[RayBCO]

Hello Everyone,

I have an interview in London on Tuesday for a job in Masterton.

Can I ask if anyone can give us some detailed information on this town/area?

We would like to know if we would feel isolated or something along those lines?

We understand by reading some of the threads that the people are friendly and it is commutable to Wellington etc. But we would like to know are the more local lifestyle things.

Does everyone know everyone else?
Do you have to go to Wellington to buy good shoes?
Easy drive to the beaches? (Understand that they may be limited to two main areas??)
Are there good schools/colleges?
Are there lots of 'Hoons'? Whatever they are...;)
Anything 'not so good' to bear in mind about living here with children?
Do you get more home for your money?

By the way this is a great forum and we liek the way you all root for each other...Cool.

PS. I now have interviews with 5 out of seven jobs applied for.

Take care, Ray&Anna

[lockstock]

Well done Ray and Anna - your heads must be spinning! We have a friend who lives in Masterton and they love it. There's a brillliant hospital apparently and Wairarapa College is meant to be really good. if you like cricket there's a national training centre somewhere nearby. It's certainly on our 'bear it in mind' list.

[sizzlingbadger]

We're in Featherston about half an hour away.

It's the largest town out of Featherston, Greytown and Carterton and the last commutable town into Wellington from the Wairarapa.

Definitely won't feel isolated but then again it's not a full on party town with lots going on, it's a relatively quiet country town.

Not sure if everyone knows everyone else, if you're looking for that you'll probably be better off in one of the smaller towns/places around.

Certainly don't have to drive to Wellington to get shoes, it's got all the regular shops, Farmers, Warehouse, Postie + and even a new PaknSave. We find that if we need to go to Wellington for something it's usually something a bit different.

Castlepoint and Riversdale are the nearest beaches, not sure how far from Masterton though we've only driven from here. There is also South Wairarapa but they're not swimming beaches. Castlepoint is beautiful and really good paddling for the kids at times, they also have the horse racing on the beaches once a year.

Lots of schools, some very good secondary schools and two private schools, have a look at www.ero.govt.nz .

Haven't heard anything bad about it but then I don't live there so can't really answer that along with the 'hoons'. But I don't think they have the prescence here they do in some of the bigger towns.

Have a look at www.realestate.co.nz and www.open2view.com for property. It's on the rise but you won't be paying Wellington prices that's for sure.

For us it's a great town definitely not too isolated and if you need a city fix the train journey is an hour and half into Wellington.

Good Luck with the job interviews :nice1

[RayBCO]

Thanks for that SizzlingBadger...

We dont really want a place where everyone knows each other, it was just to get some feedback which we got, Thanks.

Maybe you are the one to ask about leisure activities?

I know much of NZ is great for outdoors pursuits, can you tell me if hiking, camping is a good there? I can't wait to take my children camping with a real fire etc. Something we can't really do in England...too many tents in the way in the confined grounds usually!

I guess the Wairurapa (Spelling wrong I am sure) area is a kind of a National Park is it?
Sorry for my ignorance on this matter. I haven't had time to get any good books on NZ yet - my usual way of learning about new places.

Anyway, this forum is so good and the people here are so open to share their experience and thoughts who needs books?

I see that the house prices and rental prices are far lower than many other areas...but sometimes just makes me wonder if it is because the house we are lookign at online is in a bad area...hence the low price...

Thanks again, Ray & Anna

[sizzlingbadger]

Hiking and camping here is fantastic. You've got DoC campgrounds, have a look at http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/trackandwalkprofilesummary.aspx?id=35942 that gives you a list of walks in the Wairarapa. The DoC also have campgrounds and for the serious walkers huts in the most remote parts of the Tararua ranges.

We've yet to get camping but it certainly looks like fun. You will find that some campsites will be really busy during bank holiday weekends but you can usually find a spot away from everyone else. DoC campsites are very rough and ready, you'll usually only have toilet and that's it.

The Wairarapa isn't a national park but still very beautiful in our eyes. Although the national parks are even more spectacular. In the time we've been back house hunting we've found areas we didn't even exist, so still got a lot more to explore and we've been here 2 years :o

House prices are less, they don't have to be in a bad area. Not sure of the bad areas of Masterton to be honest but I doubt there are many if any at all. Featherston is the last town to get the property boom and prices here are on the up and up. If you travel through Greytown and Martinborough you can visible see why these towns are expensive. A lot of second home owners who come from Wellington most weekends to lunch and shop. No bad thing as it's what the town thrives on to keep going but it's not to everyone's liking.

Fire away if you've any more questions, happy to help :)