Hawaii Information and Facts

LiL SiS asked:


I want to know about Hawaii’s geography, their climate, economy, traditions, and even a little bit of it’s history. I want this to tie into getting a house. I prefer to know Information exclusively for Honolulu, Hawaii, but any of the islands or sectors within Hawaii’s geography is cool. Any Information that i can receive, concerning such would be grand. If possible i would also like Information on environmental factors, and housing styles. I have tried to look on the internet for such, but it seems to be semi difficult. When I type in something concerning housing, it gives me real estate. even if someone can tell me where i can find the Information that I am looking for that would be grand.

2 Responses to “What is housing in Hawaii like?”

1. boomer gal Says:
   June 26th, 2009 at 5:15 pm

   Hmm… not exactly sure what you are going for, but I will give it my best shot.

   There is a wide, wide variety of housing in Hawaii. Along the Waianae Coast, you will see some folks living in Quonset huts. Along the windward coast, there are some places that look little better than shacks, sitting on million dollar lots. There are parts of the island, like Mililani or Hawaii Kai where the houses look very much like the ones that are in Southern California (think the ones that ET was flying over with the bike). In Kahala, there are mega mansions on mini lots side by side with some true gems of Hawaiian architecture, with graceful double pitched hip roofs. Some of the older areas like Manoa have interesting blends of western & Asian architecture. Then there are parts of the island like Makiki, where home is more likely to be a condo in the sky.

   In general, homes in Hawaii tend to be smaller & on significantly smaller sized lots due to the cost of real estate. Older homes may be single wall construction, where, when you hang a picture, you are likely to drive the nail straight through to the outside of the house. Few homes have central AC, as the trade winds are usually enough to keep us comfortable in all but the worst Kona weather (hot, humid weather typical in late summer & fall). Newer homes may have garages, but older ones are more likely to have carports. Walls around the edges of property lines, especially low rock walls, are fairly common, I think to delineate boundaries with very small lots.

   Hope that helps.

2. HapaKLM Says:
   June 29th, 2009 at 5:44 am

   For answers regarding geography, climate, economy and traditions
   I recommend reading this article put out by the experts:

   Like all cities, Honolulu has its good areas and bad. Just last year it was named one of the safest big cities (http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2007/11/19/daily12.html) so there is a big plus!

   I’m not exactly sure what the definition of environmental factor is but I will do my best to address your question from my four years experience of living in Honolulu.

   Thankfully there is no smog in Hawai’i (normally the trade winds blow smog off the islands) so for some one with allergies or respiratory problems, living on the islands can be like a breath of fresh air.

   Pollution wise currently and for quiet a while now Honolulu has had many issues. For instance check out this article.

   This article is a bit dated, but we still have these ugly sewer pipes all over in East Oahu. There is a huge sewer pipe right in the middle of Kalanianaole Hwy that my friends and I joke about saying that if we accidentally drove into it we would be in deep crap literally.

   Houses in Honolulu are generally more on the old side, say approximately 40-50 years old, but some more fortunate people have been able to renovate their properties or demolish them completely to new condition.

   (Is this what you meant by environmental? If not give me more information and I’ll do my best to elaborate)

   Because Honolulu is home to a majority of the state’s population (approximately 876156 according to US 2000 census), you will find a lot of high rise apartment/condo complexes; however there are also a few areas in Honolulu with the traditional 1-story, 2 story and even 3 story urban/American style houses (ex: Kaimuki, Manoa, Kahala etc.)

   During my four years on Oahu I lived at two different residences. Both were large houses that were split up into several different units such as studios, 1 bedroom homes etc. So for instance a two story house may actually be home to three or four different families since it is common for house owners to spit their resident into several small units.

   The first place I lived at was a three story house. It was kind of set up like an apartment. Each level had its own entry way, bathroom and kitchen. The 2nd place I lived at was a 2 story and the landlord occupied upstairs while the downstairs was split into three small units all with their own kitchens and bathrooms.

   Parking is extremely tight and hard to find in Hawai’i.

   One thing I noticed while living on Hawai’i and going to friends houses is that many do not have dishwashers and hang dry their clothing outside.

   Hope this information helps. I will be crossing my fingers that more people will respond to this question because it is an excellent one that deserves many more island perspectives.

   Aloha and A Hui Hou!