Kailua Kona Real Estate Blog

Things I wish I knew before moving to Kona Hawaii

If you are thinking about moving to Kona Hawaii, there are few things I wish I knew before I moved here.  Yes, you can create a happy life here in Kona, but if you had a little more information before you made the leap across the pacific it might be a little easier to make the transition a bit smoother. 

Hi, I am Stephen Proski with Homes In Hawaii For Sale, if you are new to my Website Aloha and if you have been here before you know I am posting info about this beautiful island

If you haven’t heard the Island of Hawaii which is what the Big Island has been called forever has not been named Hawaii.   Yes we are no longer the Island of Hawaii, Just Hawaii

Talk about confusion, well, if you lived here long enough you will find out Hawaii is a lot different than mainland life.

So, lets jump right into it.  The first thing I wish I knew before moving to Kona Hawaii is there is a big difference from living in Kona versus vacationing in Kona.  When I was deciding on making a move to Hawaii, I only really evaluated my vacationing times in Hawaii and how I liked or disliked certain islands.  When on vacation, you tend to shut down the busy work world, relax and enjoy the time away from all the daily hustles.  So, thinking when you move here it is going to be just like on vacation, sitting on the breach, soaking up the sun and sipping on a mai tha under an umbrella.

Nope, living in Kona Hawaii is like living any place else unless you are retired.  You get up every day, go to work, go shopping, maintain your home, do those weekend chores.  But the good news is, you are doing all those things in this wonderful place we call paradise and it is well worth it. YES!

The number 2 thing I wish I knew before moving to Kona Hawaii is there is a limited supply of everything

Living on an island means it's harder to get some things.  A few things are just impossible – We live on an island and just about 90 to 95% of everything you want to buy and consume has to be shipped here and that makes it more expensive, not to mention slower to arrive.  A good number of companies do not ship to Hawaii because of that. Amazon the world’s largest online shopping company doesn’t ship everything here that they offer.  Matter of fact, if you are use to seeing that Amazon truck pull up to your house daily, you are not going to find them here.  Amazon sends the majority of their items via the Unites States Postal Service and it will not get here in a day or two.   Try 2 weeks minimum

Even if there are stores here in Kona that carry what you want, that doesn't mean that they'll have it in stock on any given day. 

Since shipping heavy items can be expensive and often slow, living on an island means that sometimes you have to settle for what we have.  You can't drive a few hours to another city to get something that isn't available here. We can’t even drive to the nearest Hawaiian island.   We are 2500 miles away from the nearest continent. Although we do have a few Home Depots, Targets, Walmart’s, Macy’s, Lowes and 1 Costco on the Big Island.

Sometimes you just need to wait and learn to be content with the more important things – like family, warm weather, the ocean, Island life.  Yes, even building supplies can be a challenge here as well, so learning patience is something you need to prepared for when you move to an island.

The number 3 thing I wish I knew before moving to Kona Hawaii is Island Time.  One of biggest complaint I here from people moving here is that everything takes much longer here in Hawaii.  Life here in Hawaii goes by its own rules and if you are going to vacation or live in Hawaii you must play by the same rules because Island Time always wins here!

When I first moved to Kona, it drove me crazy that everything from meetings to shopping seemed to go “slower”. I’d be the “uptight” person getting all upset over a contractor being five minutes late, or people stopping to chat in the middle of a store while I was waiting to pay for my groceries.

I was fighting a silly battle that I knew I could not win and the stress it initially caused was not worth it.

 people in Hawaii want to “talk story” and connect with their community and live the Aloha spirit. I’d moved to Kona to LIVE IN HAWAII so I needed to let go and let live on Island time.

If you are enjoying this content and want to learn more about how it is like to live in Kona Hawaii, please leave hit me up at the QR code above or leave me a comment below I would love the hear from you

The #4 thing I wish I knew before moving to Kona HawaiiIf you're not local, you'll never be.

If you didn't grow up here and have parents of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander decent, you're a Haole.

Hawaii is a blend of many different races and cultures, but if you didn't grow up here, you flew here - just like I did then you will never be a local no matter how long you live here. 

 Communities here are very insular.

So, people here take their time developing their friendships with people who have moved to the island, because they want to make sure you’re going to stick around before they invest their time and energy into building a friendship with you. .

As a general rule, the longer you live here, the longer you're likely to live here.  Meaning, if you just got here, your chances of moving back home are very high because it might take some time to connect with the locals.   Be patient and reach out, it is always nice making new friends

The fifth thing I wish I knew before moving to Hawaii is that, Kona is paradise, and it can be expensive

Yes I knew home prices here were some of the highest in the United States, but the good news is the home prices on the Big Island are a lot more affordable that the other Hawaiian Islands, that’s why I chose to move to Kona in the first place.

What I didn’t expect is all the other things you want to buy were going to be expensive and well.  

Living in Hawaii will definitely make you a little more resourceful, grow some of your own fruits and vegetables, maybe do a little fishing.  If not, already Hawaii will teach you to be a bit more independent and self-sustaining.

I hope you enjoying this information and if you want to know more about my move to Kona reach out to me anytime.  You may also want to check out a few of my videos Living in Kona   Mahalo for watching see you soon Aloha!