Family Moving to Maui with a reasonable budget (Kahului, Wailuku: 2015, houses)

[HI Curious]

Aloha.

I have a good job offer on Maui and wanted advice on where to live. I looked around other threads but didn't find one that worked for our situation. Work would be on the border of Kahului and Wailuku. Would like to keep commute 20-30 minutes max.

About us:
Couple
2 kids, not quite school age
Currently live in an expensive West Coast city
Previously (before kids) lived/worked in a remote Pacific Island for a couple years, so aware of some of the challenges/expenses.
House budget ~$1 million
Spouse would not be working.

Besides commute, the following are also important, in decreasing order:
1. Safe enough to walk around at night.
2. Decent schools (I know Maui schools don't have the best reputation).
3. Hopefully around 2000-2500 sqft, 4 bedroom and at least 2 bath.
4. Have a dog, so sidewalks in the neighborhood would be nice.
5. Near either a pool or decent beach.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Kokoleka1]

You could live in Wailuku. Or Pukalani. Makawao has nice neighbourhoods. With you budget, even Kula could be an option. The sidewalks will be a bit of a challenge in some of those places...Anyway. Good luck!

[HI Curious]

Originally Posted by Kokoleka1

You could live in Wailuku. Or Pukalani. Makawao has nice neighbourhoods. With you budget, even Kula could be an option. The sidewalks will be a bit of a challenge in some of those places...Anyway. Good luck!

Thank you. I hadn't really considered Pukalani, Makawao, or Kula as they seemed a little remote. Other than cooler weather being at a little higher altitude, what sort of amenities do they have for a family with small children that would lead you to recommend them? Do they have good libraries, parks, schools?

[Kokoleka1]

It's all a bit relative. Maui has the most beautiful parks to me. They are called the beach. But there are also a few nice parks upcountry with playgrounds. Schools again, are relative. We looked at several of them and I like the choice upcountry (again, all in relation to them being schools on Maui, which is fine with us). Remote? I would not think so. I actually would say it's quite central. Remote to me is living halfway to Hana. But then again I don't know Wailuku well enough to compare...

[KauaiHiker]

There was another thread in the past year about moving to Maui upcountry with kids, and all those areas were discussed and recommended. The person came back to say they picked Pukalani and liked it so far. You could ask for another update on that thread.

We have visited friends in Pukalani, it's a nice and quiet neighborhood, easily walkable (though on a hill), with school and municipal swimming pool, grocery and shopping plaza all nearby.

[MamasHouse]

It might have been me that KauaiHiker was talking about. We settled with Pukalani and quite happy with the decision. I don't consider Pukalani remote, but rather central as well. Over the past couple of months, I've visited the different areas, really trying to get a feel for where we eventually want to buy and we keep going back to Pukalani. Kula has houses more in line with what we want but the drive and amenities are too far out there. The park is right by our house, and one of the nicest I've seen on the island. I love how it just "feels" like a neighborhood here. We go and look at houses in the other upcountry areas and it just feels like property and house on random side streets. Foodland, the post office, Starbucks, the bank, Ace Hardwear and some eateries right up the street within walking distance. Slightly further down is Pukalani Superette which is fantastic little supermarket with lots of local and some organic items (don't let the outside fool you lol)
A great pizza joint right by and even more restaurants and shop up the road in makawao.
Husband works in Kahalui and says the longest it's ever taken him to get home in "traffic" was 23 minutes lol. Generally his time is 17 minutes. I have friends who live half the distance but it takes them longer from wailuku. Traffic there happens all the time. We have some of the best school option right here in upcountry and my kids will be utilizing public, and private.
If we were ready to buy at this very moment, we'd look right here in Pukalani, but in the section that surrounds the park, or at least connected to the park via sidewalks.

[trinity1111]

Originally Posted by MamasHouse

It might have been me that KauaiHiker was talking about. We settled with Pukalani and quite happy with the decision. I don't consider Pukalani remote, but rather central as well. Over the past couple of months, I've visited the different areas, really trying to get a feel for where we eventually want to buy and we keep going back to Pukalani. Kula has houses more in line with what we want but the drive and amenities are too far out there. The park is right by our house, and one of the nicest I've seen on the island. I love how it just "feels" like a neighborhood here. We go and look at houses in the other upcountry areas and it just feels like property and house on random side streets. Foodland, the post office, Starbucks, the bank, Ace Hardwear and some eateries right up the street within walking distance. Slightly further down is Pukalani Superette which is fantastic little supermarket with lots of local and some organic items (don't let the outside fool you lol)
A great pizza joint right by and even more restaurants and shop up the road in makawao.
Husband works in Kahalui and says the longest it's ever taken him to get home in "traffic" was 23 minutes lol. Generally his time is 17 minutes. I have friends who live half the distance but it takes them longer from wailuku. Traffic there happens all the time. We have some of the best school option right here in upcountry and my kids will be utilizing public, and private.
If we were ready to buy at this very moment, we'd look right here in Pukalani, but in the section that surrounds the park, or at least connected to the park via sidewalks.

And Pukalani has an amazing Dog Park! Huge grassy areas and Shade trees on both sides of the fence; the "little" dog side and the "big" dog side. Breezy and cool, especially pleasant in the summer.


https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-...park-now-open/