Living in Makaha

[lissy]

Re: Living in Makaha

Thank you everyone, I appreciate all the honesty! I do have a savings, and my husband can stay home with the baby but only if we live in Makaha (the apartments are much cheaper there). I am going to take everything into consideration...I am coming from New York, from the time I spent on the Island it seems to be a VERY similar cost of living, so I don't think I will be in for too much of a shock. For now we are staying with friends.

Teach for America is an organization who's mission is to end the achievement gap currently existing between children with poor communities compared to their more affluent peers. The organization is very selective in who it picks for its teachers, and we are expected to move the children we teach up by at least two grade levels during one academic year. The mission is really to change the social systems in which the worlds operate so that we can change the unequal schooling that our childre receive! I plan to teach for a very long time and/or open my own charter school one day! But for now, I just need to get settled in hawaii!
You can check out www.teachforamerica.org if you are interested.

Again, thank you for your responses - it gives me a lot to think about.

Lissette.

[MadAzza]

Re: Living in Makaha

Thank you everyone, I appreciate all the honesty! I do have a savings, and my husband can stay home with the baby but only if we live in Makaha (the apartments are much cheaper there).

Then I would strongly suggest you live in Makaha. I can't imagine a few bucks, or even a lot, being more important than raising your own daughter. I'm sure she'd rather not be dumped with strangers all day, either!

[tutusue]

Re: Living in Makaha

Then I would strongly suggest you live in Makaha. I can't imagine a few bucks, or even a lot, being more important than raising your own daughter. I'm sure she'd rather not be dumped with strangers all day, either!

My only hesitation for Lissy, Maddie, is that she has 2 other children (ages unknown) who, I'm guessing, are school age. I'm hoping Liberty will chime in with the public school situation in the Waianae/Makaha area esp. as it might relate to 2 children fresh out of New York.

[MadAzza]

Re: Living in Makaha

My only hesitation for Lissy, Maddie, is that she has 2 other children (ages unknown) who, I'm guessing, are school age. I'm hoping Liberty will chime in with the public school situation in the Waianae/Makaha area esp. as it might relate to 2 children fresh out of New York.

Yep ... there's going to be some major culture shock going on! Yikes.

[tikiyaki]

Re: Living in Makaha

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!

Yes, I had a realtor show me a few units in there, and I liked it but me and my fiancee' had some reservations...mainly we were worried about what we could rent it for as a vacation rental. We really need to keep it rented to pay the mortgage because the units we looked at were around 180-200k. We were also worried a bit about the tenants in the building, but not that much, but we weren't in the building long enough to get a feel for how it really is. The super tight security made us feel better about it, but at the same time worried.

I still check the MLS to see what the prices are in the Surfside, and you can't get oceanfront property ANYWHERE in Hawaii or California for anything close to that price. Plus, I guess the local government is cracking down on vacation rentals, and now they are strictly enforcing the rental certificate policy in Hawaii.

I actually really like the mid-century aesthetic of the building,as I'm a huge fan of Mid Century Modern architecture, so the way the building looks is just great to me. Sadly, all evidence of that great style of architecture is being erased in California, and I bet Hawaii too. Now every new building is that fugly faux Mediterranian crap that Home Depot and contractors are shoving down everyone's throats...it's sickening. So, if investors did that to the building, that would suck.

Please tell me more about the building, cos' I still think about it all the time. I mean, oceanfront property in Hawaii for under 200K is hard to be picky about.

[lissy]

Re: Living in Makaha

My only hesitation for Lissy, Maddie, is that she has 2 other children (ages unknown) who, I'm guessing, are school age. I'm hoping Liberty will chime in with the public school situation in the Waianae/Makaha area esp. as it might relate to 2 children fresh out of New York.

As a member of teach for America I have some data on the schools, and it isn't good! I have a ten year old and a six year old...the only hope I have is that Makaha Elementary has greatly pulled up it's grades the past 3 years and is now similar to schools in Kapolei, but that is on paper. I guess if anyone has firsthand knowledge of Makaha elementary I would appreciate it.

[damontucker]

Re: Living in Makaha

Kapolei Schools are pretty new!

I would say that it is like comparing apples and oranges.

[anapuni808]

Re: Living in Makaha

Lissy,

The data you have on the schools is probably based on comparisons to mainland schools & teaching methods. Our local children here are raised with a different culture & lifestyle than a child from say, Cleveland or Des Moines. As a result, the teaching methods and curriculum that are used on the mainland often just don't work here - especially in the "country" schools. You might keep that in mind as you are looking at stats on paper. You might also keep that in mind when you start teaching. Our kids here are very smart and quite capable. They just sometimes learn in different ways than you may be used to seeing.

Good luck to you in your new job!

Fran

[lissy]

Re: Living in Makaha

Lissy,

The data you have on the schools is probably based on comparisons to mainland schools & teaching methods. Our local children here are raised with a different culture & lifestyle than a child from say, Cleveland or Des Moines. As a result, the teaching methods and curriculum that are used on the mainland often just don't work here - especially in the "country" schools. You might keep that in mind as you are looking at stats on paper. You might also keep that in mind when you start teaching. Our kids here are very smart and quite capable. They just sometimes learn in different ways than you may be used to seeing.

Good luck to you in your new job!

Fran

I appreciate that advice...the only data I have looked at is actual test scores, so I have no real information about the school. I would LOVE to hear some feedback on how to change my method to be succesful in Hawaii, I have lived in New York my whole life and am eager to learn more about the culture. This is part of the reason that I want to live on the Leeward Coast the first year, I believe I will learn more from everyone on the coast. I really want to teach the way that will work best. I am so glad that everyone is so willing to help me! Thank you so much, I truly appreciate the Aloha spirit.

[tutusue]

Re: Living in Makaha

Yes, I had a realtor show me a few units in there, and I liked it but me and my fiancee' had some reservations...[...]

[...]Plus, I guess the local government is cracking down on vacation rentals, and now they are strictly enforcing the rental certificate policy in Hawaii.

I actually really like the mid-century aesthetic of the building,[...]

Please tell me more about the building[...]

As you know, the under 30 day vacation rentals are not allowed. I assume short term rentals are, tho'. I used to rent to snow birds who vacationed annually for 6 months. I haven't done that for a long time and haven't looked into it's legality but I'd guess it's not a problem. So the snow bird market might be something to look into. Long term rentals seem to be fraught with problems...mostly tenants who have no respect for the unit and, for the most part, trash it.

Hmmm...'mid-century aesthetic'! I'd not thought of the exterior as having any 'label'!!! It's just a plain, ol' cinder block building! Yeah...mid century-aesthetic...I like that! And it was painted last year after all of the spalling repairs.

There's not really too much more to tell you about Surfside. They're super strict about oil drips in the parking stalls! For the most part one can eat off the parking structure floor! For me as a single, caucasian female, the secret to successfully living there is I don't get into anyone's business. In the past there were a couple of drug labs that were busted. There was a murder a decade or so ago. I learned about it on tv...breaking news...and saw the resident manager interviewed! I look out my living room window and saw all the commotion one floor and 10 units down! That was a domestic situation as are most problems out there. There was another one very early this past New Years morning outside my unit. Fortunately it didn't end in death. But, you know what? When I lived in Kahala, a body was found on the side of the road a half block up the street from my house and there was a non-domestic murder at the Kahala condominiums. There's just no getting away from negative situations like this. They're everywhere.

I have friends from both Calif. and Georgia who visit me for a month at a time every year and a half or so (no...not vacation renters!). They love staying at Surfside and neither couple has ever had a problem. Bottom line is, it's all about respect and not sticking one's nose into anyone's business. If I see a domestic situation escalating I'll walk right past it and call security from my condo. That doesn't happen very often, tho'.

I tried to get so many friends and family to buy at Surfside both in the mid-late 80s and the late 90s when units were going for the high $20k to mid $30k range. Not one person took advantage of the opportunity! Now that the condos have hit the $200k+ mark, I get inquiries all the time!

[tutusue]

Re: Living in Makaha

[...]I guess if anyone has firsthand knowledge of Makaha elementary I would appreciate it.

I don't and other than Liberty who is college age I don't know of anyone else on HT who lives in Waianae.

Lissy...have you checked into the charter school that Fran mentioned? I couldn't find anything about tuition but I did notice the kids wear uniforms. My kids wore uniforms and all of us agreed it's the only way to go! Sorry I can't be of any help with school questions.

PZ...didn't Katie go to a charter school in town before you moved to Mililani?

[anapuni808]

Re: Living in Makaha

Charter Schools are part of the public school system - I don't think there is any "tuition" other than parents are expected to really take part in their kids education & school. and the only uniforms I've seen on charter school students are school t-shirts.

Lissy, I would suggest you might want to call the Charter Schools Admin Office in Honolulu to get more info. I can get you the phone number tomorrow if you like. I know the folks in the office pretty well.

Fran

[anapuni808]

Re: Living in Makaha

I just went back & looked at some award certificates I worked on last year for the Charter School network. The school we've been talking about was one of the ones who met the Federal education standards on average yearly performance for school year 2004-2005. As another plus for all the charter schools - out of the 22 at that time, 11 got these certificates. That's a much better % than the "regular" public schools. Now, if only the Board of Education would accept that the schools really work...............we need to elect new BOE members this year!

Fran

[lissy]

Re: Living in Makaha

Charter Schools are part of the public school system - I don't think there is any "tuition" other than parents are expected to really take part in their kids education & school. and the only uniforms I've seen on charter school students are school t-shirts.

Lissy, I would suggest you might want to call the Charter Schools Admin Office in Honolulu to get more info. I can get you the phone number tomorrow if you like. I know the folks in the office pretty well.

Fran

Fran,

I would truly appreciate the phone number, as well as a list of the charter schools that did well. I want to thank everyone in this group for all of your help, it is scary making a move like this but I feel better about it now.

[anapuni808]

Re: Living in Makaha

Lissy - I sent you a private message with the phone number.

Fran