Hey everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Ben and I'll be moving from Jax, FL to K-bay around June/July. I was referred over here by Bill (ScoobySouth) on nasioc since HIIC seemed kinda dead. So far the move looks like it's going to be a bit complicated (pets, car shipping, household goods, etc) but I can't wait to get out there.

We are starting to look for places to live also. I was wondering if anyone could lend any insight as to what cities/areas would be within a 20 minute drive to MCAS K-bay? TIA!

 

welcome to the boards man. i'm tazer (duh) on Nasioc as well.
name's Burt, Black 06 STI, I work for the USCG (GS type)

20 minutes from K-Bay is relative.. 20minutes WITH typical traffic could be 5 miles from the base... :P

As you can see by google maps, you can see the surrounding area(s)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...,0.173035&z=13

Just to give you an idea,.. I live 26 miles from Sand Island (US Coast Guard Base) and it can take me up to 2 hours to get to work if traffic is stupid (I live past Kapolei (Ka-po-lay), Koolina (Ko-o-leena) resort area to be more exact).
other days it can take me 40 minutes... so.... it's all relative to hawaii traffic and what time you get on the road.

I will say, if you can afford to live on the windward side (Kaneohe (Ka-ne-o-hay) / Kailua (Kai-lu-ah)) it's very beautiful.

My 'remedial' "how to pronounce area names, is just an attempt to help you out and may not be "perfect" but will keep you from sounding "totally lost" with regard to some of the hawaiian names here.

 

I've lived in Kaneohe for ~6 years since moving back...just to give you an idea, I commute into town (Kaneohe - Honolulu) everyday (~22mi round trip)...leaving home at 5am takes me about 1/2 hour, leaving for home takes me about 45min at around 3:30pm...

K-Bay is actually located between Kaneohe and Kailua...more specifically in what is called the Aikahi area...more towards Kailua. If you want dry, you may want to live in Kailua...Kaneohe, at least where I live, tends to rain a bit more...but you do get that lush, tropical, what most people think Hawaii should look like feel.

If you want to be near the base, check out the Aikahi area...full of condo's. Another area, near wear I live in Ahuimanu/Kahaluu/Temple Valley has a whole bunch of condo's to rent as well...

I would contact your base/welcome center or base website. They have a listing there where rental units are posted...problem is, vacancies don't last long so you really need to do your studying on where you want to live...

I'm sure some of the MC members in our club here will chime in soon and help you out further.

Good luck,

Brent

 

well to tell you the truth the way i drive and the H-3 being right there it takes me 20 min to get anywhere!! but then again i dont drive through hell in the wee am hours so.......anyways welcome to heaven on earth hope we all see you around soon and good luck with the move look at kahaluu kaneohe kailua maunawili olomana aikahi

 

I have a friend at K bay who lives in Waimanalo, not sure on the exact commute time. You may want to look into that.

If you like the city you can also look at places on the edge of town (Manoa, Nuuanu & Makiki) which takes about 20 min heading opposite rush hour. I think it is harder to find "pet friendly" places in these areas though.

GL!

 

Welcome to the forums, My name is Dave. Hope to see you at the friday night meets!!

 

Thanks for the info guys! Just because traffic pisses me off I will probably concentrate my search near the base (maybe even base housing). We'll see. Anyway, I'm going to be with VP-4 when I get there.

I'm glad to hear there are regular meets too!

I saw on VP-4's website that all cars imported require an inspection and MUST be registered in HI...is that true? I mean my car is in good working order, but it is catless and I'd like to keep it registered in FL if I can.

 

^^^i think you only have 90 days to register your car in hawaii and yes you will need to pass a safety but the good thing about hawaii is there are no emissions laws so you dont have to get smog ,,anyways good luck

 

Will they waive the registration thing for military?

 

^^^im not sure maybe mike knows better and may chime in why is it cheaper to have your car registered in fl??

 

well, just no state tax, no front plate, and less hassle of re-registering a car...plus I like my florida navy plate.

 

You can keep your FL plates, but i think you still need the safety check to drive on city and county (Seetee and Kowwntee,,, haha just playing around) roads and highways.
Oh yeah another Kaneohe resident here. It is called gods country (windward oahu) since the mountains and lush foliage surround you. But that also means plenty of rain. It may take some getting used to, but i love the mountains and greenery (err scenery).

I know it's a little early, but welcome and aloha. Enjoy your stay!

P.S.- your pets may have to stay in quarantine for several months at your expense, you may want to look into that. Make sure they are current on all vaccinations and rabies type vaccinations.

 

Thanks for that info! I figured I'd still have to have an inspection, but good to know I can keep my FL reg & plates. I'm sure it's absolutely beautiful out there. Just for SNG I plugged Kaneohe into my garmin gps today and it said 4996 miles

I printed off a 5 page long checklist of vaccinations and paperwork that should make my dogs' quarantine 5 days or less...hopefully it works!

 

Mike here, I'm stationed at K-bay and live in Kaneohe. What all do you have done to your car? While there is no smog regs they have this super gay thing called recon here and if you have your car lowered and/or have different wheels it is something you will probably want to look into getting done. Its a long drawn out complicated issue but to summerize things, alot of us dont have it, but the cops can hit you if you have certain things done to your vehicle. Definitly look into what does and doesnt require it so you can make a good argument if neccissary. also if your car is slammed you will be doin alot of scraping on all the hills/ramps/huge speedbumps around here.
As for housing, places do tend to be more expensive on the windward/kailua side but it is the place to be if you work on the base as traffic on the H can get pretty bad. Condos and apartments are more available here and good houses are gonna be a bit farther away unless you go for base housing. if you do want base housing get on it with the rep over there cause there is usually a long waiting list. pets in town will discourage alot of landlords unless you can prove that messes wont be an issue. either way they will complicate your move here, but i know they are part of the family so whatever it takes right? hope that helps, keep us updated with any questions and welcome!

 

^^^^this is who i think can answer every question you have!!!:RockOn - not mine: