One of Oahu’s largest
cities is Pearl City, located in the central
southern portion of the island.To those
of us who live here, it feels like
the center of the island.
The neighborhoods that make up Pearl
City
and Aiea are AieaHeights, FosterVillage, Halawa, HalawaHeights, Newtown,
Pacific Palisades, Pearlridge, Royal Summit, Waiau, and Waimalu.
People who live here in Oahu
tend to
tell you exactly which neighborhood they live in and get very specific
when you
ask them where they are from.They could
just say, “Pearl City,” but they’re more likely
to say
they live in “HawalaHeights,”
if that’s where they live, because it’s more specific.Since our island is pretty small, we try to
be pretty precise when we talk about geography.
The most dominant physical feature of Pearl
City
is of course Pearl Harbor, the famous port
where WWII
started for the U.S.
As you’re driving through, you’ll notice the nice hillside residences,
the
Aloha stadium, and probably a lot of cheaper looking housing that sits
right on
the freeway.That’s because H1 cuts
right through the middle of Pearl City, and as
youmight have guessed, the housing right
on the
freeway is the cheapest.
Also Kamehameha Highway
(we call it “Kam”) divides Aiea
from
Pearl Harbor and Pearl City,
and
acts as a good landmark to understand the dividing lines in the area.
Homes in Pearl City and Aiea
If you’re looking for nicer real estate in Aiea,
then AieaHeights,
Royal Summit, and Pacific Palisades have larger homes with nicer views,
where residents
can see from Diamond Head all the way to the
end of Pearl Harbor.Elevated
above the
rest of Aiea, these
hillside neighborhoods
have some great old homes with majestic ocean views.You have to spend almost a million dollars to
get a nice home in Aiea
and Pearl City.
Newtown
is situated
pretty much right between Aiea
and Pearl City proper, and it’s where a lot of
condos and apartments are
located.Condos in this area start
around $400k for a decent one, and some of the older units that have
been
renovated can be pretty nice.
Pearl City and Aiea
single family home prices start around $600k for a small older home,
and go as
high as $1millionfor larger view
homes.
People like Aiea
and Pearl City because they have nice views,
several
miles of shoreline on Pearl Harbor, and the
area is an
important suburb of Honolulu,
within easy driving of downtown. For
those who can’t afford East Oahu’s prices, Aiea
and Pearl City offer cheaper prices with only a
little
more driving.Aiea,
is about an 8 mile drive into Honolulu. Pearl Ridge
Aiea
is the home
of Pearlridge, Oahu’s largest shopping mall.It is a massive mall that you can hardly
believe exists on our little island.Pearlridge has just about every store you could ever want, so
you don’t
have to leave Pearl City very often.
Also Aloha Stadium is located in Aiea,
so if you’re into football and concerts, you might find yourself there
often.It’s the largest (really the
only) stadium in Oahu.
Pearl City and Aiea Schools
Aiea High School, Aiea Intermediate School, 5
elementary
schools - Aiea Elementary, Scott Elementary, Waimalu Elementary,
Pearlridge
Elementary, and Webling. The Aiea area has slightly higher
property tax rates than the rest of Oahu, and maybe that's why the
schools in this area consistently rank higher than many other areas of
Hawaii. Pearlridge and Webling in particular score well every
year.
.
