Hawaii Rental Market Part 2

Standard leases in Hawaii require tenants to give notice 28 days before the end of the lease. 99% of the properties we've researched and/or viewed are available for immediate occupancy or September 1st. As a result, we've given up on finding an apartment or house for November and are focusing on identifying the area or areas we want to live so we can concentrate our search when we return. We also think that there are no apartment complexes; all units are individually owned and managed by owners or property management companies.

We think we've narrowed down our search to the following areas:
1. Kailua - a mostly residential, laid back beach town. We would have access to lots of outdoor activities and beautiful beaches. A's commute might be a challenge and the commute to town (Honolulu) is unclear. But once we're home we're not likely to want to leave the area. This is the windy side of the island.

2. Mililani Mauka - a planned community, built in 1990, in the middle of the island. A's commute would be approximately 15 minutes. It feels like Columbia surrounded by mountains. This is the cooler part of the island at a higher elevation, 600 ft. Commuting into town might be a challenge, but not too much more than from other areas. We'd likely be homebodies during the week and explore the island on the weekends. Apartments are relatively larger here.

3. Ala Moana - a neighborhood in town with mostly high rise buildings. Go high enough and we can have views of the ocean, harbor, and mountains. A should be commuting mostly against traffic and R could find a job in town, possibly within walking distance. We might be able to get away with one car. We'd be close to Waikiki and other activities in town.

We've ruled out the following areas: Kapolei/Makakilo (hot and too far), Ewa/Pearl City (hot and traffic), West Oahu (no easy access), the North Shore (far from town), Kaneohe (wet), and Hawaii Kai (beautiful, but a bad commute), as well as some neighborhoods in town, such as Salt Lake and Makiki.

The Sunday newspaper is supposed to be chock full of listings so we'll scan through them and maybe check out some more neighborhoods, but won't count on finding anything available in November.

After scouting Mililani we headed north to the North Shore and ate shave ice with ice cream and red beans at the famous Matsumoto's, followed by a quick swim and another sunset.