Living in Hawaii – it’s every bit as incredible as you might think. Here on Maui, we have that perfect sweet spot between city life and rural life.

Specifically, the town of Makawao (pronounced “mock-a-wow”) makes living in Hawaii a little more special. It’s got that small town feeling combined with a Goldilocks climate – never too warm and never too cool. Sitting at 1600 feet above sea level, Makawao affords its residents rich views of both coasts while it lives up to its name, which translates to “edge of the forest.”

Enjoy a handful of factoids about Makawao:

* The population hovers around 8,000.
* The median resident age is around 43.
* The median household income is around $65,000.
* The median home value is slightly above $646,000, a rise of around 7% from last year.
* The land area is slightly under 5 square miles.
* 98% of Makawao’s residents are high school graduates. 24% hold bachelor’s degrees, while 8% hold master’s degrees or higher.
* Serves as home to one of the most respected prep schools in the nation – Seabury Hall – which boasts an outstanding college acceptance rate, and whose alumni have been accepted to Harvard, Yale, Brown, Cornell and Stanford.
* The average household size is 2.8 people.

Living in Hawaii offers the obvious advantages that the tropical outdoors brings: minutes to beaches, minutes to hiking, zip lining, horseback riding, biking, stand-up paddleboarding, kiteboarding, and surfing don’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the outdoor activities.

The Ranch at Paholei, a 35-acre equestrian homestead, is nestled at the foot of Makawao, just minutes from our eclectic beach town of Paia, and is now available for purchase. Living in Hawaii couldn’t be more grand. With a carefully remodeled, historically significant main home of 5,210 square feet, a purpose-built horse barn of 6,700 square feet and sparkling new bi-level guest cottage whose lower floor can accommodate even the largest of water toys and equestrian toys, this property has it all. The sublime banyan tree provides shade for your horses’ grazing. The mango garden is loaded with rare and exotic flora at every turn. The bi-level koi pond and the perfectly preserved ruins from the 1846 sugar mill conspire to set Pueo Estate a world apart.

If living in Hawaii on a pristine equestrian estate appeals to you, I would welcome the opportunity to hike the property with you. Experiencing the property with all your senses is an absolute must: the aromas of roses, allspice and clove waft through the garden; the cool misty rains that occasionally dance through lower Makawao bring rainbows that you would swear are projected from a multicolored Hollywood searchlight; the sounds of utter silence are occasionally broken by the muffled sounds of nature being itself.