[noker_uk]

Hi all, im into web design and my partner is a chef and we are planning on migrating from UK ASAP. We are just researching into the areas we would most like to live in NZ. I was initially set on settling in Auckland, to be close to the action, jobs and tourism etc. However the house prices there have slightly put me off. So we have been looking at alternatives:

Main factors include:

I would like to be close enough to some nice beaches and not too far from a city (but not too close) - Close enough to maybe travel to a job in the city.

House prices and value for money.

Climate - not too bothered about extreme heat - but would like more sunny days thank cloudy rainy days (this is what puts us off South Island and Wellington)

Not too bothered about family areas - as we are quite a young couple with no children. Would like to be in an young 'trendy' area.

Rotorua looks like a nice place and has great value for money with houses. But on reading some of the post's here, I have slightly been put off with the stench of sulphur and levels of crime and poverty and lack of jobs.

Other areas I have been looking include Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, around Auckland and Northland.

Any advice anyone can give and any experiences anyone can share would be greatly appreciated. ;-)

[Douglas]

Climate - not too bothered about extreme heat - but would like more sunny days thank cloudy rainy days (this is what puts us off South Island and Wellington)


Hi Noker,

Welcome to the forum. :smile

It may not help too much in your hunt, but if these things are important to you, the sunniest locations are in the...............South Island - Nelson and Blenheim.

The driest region is in the...............South Island - Central Otago, inland from Dunedin. The East coast of the South Island is next driest (Northern Otago, Canterbury and Marlborough).

I'm not too good on trendiness though - I bet someone will be able to point you in the right direction though. :nice1

[jan]

Welcome noker_uk :nice1

We have been looking around Orewa. I have seen a few pickies and it looks devine. Browns Bay looks inviting too.

[jo b]

Noker

Taruange is nice and has quite a few restaurants and bars but it's no Manchester I can tell you. In saying that it is a lovely place and is growing very fast as a city. The beach at mount manganui is fantastic.

Napier is a beautiful city and quite happening and there are 2 surrounding cities, Hastings and Havelock North (more of a town) very nearby so that gives you a bit more choice for places to have a night out. Property is also cheaper than Auckland there.

Jo

[Jules]

Rotorua looks like a nice place and has great value for money with houses. But on reading some of the post's here, I have slightly been put off with the stench of sulphur and levels of crime and poverty and lack of jobs.

Hi noker_uk

We have been in Rotorua for 6 months now and loving it. The smell of sulphur is bad when you first get here (it made me gag :no ) but you do get use to it, after about a week it was ok.

Tourism is big here so there are lots to do and see in a small area.

I havent seen any poverty but there is a high level of unemployment, it took me a few months to get a job but I did get one and I am loving it :nice1 .

Crime - well we did get broken into about a month ago, but you get that everywhere, and we live in a nice area. You do have to be carefull where you choose to live though i.e. high Maori population in some areas, but if you get a nice area you will be ok.

Good luck
Jules

[ruthyroo]

Hi there

Just to say that on the whole I agree that Rotorua would not be the place for you - not becuase the stench of sulphur is awful (you only smell it strongly in certain parts of town, and I personally don't mind it - and the prevalence of geothermal spas throughout the winter more than makes up for it!!) or becuase of the crime (Rotorua does have a higher crime rate than much of NZ, but compared to the US / UK it's probably pretty low). Property is cheap, but mainly becuase salaries are low, the maori population is high, and kiwis have a lot of negative perceptions about the place - mostly due to it's socio-economic problems. But mainly it's becuase Rotorua is far from trendy... it hit its heyday in about 1978 and hasn't moved on too much since! Most 'action' is geared around shifting as many tourists through town as possible these days. It is a great place to live if you are into outdoors activities, and want to be central to the NI.

TBH are you sure you want to come to NZ at all?? It is not the place to come for 'action' or 'trendiness' - even in the big cities life is very home-and-family orientated - there is a reason why all young kiwis head overseas i.e. it's a pretty dull place at times, but is a great place to bring up kids. Apparently, nightclubs even in Aukland regularly close before their official closing time, becuase there is no one there. Have you considered Sydney? Makes Auckland look like an old folks home in comparison. I guess Tauranga has a bit of a young and trendy reputation, but I can garuantee that by 8pm most night - including the weekend - the tumbleweed will be blowing through the streets, and a few hapless tourists will be lwandering around ooking for somewhere to eat. And that's it! Best of luck wherever you land.

[AliJax]

Welcome Noker.

sorry i did have an idea but its lost me. :oops:

[Diny]

Welcome Noker.

Have you thought about going to NZ for a recce trip first. There's endless wonderful places but I'm hard pushed to think of a location which will meet all of your 'requirements'.

I have to agree with Ruthyroo when she says:

It is not the place to come for 'action' or 'trendiness' - even in the big cities life is very home-and-family orientated - there is a reason why all young kiwis head overseas i.e. it's a pretty dull place at times

However, I'm sure if you visited a few locations to suss them out before you made a decision where to settle, you'd find a place that suited you down to the ground.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Diny

[Mike & Nicola]

Dont discount Wellington because of what you hear about the weather/wind etc... I have a good friend who lives in Welly and he loves it, and the weather this summer has been pretty good too.

You'll also find plenty to do socially (on a smaller scale than the UK).

If you do a recce, definitely pop in for a few days and check it out.

Mike

[Carol]

Dont discount Wellington because of what you hear about the weather/wind etc... I have a good friend who lives in Welly and he loves it, and the weather this summer has been pretty good too.

You'll also find plenty to do socially (on a smaller scale than the UK).

If you do a recce, definitely pop in for a few days and check it out.

Mike



love Welly.

nowhere else I'd rather live....Christchurch comes close but I like the centralness of the capital...and the smallness... if there are such words

[dave k]

love Welly.

nowhere else I'd rather live....Christchurch comes close but I like the centralness of the capital...and the smallness... if there are such words


Here, here! :clap

You seriously have got to consider Wellington. The weather is miles better than the hottest parts of the UK - don't believe what people say. For a young couple, no question: Auckland, Chch or Wellington.

But mainly Wellington.

It's all chefs & IT workers round these parts! More restaurants per capita than New York...so they say...but there are lots!!

It blows me away every single day just riding the bus to & from town how beautiful the seafront & harbour views are...

Jeez, I should go work for Absolutely Positively Wellington City Council, eh?
:cool



that's...




(cough) Wellington!




:smile

[Carol]

:laugh :laugh :laugh


Vote Dave Vote Dave! :clap :clap ;)

[Carol]

It blows me away every single day just riding the bus to & from town how beautiful the seafront & harbour views are...



As you come down Ngauranga Gorge and swing along the motorway - that first glimpse of the city ALWAYS without fail "Uplifts" me in some way.
It is breathtaking.

[dave k]

As you come down Ngauranga Gorge and swing along the motorway - that first glimpse of the city ALWAYS without fail "Uplifts" me in some way.
It is breathtaking.

Me too. That was the way I drove into the city the very first time, and I'll never forget it.