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Thread: Would Dunedin work for us? late 30's and no kids

  1. #1
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    Default Would Dunedin work for us? late 30's and no kids

    I partly asked this in the Intros forum, but figured this would be the place to learn more about Dunedin.

    I'm a pediatrician and my wife is a history professor- so on the surface Dunedin sounds like a good fit given it's large university and medical school. There is a job that I am applying for in Dunedin, but no opening listed for my wife's field at Otaga. But if we can line up jobs, we are still a bit unsure about whether Dunedin is the right fit for us.

    The general region sounds beautiful. Lots of prime outdoor destinations within a short drive and a decent regional airport to explore further afield. But we are not sure Dunedin is the right city for us. We are in our late 30's and have no children. We want a city that is lively, with a good number of cafes and cultural activities- but ones where we will not feel out of place in our early 40's.

    We have lived in a University town before (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and appreciated all of the culture and activity that such a town can provide. But there are defined parts of town that are dominated by the students. Fortunately, there are other parts that have both young professionals and older students where we felt more at home. Not sure if Dunedin is similar in that regard

    Our main worry that most of the cafes will be dominated by students, and that the professionals closer to our age might all live out in suburbs- that tend not to be great socially for couples without children. We have been drawn to Welly, since you can live within a short walk to town and it seems to have a ton of young professionals in there 30's and 40's who take advantage of the downtown. But we don't want to miss a great opportunity at Dunedin if it is the right fit.

    I don't want to close the door on Dunedin, having never been there. So I was hoping some of you might help provide us with a better feel for the town- particular as related to our current situation.

  2. #2
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    We are not even in our early fourties anymore but feel in tune here!

    Students play a big role in town but they are not overwhelmingly dominating. Life goes when they are out of town, and it does so very well. I personally am not so much into cafes but there are enough good ones for the older generations too.

    As for cultural activities it depends on your personal interests. I would think that quite a lot is going on here. You might check with our papers here: ODT, the daily one, and two weekly ones, D-Scene and The Star.


    Commuting by bike is a bit of a challenge considering the hilly terrain here. Most of the more desirable suburbs to live in are not on sealevel but a wee bit higher up.

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    Thanks Ralf-NZ. I don't want to rush to judgement about a place I've never been to. Let me ask you a few more specifics:

    It sounds like a lot of the restaurants and cultural activities are centered around the Octagon. That area is pretty close to campus. Are the places on the Ocatagon mostly student hang outs, or are the bars/clubs/restaurants that cater mostly to students concentrated in another spot near campus? I'm not trying to sound anti-student, just looking to get a better feel for the place.

    As for the biking to work, I guess that makes sense. I have read that the hills get better sun and have better micro-climates. Do places like Anderson's Bay have a lot of their own shops and restaurants, or are they more just collections of housing developments? Also are there desirable neighborhoods in the CBD where people live close to the main hospital and university campus?

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    Wanted to add- the type of neighborhood we were interested in would be somewhere like Kelburn or Mt. Victoria in Wellington. Areas that have small houses in the hills that are still close to the downtown and have some of there own shops and restaurants. Does Dunedin have similar types of neighborhoods?

    Just looking at the street view on google maps geographically, areas near Roberts Park and Queen st appear similar...

  5. #5
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    Octagon really is the centre of Dunedin and its CBD. Including Moray Place, George Street and some adjacent streets that is both main shopping area and many cafes, pubs and restaurants are there.
    Some of the latter cater more for students, others don't or cater for all groups.

    There are not too many shopping opportunity left in the suburbs: Mornington, NEV and South Dunedin are probably the only worthwhile mentioning; unless you count in Green Island, Middlemarch, Mosgiel, Port Chalmers and Portobello.
    AndyBay eg does really have a shopping opportunity left but a dairy and some eateries. BTW that is where we live and we consider it close to the CBD.

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    So are there quite a lot of people to meet in the late 20s/30s age range in Dunedin then? People have said that if you don't stick to the big cities in NZ then the place can seem a bit boring if you aren't used to it!

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    happinesswithin- from what I've read here and elsewhere, Dunedin is not as diversified as some of the other larger centers. So if you work in healthcare or connected with the university then it should be easy to form a social network. If you are in another field (say IT), then you may have to reach out a bit more to form connections. Maybe try something like http://dunedin.skepticsinthepub.net.nz/

    There does seem to be a lively downtown and lots to see and do. But the expat community does not appear to have the same presence as it does in Auckland, Wellington or eve ChCh. But I've read several blogs written by couples in their late 20's/early 30's who seemed to have great experiences in Dunedin.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tk1 View Post
    happinesswithin- from what I've read here and elsewhere, Dunedin is not as diversified as some of the other larger centers. So if you work in healthcare or connected with the university then it should be easy to form a social network. If you are in another field (say IT), then you may have to reach out a bit more to form connections.
    this presumes forming one's social network via your profession, doesn't it? I for my part have never done so - neither in Europe nor here. Though I love my job there us a life beyond! And I personally find that Dunedin has a lot - and diverse! - on offer.

    Quote Originally Posted by tk1 View Post
    There does seem to be a lively downtown and lots to see and do. But the expat community does not appear to have the same presence as it does in Auckland, Wellington or eve ChCh.
    That exactly is something I personally like that people from and with different background tend not to separate according to their different cultures but they join in and take part in forming and shaping the overall one. So there are these sprinkles of ethnic diversity enriching the whole society and not just a part of it.





    So it depends on your personal attitude: Is your personal social life based on your profession or culture? And perhaps so, how important are the other aspects of life for your social life?

  9. #9
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    We are a young professional couple in Atlanta, making th emove and we choose wellington..we normally lived in closed proximity to university and decided that WELLINGTON is our best bet, Whitby to be exact..hope we can meet and greet..

    We are heading out end of year..

  10. #10
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    ralf-nz, didn't mean to give the wrong impression, and I definitely appreciate your feedback. I was just passing on something I had read from another expat who was happily living in Dunedin. They said something to the effect that if you work for the university there is a big network of other expats available that help you get established. I assume the same is true at the hospital, give 40% of the doctors are expats.

    I agree that it would be ideal to have a social circle that includes both Kiwi's and expats. Especially since expats are often transient. But I also expect that it might take a bit longer to build up a good group of local friends (again, I could be wrong, just going by what others have said) so having a welcoming expat community in place should really aid in the initial transition.

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