What it’s REALLY like living in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii (Funny but True)

Aloha everyone! In this video we put together a list of things you "can’t” do in Hawaii. We have been living in Hawaii for almost three years now and have discovered some things that are not so obvious that you cannot do in Hawaii. The list is meant to be funny and comes from our own personal experience living on big island in the Puna district. So don't take it too seriously =). There is, however, some truth to all of the things that made the list. Hope you enjoy!! Don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE! - Mahalo

**Follow us on Instagram: @offgridhi

Thank you to all our patrons! You mean the world to us!
Stephanie Hamakawa, Stacey Morgan, Mo in Atlanta, Joe Pacholik, Sirron Davis, Kristen Pittman, Andrew Meidenbauer

[sandyn]

Put rice in your salt shaker. My grandma did and she lived in Pāhoa for 15 years. Help with the moisture

[samuraishonan]

You two are the most real YouTubers I have ever seen. Thank you. I will be in Hawaii again next month but no intention of living there. My nephew does and it is a blast to visit him. I am a mainlander myself but live in Japan and it rocks as well...but not afraid of the lettuce and can walk barefoot and can drink open canned beers anywhere. Aloha...see you next month.

[reydeguerra]

One of my surfing, high school friends vacationing in Kauai, in the 80s, fell in love with a local woman, never came back to California, and is living happly ever after in Kauai.

[kelimutscheller]

TRUTH!!
Lived in Hawaii for over 20 years, Puna for 13. Just days ago moved back to mainland... won’t miss anything on this list! But I already miss soooo many things about Hawaii 💜💜💜
Pros and cons everywhere 🤷🏻‍♀️

[twstf]

My father was killed by Spinal Meningitis, so it ain't no joke, people!

Wash your vegetables THOROUGHLY lol especially from your trendy hippie, "organic garden."

(As if there's any other kind of personal garden 😂)

We live in a little self-sustained community here outside Eugene, Oregon, and parasites can be a huge problem if you don't take at least basic precautions to keep yourself safe and healthy.

Edit; (BTW The thief girl is hilariously adorable lol 👍)

[APPLEKING]

I lived in Opihikao off grid for 20 years. It wasn't easy living. Lots of rain. The funny thing about rain in Puna. No more water bills. The rain is measured in feet not inches. We learned real quick to not complain so much. There was more things to be thankful for than to complain about. We raised 3 beautiful kids, with no TV. We never had to water our garden. Beautiful sunsets. Fruit that tastes like they should, like Pineapple, mango, etc. The only thing that I could complain about, and the reason we moved to the high desert, was the people that kept moving there. It seemed like all they wanted to do is beat drums, smoke dope, shit in a bucket, and run around naked. I could put up with that for a while, but on top of all the BS they brought with them from what ever part of the Mainland they came from, they could not stop complaining. To get away from that, we moved to the high desert on 140 acres of land. It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer and if you don't water your garden it dies. Not a lot of complaining and crying. Too much work to do and beautiful sunsets to watch.

[eacworldart]

So true. I live in Mountain View can have experienced many of the things you mentioned. On a positive note, those hardships are part of what protects the Big Island from over development and becoming like some of the other islands with too many people. Mahalo for your posts.

[superkalafragilistic]

That thief sure is a tweaker, she carried a whole sink with one papaya in it.

[waveriderz]

...living on an island we learn how to be self sufficient and work around things? Life has it's challenges, yes? Hawaii is home and i wouldn't have it any other way!

[whatthefunction]

I use local local mail and ship. expensive but convenient.
We use soy sauce becuase the sea salt turned to a rock.
Our pet chickens have gotten rid of most of our slugs.
I got a little electric jackhammer to dig holes. You can borrow it if you want.

[suzanneschristie]

Thank you so much for doing this video. I went to Kona in 1991 as a nanny with the family I was working for back then. To say the least, I fell in love. I have romanticized living there for over 25 years. Now I can stop! I could never afford to live where we stayed and I'm way too old to live like you guys. So now I know the other side of living in Hawaii!

[Sara-vedo]

I lived in Hawaiian Acres for 2 years. This video is very accurate. I think there are too many harsh comments on here. I guess everyone just wants to be a Hawaii expert and try to sound so smart picking apart this video. Clearly it is ment for The Big Island of Hawaii and clearly for the Hilo Puna side.

[RagingHeartOn]

I had to give a like for the reenactment shots

[planecrazyish]

Hey guys! 👋👋 😃 sorry, this is going to be a bit long winded, but, there may be info here, that you will hopefully find useful.



I only use pink salt or pure sea salt in a fine salt grinder, it works great and never clogs up. Salt lamps, will simply dissolve away, unless they are turned on pretty much permanently, so they're not great off grid, in a humid environment.



Trail cams / wildlife cams, strapped to your trees, make for great surveillance when you're away. They are really cheap online, on ebay, amazon etc. They have motion sensors, so only record when there's movement, so the batteries last. You can view the footage on the actual camera or on your laptop. Loads of videos on YouTube, check them out.



UV light works great against mold and so does ozone, but they require power, so not ideal for you off grid, however, if you mix sodium chlorite and an acid, like citric acid, it will produce chlorine dioxide (gas) that will permeate everything and kill mold. Smells like chlorine, but isn't! but still has to be vented out once you have treated the area. Chlorine dioxide, generated from sodium chlorite is approved by FDA for disinfecting water used to wash fruits & vegetables. It is also used to purify drinking water and widely used in the food industry. I mix it in a glass and place it in my cupboard and close the door for an hour or so, to prevent mold. NB. dont get the liquid on your clothes, because it is a "bleach".



You could also make your own colloidal silver, to do everything from disinfecting drinking water, to applying to all your cuts and scrapes. Really easy to make and SO handy to have. Hope you will find something here, that you can use! 😃👍👋👋👋 if you need any additional info, feel free to ask, ok?

[richardmorgan]

For years I had heard that Hawaii was a better vacation destination than a place to actually live. When I finally visited the Big Island I wondered what all the fuss was about. It seemed a livable place except for being so cut off from the mainland. Of course the Elvis movies don’t tell you the whole story about a place either! Your video has really illustrated why this could never work for me as a place to live! Any one of those reasons by themselves would be enough but together it’s overwhelming! Thank you for putting this together. It’s a real eye opener!

[patmcbride]

Sounds like there is an opportunity for someone to open a mailbox store there.

[baby_UFO]

1. Mail is delivered in town. Yea it sucks.
2. Your lot isn't developed or landscaped; of course it's sharp ground!.
3. Omg... Bicycles? Really? Do you have a deathwish? This isn't Maui. What will you do when you're 50?....60?
4. If you are going to live offgrid, a good solar system is CRITICAL for good health. Run a de-humidifier an hour every morning and night and the mold will vanish, and your salt will be easier to deal with.
5. Your mold issues are common in Hawaii, but totally avoidable. Your home will need a ceiling to avoin condensation issues. .... 6.1 Rippers are Satanic.
6. Let's get REAL here... there are no rivers, only drainage ditches... full of staph.
7. Growing suff in Hawaii to eat is difficult yes.
8. All those items "grow here". You just need dirt.
9. LMAO ... yep.
10. Lol... you chose to live in lava zone 1; go to zone 3 and you won't have this problem.
10.1 Your friends are leaving because you chose a very difficult spot. Lower Puna is well nown as the ghetto of Hawaii. Come uphill a bit and leave the mosquitos behind!
I also started here on a bare lot... You can make it work!

[johnlangan]

I found out that GOD, our creator is watching us and he is takeing care of us. He keeps us out of trouble and teaches us. God is amused and entertained by us. He wants to keep us Live, Love and

[kimoharris]

Aloha, I am a native Hawaiian, born in Kauai, raised on Oahu and the big island. Family has many of acres in Kalapana including the Queens bath area. I currently live on the mainland and from that perspective I wonder 'why are you still there?"


Though your points are well taken from the perspective of the convenience, affordability, and infrastructure afforded in the mainland I humbly ask this question....are the "friends" that have the same complaints also originate from the mainland? There is so much that is "not" included in your video and it creates a self-serving discussion of Hawaii.


You're in the country side, did you expect manicured lands, readily available products and services, city like infrastructure? If yes, do you think a move to Hilo, Kona, Wailuku, Lihue, Makakilo, Aina Haina, Pearl City, and so on is worth considering?


1 - Solutions and acceptance, not complaining and laziness

2 - Capture the beauty of everything you have instead of complaining about what you don't have
3 - Respect the environment instead of expecting or wishing it will change.


I have witnessed, first hand, the degradation of some of Hawaii's country sides (like Waianae) by people with illusions of what Hawaii is or should be prior to coming there from their city of origin, majority of them on welfare. I have also witnessed that many people from those same cities have played significant roles in the progress of Hawaii as a state. Choosing to live on the island with the only active volcano's wouldn't it be logical that you can't dig a hole thru hardened lava? Wouldn't it be logical that the landscape would constantly change? You can choose "not to be attached" but we gladly attach ourselves to the constant evolution of our lands. Where you see the lost of access to a swimming hole, we see the growth of our island.


It is the people of Hawaii, ALL cultures, that perpetuate it's beauty and richness. It is the people of Hawaii that preserves its land and culture. It is the people of Hawaii that run "barefoot" on the black sand beaches of Kalapana like I did. Are you of Hawaii? Or just living there?

[joesoutdoorplaces]

Except for spotty mail delivery, Louisiana shares many things with y'all, very bad roads, fire ants, mold, drug addicts stealing, flesh eating bacteria in the water. I am glad that I do not live near a volcano that can cover everything I own with molten lava. A good followup may be 10 things you can do in Hawaii you cannot do elsewhere. As always, a very interesting video. Love hearing from y'all. Take care.