[Caven]

Hello all,

I’ve been looking at Levin (Manawatu) on the real estate sites and I’ve noticed you tend to get great value for money compared, to say, Palmerston North. I was wondering if anyone knows it at all? What would be the commute time to Palmerston North from Levin? It looks like a nice straight road, but does it give you nice straight road drives times? Does anyone know the opportunities available in the retail industry there? Commute times to Welly would be welcome too.

Thanks peeps, C. :nice1

[sweetpea]

And while we're on the subject, how about

Bunnythorpe
Colyton
Feilding

???

Anyone know rush hour and non-rush hour commute times? The general atmosphere of the places?

All I know about Linton is that there's a military base there.

[Dave & Sandra]

I can tell you about Feilding. It's a 20 minute drive from Feilding to PN. Dave says there is no rush hour - but he does tend to be a positive thinker (i.e. optimist). So maybe 30 minutes in rush hour. It takes me 20 minutes non-rush hour and I stick to the speed limit :mrgreen: Bunnythorpe and Colyton won't be much different. Bunnythorpe is a much smaller place than Feilding.

Feilding has loads of shops, most things that you would need at the weekend and is a great place to live. It's quite a pretty town.

Not too sure about Levin Caven. Only been down that way a couple of times and didn't time the drive. It's only a two lane road though so it's possible you could be held up in traffic. Never experienced the rush hour. The distance is 50km and time on AA site is 45 mins

The times and distances calculated above are approximate and allow for rest stops, road conditions etc.
Your mileage may vary.

[baboonworld]

Levin has about 3 supermarkets so there should be some retail opportunities (ie must be reasonably large). If not - the you are also not too far from Paraparaumu really.

[Radders]

My wife comes from Levin, it is larger than waikanae, otaki, and possibly bulls. It is roughly 35 mins to Palmy North, and an hour 15 mins to Wellington. People commute both ways, and obviously you have your choice of both airports. The wellington way can take much longer, as everyone else commutes into Wellington, and it is a notorious hotspot for accidents between paraparam and welly. Levin is ok, and depends on what you are looking for. There is no nightlife really outside the cossy club and a few bars. There are no restaurants to mention. However as mentioned before it has all the necessities and Palmy is only 30 mins away. The beaches are good and accessible, especially at Foxton just down the road. The ranges have excellent tramping, and squeezed between these and the sea, it has a very relaxed feel to it.
House prices are relatively cheap, my mother-in-law bought a 3 bedroomed house with a lovely garden front and back. In a good area of town for 150,000 last year. It will also be keeping it's commuter train to Wellington, which Waikanae will not.
As Wellington expands, Levin will obviously be seen as a better and better option, but there are a couple of towns in between that are first in line. If they ever do get a better road into town then this will obviously help as well. If you are considering working in Palmy, that's not such a problem.
It still has the feel of a provincial town to me. Everyone goes to watch the rugby/cricket on a saturday, and then meets down the club house for drinks afterwards.
If you have anything specific you want to know pm me and I'll see what I can find out