Can anyone tell me about Hawkes Bay?

MichelleW

I have been in contact with someone from EIT university there who has been most helpful and wants me to send an application.I really don't know anything about the area at all as I have concentrated mostly on Wellington and Auckland.Can anyone tell me anything about it? I have written every university in NZ that has a nursing program and havn't gotten very many replies so I really might consider this one if the town seems nice.

Thank you for any advice!!!
Michelle

volusia · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 8:35 am Post subject: hawkes bay

hi ya michelle, my family and i spent the month of october touring the north island,one great country i can tell you, we spent a couple of days in napier and further up the coast at gisborne, both places were very nice,the beach at napier is very shingly but nice all the same,the town like the rest of the places we visited was very clean with warm friendly people,we are going back in the very near future and napier or hastings are on our list of places to live in nz.
and if you like wine the best wines in the world are produced there,we know we have tried a few in our time,
the nz wine here in the uk is very expensive,but compared to french or spanish its well worth the extra, but in nz its quiet cheap. go and try the place,do like we did and tour around the country,like us,go off the beaten tourist track and get to meet the real people,they are so welcoming. hope i've given you an insight, good luck with the future. Nice One

DaisyNZ · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 1:15 pm Post subject:

Hi Michelle. I'd be happy to help, I live right down the road from EIT in Taradale, Napier. It's a lovely town and I'd certainly recommend it. But if you wanted a city, Napier might feel a bit small to you. There are beautiful sandy beaches only half an hour from here. Hawkes Bay hospital is good if you were to do training there aswell. I don't really know what you'd like to know about, but I'm sure I can answer most of your questions. Ask away.

MichelleW · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 5:30 pm Post subject:

Thank you Volusia and Daisy!
Volusia,
I want to try and decide where to go as best I can before coming.I am about fairly certain now that I will be coming alone with my son and daughter at first and my husband will not be joining us for several months so I probably wont be able to do much touring but I think what you did sounds like the ideal way to see where you want to be!

Daisy,
How big of a city is it? How is the crime? Is it expensive to live there? Are there many rentals available?How are the schools?I'm not sure if my son could go to public school or not.How far is it from a larger city?Are the people friendly?
Sorry for so many questions!!
I really appreciate your help very much!
Michelle

DaisyNZ · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 5:44 pm Post subject:

It is so hard to answer the kind of questions you ask. How do I say what the crime is like?? I hardly ever lock my car, some people would say I'm lucky, others would say it's because Taradale is a nice area. Things happen, like they do everywhere and maybe it's a mixture of both. But generally it's a good place to live as far as crime goes. It is cheap to live here compared to Auckland and Wellington, but I'm not sure what you are comparing it to. There are rentals around here, EIT is popular so there needs to be, but I think they get snapped up quickly. Schools are great, how old are your kids, I can recommend some schools if you like. People are friendly round here, I don't know what nationality you are but I'm English and it took me a while to get used to the 'kiwi style', but in general they are friendly. Napier is a reasonable sized town with everything you would need, the closest bigger place would be Palmerston North which is a 2 hour drive.

It is so hard to describe a place to someone overseas, I don't know how to compare really. After reading the Expats site for a while I have come to the conclusion that one person will find the place paradise where another will hate it from the start. It depends on so many things. I enjoy living here and find it has everything you need, sea, sun, beaches, mountains, skiing, and all the town things you might need.

I hope that helps a bit.

MichelleW · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 6:03 pm Post subject:

Hi Daisy,
Thank you for your help.I didn't ask you very specific questions.I'm sorry about that!.About the crime,I know that you can't get away from it altogether but what i'm wondering about are things like carjacking (which is a real problem here in FL USA)When I watch the news here,every day there are usually several people murdered in my town.Every apartment we looked at here came standard with an intrusion alarm.I am hoping for an area that doesn't have as much violent crime as here in Florida.
As far as prices go,we pay 2045.00 NZ a month for a 3 bed apartment here in the USA.Do you know if an apartment there might cost a similar amount?
My sons are 12,11 and 9 and are currently in 3,5, and 6th grade.Any school info would be most appreciated!
Thank you again!!
Michelle

DaisyNZ · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 6:51 pm Post subject:

Hi again. Well, nowhere in NZ would be like that!! I think you would find Hawkes Bay very good from what you are used to with crime. what's carjacking? if it's stealing cars then I don't know anyone personally who has had their car nicked, but I know it does happen.

A 3 bedroomed house to rent would cost about 250-350 NZ per week in a reasonable area, 1400 a month tops.

Hey, I have 2 young boys and another boy on the way, so my life is going to be all boys too!! There is a great intermediate here in Taradale, one of the better ones in the Bay, and then at 13 I think they go to High School and again Taradale High School is great. Napier Boys is also very good and there are other private boys schools which are excellent. No problem there!! My 5 year old is about to start at Arthur Millar which is our preferred primary school in Taradale, but there are lots to choose from for your youngest. You look for the schools ERO report (on-line if you like) for their latest performance review.

ENZ · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 7:28 pm Post subject:

Carjacking is where someone hi-jacks you and your car by entering it when you are stopped. Their purpose may be robbery or sexual assualt, etc.

It's growing increasingly common in London. It does happen (very rarely) in NZ. I read about a case the other day when (believe it or not) American tourists were carjacked here and threatened with a screw driver by someone trying to get money. I think they eventually turned the tables on their attacker though. Yes

It's certainly something most people in NZ would never dream would happen to them and we don't drive around with locked car doors.

MichelleW · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 7:35 pm Post subject:

Thanks again Daisy!! The school info is very helpful and congratulations on expecting again!
Carjacking is when you are stopped somewhere like a gas station or mall and someone either hops in your car or comes up to your window usually with a gun to steal it.Unlike a regular car thief,they want you to be in the car so they can take your purse or money as well.Usually if you get out right away you'll be ok but some people are murdered.We have also been having problems with home invasions which is unlike a burgler because they Want you to be at home while they rob you.scary stuff!

Michelle

DaisyNZ · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 7:45 pm Post subject:

Hi again. Well, nowhere in NZ would be like that!! I think you would find Hawkes Bay very good from what you are used to with crime. what's carjacking? if it's stealing cars then I don't know anyone personally who has had their car nicked, but I know it does happen.

A 3 bedroomed house to rent would cost about 250-350 NZ per week in a reasonable area, 1400 a month tops.

Hey, I have 2 young boys and another boy on the way, so my life is going to be all boys too!! There is a great intermediate here in Taradale, one of the better ones in the Bay, and then at 13 I think they go to High School and again Taradale High School is great. Napier Boys is also very good and there are other private boys schools which are excellent. No problem there!! My 5 year old is about to start at Arthur Millar which is our preferred primary school in Taradale, but there are lots to choose from for your youngest. You look for the schools ERO report (on-line if you like) for their latest performance review.

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

is there an echo in here daisy? Wink

DaisyNZ · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 7:56 pm Post subject:

not sure what happened there!!! sorry about the repeat!!

well, what depressing stuff. I guess we can get a bit naive over here, and possibly a bit slack about things. Of course home invasion and other terrible things happen here, but it doesn't sound like it's as common. But then, we don't have the population either.

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

hi daisy i was looking at napier on the map and it looks a bit, well, isolated. does it feel that way? have you been there long? are there many migrants there? what's the cost of living like compared with home? is the climate as good as it looks on paper? sorry for the barrage of questions and thanks for your answers so far.

DaisyNZ · Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 8:05 am Post subject:

No, Napier doesn't feel isolated, Gisborne is very much isolated, there is nothing around there for hours!! I lived in Waikaremoana for 8 years and that is very isolated. Napier feels okay, Hastings is almost as big and only 10 mins drive from my house, Havelock North is a lovely English feel place which is only 15 mins from me, Taupo is 1.5 hrs and Palmerston under 2 hours. We're pretty central, halfway between Auckland and Wellington and the town itself is a reasonable size (but not compared to UK standards!). There are many English people in Napier and Havelock. The climate is great, sun for much of the year, gets quite hot in summer and we can have lovely winter days. Not much greyness but we can get our share of rain. But usually within a couple of days the sun is shining again. The sun feels quite hot in winter which is nice.

ChrisandDenise · I'll Hang Around A Little Joined: 08 Dec 2003 Posts: 14

Michelle,

Having been to Florida about 30 times in the last 14 years, I think your paranoia (if I may call it that) is understandable. I have just sold my vacation home in Orlando (Davenport, Disney etc.) as I do not wish to go there any longer.

The subdivisions where our home is (was) are being burgled all the time, mostly the vacation homes. A few years ago, we stopped at a Burger King in Naples late one evening and then left. The following morning, we learned that 2 employees were murdered in a stick-up by some gun-toting citizen not long after we left.

We considered trying to move to the US but having just spent nearly a month there listening to the rabid 24 hour a day news broadcasts that seem to give the impression that the US is under constant seige from terrorism all the time with F16s patroling the skies escorting flights to safety, making people in fear of their lives all the time, I thought it time to go. Didn't like the thought of my kids having to to a high school where all the kids have to go through body scanners every morning to make sure they weren't packing a 44 Magnum or a pipe bomb.... Confused

You would probably find living in inner city London to be far more palatable than living in Florida. I am sure you would love NZ and the quality of life will far exceed anything you would get at home......hopefully, we will get there too one day.

good luck Razz

Chris