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Clients, newcomers and buyer-prospects alike often ask me to describe Waimea. Like the other day when these folks sitting across the desk from me said they were looking for a lot in Waimea. I said how well do you know the area? “Oh, not well, but we like it.”

Did you know there can be as much as 60 INCHES DIFFERENCE IN RAIN FROM ONE END OF TOWN TO THE OTHER in the course of only a few miles? They look at each other, then back to me with a “really?” look on their faces.

I’ll have to say WAIMEA IS ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE LITTLE COMMUNITIES I know. Rainfall aside, just start with the fact that there are two names for this town! The post office address accompanying the 96743 zip code is Kamuela, though the old timers and Hawaiians still call it Waimea which means red water. The post office had to differentiate itself from towns of the same name on O’ahu and Kaua’i, so came up with Kamuela. And even that name origin has a couple versions attached to it.

But for such a small town we have a very wide range of income levels, educational backgrounds and ethnic variations. We’ve got the farmers of Waimea, mostly of Japanese ancestry who collectively produce a good portion of the vegetables for the entire state. You have the Paniolo, our Hawaiian cowboys taught by the Mexican vaqueros from California who contributed hugely to our rich ranching heritage.

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation is responsible for the French speaking members of our community and together with the scientists, programers and astronomers at the W.M. KECK Observatory contribute immensely to our economic base all the while driving the need for good education and health care. We’ve got several private schools in town from Hawaii Preparatory Academy to Parker School and the smaller school options of Waimea Country School and the Montessori schools. And the North Hawaii Community Hospital, a full service acute care, non-profit hospital serves us all!

So much diversity packed into such a small place is a big reason for Waimea’s wide appeal. There’s defintely something for everyone!

Michelle "Mike" Kerr is with RE/MAX Pacific. Contact her at (808) 885-5557 or mike@mikesells.com, or visit her blog.