[randomone]

Ok, my dream would be to relocate to Nelson and be self employed as a Sports, Remedial, Deep tissue massage and Reflexology practitioner. I am originally from New Zealand but haven't lived there since 1993.

I'm having a five week holiday there at the end of the year, so I can take a look around possible places to live (East Coast, Hawkes Bay, Nelson) and my intention is to make the move in late 2008.

I won't have money to buy a house so I would be renting. I will have money to support myself for a few months and I would either have a spare room/converted garage/shed for treatments or rent clinic/room space somewhere. But. I wonder if this is going to be a failed dream? I know that building up a client base will take time. I know that there are already some sport massage practitioners in Nelson (from web searches) but have no idea how much demand there is for massage there.

What makes me hesitate about Nelson is what other work opportunities would there be for me? Most of my work experience is office based (PA, Admin, Secretary, Project work, Desk top publishing). I'd be happy to fruit pick or something but not sure I could live on that and still have time to build up the massage business.

Just wonder if anyone has any thoughts on this. I really don't want to live in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch but if I'm being totally unrealistic about Nelson, or areas in the Hawkes Bay region, I'll need to have a serious re-think.

I think the problem is I had an idealic upbringing on the beach (Ninety Mile Beach at Ahipara) and that is what I want to recapture .... talk about high expectations and rose-coloured specs!

Any comments would be appreciated.

[coyotewildwomen]

Nelson seems to have a pretty strong economy and a fairly wealthy community of active people. If you are willing to market yourself and are good at what you do, I think you could find a client base in time. Contact local chiropractors as well. Maybe even offer services to tourists which would be more general massage. However, it is 4 month a year tourist location, so be aware. You could also find work in the admin side, maybe as a temp, on the side. I have noticed lots of shops looking for people as well.

Look at renting a room in house as a flatmate to save money. You can rent massage rooms in different established facilities ( Fairfield House is one) so you don' t have to set up your own place. Check out trademe.co.nz for housing options. Place ads for your services everywhere you can, and offer discounts and referral incentives to get new clients. Good Luck!

[randomone]

Thanks for that feedback. Your comments about those living in and visiting Nelson echo mine and so I feel positive again that I can make it work there. Thanks for the mention of Fairfield House too - that might be something to follow up on.

......... as for the house share, that is a sensible suggestion but I've reached the stage in life where I would rather pay through the nose to have my own space than share with others on an ongoing basis.

I am so looking forward to being in New Zealand in December and Nelson and the surrounding area sounds beautiful - can't wait to get there.

[ultraviolet]

I think that with your PA/admin/etc experience, if you ran into money troubles then you could easily find part-time or temp work while you build up your business to help supplement your income. As for the market here, I can't really say how much demand there is but as coyote said, if you market well and are good at what you do, I'm sure you will be able to support yourself. Just give it time.

[ellenmelon]

no, its not. my mum is doing a similar thing..
go for it! :nice1