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  • Living in Makaha

    Hello all,

    I am looking for people that have lived or live in Makaha. I am moving to Hawaii to teach with my three children and am looking for an affordable place to live. I am in a program called Teach For America and move to Hawaii on July 15th. I will be teaching at Nanaikapono elementary in Nanakuli and am considering Makaha Valley Plantations, but I really don't know much about living in Hawaii. I would like to live near the community I teach in so that I can learn as much about the culture of the community as possible.

    Any advice you have for me, as far as living in Makaha with children would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, about the school system and the quality of life. I was in Hawaii during the week of June 5th for an orientation and fell in love with the leeward coast. Thank you SO MUCH, I hope to hear from you soon.

    Thank you,

    Lissette

  • #2
    Re: Living in Makaha

    Sue? yer cue.
    Originally posted by lissy
    Any advice you have for me, as far as living in Makaha with children would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, ... the quality of life.
    oh, you will have fun.

    "the ice capades" provides much entertainment value for us here.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Living in Makaha

      Makaha was my favorite part of the Leeward side, I'm sure you'll be happy :P

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Living in Makaha

        Hi Lissette,
        I truly understand falling in love with the leeward coast. I've lived in Makaha for 14 years and, for me, it's nothing short of paradise. I'm single with adult children and therein lies the difference between you and me.

        My kids were raised in Hawaii but not on the Waianae Coast. I moved to Makaha when they were in their mid 20s and living on the mainland. They were horrified at where I chose to move! A crew member I work with said, "What's a lady like you doing living in a place like that?"

        As you no doubt saw, that side of the island is extremely economically deprived. While it doesn't enjoy a good reputation it also doesn't deserve the bad rap that it gets. It has it's pluses and it's minuses. I love the ocean and it was affordable to live oceanfront in Makaha. I've never regretted that decision.

        Would I have made that same decision with children still in school? Probably not. Or, as my purely caucasian kids once told me..."No way!" As adults, they have stayed in Makaha with me and fell in love with it. They now completely understand why I live there.

        I have mixed feelings about the Plantations. I love the grounds. The units are a decent size altho' poorly constructed as I understand it. It's layout is more family friendly than a condo building. It's reputation tends to ebb and flow with the tide. That said...I live in a building that has a much worse rep than the Plantations! And, I love it! But...I don't have kids at home. Did you look at the Towers?

        Hopefully Liberty will pop her head in here and explain the school situation. Everything I know is heresay. And, the heresay isn't good.

        Teaching at Nanaikapono puts you in decent proximity to Makakilo and Kapolei. Did you have a chance to look into those areas? Rentals will be more expensive tho'.

        I'm not trying to discourage you, Lissette, but having never lived in Hawaii before and with 3 children in tow I'm not sure the Waianae coast should be your initial choice.

        If you haven't done so already, search this forum for "Makaha" and "Waianae" to help fill in the gaps. And best of luck in your new adventure. How exciting!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Living in Makaha

          Thank you for your honesty! I am actually considering living in Makaha for one year until we get on our feet. The problem is that my husband will not have a job when we get there and daycare for my daughter is over $800! I am worried about finances, we took this leap on blind faith as I have always wanted to teach where I am needed most and my husband agreed that I should work on the Island with a group called Teach For AMerica. I will continue to look for housing. I am a little worried because my children arrive next thursday and I do not have a home for them yet. I am sure this all seems crazy from the outside looking in , but I believe everything will work out fine!

          Thank you,

          Lissy

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Living in Makaha

            Aloha Lissy -

            What can you tell us about this group, Teach for America?

            If you want your kids to learn about the culture, you might consider a charter school. I believe there is one in Nanakuli called "Ka Waihona `o ka Na`auao" that has grades K-12. Their phone number is 620-9030 and they are located on the site of the "old" Nanaikapono school.

            Good luck!
            Fran
            "Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
            – Sydney J. Harris

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Living in Makaha

              Lissy - I forgot to add that a lot of the charter schools perform better than the "regular" public schools as far as testing and meeting the federal standards of "no child left behind" and they do it with very little support or funding from the dept. of education/board of education!

              oh, and the school I mentioned is in Wai`anae, not Nanakuli.

              Fran
              "Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
              – Sydney J. Harris

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Living in Makaha

                Originally posted by lissy
                [...]I am sure this all seems crazy from the outside looking in , but I believe everything will work out fine![...]
                I was a single mom when I up and moved to Hawaii...without a job even! I didn't bring the kids until I got settled and, fortunately, had the option to make that choice.

                At least you have a job waiting for you. The only crazy part, as I see it, is Hawaii's current cost of living. It's the highest it's ever been. I know you've seen the tents on the beach. So many of those people are displaced renters. They have jobs and can no longer afford the high rents. So many of those tents house entire families, more than one generation even.

                I'm a believer in blind faith...as long as you have a plan B such as a rather large chunk of rainy day change...savings. For anyone deciding to move to Hawaii on a hope and a prayer and nothing else...now is not the time to do it.

                What are the ages of your children? And, while your husband is unemployed, can he help to cut down on the daycare costs for your daughter? I do realize he'll need job seeking time.

                Again, Lissette, I'm not trying to discourage you; just want you to keep your eyes wide open. There isn't anywhere else in the world that I'd rather live than Hawaii but it comes at a cost. Based on my income, today's cost of living and being single, if my 2 kids were school age now there is no way I could afford to live here. However, every family's dynamics are different.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Living in Makaha

                  Originally posted by anapuni808
                  [...]oh, and the school I mentioned is in Wai`anae, not Nanakuli.
                  The mailing address is Waianae, Fran, but the school is, indeed, in Nanakuli. The entire coast from Nanakuli to Makaha is "Waianae 96792"! As you mentioned, it's on the site of the old Nanaikapono school which is directly across the street (Farrington Hwy.) from the new Nanaikapono school. The charter school is oceanfront. How great is that!!! All hurricane and tsunami jokes are being withheld!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Living in Makaha

                    I don't live in the Makaha area... however I visit schools in the area as part of my job responsibilities.

                    $800 seems about right for childcare, for Certified Child Care in a day care setting. I know there are a lot of other people that have formed groups of friends to help with childcare cost ie; you watch my kids...I watch yours...etc.

                    If your husband won't be working...can't he take care of the kids while you work?

                    Ask tutue about some of the working families that have had to live on the beach because they are not able to afford housing.

                    I know of plenty students that live on the beach... It does become a sad situation.

                    I also know of many teachers in the DOE system that live with there parents still because the cost of living on there own is just not worth it.

                    I hope you have some back up plans if your not able to find housing immediately.
                    Last edited by damontucker; July 4, 2006, 08:14 PM. Reason: clarification

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Living in Makaha

                      Originally posted by tutusue
                      Hi Lissette,
                      That said...I live in a building that has a much worse rep than the Plantations! And, I love it! But...I don't have kids at home. Did you look at the Towers?

                      Is it the Surfside ? Units in that building are SO cheap. I was looking into buying a condo there. Oceanfront condos for 200K....that's unheard of.

                      What's the deal with this building , anyone know ?
                      http://tikiyakiorchestra.com
                      Need a place to stay in Hilo ?
                      Cue Factory - Music for your Vision

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                      • #12
                        Re: Living in Makaha

                        Originally posted by tikiyaki
                        Is it the Surfside ? Units in that building are SO cheap. I was looking into buying a condo there. Oceanfront condos for 200K....that's unheard of.

                        What's the deal with this building , anyone know ?
                        Yes, I live in Surfside! And, it's not only oceanfront but it's fee simple! I just received a postcard from a realtor who listed a unit like mine (1bd/1ba/400 sq. ft.) for $275,000. While that's dirt cheap by Hawaii standards it's almost double the highest price a unit ever sold for, during the Japanese real estate boom in the early 90s.

                        It's a former hotel (built by Chinn Ho) and was built in 1974. I can't remember the complete back story on the property but during the hotel>condo conversion there were some financial problems and rumors of building too close to a heeiau. I bought at the tail end of that in 1986.

                        The units are tiny but WHATTA VIEW!!! Unbelievable. At some point the property became section 8 approved so there's a fairly large percentage of welfare tenants. And, because of it's low rents it has become home to many immigrants. This potpourri of people is what makes it so appealing to me. It's almost like living on a foreign island. There's always interesting conversation in the laundry shack...not all of it in English!

                        Surfside has been discovered by investors and snow birds. My fear is that investors will get control of the board of directors, decide that the exterior is too 'low income', and start an in depth upgrade which would drive the maintenance fees into oblivion. It could use a little more landscaping but, other than that, it's fine the way it is!

                        Have you been out to the property and seen any of the units? I have a friend who is itching to buy one but I want her to wait 'til they dip in price. The last major dip was in the late 90s. My neighbors picked up their unit for $28,000...remodeled! The high had been $150,000. I can't imagine the prices dropping that much again but I can't imagine that they'll keep rising either. Four hundred square feet is just that...400 sq. ft!

                        It definitely has it's quirks. It's 4 stories and the elevators only go up to the 3rd floor. The most desirable floors are 2 and 3. Every ground floor unit got wiped out during Hurricane Iniki. The most desirable building is the "A" building; A-1, A-2 and A-3. "B" building is okay but the parking structure butts up to the mauka side of it and the bedroom windows face mauka! Least desirable building is "C". Those don't face the ocean except the end units on the makai side. C units overlook Waianae High School AND C is where the majority of trouble seems to take place. I believe the majority of C units, if not all, are studios...altho' I have friends who have a 2 bedroom on the makai end.

                        On premises are 2 laundry 'shacks' (bigger than standard laundry rooms), a tiny snack shop, 2 pools, 1 kiddie pool, an exercise room. But, that VIEW...to die for!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Living in Makaha

                          Originally posted by manoasurfer123
                          [...]I also know of many teachers in the DOE system that live with there parents still because the cost of living on there own is just not worth it.[...]
                          And those who do live on their own often have a 2nd job.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Living in Makaha

                            Originally posted by tutusue
                            The mailing address is Waianae, Fran, but the school is, indeed, in Nanakuli. The entire coast from Nanakuli to Makaha is "Waianae 96792"! As you mentioned, it's on the site of the old Nanaikapono school which is directly across the street (Farrington Hwy.) from the new Nanaikapono school. The charter school is oceanfront. How great is that!!! All hurricane and tsunami jokes are being withheld!

                            Thanks Sue - thats what I thought. I was just going by my list of charter school addresses. I also lived in Wai`anae a VERY long time ago - on Lihue St. This was when I first came to Hawaii, back in 1963! I loved it out there and I truly think my experience there with the lifestyle & all the folks who were so helpful to me is what made me love the islands so much. It was an experience of a little over a year that I am very grateful for & I wouldn't trade it for the world. My cute little house was mostly furnished from the now closed Cornet Store!

                            and believe me, if I didn't have to work - I sure as hell would not still be living in town, in Makiki!!!!!!
                            "Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
                            – Sydney J. Harris

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Living in Makaha

                              Originally posted by anapuni808
                              [...]and believe me, if I didn't have to work - I sure as hell would not still be living in town, in Makiki!!!!!!
                              I solved the commute problem by finding an office in town with a full bath and a closet! Add one futon and...voila...instant town crash pad!

                              Comment

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