Karen has always allowed half acre lots. Even Langata and Nairobi West have proximity to Wilson Airport. Kwani people fly to work daily? And from Wilson Airport to JKIA is another 20 minutes. Tamasha is mostly for outsiders.
All this because until recent, Karen was an agricultural area within the city. Even to the 90s, you would fine farms. People fugaing kukus n sheep in Karen. Wazungu wanted to keep it so.
Proximity to an airport is important for mobility and discretion. A significant number of Karen’s aristocrat residents have their domiciles outside Nairobi (Laikipia and Nakuru counties primarily). Another sizeable chunk are politicians who for obvious reasons are flying out of Nairobi quite regularly. The third bunch is businessmen. If you have a business with regional reach you want to be able to reach Zambia as painlessly as possible at a moment’s notice. Not everyone is lucky enough like Humphrey Kariuki to own their own runways.
I don’t think proximity to JKIA is important to any significant number of people. Maybe pilots and air hostesses. They are the only sub group who take those mega-jets regularly.
As for why an airport would be important to me. I love aeroplanes intensely. I would love to one day own one, maybe a sling tsi or a king katmai; something that’s easy to maintain and not so expensive to operate. So if I had to live in Nairobi and I owned an aeroplane, Karen would be the natural residence I would opt for.
Otherwise, I’d much rather live on a farm and have my own grass strip. A King Katmai works just fine on a grass strip, plus you don’t have to pay all those fees to Wilson (Landing Fee, Approach Fee, Navigation Fee, Departure Tax, Parking Fee).
Whether Tamasha is mostly for outsiders is neither here nor there. It’s just a nice place at an affordable price. It ticks the right boxes and doesn’t piss your money away, well not as much as other similar or inferior places anyway.
On a related note. I am seated here silently hoping that Konza will prove to be the best urban living experience in Kenya. Because to be honest, Nairobi is beyond repair and things can only get worse.
Nice analysis am also a flying aficionado and l agree Karen ni ya mabazuu kabisa. I know guys who own forested estates mle ndani utadhani uko Mau si hadi Tuju had 10 acres. Pristine and lovely place wish l could post pictures . Old Runda is also premier
Konza city bado u believe in it??! Last l checked it had become another mirage, unless you can disapprove with evidence
Good to have another aviation enthusiast. I had started a thread, but realised am talking to the wrong crowd and deleted it. maybe I will rewrite it again and tag you.
Konza I believe in it juu ya news reports. Seems to me like it is on the move. The only thing that seems to have been abandoned is Konza Airport! Konza airport would be a game changer cause I just don’t feel Oloitikosh Airstrip.