[walshy]

We have been completely focused on Tauranga for the last 3 months as that is where my wifes job offer is and we are in love with the life style and are really looking forward to it, hoping with a bit of wind and hard work from immigration with our process to be there in November.

Then shock horror today, my wife has had a job offer in Wellington for.... double the salary:exit

What the hell do we do now? stick with Tauranga or go with the money? my memory of Welly was nice, but weather a bit too much like England, not very surfy , beachside etc, has anyone got anything to tell me about Wellington which is favourable compared with Tauranga?

[vixxann]

got to say that Tauranga is a very likely possible for us (that or hamilton) but if a job offer came up in Wellington for double salary I'd be there like a shot:D

I'm sure you'll get some welly folks on here telling you about the local scene, surfing etc but in my personal opinion I'd bite the bullet and go for it! I did really like wellington but never thought of ourselves living there. REALLY loved the Kapiti coast which is probably commutable.

good luck anyway and congrats on the job offers!!

[NZ Hopeful]

Have a look at this thread - http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20549

There is some fab information about Wellington and surrounding areas in there, maybe help with your descision?

Congrats too on your job offers!

[M-Squared]

Oh come to Welly, you know you want to. :D You have all the bureaucracy behind you, too. :)

Not to mention that Welly doesn't get tornadoes.....

You'll be in the furthest east capital city, right?...

[IanW99]

...
Then shock horror today, my wife has had a job offer in Wellington for.... double the salary:exit

What the hell do we do now? stick with Tauranga or go with the money? my memory of Welly was nice, but weather a bit too much like England, not very surfy , beachside etc, has anyone got anything to tell me about Wellington which is favourable compared with Tauranga?

I guess it comes down to what you were looking for with your move to NZ?

Tauranga is a really nice area and certainly wouldn't be a bad choice but IMO Wellington would be the better choice.

Plenty of surfers in the area and loads of water sports to keep everyone happy if that is your thing and there are some good beaches around.

There are certainly more things to do and see in Wellington than Tauranga.

I'm sure that the weather is a couple of degrees colder than Tauranga on average but it still doesn't get any snow and its plenty warm enough in summer (and winter most often). It does get windy sometimes but it isn't as often as people may let you believe.

More job opportunities and double the pay sounds like a winning combination to me. You can always move on in a couple of years if you don't like it.

Ian

[Ashby]

Remember that money isn't everything!

[Carol]

Remember that money isn't everything!

True - but in NZ its more than important!

Welly is fab!!

[victoria24]

I've read the thread and found it very informative as we like the look of kapiti also.
couple of questions: what's the weather like there in comparison to welly?
is there a squash club/ courts?

[IanW99]

Remember that money isn't everything!

How very true, but even if the salary was the same, I would still choose Welly :clap

So anything more is a bonus to me (IMO)

The weather in Kapiti is very similar to Wellington, I suspect that when its windy it isn't quite so strong but that would even be true of different parts of Wellington. I'm sure that the locals would say its always a couple of degrees warmer as it's further north but I've not really noticed it TBH.

Can't answer your squash question. Can say that Porirua is about to open a big new sports centre so you could definitely pop into there?

Ian

[incredible hulse]

Hi Victoria - Pram Beach has a couple of squash courts at a private club (about 95 dollars per year membership I think). There maybe more I'm not aware of. There's talk of a new sport centre but the council up here are absolutely hopeless at delivering things so I'm not convinced it will ever happen.

In terms of the weather I agree with Ian that I don't think it is any warmer up here than Welly (it gets colder slightly in Winter) but the big benefit it is the wind is not as bad as Wellington by a long way in the main.

[Carol]

is there a squash club/ courts?'


There is a squash club in Tawa.....

[jandk]

I visited 2 years before we moved here and had Wellington as our choice but on arrival i visited a few other areas and Tauranga won hands down but the money could be a deciding factor as living costs are much higher than we expected but im enjoying the lifestyle too much so the belts pulled in and the tongues pulled out!

[almdudler]

So having lived in both Tauranga and Wellington for several years, I am fairly qualified to give some comments to both. You've probably already made the decision but maybe this will help others. I think Tauranga is lacking in nightlife that people over the age of 30 can enjoy. It has some nice restaurants and cafes but not much in the way of classy bars.

Tauranga has got good weather and yeah it is a little bit warmer than Wellington. Milder in winter and a bit warmer in summer. It has great schools and the people are friendly. You are relatively close to Auckland/Coromandel and Northland which means there is still plenty to see after Tauranga gets too small.

Wellington is however a university town, with I believe 60% of the population having a university education. (A study released a couple of years ago) It is warm enough in summer, the autumn can be very nice too up until june/july and then you can get some rotten wet weather. However there are usually plenty of nice days throughout the winter as well so I never found it bad. There are a lot of people to meet, a lot of cultural events, interesting shops and clubs and nightlife. Real estate is pretty expensive but then Tauranga isn't much better. Public transport in Wellington is a lot better.

I prefer Wellington for myself but if you need more space, or prefer a more rural feel then maybe Tauranga is better.

I wish you the best of luck with your move and hope that you get into the NZ life quickly!