Hilo has a tropical rainforest climate , with substantial rainfall throughout the year. Its location on the windward coast (relative to the trade winds), makes it the fourth-wettest city in the United States, behind the southeast Alaskan cities of Whittier, Ketchikan and Yakutat, and one of the wettest in the world. An average of around 126.72 inches (3,220 mm) of rain fell at Hilo International Airport annually between 1981 and 2010, with 272 days of the year receiving some rain. Rainfall in Hilo varies with altitude, with more at higher elevations. At some weather stations in upper Hilo the annual rainfall is above 200 inches (5,100 mm).

Monthly mean temperatures range from 71.2 °F (21.8 °C) in February to 76.4 °F (24.7 °C) in August. The highest recorded temperature was 94 °F (34 °C) on May 20, 1996, and the lowest 53 °F (12 °C) on February 21, 1962. The wettest year was 1994 with 182.81 inches (4,643.4 mm), and the driest was 1983, with 68.09 inches (1,729.5 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 50.82 inches (1,290.8 mm) in December 1954. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 27.24 inches (691.9 mm) on November 2, 2000.

Hilo’s location on the shore of the funnel-shaped Hilo Bay also makes it vulnerable to tsunamis.

Best Places to Work in Hawaii

• Treehouse coworking space
• BoxJelly coworking
• Hub coworking
• Sandbox coworking

Treehouse Coworking Space

Treehouse Coworking space has 2 locations on the island of O’ahu. One is in Kailua, only about five minutes by car from the beach. The other is in Kahala, closer to Honolulu. This coworking space prioritises the exchange of knowledge and encourages creative work and collaboration. In addition to a modern coworking space, there is an outdoor area to relax or work and a meeting room. The monthly fee is $250 for limited access from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays or $325 for 24/7 access. Both prices include a $120 voucher for use of the meeting room, free coffee, a personal business address and 60 pages of black and white printing. There are regular social events that you get exclusive access to as a member. If social events are your main priority, they have a social membership for just $90 per month and day passes are available for 25$ from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

BoxJelly Coworking

BoxJelly coworking actually has two workspaces located in the south of Honolulu that you can use interchangeably. With their industrially furnished coworking spaces, these facilities foster creativity and thinking outside the box. Besides the usual amenities like high-speed internet, a locker for your valuables and various meeting rooms, there is also free parking, showers and super-friendly staff. Furthermore, the BoxJelly coworking spaces are pet friendly, so you can bring your four-legged friend along. For $275 a month, you’ll get a membership for the hot desk area as well as unlimited access to common areas and events. Dedicated desks and private offices are also available.

Hub Coworking

Just a 5-minute walk from BoxJelly you’ll find the Hub coworking space. This popular coworking space also has an industrial interior design that creates a friendly and open work environment. It consists of private offices as well as a large shared working space with a communal kitchen, meeting rooms and event spaces. Memberships are available in a variety of packages, with the monthly unlimited hot desk membership costing $285 and giving you 24/7 access to the building. Included in this price is a 100$ credit, which you can use to book meeting rooms. Furthermore, besides high-speed internet and the usual amenities, the Hub coworking also has surfboard storage, a bike rental, showers, weekly member lunches as well as free tea, coffee, and even free beer at the end of the day. Fixed desks and private offices are also available for rent. Check out the website linked above and see which of their plans suits you best.

Sandbox Coworking

The Sandbox is a community centre located in Honolulu right by the University of Hawaii. Spread over about 1,200 square meters you will find a collaboration and event space, a digital media studio, a separate coworking space, meeting rooms, and small private offices. The goal of this unique coworking space is to foster creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship and support every single one of their members. There are two different monthly memberships. For $125, you can get access to the collaboration space from 7:00 am – 6:00 pm Mondays to Fridays, free parking, whiteboards, and free use of private booths. For $375 a month, in addition to the above amenities, you will have a private desk with filing cabinets in the coworking space, 24/7 access to the building, free mail service, and credit for six hours of free use of the conference rooms. A day pass for access to the collaboration space starts at $15 and private offices are also available upon request.

Free Wi-Fi Hot Spots

When Oceanic Time Warner Cable was taken over by Charter Communications, Spectrum was required to provide at least 1,000 new public Wi-Fi hot spots throughout the state to provide access to users. At the time of this writing, Kauai, Maui, and Molokai have active hot spots that deliver one hour of free Wi-Fi per day to anyone; services on Oahu and Hawaii Island are coming soon.

The cost of living is way off. If you live a mainland lifestyle, sure, live a Hawaii lifestyle and it is far more affordable, my buddy lives off like $600/month – he is an extreme case.

Go to farmer’s markets and pick your own food, don’t buy junk food and you will save so much. Electricity will be your main cost of living expense, that is sky high.