[Paul and Linda]

In the despair about auckland costs I happened to look at Palmerston North (couple of jobs there, but i was worried that there would not be enough to sustain me through my next 30 years) but then found houses nearby, beautiful houses, for $100K NZD!

This could mean that we would have no mortgage, and almost any jobs would do the pair of us fine, just enough to cover the bills. We'd probably need a joint income of about $30K (any ideas) to cover us for say $2K NZD of living expenses per month.

I've seen a house in Shannon that looks delightful, anyone know the area?

Double the cost in fielding and you can also get nice houses.

Can anyone help me in my latest last minute info gathering excercise on where to live?


Paul

[nessie]

Not first hand but try http://www2.piperpat.co.nz/nz/tourism/manawatu.html

F

[Babette & Andy]

A few forumites who should be able to give your their insight on this area are Sandra (as in Sandra & Dave) and also Diny. Enjoy the info gathering.

Babette

[wayne]

We lived in the Manuwatu (Palmerston North) for 6 months , you have never known wind like palmy wind rained quite a lot too , nice area with mountain ranges , heaps of farms we have rellies down there,
As far as I can remember ther was quite a lot of gang members there, mind you that was 20 odd years ago

[Paul and Linda]

Oh lovely! thanks for the heads up.

Rain and wind as expected down near Wellington, have heard there are some cracking temperatures as well. The mountain range in the distance with the very rare bit of snow on them look to die for.

Have seen some recent pictures of town events and everyone looks more than happy and relaxed. Once again I come from middlesbrough where the whole town feels like a gang (I am not kidding) :uhoh , whilst we live in a nice area, as do my parents, they have african drug-dealers living next door to them. :uhoh You learn to be tough and careful living somewhere like this, perhaps the gangs should watch out for me?? :eek

So even with it's potential troubles I am hoping that by comparison it's actually an improvement. I can't imagine what worse would be like.

Cheers

[jo b]

Paul

there will be gangs everywhere if you look carefully enough, but overall I've heard P North to be really nice.

I drove through Fielding just north of PM, that's where Sandra and Dave live, and I have too say it was a very pretty town.

Diny is moving to Ashurst and we are moving to Dannevirke about 40 mins from PN, yes :yes you get far money house for your money down there and PN has a really good shopping centre.

Jo

[Paul and Linda]

Thanks Jo, applied for 3 jobs in Palmy last night, got a employment consultant phoning me at 9pm on sunday to discuss 2 of them.

I'm torn between getting a little house out in the sticks and having no mortgage and maybe having a 100K mortgage at the moment. Not that I'm in any hurry to decide, we'll rent for a while once we arrive, that should give us a good idea about our finances etc.

Some run down places (on the inside) and some beautifully looked after ones available.

We've tried to list things that are important to us in deciding which house we would buy, trying not to be swung on superficial looks and street appeal. I'm full of good intentions, butsomehow maybe that doen't always come off.

It's funny how some houses can be fabulous in certain respects, build quality, location to amenities, good area, floor space, and then have a pretty average sized garden, or one not really suitable to some goalposts a sand pit and a lovely big fishpond!

I find it a bit difficult not to be swayed by the obvious, and by ....you pay more you get more.....

Anyway, ramble over, you can perhaps tell how confused i am right now. I thinkthe only thing for it is to get on that plane!

Paul

[Happy]

Hi Paul and Linda

Been in Palmy (Palmerston North) with my wife, 2 daughters and 2 sons for 10 months now :mrgreen: . Everything is about right: the size of the city, the population, the [windy] weather, traffic congestion (between 5:00 and 5:04 pm), and most importantly the FREINDLY people. Well, I admit I may be [a little] biased. But man, I just like it here. :nice1

Below is an article from the last Sunday’s free community paper – The “Square Circular”. I hope you find it useful.

Growth gives region a lift

Growth in both population and the economy puts Manawatu in a prime position to become a major regional centre. So says city councillor Anne Podd, chairwoman of the Palmerston North City Council’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, quoting findings from the latest Manawatu Economic Monitor.

“The monitor provides statistics to back up what many of us have been observing. Our region is in good heart. Not only have we attracted more people to the region, but statistics show that most people are employed. Just 3.3 percent of Manawatu’s population is unemployed. Again, this is lower than the national average,” Cr Podd said.

The latest issue of the monitor released by Vision Manawatu, shows:
 Population growth among those aged 15 and over in Manawatu was 2400, or 3.1 percent.
 Economic growth of 4.5 percent during the year, compared with a national average of 3.6 percent.
 An 8-percent increase in new residential building during the past year, in contrast with a national drop of 5 percent.
 Employment for the March 2005 year was up to 10 percent on the previous year’s figure.
 Unemployment fell by 27 percent, down to the level of 1900.
 Cr Podd said an “excellent” infrastructure helped the region cope with the increase in population.

The rezoning of the north-east industrial land was a good example of the way the council is planing for growth, she said. Ninety-five hectares of land was rezoned last year, with an expected uptake of five hectares a year.

“Already, it looks as though this is higher than expected, and we need to be constantly planing ahead to ensure that we can provide land for large industrial sites.“ The rezoning of a block between Rangitikei Street and Tremain Avenue for fringe business goes out to consultation soon. This will allow space for big-box retailers to develop.”

She said provisions for urban growth must accompany the building boom in the city, and said the council recently approved the rezoning of land in Cloverlea. It had also proposed that Te Matai be earmarked as the next area for rezoning. “Long-term planning and moderate growth mean Palmerston North will be able to sustain and maintain a unique and easy-living city lifestyle.”

[Paul and Linda]

Hi Happy, nice to meet you. Thanks for the post. I was on the phone last night talking to an employment agency about a job with the council. The economic growth and reduced amployment all sounds good for the region.

And....that rush hour...scrub that rush 4 minutes sounds perfect for me!

Is the wind a constant factor?

I have heard the region described as the most moderate or should i say least extreme in the world! (I think this was on the councils website, not that they are biased).

Look forward to speaking to you some more.

Paul

[Moorf]

A house for $100k!! WOW!! There's a garage for sale in Chch for $69k!! :?

[Moorf]

....and no, I don't mean a petrol station :roll:

[Paul and Linda]

Yeh I know cool init!

Spend all my wages on toffees and catapults!

Or should I say CD's and video games nowadays!?

:mrgreen:

PS Current plans have us heading to the manawatu. Many thanks to all who have helped us consider Auckland. In the end it just looked too expensive for us at the moment.

The offer of free beer and all the BBQ food you can eat still stands, you'll just have to visit us on the Manawatu to redeem. All welcome.

:cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers :cheers

[jo b]

Wayhey

That's another family near us :cheers
The reason we didn't want ot go to Auckland was we would be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. We wanted a simpler lifestyle....................you can't get more simpler than Dannevirke!!

Great, I can see lots of weekend get togethers coming on when we are over there. Oh and also shopping trips which I have planned already with Diny so Paul tell Linda to get her purse at the ready :laugh

Take care and good luck

Jo

[kiwidebs]

Might take you up on that beer at some time Paul.
I have two good friends who went to Massey Uni in Palmy and they loved the place. I went to visit several times and it seems like a nice place. If it weren't for my family being in Auck I would be looking further south too.
Good luck - look forward to hearing more about your emigration journey.

Debs

[Paul and Linda]

Cheers Debs and Jo, look forward to meeting you both soon. Linda will doubtlessly take up the shopping gauntlet with little vigor....NOT!

It'd be good to get together shortly after arriving, so that you can repeatedly tell us we've done the right thing!!!!

I'm sure we won't need to be told, the area looks great, nice and relaxed, lets hope my job doesn't get too frantic and go and spoil it all!

Beer, beer, beer beer...... join in.....

:cheers

[voth30]

Hi Paul and Linda,

My family will be in Palmerston North from October onwards. Both my wife and I graduated from Massey and we love the place so much, we are actually uprooting from Singapore to Palmerston North soon.

Hope to see all of you in the manawatu soon.

Vincent

[Paul and Linda]

Excellent stuff Vincent. see you soon.

Paul

[nickchilli]

hi been living in palmy for 3 months now (been in n.z 8)

its really friendly, and on the start of a housing boom a brand new house will cost next to nothing just make sure its brick :nice1 coz thats what i do , every thing said about palmy on this thread is true,

did you say you hadnt been to shanon ? i have a pic of the main street i took last summer early morning, i'd glady send it to if you'd like?, its very rural .if your visiting just make sure you leave by nightfall, or you may get drawn in by the sound of banjos, and you'll never leave ;)

[Rob K]

Hi Paul & Linda,

We have been in PN for a little more than 2 months now (moving from CHCH) and if you have more questions about the area, we will be glad to help if we can.

Shannon: we have driven through there a few times and it looks fine, but the locals (different sources) don't recommend it (drug dealing, etc.). I would say the same about the Coast (Himatangi, Foxton).

It seems that the desirable areas around town are all on the Massey side (that's where the boom is happening): Summerhill, Aokautere, Turitea. A lot of new subdivisions, but prices are usually well over $300,000. I find that the new developments are fairly ugly, but then again, somebody else might really like them (and it looks that it is the case since it is growing a lot!).

Our favorite area is north of PN around Hiwinui/Ashhurst/Pohangina Valley. If you are looking to buy in town, Hokowhitu seems to be the area favored by a lot of new residents. I personally like the Terrace End and Central areas as it is closer to stores and the downtown and it offers more than a typical suburb in that respect.

You will probably want to rent for a while when you get here. Have a look at the Massey University website. They have a section with a lot of fully furnished homes for rent. Typically, they are homes that belong to University staff who are going on a sabbatical overseas. It's definitely the best way to go. Here is the link: http://masseynews.massey.ac.nz/
If you have more questions. please let us know. I am not checking the forum frequently, so please pm us and we will post more if we can help.

All the best,

Sandrine