Where in New Zealand

[CasinoSoul]

My wife (PA), has been asked by a health recruitment agency, "where would we like to settle/work in New Zealand"?

After spending hours on the tinternet, reading volumes of information, we still cannot come to a decision, with regard to the question above. Therefore, I thought I would turn to you folks.

Ideally, we are looking to settle, initially, in area that has a pop of 50k to 100k, maybe coastal bur we would not rule out inland either.

Where do you live? What sold the area to you? What are the bad points?

In advance, many thanks.

CS

[ralf-nz]

There are not too many cities within your requested population bracket. Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Whangarei; generally all kind of coastal. There are some urban areas that are of this size too. Dunedin, Hamilton & Tauranga are slightly larger.

I would say you need to apply more criteria to get this sorted. The question is rather huge.

[Mamee & Co]

I have to say that we generally looked at the larger settlements to increase job finding potential for both of us.
We then looked at the climate,the facilities and the housing.
We looked at what type of coutryside was round about.
We also looked at the pink dots on geonet at that time.
We settled in Christchurch.....
Large enough to find work, small enough for the country child in me.
Not a high level of rain fall and a non-humid climate (mostly)
Adequate facilities for the kids and adults, OK housing in our price bracket (though UK house prices and exchange rate did not help that!!!!)
Fantastic countryside round about, beaches for the boys, mountains for me, feeling of deserted country within half an hour from town.
Not many pink dots on geonet...eyes:

Think about the criteria you want in your living area first, and then research. You may find that this helps..you may find that you have a choice.
Also we had said that if we didn't settle in the first place we would move, within NZ, until we found somewhere we liked.

So far, on year in, so good!!!

[72andsunny]

Ideally, we are looking to settle, initially, in area that has a pop of 50k to 100k, maybe coastal bur we would not rule out inland either.

Hey, that's Napier.

[ShineyPeople]

We chose Nelson, mainly for the climate and it's proximity to three national parks. We were not disappointed! The weather has been amazing it seems to be sunny all the time, even when it's grey and miserable everywhere else. It's the middle of winter now, but yesterday we were gardening in t-shirts and the day before we were walking on the beach in beautiful sunshine under a clear blue sky! We have had plenty of opportunities to explore the amazing coast of Abel Tasman and the beautiful scenery of Nelson Lakes and Kaurangi. We have bought kayaks and mountain bikes to make the most of our free time, there are so many places to use them here. The city itself is small but vibrant especially in the summer when it is buzzing with visitors. We were warned that we would find New Zealand to be a cultural desert, but Nelson has an active literary and artistic community, there are art galleries, book shops and a theatre and of course Wellington is a very short distance from here. The airport has been an unexpected bonus, it's very easy to get flights all over New Zealand, often cheaper than getting a train in the UK, and it's only just outside of the city centre.
Schooling is good here. Our youngest children attend the local intermediate and college, they are both thriving. Our middle daughter is studying Nursing at the polytech in Nelson and loving it.
Housing here is slightly more expensive than other parts of South Island, but much cheaper than Wellington or Auckland and the further out you are prepared to go from the CBD the cheaper it gets - we are out in the countryside, so were able to buy a lifestyle property from the proceeds of our semi in Yorkshire!
I'm trying to think of any drawbacks of living here..... there aren't any for us, but I suppose if you were used to living in a big city in the Uk where everything is open 24 hours, then you might find it a bit sleepy here in the evenings although there are some great restaurants in town. Some people who live here have remarked on the "sunshine wages" - it is said that employers pay less here because so many people are happy just to be able to live in Nelson. I don't think that would apply to the health service though!
I will never forget the first time we drove from the ferry terminal in Picton to arrive in Nelson, the first impression of the city nestling between the sea and the mountains was breathtaking, we definintely made the right choice and I still love it.
Good luck with your move, it's sensible to ask a lot of questions and do your research, you will probably drive your family mad (I did) spending hours and hours on the internet, but it's worth it!

[Tomsk]

We're in Rotorua, which fits your population size criteria, and although we're inland (approx an hour to the nearest beaches) there's plenty of lakes to satisfy any desire for swimming & watersports. We didn't actively choose Rotorua, it was a case of that's where the job offer was. We'd visited Rotorua on our recce and liked it, so felt it was worth accepting the job in order to get the visas, and then see how we liked Rotorua when we arrived, with the idea at the back of our minds that we could always apply for a job transfer later on if we wanted. Of course 3 years on we're still in here in Rotorua and I love it. It's a bit smelly in certain areas and you surely know when rain is on the way as the smell gets trapped by low cloud and intensifies, but these days I barely notice it. There's a very diverse population here, large Maori element, but I like that, lots of different people with different perspectives and cultures. Keeps it interesting.

Of course Rotorua isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'd suggest it's worth looking at.

That said I'd suggest doing a recce if you can to try and see what you think of the feel of a place, but also being open to just going to a place that offers you the job opportunities that you want, after all once you're here moving on to another area in NZ is easier than moving half way around the world to begin with. And once you're in NZ, with a feel for the place and NZ job experience it's easier to change jobs and locations if that's what's needed. In my honest opinion of course.

[Carey]

Well I'd go for Nelson, not that we live there but from a 2 week stay there and from a good friend who's lived there for years. But it's quite a personal choice really.

[Xaviera]

Napier

[Kiwijo]

Upper Hutt or Lower Hutt. Both on the small side for your population requirements, but both very close to Wellington and also some fantastic beaches, but also have the Hutt River (good for Trout fishing) running through them.
House prices are Very resonable too.

[KatieBen]

Nelson, but I've lived here for 2 years so also biassed see post on Locations board regarding my version of pros & cons! (because I'm feeling too lazy to c&p, sorry - was up most of the night).

I would say rather than looking for where you want to live, look for where you could work - if by PA you mean Physician's Assistant then there are very few DHBs currently employing them. You may find you're limited to the larger teaching hospitals (although they are the ones most popular to work at and therefore the ones with the least demand for non-medically-qualified health care workers). If she can redirect her skillset to something within a specialist nursing role she may find a slightly larger job market.