Kailua Kona, Hawaii

LIKE many visitors to the Hawaiian Islands, Donna Rehling was smitten right away with the lush landscape, temperate breezes, indigo ocean and, of course, the near-perfect weather year-round. She even invested in a time share on Maui 14 years ago, so she and her family could revel in it all at least once a year.

But when it came time to fulfill her dream of buying a second home on the islands, she picked Hawaii, better known as the Big Island — and specifically Kailua Kona, a community on the western coast — over more populated places on Oahu or Maui.

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