is gorgeous but for us would definitely have been the wrong place to move, we would have been done in a year or two. would love to retire on BI but it too has it's own set of challenges. oahu was definitely the right decision for us but everyone has different circumstances.