[April]

Whilst we're still deciding on where to live when we finally get there, I just wondered if we could get some input from those of you already there. We have obviously travelled extensively all over NZ but you can't really tell until you're living the life.

Whilst we don't want to live in a city, we do want to be very near to one. We both like good restaurants/bars, music, theatre, cinema, shopping and lots of outdoorsy stuff. Our main options are:

Auckland
Wellington
Palmerston North
Tauranga
Wanganui

Forgot to say - any recommendations of nice towns to live near to any of these cities?

Any thoughts are very welcome.

[benhila]

We both like good restaurants/bars, music, theatre, cinema, shopping and lots of outdoorsy stuff.

Wellington has it all in spades. The only downside is possibly the weather (unless you are Marry Poppins).

Cheers

Hila

[Ally Bally Bee]

If you end up in Tauranga I like Katikati and Omokoroa for their community feel (not lived in either but have worked on the local newspaper there and they both appealed to me as somewhere I could live).
Personally I hate Auckland and would never consider living near there but that's my personal choice.
I wouldn't choose Wellington because of the climate but it would suit you for everything else.
I'm in Rotorua now and love it down here. It's small enough to only take a few minutes to get form one side of the city to the other and we're close enough to the outdoors (the redwoods forest is literally in our backyard).

[April]

Anyone know any nice places in Kapiti and Tauranga?

[Tesall]

Why dont you want to live in the city? When you say that.. do you still want to be in a town nearby? Or do you want country living? Rurual residential zoning maybe? Lifestyle block?

[April]

We really want to be close to a city and maybe on the edge of a medium/big town but not really in the middle of nowhere. We also want a bit of land if possible.

[Tesall]

In Tauranga I would suggest Tauriko, Oropi, Lower Kaimais, Pyes Pa.... you are really spoilt for choice.

How much land do you want? Do you want to build yourself?

[Carey]

Cambridge is your answer; 20 mins to Hamilton but plenty of properties just outside Cambridge including a bit of land but not in the middle of nowhere either.

[Sam B]

I second Cambridge.

[April]

Interesting - hadn't considered Cambridge. Any particular reasons why?

[Sam B]

Cos it's lovely.

[janrzm]

We live in Pyes Pa , Tauranga - 15 minute drive to CBD & 20 min drive to The Mount.
I wouldn't say you could call any of the places around Tauranga towns & Tauranga a city though! But then that's if I compare it to where we came from.
We've been here since February and so far we like it here, it's close enough to the beautiful beach , there's lots of great cafes. Shopping - I'm trying to kick the habit anyway! - but you can get what you need. Nightlife - can't comment , need a babysitter to sample that!
We visited a few places on our Recce last year , and Tauranga just felt 'right' for us , it's hard to explain that feeling.
I personally wouldn't like to live anywhere smaller though.

[April]

Thanks - we loved the area last time we were there. Could you give me some road names of shopping areas etc? Want to take a walk on Google Maps.

[Tesall]

Devonport Road and 'The Strand' in downtown Tauranga

Chadwick Road in Greerton (closest to Pyes Pa)

Maunganui Road between Pacific Ave and Banks Ave in Mt Maunganui

[April]

Thanks. Anyone got any idea of places on the Kapiti Coast? Plus what's the weather like there year round?

[JandM]

About the weather - this site may help, for any area you start to think about. http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/weather-and-climate.html

[mikey39]

Wellington has everything that you need, BUT it is very windy at times. Welly has a large expat community that partys hard lol. Kapiti Coast is very nice and scenery is beautiful up there, in my opinion the downside to kapiti is it is 1hr commute to Welly to get to all the Theatres, clubs, and bars, but if you like beautiful scenery and a quiet drink in the pub then it is for you. If you like to party and like clubs, pubs, and theatres then you need to move closer to Wellington.

Large plots can be found in Upper Hutt in Wellington, downside to that is you would then have at least 30 min commute in to CBD.

We visited Taurranga in March and must say that i thought it was beautiful and would live there if we could find work that pays a decent wage there.

Hamilton seems a nice place also, but we decided against it as it was at least 1hr commute to the coast and Mike being a windsurfer it made it a no go for us.

Wherever you decide to live, you are never far away from beautiful scenery and excellent beaches, Good Luck.

[Philip10]

Wellington has everything that you need, BUT it is very windy at times. Welly has a large expat community that partys hard lol. K

I'll second that been to Welly and boy can those expat party hard :raebanana:cheers:raebanana

[LesleyS]

Tauranga is lovely - we live in rural Oropi, but it all depends on what your priorities are. We have both found it very difficult to find good jobs here with loads of applicants for the most menial of jobs!
Auckland and Wellington would provide a greater choice in the job market IMHO

[Jalapenocheese]

I live in Lower Hutt and love it! I like that we're just 20-30 minutes away from town and love the convenience of living in a city! Also its (Wellington's) compactness too. I have visited Auckland and found it too big for my liking.

I have tried living in New Plymouth before and it bored me to tears (sorry, no offense). The only downside of living in Wellington is the weather... quite windy and isn't as sunny and warm as Auckland. But oh well, at least people here are nicer. :)

Steph