[aliz76]

Hello there

I'm hoping that everyone's experiences, knowledge and opinions will help me with my dilemma.

I've applied for 2 jobs... 1 in Dunedin and 1 in Hawke's Bay...and I'm due to have telephone interviews for them in the next week :uhoh . I really like the sound of both jobs but the problem is that my OH and I really can't decide which area we'd like to live in the most (of course, this decision may be taken out of my hands if I don't get offered the jobs! :laugh )

Hawkes Bay appeals due to the lovely climate and having both Hastings and Napier close by. On the other hand, Dunedin just sounds like a great city, with lots to do.

I'll be moving with my OH who's a Science Teacher, so we need somewhere he can get a job without too much difficulty (hopefully) but he doesn't need to sort out work until we get to NZ (he's Aussie). He's really into skiing, and we both love hill-walking, canoeing, general outdoorsy stuff. We're late 20's/early 30's, and are looking for a more relaxed pace of life than our current hectic city-centre jobs.

We're both scratching our heads with indecision, as we've never been to either place. I've spent ages looking at websites for both areas, but I'm hoping that all you lovely people on this forum will dish the real insider info, that the city sites don't tell you! ;)

Please let me know all your opinions (good and bad) about these places...Cheers! :cheers

[wiki]

I've never lived in Hawkes Bay, but Dunedin is a great city. It's not got the weather that HB has, but the Queenstown and Wanaka skifield are only a couple of hours drive away.
And on the way to Q'town you head through the wine and fruit region of Central Otago (baking hot in summer)
You're a couple of hours from Fiordland too, which is a national park full of wonderful tracks and lakes.

Dunedin is also close to the Catlins coast, and has great surfing.

[ruthyroo]

Hi there

Haven't lived in HB but have lived in the NI and visited HB many many times. Currently we're living in Dunedin and the OH is a secondary teacher... so MHO is..

Everywhere in NZ has great outdoors opportunities - it's one of the great things about this country, there are national parks, tramps, walks, cycle tracks, lakes and rivers and coastline wherever you go. So that's not an issue - except for the skiing - you can be over at Queenstown / Wanaka in 3.5 hours from Dunedin. More of a challenge to get from HB to Ruapehu for the weekend.

HB has the better weather, no doubt about that.
Dunedin has many fantastic beaches, but it's too bl**dy cold to swim at them most of the year!
HB has the vineyards / foodie lifestyle, which Dunedin doesn't really but Central Otago does.
The wildlife around Dunedin and the access to the rest of the SI is excellent.
Dunedin is a great city - just big enough to have all the services, but small enough not to be too busy.

Jobs wise - for teachers Dunedin is a bit of a dead loss. It's the kind of place where people stay in jobs till they die... and there is a teacher's college at Otago Uni pushing out new teaching graduates every year, many of whom want to stay here. Mr Rr has been doing supply (he teaches geography) for a year and no prospect of fulltime work here yet. HB might be easier in this respect - certainly the teaching population in much of the NI is more mobile. The downside is that there are probably more challenging schools up there, especially some of the Maori areas around Hastings & Napier.

TBH they both have good points. Wait and see which job comes up - you can have a good life in either place if you are earning a decent salary.

Good luck!

[aliz76]

Thanks so much for your replies, it's great to hear about other people's opinons :yes . My OH found it really useful to hear about Mr Rr's teaching experience too.....he's feeling slightly miffed that the teaching agencies in NZ haven't been very helpful so far, so his job might be a big consideration in where we end up.

I think I will just wait and see how my interviews go next week, and see if I can get a feel for the jobs. I just found out today that my Dunedin interview on Monday is not just 1 person but a panel of 3 on speaker-phone...yikes :wah ! No pressure there then!

I'll let you know how it goes!
Cheerio for now, Ali.xx