Commute-real for: MCBH, Camp Smith via H-3, Town via Pali/Like
Living in Kaneohe on military orders
Kaneohe is the practical windward choice: real neighborhoods under the Ko'olau cliffs, bay views from ordinary streets, and the closest off-base living to the Marine Corps base. It rains more and everyone gardens like it; the green is the point.
The bands
The commute picture
| To | Typical drive |
|---|---|
| MCBH | 10–15 min |
| Camp Smith via H-3 | 25–35 min |
| Town via Pali/Like | 25–40 min |
The honest trade
Windward inventory is thin and moves in days during PCS season — have documents staged and decide your ceiling before you tour, not during.
For families
Schools
| Public elementary school | Grades | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| Kaneohe Elementary School | PK-6 | 526 |
| Kapunahala Elementary School | PK-6 | 422 |
| Heeia Elementary School | PK-6 | 375 |
| Puohala Elementary School | PK-8 | 314 |
| Ahuimanu Elementary School | PK-6 | 276 |
| Reverend Benjamin Parker Elementary School | PK-6 | 261 |
| Kahaluu Elementary School | PK-6 | 240 |
| Ke Kula o Samuel M Kamakau - A Laboratory PCS · charter | PK-12 | 140 |
| Waiahole Elementary School | PK-6 | 106 |
Public schools in Kaneohe from NCES Common Core of Data via Urban Institute Education Data API, 2023-24 directory (latest). Pulled 2026-08-06. We don't rank schools and never publish attendance boundaries — your zoned school depends on your address; confirm at the DOE school finder before you sign.
Childcare
Licensed full-time care on Oahu runs roughly $900/mo (median, licensed center or group home) to $1,561/mo (median, center-based infant/toddler) — the crossover math is in The Second Paycheck Report. Find licensed providers through the Hawaii DHS finder or PATCH (808-839-1988); confirm each provider's current license before visiting.
Cost source: 2023 Hawaii Child Care Market Rate Study (Hawaii DHS, CCDF biennial requirement; prepared by PATCH). Pulled 2026-08-05.
Commute, sourced
Free-flow to the nearest installation (MCBH Kaneohe Bay): 15 min. This pocket's full row across every gate is in the Commute Reality Grid.
Source: Free-flow drive time between pocket and installation reference coordinates via OSRM public routing (no traffic model), rounded to 5 minutes. Peak bands (peak_min) pending traffic-aware sampling per the family-layer spec windows; render as em-dash until sampled. H-3/H-1 incident variance applies; reference coordinates are pocket/installation centroids, not addresses. Pulled 2026-08-06.
School boundaries here run street by street — check any exact address against the HIDOE lookup before signing (the schools guide explains how Hawaii's statewide district and Geographic Exceptions work), and see how Kaneohe scores against your priorities in the pocket-match quiz.
Watching Kaneohe?
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