DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LIVING IN KONA AND HILO

We are getting lots of emails asking us what our reasons were for moving from Hilo to Kona. Our immediate motivation to move was to get away from the increasingly boisterous students from the UHH campus near our rental house in Hilo. Once we started looking, we discovered that Kona rental prices had dropped since we looked two years ago. This meant that it was affordable for us to rent in a new condo complex across from a beach and walking distance to Kailua Pier. We assumed living in Kona would be much like Hilo with more sunlight and more places to swim. We are surprised at how different living in Kona is from Hilo.

In our Hilo neighborhood most of our neighbors were elderly, retired, and lived life at a slow pace. In Kona everyone in our neighborhood is on the move, jogging, walking, swimming, bicycling, and cheerfully greeting each other; it is a constant blur of activity. In Hilo folks take time to talk story and enjoy lots of celebrations and pot lucks. In Kona people advise us on where to go for daily walks, the best routes to swim, and share their favorite workout schedules. Folks in Hilo are pretty laid back with a high tolerance for clamorous college students and aggressive pan handlers downtown. In Kona there is little tolerance for loud parties, aggressive pan handlers, and Kona has numerous organizations working to make it a less rowdy place.

We moved to Hilo to recover from 10 years in Silicon Valley and restore ourselves physically and emotionally. We loved the laid back Hilo lifestyle and we doubt if we could have relaxed and recovered as much if we had moved to Kona two years ago.

Now, we are rejuvenated, ready for a new challenge, and want to make progress on our physical fitness. Our Kona neighbors are professional athletes, fishing charter owners, and work in the tourist trade. We hear them rise at 5:30 AM and head out to their boats, jobs and workouts. We watch athletes push themselves physcially and fight their fatigue. At a recent KVBID meeting, Kailua-Kona business owners presented their progress on beautifying Ali’i Drive, improving security, and increasing the local businesses' revenue. We find the vibrancy and energy of Kona to be invigorating and inspiring.

We have met many people in Kona that spent two or more years in Hilo before making Kona their home. We share our rich experiences of living in Hilo and count the benefits and blessings of the time we had there to better understand and appreciate the island of Hawaii.