COMMENT BY
Mark from Waianae, HI
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Waianae, HI
COMMENT
Hawaii on a Budget
Hawaii on budget? It's true, it exists and it all occurs on Oahu’s overlooked Waianae Coast, the island’s dry side, where sunshine, low-cost properties and uncrowded beaches make this one of Hawaii's best bets for affordable paradise living. Makaha and Waianae are located on Oahu’s leeward side, about an hour, or so, from Honolulu and Waikiki (depending on traffic) and are the greater Honolulu area's last remaining rural communities. Two-and-a-half years ago we relocated from the gloomy, gray and rainy Pacific Northwest to Makaha Valley Towers, resettling across the ocean in a move we have not regretted. At the Towers we have found affordable, Hawaii-on-a-budget-style living, all wrapped up in a tropical-resort-like setting. Being on the island's dry side, Waianae and Makaha are the “Palm Springs” of Honolulu, with plenty of sunshine and not much rain. The area affords a “desert island” sort of feel with constant daytime temperatures in the mid-80s and plenty of blue skies to match the blue Pacific waters lapping upon Waianae's shores. Hawaii on a budget can require compromise, a reduction in your dwelling’s square footage perhaps, or leaving your car on the mainland and getting around by bus, and probably a change in diet, and for sure some culture shock. However, if tropical sunshine and warm Pacific beaches are your life-long dreams, then the Waianae Coast is affordable the place to be!