Are there small towns on Oahu?

October 3, 2012 5:33 PM

Is there a town on Oahu that has that small-town Kauai feel?

Want to relocate to Kauai, but the jobs in my field only seem to have openings on Oahu. Are there towns in Oahu that feel small-town & semi-rural like Kauai (minus Princeville) does?

I just want a simple life of gardening, hiking, maybe surfing, swimming, and cooking when I'm not at work. I don't need any night life or bars or live music or big splashy traveling Broadway shows; I've got plenty to keep me occupied. A personal life's goal is to watch the sun rise or set daily.

I have been to Oahu and didn't like the big city/freeway traffic jams vibe(that is exactly what I'm trying to leave behind by moving to Hawaii). I particularly love Kauai, with its semi-rural feel, and small town, everybody-knows-each-other community (like when the rental car agent asked which cop came to our parking lot accident, since she apparently knows or is related to most of them).

Research on Oahu or Hawaii in general is difficult, because it's mostly geared to vacationers. So are there any Oahu Mefites that can help me? Direct me to a little slice of Kauai on Oahu?

posted by honey badger to society & culture (9 answers total)

Maybe near Kaaawa? My auntie lives there, and it's got beautiful views of the mountain and ocean, a gorgeous beach, and she has a really big garden with avocado and mango trees.
posted by spunweb at 5:54 PM on October 3, 2012

There's nothing on Oahu quite like Kauai, but you can approximate it with some of the small "towns" along the Windward side. You might take a look at Ian Lind's blog. He writes about Oahu/Hawaii issues, and also posts fairly frequent updates on life in Kaaawa. He has a routine of walking down the beach with his wife in the morning, and frequently posts pictures. His front page is now taken up with the local scandal du jour: the "Wonder Blunder," which is worth reading about in any event. You may need to look through the archives.

I'd also look at Ha'ula and Kahuku. My wife's cousin lives in Ha'ula, and they drive into town every day to take the kids to school. Not sure I could live with that drive, but they seem to think it's worth it.

I put the scare quotes in above because these places (with the possible exception of Kahuku) barely qualify as "towns" in my mind. There might be a small store, but you'll be driving quite a distance for groceries, entertainment, etc.
posted by lex mercatoria at 6:04 PM on October 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, look at Kaaawa. It's close enough to Kaneohe or Kailua if you want to go shopping at a mall or larger store without heading to Honolulu.

The next time you go out there, drive or take the Bus from Kaneohe to the North Shore, you may see other prospects this way. (I'm a former resident of Kailua & Honolulu.)
posted by dragonplayer at 6:11 PM on October 3, 2012

I live on Maui and it has the feeling you describe as long as you avoid the West Coast. Not sure if you would find a job here but it's worth a look.
posted by entropyiswinning at 6:12 PM on October 3, 2012

I agree with Hau'ula and Ka'a'awa as good places to start looking. You're close enough to Kaneohe for things like malls and movies, far enough to enjoy things like quiet sunrises, morning rain, and a general absence of big-city things.

For work in Honolulu, you will have to contend either with a long-ish drive or TheBus. But the views are always beautiful and it sure is great to come home through a mountain range and see the ocean on one side of the drive each way.
posted by Quaversalis at 7:00 PM on October 3, 2012

Where do you plan to work? Basically whether you can avoid the terrible traffic is dependent on where you work and how your commute is.
posted by shoyu at 7:02 PM on October 3, 2012

What about Haleiwa?
It's a little artsy-touristy, but that is part of its charm
posted by SLC Mom at 7:23 PM on October 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wouldn't be too fond of Hau'ula myself. My grandparents lived there so I visited them for 25+ years. I thought it was a frightening area with lots of drugs, thugs and sadness. Maybe there are "good" areas but I find it hard to believe.

And I am sure you'd try to kill yourself after your first week if you ended up taking TheBus into Honolulu every day. I'd say you'd have to drive.
posted by SciGuy at 8:33 PM on October 3, 2012

Lanikai?

I spent a handful of month-long autumn / winter vacations there over the early and mid 2000s - seemed eminently livable.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 12:59 AM on October 4, 2012