[denalipop]

We've never been to NZ, but are moving to Nelson in early November.

When we arrive, we'll be staying at a hotel while trying to find a house or apartment to rent. I've been paying attention to rentals on Trademe, but until we get there, we won't know the "feel" of the place, so I don't want to commit to anything "sight unseen". Therefore, when we get there, we'll be scrambling to find a place before the tourist season kicks in.

We're wondering what neighborhoods are a good match for us. I work at home, so commuting isn't an issue. However, my partner wants to be able to take our baby out for walks each day, without using the car. So we want to live near safe, stroller-friendly walking trails, and also stores so that we never have to use the car during the week. It would be nice if we could be within walking distance of the beach, but we could settle for the river if the beachy neighborhoods are not that great.

As for the type of dwelling, we're looking for something with 1 or 2 bedrooms, nothing really big, and we don't want a big yard to maintain. Basically, we want to feel like we're living in a safe, walk-everywhere neighborhood, and having neighbors with babies is a plus.

We've heard good things about The Woods, but there are not many houses being rented there. So I'm curious what other areas you would recommend, given our preferences.

We'll be in a rush to find a place when we get there, and I'd love to know what neighborhoods to consider as "starting points".

Thanks!

[thezorbster]

There aren't really any 'bad' areas. Areas around the hospital tend to be a little cheaper and maybe a bit less desirable but certainly not bad. It really depends upon whether you want to be right in Nelson itself or would consider nearby towns like Stoke or Richmond. Tahunanui is a good, flat area to live in if you want to be near the brilliant beach & large playground. No big supermarkets there but there are smaller local shops/cafes and Nelson centre itself only minutes away.

I'm rarely on the forum nowadays so if you need any info feel free to pm me and I'll try to get back yo you.

[denalipop]

Looking at a map, I'm starting to think it's tough to find a place that's both near the beach and the CBD. So we'll have to pick one or the other... I think for our first home we need to favor conveniences (since we'll have to be acquiring stuff), so we'll probably need to live closer to the CBD than the beach.

Is the river walk a nice daily visit? Are there playgrounds and swings there?

How long would it take to walk from the Wood area to Tahunanui beach? Are the walking trails to it nice? Are there buses along that route as well, in case the walk is too long or rough?

[thezorbster]

It is nice walking along the river- wide footpaths suitable for pushing a buggy. There is a small playground at the botanical gardens near the river/ centre of New Zealand - not fantastic but ok for a run around. The trails up to the centre of NZ are also nice - good views from the top and good for fitness if you're pushing the buggy! Also trails away from the city up the Maitai river (nice swimming holes in the summer). It's a few km from The Wood to Tahuna but a pretty flat walk - along the river, through town and along Rocks Road - good paths all the way but quite a trek there and back. Buses are definitely limited - you don't often see them about - they exist but I've no idea of their frequency or where they go. Tahuna is by far the best playground around - the town ones are much smaller and less well equipped. Are you going to be working in the CBD?

[denalipop]

I'll be working from home, so commute time isn't an issue.

If you had to make a wild guess, how many minutes/hours do you think it takes to walk from the Wood to the beach?

[thezorbster]

45mins - 1 hr maybe.

[denalipop]

Thanks! By "around the hospital", do you mean anything in the south west part of town? Or only the areas within 5 or so blocks of the hospital? I'm wondering what the "less desirable" radius is.

[mussomutts]

Hi!
So exciting that you're moving to Nelson! It's a great town!
We lived there before we moved to Canada, I lived in Tahuna, and My OH lived in the Wood. Both great places to live, the Wood is so close to town, shops, restaurants, walking trails etc. It is a nice walk from there along Rocks Road about 45 mins. I don't drive, however, and felt a little isolated there sometimes, as there isn't always the time and/or energy needed to walk or pedal into town!! Tahuna is great, especially for kids, great playpark and a huge beach!
Before I lived in Tahuna, I lived in the Hospital area I was new to town, and penniless. Don't do it!!
It's much colder & damper there and smokey in the winter than other areas. Waimea Rd is a bit dangerous when you have kids as the traffic is so busy and fast there, Vanguard St, St Vincent St & Emano Sts and those in between are not worth looking into, there's more crime in those areas and the housing isn't very good. It's worth spending that little bit more to be in a better area.
The Washington valley area is quite popular with students, and you can find some nice and interesting houses and people there, and you're likely to get a view too, but it is another colder and damp area.
I'd definately look into towns close by, Richmond is a very family friendly place, plenty of shops & cafes and things to do, while still being close to Nelson, it is more affordable sometimes too.
The Brook is nice, quiet, beautiful and friendly. It's pretty much just residential, so not much in the way of cafes & shops, but Nelson centre is minutes away. It can be a little colder in the winter as it's another of those valleys...
Everything is so accessible in Nelson. Nothing is too far away, I too have seen buses operating.. but have never attempted to understand the system (public transport in NZ never ceased to amaze me!!)
I haven't thought too hard about Nelson until now! I'm excited to be moving back!!
I hope all goes well with your move!!
Becca

[denalipop]

What do you think of these areas:

1) Toi Toi
2) Emano St
3) Locking St

[KatieBen]

I wouldn't choose to live in Toi Toi, or either of the 2 streets you've listed. That's my own prejudice coming out, but I was reliably informed by a colleague that if Nelson has a red light district, it's pretty much there. How reliable my colleagues are is another matter altogether!

Having just checked the map, probably the one place I wouldn't live is the triangle formed by St Vincent Street and Rutherford/Waimea - several reasons, but a few are - older (colder) houses, more run down areas, much more woodburner smoke haze in winter (if you have a tendency to asthma/chest infections you'll cough!), more densely packed houses on smaller sections or subdivided sections, the "wrong side of the hill" so to speak for decent sunlight (Princes Drive runs along the top of the hill, roads to the other side of it are on the other side of the hill and get oodles of sun).

The other side of Rutherford Street over towards Collingwood/Nile St/Brougham St is lovely if you can find a rental there.

Britannai Heights/Princes Drive/Tasman Heights - all good.
Annesbrook - not sure about the housing quality, has a lot of warehouses and the airport close by (flightpath issues), also very close to the only motorway Nelson has (SH6/Whakatu Drive) - but has a fair few new builds so more likely to be better insulated/double glazed. Also flat, less chance of children rolling off hills.
Enner Glynn - Arapiki, The Ridgeway - perfect place to live. I would say that, I live here :)
In fact, pretty much anywhere else would be great - just not that triangle. Also (again, personal prejudice coming out) I wouldn't go for Annesbrook - close proximity to the motorway and the warehouses, I worry over the air quality if my kids are playing in the garden.

Oh, Monaco is fab if you can find a rental. Great walking, lovely kids playground, beach literally on your doorstep and very easy access to the Railway Reserve (lovely off road walk between Nelson & Richmond where the old railway used to be - so flat, which is why I cycle on it!) Not so easy to get to grocery stores but nothing's perfect (it's also on the flightpath and as the runway is in the field next door, the planes go fairly low overhead. Plus for me because I love them, but I realise not everyone feels the same way!)

[Tim S]

Good to know the areas my partner and I like the looks of are now where near the red light district then! We prefer the areas around Atawhai/Marybank and the higher areas of Tahunanui. Britannia Heights/Princes Drive/Tasman Heights would definitely be top on our list but unfortunately the places we really like there are out of our price range. We stayed in Britannia Heights when we holidayed there and absolutely loved the location, close enough to the city you could walk yet such a quiet little area, also the views from there are amazing which is probably why it seems to be the most expensive area to live.

Our main prerequisite for location is that it must have sea views, get good afternoon sun and not be too far inland so it narrows down our possibilities quite a lot. Which unfortunately is also exactly what increases the price of any such property, but theres gotta be a reason why you pay a premium for such land.

Monaco is an amazing little place, though we couldn't get over how close they've built next to the water there, another 0.5meter of sea level rise and they'll have to put some of the houses on stilts and you'd have to trade the car in on a boat! And as you mention you also get the planes directly overhead, although given nelson airports size at least you only get the smaller planes, not thats much consolation as they still make a fair bit of noise!

[denalipop]

Thanks for the warning about Toi Toi! I vaguely remembered something bad about that place.

Are all properties between Princes Drive and St Vincent going to be on the "wrong side of the hill"? Should we stick with things northwest of Princes Drive, north of Washington Rd, and east of Rutherford?

[KatieBen]

TimS, your list of requirements sounds like it would fit Atawhai perfectly. There are some amazing sections there for sale if you're interested in building your own home - sadly it's too far away from the hospital or we'd be looking to live there.

Denalipop - sadly directions like "northwest" etc mean very little to me (which is ghastly for someone who very nearly has a private pilot's licence! but don't tell them) - however from what I can tell looking at the map, you're right with sticking northwest of Princes Drive if you want decent afternoon sunshine. Anything east of Princes Drive is likely to be lower down the other side of the hill and be in shade a lot of the time.

We've been doing a lot of driving around looking at sections - PM me an email address & I can mail you an annotated map if you like (which is mostly based on decent sunlight as my husband is really keen on building an eco house but also takes into account things like red light areas!)

[Tim S]

Yeah Atawhai is definitely on the top of our list and as far as being a bit out of Nelson, that doesn't bother us, after Perth everything will seem like its just down the road! But yeah if you want to be close to the hospital its definitely not the best location.

From my investigations around the Princess Road area you can get some locations East (or if you prefer the right hand side as you drive from the Tahunanui end to the Britannia Heights end :) ) that not only have sea views but should also get decent afternoon sun, athlough they are few and far between and by the sounds of it are probably close to the red light district. Which probably explains this place: http://www.realestate.co.nz/1183224 at least you get a free car. ;) :laugh

[KatieBen]

The problem with Tasman Heights and the newer roads east of Princes Drive is that they're mostly west facing (or worse, south west) so you don't really get much all day sun - no good for PV panels or solar water. Also, along with your sea view you have a fantastic view of a very large orange shop (Mitre 10 Mega which dominates the otherwise amazing view from our current living area).

Atawhai is almost entirely north facing and the slopes aren't too bad, plus the school is excellent - as I said, if it wasn't for the distance to the hospital I'd be looking there too. It's a contractual requirement I live a certain minimum distance away sadly - they are negotiating this though, there is hope :)

[denalipop]

We ended up finding a great house in the Wood. It's expensive, but the location is great and the house has a lot more privacy than most of the houses we saw.

While we were house-hunting, we made notes about each of the different neighborhoods. Someone looking for a house in Nelson might find these useful:

Wood
PRO: great location, with city center on one side and forest (w/ Center of NZ trail) on the other. Houses tend to be neatly kept, with nice yards.
CON: small yards, very little privacy, expensive; we hear houses can be cold in winter

Washington Valley
PRO: cheaper, more privacy than the Wood
CON: walk to city center is through industrial area, houses seem ratty/trashy

Brook
PRO: lots of green (forest), quiet
CON: longer walk to city center (but not too bad), one way street is annoying

Tahuna(nui)
PRO: close to beach, nice playground near beach
CON: lonnnnng walk to city center (about an hour), houses kinda slummy on Beach road

Atawhai Crescent, Marybank
PRO: beautiful views
CON: very very long walk to town

Princes Drive (and other ridge roads)
PRO: great view if you're on the right side of the hill
CON: very steep road, too scary for me; far from city center

Stoke, Richmond
PRO: cheap, closer to Abel Tasman
CON: very far from Nelson city center, kinda blah, at least near the main road

[magcats]

I've been looking for your posts since you've landed in Nelson. When you get a chance I'd love to hear about your experiences so far. Glad you're there safe and sound!

[denalipop]

Nelson is pleasant. The scenery isn't as exciting as Kaikoura, Wanaka, or Queenstown, but you can walk to the hills, marina, or river, and get a nice taste of nature. We hear that there's good hiking within a 90 minutes' drive, but we haven't tried anything except a quick jaunt in Abel Tasman (which was pretty but not spectacular because it was cloudy that day).

People in Nelson seem happier than those in Kaikoura or Dunedin. For some reason Kaikoura (which we're visiting now) is underdeveloped to the point of feeling neglected. The same cannot be said about Nelson, which feels full of life.

[Kiwi Mac]

Nelson is pleasant. The scenery isn't as exciting as Kaikoura, Wanaka, or Queenstown, but you can walk to the hills, marina, or river, and get a nice taste of nature. We hear that there's good hiking within a 90 minutes' drive, but we haven't tried anything except a quick jaunt in Abel Tasman (which was pretty but not spectacular because it was cloudy that day).

People in Nelson seem happier than those in Kaikoura or Dunedin. For some reason Kaikoura (which we're visiting now) is underdeveloped to the point of feeling neglected. The same cannot be said about Nelson, which feels full of life.

I know what you mean. I am often in KK for work and I can never quite relate the fact that they get over 1 million tourists a year to the slightly low-brow run down feel of the place.

Dunedin has never done it for me; the peninsular is nice, but the city I can take or leave.

Nelson I really like (especially Pic's peanut butter from the market!) but there just is not enough of the right sort of work there - or anywhere else other than the big 3 - for us to be able to relocate.

[Scorpio]

My mate and I passed Nelson during our travels and I like it very much! Sorry I didn't stay long enough to give you any road names to live at, but we stopped by a good 'fush & chips' on Milton St. While sipping on our latte at the cafe next door, we were looking at sheep grazing on the mountain. The lovely houses were filled with gorgeous flowers and people there seem so welcoming. I told my mate straightaway that I could imagine myself living there. :)

What really appeals to me is the amount of sunshine there; it seems warmer than Christchurch, where we were based. I'm so happy you're moving there; all the best! ;)

[Anneke]

Thanks a lot for posting your experience. We too will arrive in Nelson soon, we leave Sept 14 !!

Please tell me what happened to you, I'm keen to read your stories. Have you chosen an hotel or backpackers first? How long did it take before you found a house? How long to make friends? I know that people are very friendly and kind. Are they "do's" and "don't" in Nelson? In New Zealand in general?

I really feel alone someday when I think about that big move... It's very nice for me to read what happened to you.

Thanks !

[Anneke]

Dear All,

after we arrive, when we find a house, we will need to buy furnitures and many stuff because we leave all we have here in Belgium... we have no furniture that precious that we want to move with us in NZ.

We don't like Ikea or similar, we would like fo buy from local store, preferabilly second hand.
I can't use trademe because most of the sellers wants that we pickup and I have no driving licence... Moreover I would prefer buy all I can at the same place.

Therefore knowing, a "second hand"" shop or two would be perfect for me...

And/Or we are interested in dealing with any family who move and leave their furnitures and stuffs behind.

Thanks a lot in advance for your advises !!

[denalipop]

When we first arrived in Nelson, we stayed at Accents on the Park, which is a backpackers (hostel). We got a family room, which was a bit expensive, but very comfortable, making it a perfect introduction to NZ.

On subsequent visits to Nelson we stayed at Trafalgar Lodge (a motel) and Tasman Bay Backpackers. Tasman Bay had a nice social vibe, but the room was a bit small. Trafalgar Lodge had a big room, a kitchen, and an en suite bathroom, which was great. We ended up using it the most.

We hoped to get a rental house within a couple days of arrival, but had to wait for over 2 months until we could move into a place that worked for our family. During the interim, we traveled around NZ (while I worked from my laptop), seeing what the other towns had to offer in terms of jobs, education, safety, activities, etc. We ended up liking Dunedin a lot, and decide it would be a great "next stop" after Nelson.

Shortly after moving into our Nelson house, we found out that my partner was pregnant. We knew some people in the medical profession, and they said that the safest South Island location for the birth would be Dunedin, since it had a big hospital with lots of specialists on-call. They said Nelson hospital is decently equipped and staffed, but there can be delays in getting specialists, since they are on-call at home rather than in the hospital. We opted for safety, so decided to move to Dunedin.

So we were in Nelson for a total of 2 months in the rental house and another 2 weeks or so in hostels and backpackers.

We found the pace of life in Nelson to be very, very relaxing. It's easy to walk or bike to places, there's a large variety of hiking within 90 minutes' drive, and the overall look of the town is very pretty. Also, people are friendly, and the "everyone knows everyone" small town feel is definitely there. It's a perfect town if what you want to do is get rid of stress... assuming you have a comfortable amount of money.

That said, we didn't like Nelson's scorching sun, the lack of decent radio stations, the expensive restaurants, the ugly clear-cutting of nearby forests, and the number of uptight a-holes, particularly in the Richmond area. People in Nelson can be very friendly, but they can also be very rude.

We find Dunedin to have a totally different feel.

In Dunedin, people aren't, as a rule, as instantly friendly as in Nelson, but they aren't as instantly rude either; they seem more reserved here. Once you get to know them, however, the Dunedin people seem a lot more generous and genuinely caring; Nelson people sometimes seem superficial and selfish, as if they are on a vacation. Of course, these are gross generalizations, and there are lots of exceptions, but that's the feeling we got.

Aside from the people, Dunedin is colder than Nelson, which can be great in the summer but rough in the winter. The radio is *much* cooler, the countryside is much lusher, with dense forests all around, the hiking network is much more stroller-friendly, and you've got an excellent museum, botanic garden, and cheap restaurants. And there's a heck of a lot more stuff happening, from parades to festivals to concerts to art shows... It's really, really hard to get bored in Dunedin, which I cannot stay about Nelson. And, of course, medicine is a big thing here, so there are great doctors all over the place.

For us at this point in our lives, Dunedin is a better match. Maybe as we get older and start wanting more peace and quiet, we will be looking toward Nelson (of which we do have lots of fond memories; don't get me wrong), but for now, we prefer dynamic Dunedin.

So I know, you wanted to hear about Nelson and how to make your move there as smooth as possible.

My recommendation is to try to allocate some time to travel around and visit a bunch of different towns. Judge each town by what it can offer YOU, not by how popular or trendy it is. Everyone says Nelson is "beautiful" and Dunedin is "cold", and both of those adjective are accurate, but there's more to each city than that.

You might find yourself preferring another place. Or maybe your travel will affirm that Nelson "clicks" with you the best. But until you make that trip, you might find yourself trapped in a town which bores or annoys you, and might think it's representative of life in NZ. Which it isn't. If Nelson and Dunedin can have completely different feels, then so can Queenstown, Wellington, Auckland, etc.

There are second hand shops in both Nelson and Dunedin. We've gotten great deals on baby clothes, and containers and stuff. Furniture is harder. One thing we've learned is that kiwis don't throw things away as easily as Europeans and Americans. This definitely not a "disposable" culture down here. So it's harder to find really good, expensive stuff for cheap here.

My advice is to seriously considered a furnished apartment or house. They're all over the place in Dunedin, but rare in Nelson, and likely to be expensive there. Everything is cheaper in Dunedin!

(Sorry, there I go about Dunedin again...)

[newarrival]

Great post, Denilapop, and having lived in Dunedin for 4 years, even if we choose to leave, I always like it if people find positives!

Regarding the 2nd.hand furniture- in Blenheim we have an auction place, where lots of furniture, whiteware etc. is autioned off each week, once the things have been in the auction, you're usually able to buy them for a fixed price. There is a lot of rubbish;), but, on the other hand, you can find very nice pieces as well. I am not sure if there is something similar in Nelson, might be worth enquiring?!

[Anneke]

Thank you very much both of you. I visited Nelson and Dunedin, and I must confess I enjoyed Dunedin more than Nelson. However, people I met there were so nice that I can't imagine that I could not built a decent social life or take part in cultural activities...

We think about looking for something around Stoke.