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Where we live


bgl

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I should begin with a brief explanation. The “we” in “Where we live” refers to all of us here on PalmTalk, not me and my family personally.

“Community” is an interesting concept. When I grew up in Malmö, Sweden, the only community I knew was my city, and in particular Kirseberg, the section in the city where my family lived. We lived in an apartment on the second level in a three story building, and we knew all our neighbors. Immediately below our apartment was the grocery store, so needless to say they knew me and I knew them. I also knew the people at the post office, about half a mile away, because of all the international (aviation related) mail that I received when I was a teenager. But other than that, you generally didn’t know people, especially if they lived more than a couple of blocks away, with the exception of relatives and a few friends of the family. And most people didn’t move much, except maybe from one apartment, or house, in the city to another. And that’s pretty much the way it still is today, which is quite different from the USA, for instance, where it’s almost the norm for someone to have family and relatives spread all over the country.

Since venturing out on my own, I have been fortunate to live in many different communities, in Sweden, Norway, and here in the USA in New Jersey, Florida, California and Hawaii, and briefly in New York City. I also used to work in Denmark, while still living in Sweden (commuted by SAS almost every day!).

This brings me to the reason for this thread. While heading in to Hilo earlier today in pouring rain (major understatement!) it occurred to me how much my sense of “community” has changed over the years and how very different my present community is compared to the one I grew up in – in just about all respects. Back then everything was very neat and orderly and every single person had the same ethnic background. They were, after all, all Swedish! You only knew a small number of people in your immediate neighborhood, plus of course your relatives, who were all within a few miles. And there certainly was no threat of natural disasters. In other words, it was pretty boring!

Now, I live in the district of Puna on the extreme southeastern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii. This is a place that you can easily call both wild and untamed without any sense of exaggeration. And the people who made a conscious decision to live here mirror that spirit. It’s a very eclectic mix, probably a reflection of the fact that those who choose to live here do so despite the fact that we are living on top of a live volcano, which also happens to be one of the most active volcanoes in the world! And if that isn’t enough, add the fact that we also live in an area where we have the highest rainfall of any residential area in the entire United States! Having lived in many other communities across the U.S. I can easily say that nowhere else have I felt the same sense of community that we have here. Maybe it’s because this is an island, or maybe it’s because many of the people come from some place else and most do not have family here, or maybe it’s because we only have one major road going in and out of lower Puna and if that road is blocked, we’re all stuck…! :( Or maybe it’s a combination of all of the above! In any case, this is a great place. :) We have been for just over 13 years now and I have never lived in a place where it has been so easy to meet people and make new friends. No matter where you go; the bank, the post office, various restaurants, the grocery store, etc etc., just about everybody seems to know if not everybody, then at least somebody! I look forward to many, many more years here, because I’m not moving again!

And I didn’t even touch on the fact that the other great community that we are all part of is right here on PalmTalk, but that’s actually the main reason why I decided to begin this thread. The PalmTalk community, as we all know, is truly global, yet we all live in our own local communities, and many of them are quite different in character. It would be great to hear from other Forum members. Tell us about your own community. Why you live there. What it’s like. How long you’ve been there. And whatever else you can think of! And post some photos to give us a sense of your neighborhood.

Will post some photos of our community in Puna, beginning in post #2. This post is long enough...

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Here are a few photos to present the wild and untamed part of Puna. I took these photos from a helicopter a couple of years ago, and they are all taken right around the current eruption site of Pu'u O'o, which is about ten miles immediately west of where we live. The last photo shows the subdivision of Royal Gardens, or I should say the remnants of it. There's one house in that photo, and people still lived in it then, but it's my understanding that the house has since been destroyed by the lava flow. Even back then, the only way in and out was a strenous 3-4 mile hike across open lava fields, and up a relatively steep slope!

EDIT: apparently I exceeded the 2MB limit for photos so the Royal Gardens photo is in the next post!

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Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Here's the Royal Gardens photo....

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Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Now to the specific subdivision where we live: Leilani Estates. This is one of many subdivisions that were created in Puna in the 1960s, often with substandard roads and generally inferior infrastructure. That's how they were able to offer land dirt cheap! Things have improved in some areas since, but most people here are still completely independent when it comes to such things as water and sewer. The area around Pu'u O'o might be wild and untamed but Leilani Estates is a pretty orderly place, surrounded by wilderness. Just yesterday, I was face-to-face with a 200 lb feral pig in the forest, a couple of hundred yards away from our house! :mrlooney:

Photos - top row, first photo shows Malama Street, from our entrance on the right, down to the end at Pomaikai Street. This is a VERY quiet street! Second photo shows the property right across Malama Street from us. This is what a majority of the undeveloped properties in Leilani Estates look like. Ohi'a trees and "uluhe" fern. The third photo shows a property in the lower part of Leilani Estates that's been cleared. Many people do this, which is unfortunate if it's a nice piece of land with lots of vegetation. In this particular case, this area had a brush fire a few years ago and the fire destroyed all the Ohi'a trees. And they all happened to be very small anyway. Another mile up the hill (towards where we live) vegetation is quite different, with many large trees.

The bottom two photos show a common sight here in Leilani Estates - clearing of property.

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Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Three more Leilani Estates photos: the first one shows what a piece of property can look like here - not so easy to walk around and check it out! The other two show typical properties here, many of which are very nicely landscaped.

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Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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The village of Pahoa is the "center of lower Puna". Pahoa is fairly small, probably only about 1,000 people or so, but everyone within a 6-8 mile radius uses the Pahoa zip code (96778), and Pahoa is also where "everything" is - the bank, the post office, stores, restaurants (some that are very good) etc etc. So, a few photos from "downtown" Pahoa, and one photo showing a little "fixer upper" on the outskirts of town. Just to give you a sense of the ambience here.... :lol:

I have many more photos that could convey what our community is like, but I'll leave it at this, and let others continue...! :)

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Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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I came from a different country in 1993 to Australia to study, so it was a huge change for me!! The first place I lived in Australia was Melbourne. Coming from Jakarta, Melbourne was tiny!! I was surprised that they called it 'MAJOR' city in Australia... I remember thinking "where are all the people"?? Anyway, after moving around from place to place due to Scott's work, we lived in Brisbane for 3 years... I could never call that place home. Yes, it was comfortable... but it just didn't feel right. So, we went remote and went to Gove. After Gove, we looked around and we thought we liked North Queensland, but we couldn't find decent work for us that don't require Scott being away most of the time... so we looked West and found Darwin.

I thought it was a compromise... but after visited a few times and now living here for 3.5 years, it is well and truly home. Yes, NQ has higher rainfall and probably less extreme weather than Darwin for our gardening passion, but unfortunately, I could never feel at home in QLD. Darwin is a different place all together and it is still in the tropics. Yes, there are a lot of weird people here, even down the the extremes... but nobody really cares... They don't really care if you are blue, green, red, or white... and if they are rednecks... they are proud to display it!! It is a bizzare place. Definitely not for everyone....

I live in rural area of Darwin... I go to the shops and I can still see smiles... which is rare these days. I remember visiting Townsville and trying to chat with the ladies at supermarket there and didn't get much response... and I thought, yes... I was not in Darwin anymore. So, that is why we decided to buy 5 acres and put down roots here... and hopefully we can be here for the years to come....

Regards, Ari :)

Ari & Scott

Darwin, NT, Australia

-12°32'53" 131°10'20"

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Ari,

Great to hear your story! And I sense a lot of similarities between how you and Scott ended up where you are and how I and my wife ended up here, and also between Darwin and where we live. Maybe there's also another reason why people are friendlier here, and where you are - the pioneer spirit! People venture into unknown territory, literally, and that makes it easier to "break the ice" and become friendly with others in the same situation.

What's the population like there? The entire Big Island has about 170,000 people, and the district of Puna a bit over 30,000 I believe. There are nine districts here on the island.

Bo-Göran

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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I live here... sigh... my desk.

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Bo, tell me about the Hawaiian Acreage community. Little more rugged than Leilani? I'm aiming for a visit late spring early summer.

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Ari,

Great to hear your story! And I sense a lot of similarities between how you and Scott ended up where you are and how I and my wife ended up here, and also between Darwin and where we live. Maybe there's also another reason why people are friendlier here, and where you are - the pioneer spirit! People venture into unknown territory, literally, and that makes it easier to "break the ice" and become friendly with others in the same situation.

What's the population like there? The entire Big Island has about 170,000 people, and the district of Puna a bit over 30,000 I believe. There are nine districts here on the island.

Bo-Göran

The whole Northern Territory is only 200,000 people. So probably Darwin has 120,000. People either live here for 2 years (do their stint and leave) or 20. I should try to find old photos of the place, although the Rat Pack boys had posted some photos a while back.

We love it here because we don't try to change it to something we are familiar with. We take the good with the bad, and we think the good is still winning. Nowhere is perfect, as we have lived everywhere else.

Regards, Ari :)

Ari & Scott

Darwin, NT, Australia

-12°32'53" 131°10'20"

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Ari,

The more you tell me about your community, the more similarities I see! There's a certain type of person who will move to Hawaii, maybe more so to the Big Island, and when faced with how things are done here will typically say something along the lines of "well, THIS is how we do it in California" (or whatever state he came from). Those are the people who usually move back to the U.S. mainland after a couple of years....

William,

Surely, there must be more to your community than that...!? :huh: I remember way back when we lived in FL (Sunrise, then Coral Springs). I thought it was a pretty interesting place... :)

About Hawaiian Acres: for those who didn't know, this is where Floribunda Palms has its nursery. The properties there are 3 acre parcels, as opposed to 1 acre parcels in Leilani Estates. The price for 1 acre here is usually about the same as the price for 3 acres in Hawaiian Acres. I get a bit of a "Wild West" feeling when I drive thru Hawaiian Acres. There are probably quite a few people who live there who are into what you might call an "alternative life style". And I'm not impying any criminal. They might just be very adamant about living off the land (growing fruit, vegetables etc), having solar power, home schooling their kids, not using poison to control weeds etc etc. Apart from one road, well one and a half I guess you could say, that's paved, all the other "roads" are pretty much just laid out on top the lava. Up to just before the 2004 Biennial here in Hawaii, the road just outside Floribunda had a dip in it that was almost a foot straight down. So you had to come to a complete standstill in order to negotiate this little rock in the "road". Apparently Jeff talked to the Association there and they improved that portion of the road (just before the Biennial). But I still wouldn't go faster than 5 MPH. And most of the roads there are in a similar condition.

Bo-Göran

PS - surely there must be others who can tell us about the community they live in...? With Forum members in all sorts of interesting places around the globe...!? :huh:

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Found a few photos from Hawaiian Acres. These were taken in Feb 2007, just over two years ago:

1 - main entrance to Hawaiian Acres, from Highway 11. (There's also a "back entrance" coming from the Pahoa direction, going thru the Ainaloa subdivision)

2 - this is the "half paved road" I was referring to above. It's only paved for just under 2 miles and then turns into a dirt road. But most of the properties along the paved stretch are very nice and neat

3 - this is what many of the roads look like, even though the road in this photo is actually a bit above average! (Floribunda is another half mile down the road). There are lots of dips in the road, and when we have heavy rains those dips turn into lakes. And when you drive into one you never know if the water is 5 inches deep or 5 ft deep. SCARY....! Until you get to know the road.

4 - entrance to Floribunda off the same road that's in #3

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Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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This is a very interesting topic."Place"is a deep concept fundamental to our being.My area(let's say Palm Beach County) has witnessed major changes most of which have removed neighborly human contact.By that I mean that some people who live next door do not have any real interaction.As a parent,it is more difficult for our children to go outside and do what I did growing up.The "Handshake Guys" of my father and grandfather's age have been replaced by folks who take joy in knowing that they will squeeze a little blood from the "Handshake Guy's" pinkie just because that is the new ethos.I look at old pictures of the Palm Beach area together with things like my Mother's High School Annual(she graduated from Palm Beach High in 1947) and it is more than a little sad to see what used to be a real community where people truly cared about fellow humans.The natural beauty of the area at that time was truly amazing.

One place to me that has become more interesting is Miami.From Fort Dallas to Lemon City to Miami,today it is a truly International city.(BS's new Headquarter's)It did not happen overnight and some of it was painful but I like the idea of driving an hour to a truly foreign place.Many different cultures can be experienced.You may not be able to keep your doors unlocked but I like that aspect of the Magic City.

What you look for is what is looking

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Hmm.

In my little village of La Habra, California . . . . .

We have houses, like this one, a few doors down from my place on Canasta Drive.

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And, it's for sale!

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Driving down Cypress Street, to the south.

I live in the hilly, upscale part of the village.

There are other much less upscale areas, however.

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Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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An upscale, or quasi-upscale, house.

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Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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Apartment houses.

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Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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And another.

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More modest dwellings.

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Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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More small houses.

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Many houses are a bit drab, but this one is an ORANGE exception. . . . .

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Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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Satakentias at the back-door patio. The new steel roof was expensive but should be good for 50 years or so.

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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Satakentias at the back-door patio. The new steel roof was expensive but should be good for 50 years or so.

Sweet Satty!

Hmm.

Bet that roof's fun to walk stealthily on . . . . . :lol:

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Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or lost profits or revenue, claims by third parties or for other similar costs, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of my opinion or the use of this data. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and I disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use my data. Other terms may apply.

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Living in a city the size of San Diego, we really have multiple communities. I think of it as many circles, large and small, many overlapping, some not.

-I have the small community of my immediate neighborhood, where I know most people at least slightly, and a few quite well.

-Then there are the larger overlapping communities of Ocean Beach -- very laid back, funky, and retro-to-the-60's kind of vibe, and Point Loma which is a little more natty, navy, and yachty. We run into friends in both areas all the time, very often people we've met through the subset and overlapping communities of our children's school and ocean enthusiasts.

-Of course we have our work communities, mine in the city center. My office is fairly large, about 70 people, but I have a small close-knit group of women co-workers I hang with. We even travel together sometimes, mixing a little pleasure with a little business.

-Then I have my music communities -- people who get together at various venues to jam and play music together. I've met a lot of interesting folks this way.

-Beyond that are the plant communities. These are more like a loose, ever-changing network of people with varying degrees of interest in plants and gardens, all the way from the very general (Hey, it's spring, let's go on a garden tour together!) to the ultra-specific (You need to change out the heavy soil for that Dypsis pilulifera). This can be a very active group with lots of PRAs, and I'm only on the fringe of it, believe me!

Essentially there's a community for everyone in San Diego, especially if your interests lie outdoors: running, bicycling, sailing, rowing, surfing, SCUBA diving, volleyball, kite flying, model plane flying, you name it.

I was born and grew up in the Central Coast area of California, then Steve and I decided to move south to San Diego after we married, primarily due to the best combination of work and surf opportunities. Although we've lived in San Diego for 30 years and in our present home for 22 years, we are still considered newcomers to the area because we weren't born here and didn't attend school here.

San Diego is large enough that you won't get to know the people at the bank or the post office -- they are always changing. And just when you get to know the grocery people, they get moved around too. The advantages of living in a city this size are the many opportunites for children and adults -- beaches, bays, lagoons, zoos, botanic gardens, museums, theaters, aquariums, recreation centers, parks, historic sites, hiking trails, colleges and universities, classes and camps for every activity you can possibly imagine. The disadvantages are the density, the traffic, and the hectic pace, although San Diego is several notches lower than other large cities in that respect. The pleasant weather and location are offset by a higher cost of living, naturally, but home prices have dropped here just like everywhere else.

If you could warm up the ocean temperature by at least 10 degrees F, and triple the annual rainfall, San Diego would be perfect!

Kim Cyr

Between the beach and the bays, Point Loma, San Diego, California USA
and on a 300 year-old lava flow, Pahoa, Hawaii, 1/4 mile from the 2018 flow
All characters  in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Bo,

Thank you for posting this topic. I love to see what it is like where people live and work around the world. I know a few of the places as I have lived or traveled there, but many I may never get to. I hope more people contribute to this. I have posted a lot of pictures of the crazy city on the southern side of the equator where I live over the past few years. Manaus is a very unique place. With a population of about 2 million people situated in the very middle of the Amazon Rainforest, with no road access to the rest of Brazil, outside of the state of Roraima up north, it is more like living on a island than the mainland. Like most areas of Brazil the city has great contrasts. Brazil has one of the higest levels of economic inequality in the world. And, Manaus is no execption. The city is driven by industry withh the factories in the industrial pole. All of the motorcycles purchased in Brazil are made in Manaus, that is about 3.5 million per year. As are the televisions, and a lot of the cell phones. The city is the sixth wealthiest city in the country. I live in an area called Parque das Laranjeiras which is one of the better sections of Manaus. But, I live in the worst part of this area and by many definitions my neighborhood would be called a slum. It is an area that was the result of a land invasion by squatters about 10 years ago. This is known as an Invasão here and to a large degree Manaus has grown many areas no urbanized central parts of the city originally settled in this fashion. There has been no real planning of urban growth, like most Brazilian cities, and infrastructure and social services lag behind expansion. Since the city has grown rapidly over the past twenty years a lot of work has to be done to catch up. Of the 2 million inhabitants of the city about 400,000 still do not have city water or sewage, and we are among these. There is a massive program underway to solve this and hopefully by the end of this year this will not be the case anymore. The streets are a mess due to lack of upkeep and poor construction. For the most part the streets have no real base with asphalt being laid over clay. With the climate here plus the traffic they just do not hold up. And, this year with rainfall above average running near 400 mms per month so far in the rainy season things have gotten worse. In spite of the new mayors campaign to make emergency repairs there are a lot of holes. My street basically has no asphalt anymore. We recently bought a truck load of construction debris, broken brick and concrete to fill up the holes in front of our house. I guess you wouuld say my neigborhood is a bit more exotic than most. But, I know our neighbors, the local supermarket staff, etc. We have a lot of people on the streets, not to mention stray dogs, chickens, and even a sheep or two. We have a Bocada, or a drug dealing spot just across the street and they have a scout premently stationed about 100 meters from our house to look out for the non friendly cops. The friendly cops are on the dealers payroll and stop by every once in a while to pick up their pay off. I see them go down into the area by the stream we call Morrocos to pick up their cash. Every once in a while the civil police come in and shake things up. A month ago or so they go the previous lookout and pulled him down the street in the middle of the night and beat him up quite good. He came back a few days later walking around on crutches. I think for the most part the drug dealer keeps the crime down here as they do not want any confusion with the non friendly police. Our house is very nice and I can not complain about where I live. There is an urban renewal project funded by the Interamerican Development Bank that is urbanizing the stream beds that cut the city and areas like Morrocos are being leveled and replaced with parks and avenues. This is supposedly going to happen here.l But, who knows when. I have lived in several parts of the city, including one of the best gated residencial areas in town, but I really like living here more. My area is really like where most urban Brazilians live.

Here are a few shots of where I live.

I was trying to use the thumbnails, but with my data link it was not going well, so I used photobucket, which I hope is ok.

It was a Sunday morning so things were sort of quiet around the neighborhood.

This is the main street close to my house that I take to go home.

Mainstreet.jpg

On the way I pass by Isaias the Açai producer. We buy all our açái from him.

Isaiasaaiguy.jpg

Then there is the fish shop.

Fishshop.jpg

The tire repair shop.

Tireshop.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Then you pass over the Igarape de Marrocos.

Igarapemarrocos.jpg

My friend Titos condo units. He has been making them one by one and rents the rooms out. He is walking up to talk to me.

CondoTito.jpg

A Boutique.

boutique.jpg

There are a lot of neighorhood evangelical churchs of many varieites. This one is re building bit by bit.

Church2.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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On the nest street you drive by Ceara´s construction material depot. He does a good cash business.

Cearasplace.jpg

At the end of this street is where you turn left onto my street. You have to be careful for the holes in route.

streettohome.jpg

Someone built this house for speculation, but have not found a buyer yet. I guess it is due to the economic crisis.

Houseforsale.jpg

This is where the old stream bed rain, and still is a small stream a few native palms have survived.

oldigarape.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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This is from the begining of my streeet looking out on the neighborhood.

RuaFrana6.jpg

Our house with the Euterpes in the front. The neighbor that we hire to help out at home is carrying my son Caio back to our house.

RuaFrana3.jpg

Looking up the street where I drove down from. My neigbor on this side has this brick ruin of a house he never finishes on the right side. I would like to buy it and tear it down to make a garage.

RuaFrana1-1.jpg

Looking up the street the other way. The drug lookout is on the right side most of the way up the street. My car is in front of our house.

RuaFrana2a.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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On the left hand side there is a guy with a red shirt by the power pole. This is the drug point look out. The dealer,traficante, gives him pot to help him while on duty. The guy makes joints the size of cigars.

bocascoutRuaFrana.jpg

Nearby is a little apartment complex that is a sign of the transition of the area into a more developed form.

Newapartments.jpg

I like this houses paint job. We have a lot of color around town. Sometimes too much.

Greenhouse.jpg

Another new house that has gone up.

upstreethouses.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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There are a lot of large supermarkets in Manaus included several Carrefour stores, the French chain. But, for the most part I shop at our local place, Disk MC.

DiskMC.jpg

I was buying some stuff on Sunday and took a few pictures. Everone goes to supermarkets around the world for the most part, well a lot of people do. And, they are an integral part of life.

SuperMC2.jpg

The meat counter, they have quite good meat.

SuperMC4.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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I Take the egg holders home to use to start my charcoal in the BBQ grill.

ovos.jpg

I also like their banana stand.

SuperMC3.jpg

Check out time.

SuperMC1.jpg

I asked the check out girls if I could take a picture to put on Palm Talk and they were quite flattered. We know the staff at the market pretty well. When my son Caio is along the woman that owns the place normally takes care of him at her counter.

MCgirls.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Just up the street is an area with motels. Motels in Brazil are for romance and sexual encounters, not normally for accomodations. Fidelity is not really too strong a trait among many Brazilians and they do a flourising business. The ones in my area are more on the low end of the scale, but are still pretty well taken care of and clean.

moteldeprazer.jpg

The area next to ours is called Cidade Nova. I was passing through there on Sunday too.

cidadenova.jpg

We have fruit and vegetable stands all over the place.

Cidadenova2.jpg

They had three cow carcasses strung up to butcher at this shop.

aogue.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Around Manaus many spots have breakfast places on the street. Sunday is a big day for these. I normally have a tucuma and cheese sandwich.,

Caferegional.jpg

And, much of the rest of the week is spent running around town in traffic.

Torquatotraffic.jpg

There are a lot of other sides to the city, but this is where I hang out.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Share on other sites

I enjoy reading about everyday life in other places.

My community is a large sugarcane plantation.Everyone knows my name and I will always be called "Gringo" or "Canche" no matter that I have lived here for twenty years.Guatemala is the second most expensive country to live in in Latin America (Caracas Venezuela is #1).Social life and "Community" are strictly influenced by class.Guatemala has the highest ratio of wealth/poverty.I dont remember the exact numbers but what it means is that a very small number of people own all the wealth.We have almost no middle class.Here even men older than myself call me using the title "Don".It is a custom and sign of respect but also shows the rift.

It is still difficult for me to live by these invisible rules.

No matter what social class you are in ,family ties are the most important and the family unit is the strongest .In Guatemala to get anything done you need to "know "people so this involves a complicated system of favors.This is what makes the wheels move here.

I have posted pictures most recently in the Travel area.

El Oasis - beach garden, distinct wet/dry season ,year round 20-38c

Las Heliconias - jungle garden ,800m elevation,150+ inches rainfall, year round 15-28c

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I Take the egg holders home to use to start my charcoal in the BBQ grill.

are these chicken eggs?

If yes, I always wondered why do you guys in america (north and south) have white eggs?

Normal chicken eggs here look like this.

Nice pics by the way!

post-1237-1236804823_thumb.jpg

Edited by Pivi

island Vis, adriatic sea, Croatia. Zone 9b/10a

Temperature low last winter: -0.9°C/30.4 F

Temperature low this winter: -0.3°C/31.5 F

-Creating my own little palm heaven-

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Pivi, the eggs in our supermarkets are dark brown.

El Oasis - beach garden, distinct wet/dry season ,year round 20-38c

Las Heliconias - jungle garden ,800m elevation,150+ inches rainfall, year round 15-28c

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Hi Scott!

Thanks for the info!

I was asking because now i see white eggs on Don's pictures, and i also see white eggs on US movies

island Vis, adriatic sea, Croatia. Zone 9b/10a

Temperature low last winter: -0.9°C/30.4 F

Temperature low this winter: -0.3°C/31.5 F

-Creating my own little palm heaven-

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