Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

The point being that Puna isn't quite as violent as people claim. I feel safer walking the desolate streets of Puna late at night more than I do walking the sidewalks in Waipahu during daylight hours.

Puna is not the wild wild west as a matter of fact downtown Hilo is where the drug dealers and prostitutes venture.

Puna is safer than Honolulu because of it's population density or lack thereof. Times have changed here and compared to Oahu, Puna is a lot less dangerous. It's a safe place to raise your kids. No doubt.

[Miulang]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

Sure we had the Dana Ireland case in Puna but what about any of the murders and rapes that occur almost weekly in Honolulu? When I saw the crime statistics in Honolulu I had to ask myself: Do I want to raise my kids here anymore? The answer was simple, move away. It's not the wild wild west out here, it's pretty tame compared to any part of Oahu.

Eh Craig, interesting you should mention the Dana Ireland case. I just saw a rerun of her murder case on Cold Case (or one of those reality cop shows) the other night. The other Hawai'i case that's been turned into a TV show was one that talked about the corruption in Hilo politics and how Harry Kim first got elected. Only the "Bounty Hunter" is doing cases for TV based in Honolulu. Maybe crime is too common in Honolulu for Hollywood to care about...but there was that murder case long time ago in Honolulu (during WW2?) where one haole military officer's wife wen claim that 4 local men wen go rape her and the murder of one of the defendants, who really was innocent (apparently she was da lolo one). That was a PBS special recently that we saw up here. Talked about why the locals hated the haoles (especially the military people) during that time.

Miulang

[pzarquon]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

No need to convince me, Craig! So how exactly do I dump the whole rat race, load my family onto a plane, and leap wholeheartedly into the "wild west" of rural Big Island? I keep trying to plan it out, but step one - "become independently wealthy" - is really turning out to be a challenge!

[alohabear]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

[QUOTE=craigwatanabe]I've heard that saying about Puna being the wild wild west mostly from residents of Hilo who really never venture beyond Panaewa Zoo. If you look at the "Arrests" column in the Hilo Tribune, most crime stats come from the Hilo area!

The statement came out about the "wild west" when a few years back before you moved there a group of people stormed the police station to break out their friend. Also... did you build your home or bought a preexisting one? My friend built his and the contractor had to only bring materials for that day's work. Unlike job sites in Hilo he couldn't drop off a weeks load of lumber and roofing because it wouldn't be there the next morning. My fear about Puna is that if you have a medical problem ...like a heart attack, the victim is gonna die. Help is so far away.

[Paul]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

Hi, I just joined this forum. I've been living in HPP for the past 8 years. While it is true that contruction materials left unguarded on site are liable to get stolen in HPP, this is because the lots are 1 acre in size and what's on them is not always visible by neigbors as in Hilo. As for help being far away for medical emergencies, the main factor in this is the single congested road going to Keaau. HPP is really not that far away. I can get to the hospital in less than 30 minutes with no traffic.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

You're right about HPP it isn't in the boonies as most perceive. The Keaau Bay Clinic is within 20-minutes from HPP even at it's farthest point at Beach Road and Makuu Drive. 20-minutes! Jeez that's about how long it takes you to get from Kahala to Queen's Medical Center!

As for me my home was already built (I bought before the big building boom so I lucked out).

If some of you had bought when I first mentioned this area you too would be swimming in equity. Prices then were in the low $200,000 range if not below. And that was just over a year ago when I started lamenting on the value of Puna.

[Konaguy]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

The rapid increase in land has occured in Ka'u too. Property in Discovery Harbour
was as cheap as 5,000 back in 1999. My parents bought two lots for 9,500 each
there. Now the cheapest lot for sale is over 90,000 [There is one lot for 59,000
that the realtor is looking for additional offers if the current purchase falls through.

[Paul]

Re: Puna...what did I tell ya months ago

I remember a couple of years ago all the counties were thinking about raising the property taxes because the values went down so much and they weren't collecting as much taxes. What a difference a few years make! Now they are thinking about lowering the property tax. I say leave it as is.