Dunedin - Neighborhoods - Family, walking friendly

[CaraLee]

Is anyone familiar with Middlemarch? My bf is awfully fond of the country and it seems quite nice . . . how far is it from downtown and are there houses available for rent?

[Moritz]

Hi CaraLee,

Middlemarch is about 1 to 1.5 hours of drive from Dunedin. It is more like a tiny village rather than a town. Check it out in google maps or zoomin.co.nz. Looks like there are almost as many streets as houses there ;-)

The scenery around Middlemarch is really breathtaking. Especially if you drive in there from Dunedin: at some point you can look over the valley with the Rock And Pillar Range as a backdrop. The contrast between the flat fields and the rough and harsh mountains made my photographer's heart jump out of enjoyment. Just imagine early morning sunrays on the fields in the valley and some sinister looking clouds over the surrounding hills and mountains; simply awesome!

Every now and then some rentals in that area turn up on trademe. I wouldn’t recommend settling there, though. At least not in your first years in NZ. It is just too small and remote.

If you really want to live in the countryside I suggest you look at the Taieri Plains west of Dunedin. Not as spectacular as Middlemarch but you still have agricultural fields and some hills as backdrop. Near Saddle Hill might be nice. It is only a short drive into the city, you have the ocean near by and the weather tends to be a little bit warmer there than in Dunedin itself.

The Otago Penisula and the area west of the entrance of the Otago Harbour offer some more 'remote' places with beautiful scenery as well.

Cheers,

Moritz.

[ralf-nz]

The only reason to live in Middlemarch is farming. There is just not very much - and there is not very much happening.
"Taieri Plain is warmer" yes, but only in summer; in winter it is colder than Dunedin CBD. Is is already the first step from Coastal Otago climate to Central Otago climate.
You could go further up to Ranfurly. That is quite remote, scenery more spectacular than in Middlemarch, but at least it is a township.

[CaraLee]

Goodness but your replies were so prompt and quick . . . Moritz and Ralf, thank you very much for your input . . . I prefer to be in NEV but my bf wants something closer to the country but obviously we need to be where there are actual jobs. Thanks awfully both for your imput!

Cheers!!

[CaraLee]

Another question (sorry, I should research on my own, but figure this might be more accurate): can anyone recommend some great, successful bakeries? I don't mean large, corporate run businesses but rather "mom & pop" owned ones? I'm a baker/pastry cook by profession and would like to get people's personal opinions on them.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Cara

[ellenmelon]

Another question (sorry, I should research on my own, but figure this might be more accurate): can anyone recommend some great, successful bakeries? I don't mean large, corporate run businesses but rather "mom & pop" owned ones? I'm a baker/pastry cook by profession and would like to get people's personal opinions on them.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Cara

Hi Cara,

You might've already done this, but maybe start a new thread rather than adding a question to someone elses post as you're likely to get more people looking at it and answering.

[CaraLee]

Yes, I have thought of that but I'm not able to do that . . . do you suppose it's because I'm still new to the forum?

[ellenmelon]

Yes, I have thought of that but I'm not able to do that . . . do you suppose it's because I'm still new to the forum?

Hmm shouldn't be. If you go here http://www.enz.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16 and on the left hand side, under the tool bar there should be a button for "new thread" and you should be able to post from there. Hope that helps

[CaraLee]

Thank you . . . I'll give it a shot!

[denalipop]

CaraLee -

NEV has been nice for us, with the flat walk into town and Chingford Park right there. However, we're on the shady side, and when it gets cold outside, it very quickly gets cold inside.

I know you've been told a million times (as I was) that kiwi houses are cold. Well, they are! In the States, we never stayed in a house without insulation or double-glazed windows, so had no idea what it would feel like. Now we know. It's one step above camping, in terms of temperature. You're given the choice of either freezing or paying enormously high electric bills. Our bill for the first month here (not even winter) was $400 NZD, and that's for a small house with us being very stingy with the heat.

So my point is, if you chose NEV, or any shady area in Dunedin, be prepared to pay lots of money to stay warm!

That said, the actual weather seems nicer in winter than Seattle. It's cold, but so far it's been mostly dry rather than drizzly, and that makes a huge difference. So if you like being outside year-round, it's a definite upgrade!

You were wondering about farmland... We just visited Mosgiel for the first time yesterday. It reminds us a little of Skagit County, and the other counties north of Seattle, where there's farmland with hills on one side. The landscape is kinda picturesque, but the town of Mosgiel itself is small without being charming. Kinda like Richmond is to Nelson. Didn't do it for us; we strongly prefer Dunedin itself.

You might want to consider starting in town, and then working your way out. That's our plan. NEV, as green as it is, is still a lot more urban than where I grew up. Yards are small, smog is heavy, and your own neighbors can be rude, especially when they are in a car! (Kiwi drivers are incredibly impatient and rude; that's another stereotype that has proven true many times over!).

However, we plan to stay in NEV to learn about the town and university and meet people... And then at some point move further out, to where we can have more space for kids, animals, volleyball nets, etc. But it would be really rough to start off isolated, before meeting anyone or learning "the system". Something to think about when making your arguments for NEV.

T