Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Hawaii

In the Ka’u District on the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates (HOVE) started out as a planned development by the Crawford Oil Company in the 1950s. It is near South Point, the most southern point in the U.S., and it is usually referred to as Ocean View.

Officially a census designated place, Ocean View is called the world’s largest subdivision and spreads across 18 square miles. It is bordered by water and the Kapapala Forest Preserve. Rural, remote and rustic, it is mostly off the grid. People who live here are self-sufficient and, in many cases, have dropped out of modern life. Unlike in many Hawaiian villages, real estate is relatively affordable and the majority of residents are from the mainland. Tourists rarely venture here.

Much of the landscape is composed of lava fields, giving the area a somewhat eerie quality when the mist rolls in. Homes sit on overgrown, often bedraggled parcels on either the steep mountainside or on the flat mountaintop. Many homeowners use solar and wind power to generate electricity since this modern convenience has not yet reached all of Ocean View.

The town has a well, and people without running water use it and rain catchment barrels to maintain their water supply. There are no covenants or HOAs, so housing runs the gamut, from tumbledown shacks to nicer ranch ramblers with acreage.

Amenities include two shopping centers, a handful of restaurants, a couple of bars, a post office, a laundry, a community center, some grocery stores and a gas station or two.

The area is known for its double and triple rainbows, and ocean views from the top of the mountain are simply amazing. Public black sand beaches are about 10 miles away in Punalu’u, but some property owners have private access to Pohue Bay, a nearby white sand beach.

Homeowners pay about $155 per year for road maintenance.