Rotorua

[menki85]

Hello!

If all goes well with my visa application, I'd be moving to Rotorua before the year ends

I was researching back on the Rotorua posts and most of them are 3-5 years old so I would just like to ask what Rotorua feels like, from those who have lived there recently or better yet, from those who are living in Rotorua.

I've been looking over trademe and other websites for rental properties but I'm not too worried on this aspect as I'm sure I can adjust. I guess I am more concerned with the type of neighborhood, etc. Is there a district/suburb you'd recommend/recommend against?

I'm a single, young engineer who loves to run (I hope there are good jogging/running tracks there) and get an occasional drink or two (not really a party person). Hopefully I can find a place where it's quiet and sunny!! (I'm from the tropics so the cold worries me a lot )

Any thoughts? Thanks!

Jaime

[TJH]

Rotorua stinks - literally. Its really not that bad and you only notice the sulfur smell in certain areas and after you are there for more than a few hours you never notice it much. There are some awesome running trails in the redwood forest right on the edge of town.

I am not sure there are too many people on the forum that live there.

[Rob&Don]

We do!
We have been here just under 14 months and we love it!

There is plenty to do here no matter what the weather and this week we have had plenty of rain! The Redwoods are spectacular and there are loads of biking and running tracks to follow.

The smell everyone goes on about is barely noticible after your first couple of days and even then you can only smell it in a couple of places in town.

People are really friendly and its not so much a big city but a small town.
It is like anywhere else on the planet - there are areas to stay away from and more desirable areas.

It does appear to be one of the more affordable places in NZ to live.

We have no intention of leaving Rotorua anytime soon.

[menki85]

Thanks for the replies!

I think I can take the smell. I'm a geothermal engineer so I would say I'm pretty immune, so no worries there.

Rob&Don, the people being friendly is good to hear. And I am excited to run on those forest tracks I've been hearing about.

So far, I have narrowed down the areas I'm looking to settle into to Ohwata, Lynmore, Glenholm and Fenton Park but I'm not sure how these areas "feel" like. Based on the property prices, Lynmore is for the well-heeled so tough luck.

Ohwata would be perfect as it will be close to the forest and close to work. I am not just sure if this is an area to "stay away from."

[Beetle]

Hi Jaime,

I know that you are looking for comments from the members with first hand experience of living in Rotorua. But still I thought of posting the following resource that might come handy, if you haven't come across yet.

Lonely Planet New Zealand's North Island - Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty chapter
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/new-zea...enty-chapter-1

/Beetle

[catt]

I work in Rotorua and travel in every day..........when we first came over we did consider living there and looked at Ngongotaha which is on the NW of the lake we also looked around Lynmore as well and like both areas. Just my take although i dont live there.:-)

[Tomsk]

I live in Rotorua, been here for over 2 years now, and we're happy & well settled here. Certainly I'd recommend it, but I fully admit to an element of bias in that.
Areas to live. I'd agree with you that Lynmore is by & large a great area....it & Kawaha Point are probably the most prestigious addresses in central Rotorua, but they also attract the greatest prices & council rates. But in all areas of Rotorua there are good & bad streets, I can think of one road in Lynmore that I wouldn't recommend living in, & a couple at Kawaha Point, so you kind of need a little local knowledge to make good calls about locations. That said overall I'd recommend Owhata & Glenholme, also Springfield & Pukehangi. Overall I wouldn't recommend Fenton Park . Ngongotaha has some great areas, also a few less desirable neighbourhoods, but I suspect it's a bit far from the Redwoods for you. Although running is a hugely popular pastime here & wherever you go in town you'll find runners.

[menki85]

Although running is a hugely popular pastime here & wherever you go in town you'll find runners.

Thanks for all your replies!

I'll keep those areas in mind Tomsk. Living in Lynmore would mean I might go flatting which is not too bad I think, considering that it would be good for a new guy like me to have other people around the house. So Fenton Park is not recommended.. I might as well , haha! I have to go back to trademe and other sites to look for possible rentals then.

Cheers!

Jaime

[stu & amanda]

Hi, we live and work here too! We live more rural at Hamurana but both work in town, been here 9 months now and really enjoying it, can't wait for summer to start again! We looked at rentals in town, found Lynmore very overrated, Springfield is good and we really liked Pukehangi, but we are country folk so love it where we are. If you don't mind sharing there are some really good modern apartment style blocks springing up everywhere, ideal for singles and handy for everything, but you really need a car as public transport is pretty limited. By the way are you going to be at Scion? Springfield would be real handy for there. We found the rental agencies really helpful and won't let you go anywhere dodgy, they have good local knowledge!
Cheers stu and amanda

[Ally Bally Bee]

I live in Fenton Park and I have nothing bad to say about my street! It takes me 10 minutes to run to the forest, 10 minutes to bike to the forest and 7 minutes to bike to work in the centre of town.

There are a few dodgy streets in Fenton Park but the same could be said for most areas. Lynmore, for example, has more burglaries than Fenton Park (this past week there were 3 in Lynmore, 2 in Owhata and none in Fenton Park). I would avoid the McKee St end of Jameson and McIntyre, Clouston and Lucas Pl.

Lynmore always has places to rent out, I know a few people who down Lynmore Ave and Fairley Ave - great location for forest access.

Places I would avoid are Pohutukawa Drive and the roads that go off it, Fordlands, Western Heights, Selwyn Heights, some parts of Ngongotaha (there was a meth lab bust there last week) and the Clinkard area of Glenholme.

As for the smell, well despite living a couple of blocks away from the geysers I rarely smell them. The only time I notice the smell is when I bike past Bike Vegas in town - their drain is always spewing the sulphur smell out!

I've lived here for 14 months also and have no intention of leaving. My husband and I are both keen mountainbikers (he's adopted a trail in the forest), I run and am members of both Lake City Athletic Club and the Rats tri club. As well as the beautiful forest for runs and rides there are the lakes for swimming - Blue Lake (Tikitapu) being the most popular swimming lake.

Good luck with the move,

Alison (ex pat Brit married to a Kiwi)