Northland vs Waikato dilemma

[deebean]

Hi everyone

I have been offered a post at both Northland and Waikato and, coming from South Africa, have no idea how to make this decision.
We have two small kids (a baby 8months and my daughter 4). We love outdoors and adventuring (hate sitting around with nothing to do)
We come from a beach town so living coastal makes more sense. However, we are open to anything and often inland towns have a lot to offer. My work would be based at Te Awamutu in waikato, or Whangarei in Northland.

Any advice regarding safety, housing, schools and things to do?

TIA

[Fern49]

It all depends on what you are wanting/looking for from an area, and what you are used to.
Te Awamutu is limited, but the city of Hamilton is only about 50k away. It does have cold, wet, foggy winters.
There are some beautiful beaches & scenery at Whangarei, good shopping, the climate tends to be semi tropical.
If you do a Google search on both areas, you may get the 'feel' of what they are offering.