hey guys-

the wife and i were looking at some of the Gentry houses in Ewa today, and i'm pretty much sold. but, what i wanna know is from the people who live there - what are the pros and cons of Ewa? things to watch out for? traffic horror stories?

i would ask the sales lady questions and she'd try to get out of answering it:

me: so how is morning and rush hour traffic to town?
her: we're building 10 houses a week!
me: great, but how is morning and rush hour traffic to town?
her: i like the color green!
me: what?
her: fourteen?

any advice is appreciated. thanks guys!

 

there is traffic in that area
when i would visit my cousin during off hours it was smooth, but during traffic time you get to enjoy going slow.

and expect to get stuck in traffic going/leaving town if you head out in the morning/afternoon. you kind of just got to leave at the right time and then its no worries.

although i'm not from ewa, but i don't care cuz you aren't not going to not do anything about it.

just be prepared to have a guy go over your house a lot to play videogames and eat your food.

 

You get those answers because.......the traffic sucks!!!

And you drive into the sun both morning and afternoon, its hot, it rarely rains (which can be good and bad i guess), and you can't forget the red dirt (although thats a given on most of the westside).

But there are some decent looking houses at better prices compared to other parts of the island.

by the way...I don't live in Ewa but I hear this from family all the time.

 

what up justin, its mike. ewa is a really good place to live. i live in ewa by gentry, its a very friendly community, quiet, but not silent. pretty much no crime going on. traffic is not as bad as people think. the most ive ever spent in morning and afternoon traffic was about 20 minutes. theres also a shortcut through half of the traffic when youre going home in the afternoon. ill tell you later. the only thing i regret from living in ewa is the far drive to town. but im already used to the drive. it takes 30 minutes to get to town with no traffic. ewa is good to place to just relax and forget about all the business in town. plus it a good place to go jogging, the have lots of fine girls, parks, more fine girls, stretch out areas (for runners/walkers), and more girls. hope this helps.

 

^^^yeah ewa is really cool, beach and tracks are so close

 

girls you say? so who wants to go jogging? or walking since i'm fat and lazy.
heck lets just stand still and wait for them.

 

Yo Justin,

I have lived in Ewa for little over a year now. My wife and I actually like it out here. The primary reason for relocating to Ewa was that the place we are staying is 100% better than the one we were living behind Waikele Shopping Center. You get more for the money out in Ewa. Here goes the Pros/Cons.

Pros:
1. Cheaper and nicer living than most places we've looked at in Aiea/Pearlridge, Pearl City, and Waikele/Waipio area. More room w/ 2-car garage and secure complex for only $100 more per month for rent. SWEET DEAL!!!

2. Good neighborhoods and crime isn't that bad. Alot of open areas to do things. Parks, Golfing, beach, and shops.

3. Weather is quite nice all the time. If you like the sun, come to the Ewa Plain. It's hotter and drier than most places on the island. However, when a storm from the south or winter fronts come through, Ewa gets hit hard. If you like the other kind of weather - cloudy, cooler, wetter - head up towards Wahiawa/Mililani

Cons:

1. Traffic. This is the #1 bad thing about living in Ewa. In the summertime (when school is out of session) the traffic isn't that bad but some days can be. The traffic begins to back up near the shopping mall at Geiger Road. Except for summer, the time to leave is before 530am. After that, everyone leaves. When I was on shift, I had to be at work by 6am so I left at 515am and made it to Hickam/Pearl Harbor on time with a few mins to spare. This happens most of the time. However, right now I need to be work by 745am so I must leave by 7am to make it there on time. Depends on if it is raining or an accident, you will wait much longer. The biggest headache is the traffic on Ft Weaver Road. It takes me an average of 15-20 mins to drive 3.5 miles to H1. Then once you are on H1, depending on your driving style and knowing which lane to be in, the time it would take to get downtown will vary. I'd expect it would take at least 45 mins to 1 hr leaving around 6-630am in the summer and at least an hr but possibly more in the winter. Now, coming home is another nightmare. Traffic backs up at the H1/H3 connection and at the on-ramp near the Sears Distribution Center. Traffic picks up then slows again at the H1/H2 split and where Kam Highway merges to H1. After that, smooth sailing until reaching Ft. Weaver. There is a short-cut which could knoch off about 10 mins on somedays. But expect to sit at least another 15-20 mins on Ft Weaver. Other than the morning/afternoon rush hour. Normally takes about 15-20 mins to get to Hickam/Pearl Harbor area. To town about 30 mins.

2. It HOT!!!!!

3. No big shopping malls. Some small stores locally. Blockbuster, Jamba Juice, Grocery store, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and few other small shops. The closest big store, Walmart, is in Kunia.

I know this was long and probably boring but wanted to give you a good idea of what your getting into. Better safe than sorry. Good luck on your decision.

 

Yo Justin, this is Josh.

I've lived in Ewa Beach on the first street built for Gentry homes from 1988 (when Gentry first step foot in there and the rest was sugarcane), until about 4 months ago. There was no Westloch, no St. Francis Hospital, no townhomes, no Geiger Park, only one shopping center, and a base nearby named Barber's Point. I've seen it grow and it's still growing. After I moved away to Kapolei, new stores and restaurants have been built there.

Traffic in the morning will suck. It begins getting heavy at about 5:30 am and will lighten up after about 9 am. Afternoon traffic isn't as bad. There IS a shortcut to pass up the traffic from the bridge. It almost never rains in Ewa Beach. You will find A LOT of Filipinos as Ewa used to be a plantation village. There is also a good population of "larger" people. Being that Ewa is considered "country", the people are more laid back than the townies.

Being that Ft. Weaver Rd is the main road in and out of Ewa Beach, if anything happens on that road, everyone else is affected. If you're close enough, try going through Barber's Pt. (Kalaeloa) and get on to the freeway via Kapolei.

Oh, and one more piece of advice: Don't look a moke in the eye.

 

Traffic sucks. It takes way too long to get in and out of ewa beach. Inbound there is almost always at least moderate traffic on Ft. Weaver. Another thing to think about is the fact that they are slowly repopulating Barbers Point and West Loch and they are trying to get a carrier out there too so traffic isn't going to get any better. That said traffic everywhere in HI isn't ever going to get any better. There is no long-term or short-term solution for that matter. The local gov. ****ed it up so bad that there is no way out of this hole so in the end traffic really shouldn't be that much of a factor because no matter where you live, unless its right next to where you work will have bad traffic, if not now than at sometime in the futur.

 

supposedly they are adding lanes to ft weaver road as we speak. but there alot more homes being built too. gentry is building about 15 homes per month on average.

what i don't like besides the heat is the red dirt. everything gets dirty really fast and it stains fabric.

my 2 cents but i don't live out there. i worked for gentry for a summer out there as their project engineer so that is what i saw.

 

I used to live in Waipio (a little closer to town then Ewa), and traffic was pretty bad in the morning. Expecially during times when it is raining. I remember when there were a few major accidents on the freeway, traffic was hell!

Ewa is a quieter than town, just everything is further away. Although I am a biased townie, town suits me just fine. Close to the strip bars, clubs, restaurants, and various other places of 'Fun'. The ladies all come to town. Now if I can only find one for myself.

B

 

my wife is from ewa. nuff said.
there are too many chronics in ewa.... HA! just kidding!!!(no offense u ewa guys)... but i have family out thar...hehe
nice area. the only reason why i wouldn't live there is that there is
really only one road in and out- which will have some major renovations in the next 2 years.<---- traffic
stay away from Habush at night. nuff said on that.



aloha from the summit of Mauna Kea

 

when the sales lady is not asking your questions that you are repeating over & over there is only 2 reason why she does that one is that she is trying not to tell you the true about what is going on, or she does not like new yorkers.. nah j/j

 

I haven't lived in Ewa for that long nor do I live 'deep' within it. Here are my observations:

The homes are really cheap and you get pretty good value for your money.

It is super hot and you really need a/c.

The traffic sucks although I live pretty close to the hwy but it still sucks. It must suck even more for people who live deep in ewa.

It has only rained hard once (today) since I've lived there (moved in june)

I have a crap load of lizards in my house.

There's a lot of bugs (roaches, ants, bees, wasps, etc) including centipedes.

The neighborhood is seemingly nice and a lot of people like to walk their dogs and such. I haven't seen any honeys like someone previously posted though.

There aren't many places to eat nor many places to go (from what I've seen).


I eventually plan on moving to Mililani because there is a lot more places to go (Costco, Walmart, movies, parks), better schools, the weather is nicer (wetter and cooler; I'm from HI but lived in WA for 8 yrs). It is just too expensive right now.

My limited experience here tells me that I would rather live somewhere else if I had the money to do so. If you work close by then that would be cool. Once you get on H1 I guess traffic isn't that bad but you shouldn't have to sit in traffic (ft weaver) before you even hit traffic (H1)!

 

Speaking of shortcut .. that thing is getting packed, rofl.

Sometimes I wish they planned a BIGGER ROAD in the first place before they build houses non-stop for what, 4 miles?

Otherwise, Ewa Has some NICE weather, great neighborhoods. I personally think A/C is not really necessary, but when the tradewinds die down it may get a little uncomfortable.