[ellenmelon]

So why am I waffling on about this? Probably because coming here expecting to find England-on-Pacific will result in a disappointment. When we came to Dunedin, becuase we are from Scotland / Edinburgh, lots of people went on about how 'Scottish' Dunedin is. What a crock. The only similar things to Edinburgh are the street names and the Presbyterian attitudes of the inhabitants!! It looks / feels / sounds / smells nothing like Edinburgh! Which wasn't such a surprise after having been in NZ for a while, but I think it could mislead potential immigrants coming straight from the UK and not knowing what to expect.



LOL definately agree on the edinburgh thing..my sister studied at otago for a semester after living in edinburgh for 8 months (didnt like the course or the city so moving back to scotland!) and scoffed at the fact that they called it "edinburgh of the south"..i would be sent many photos of her standing by signs that said "canongate" or something and she would have this look on her face :) definately doesnt smell or look like edinburgh at all (hello? can you imagine seeing a scottish winter through in a weatherboard house?).but id say the chill factor is pretty similar! definately misleading for people who wanted a home away from home (which begs the question, why move at all! :) )

[macs gold]

LOL definately agree on the edinburgh thing..my sister studied at otago for a semester after living in edinburgh for 8 months (didnt like the course or the city so moving back to scotland!) and scoffed at the fact that they called it "edinburgh of the south"..i would be sent many photos of her standing by signs that said "canongate" or something and she would have this look on her face :) definately doesnt smell or look like edinburgh at all (hello? can you imagine seeing a scottish winter through in a weatherboard house?).but id say the chill factor is pretty similar! definately misleading for people who wanted a home away from home (which begs the question, why move at all! :) )

It's just a bit of marketing. Please don't be offended!

The fact remains, Dunedin was originally settled as New Edinburgh, and the name itself means just that (if I recall rightly). The original immigrants took about 30 seconds after arriving to work out they had a hard job ahead making their new home into a bit like their old one. The easy thing was to name a few suburbs and streets after home.

Still, the cruise ship tourists seem to enjoy it all, and like to feel like they've seen a bit of Scotland, by hearing a lone piper, eating some haggis and getting their pics taken in front of Robbie Burns. Probably says something about the average cruise ship tourist, doesn't it?

[ruthyroo]

It's just a bit of marketing. Please don't be offended!

The fact remains, Dunedin was originally settled as New Edinburgh, and the name itself means just that (if I recall rightly). The original immigrants took about 30 seconds after arriving to work out they had a hard job ahead making their new home into a bit like their old one. The easy thing was to name a few suburbs and streets after home.

Still, the cruise ship tourists seem to enjoy it all, and like to feel like they've seen a bit of Scotland, by hearing a lone piper, eating some haggis and getting their pics taken in front of Robbie Burns. Probably says something about the average cruise ship tourist, doesn't it?

You're very right MG (love the username) it is a marketing thing through and through now - but a lot of people here seem to take their roots and the links to the 'home' country very very seriously. If anyone is in Dunedin the excellent (and now free entry) Settlers Museum has lots of info on the Scottish history and associations of Dunedin, and paintings / photos of the many stern faced old Presbyterians who founded the city. What they would think of the student behaviour in Dunners now I shudder to think! BTW Dunedin comes from the Gaelic name for Edinburgh - Din Eidyn or Dun Eideann - which loosely translates as 'fort on a hill' - probably named for the castle / fort when first built. And its not (as some Australian woman at a barbie tried to tell me) becuase the original settlers were from Dun-dee and Edin-burgh...dearie dearie me.

This has turned into a very nice 'does anywhere in NZ 'feel' like anywhere in the UK?' thread.