Hello All, I'm hoping that you lovely people (I'm basing my 'lovely' people assumption on the amazing advice/words of wisdom I was given on my intro post!) can give us some more help/advice/pros/cons please.

We're in the immensely fortunate position that my husband has been offered 2job roles in NZ - one in Hawkes Bay (Napier) and one in either Hamilton/Tauranga (there's an office in both). Now, we need to let both companies know by early next week which he'll be taking up. I've researched Hawkes Bay quite a bit (I know that ideally I'd like us to be in Taradale if we do go there) as that offer came in first, but the Hamilton/Tauranga is a curve ball I wasn't expecting so haven't looked in to either in any great depth as yet.

We're a family of 5 - 2 boys of 6 & 4, a little girl of 1 and myself and my husband (37) and we're looking for a place to settle that can offer lots of things to do as a family i.e. beach/lake, walking, cycling etc I have heard that the beaches in Napier aren't particularly safe for swimming? Which makes the fact that beach is 45 minutes from Hamilton less of an issue - and is the lake swimmable?! Is Tauranga a good place to raise a young family? Sorry these questions probably make me sound like a total idiot but our main focus for going to NZ is that I could take the kids out to the beach/lake after school on my own and I'd need to know that that's a safe option.

What are the areas that we should be looking at buying property in in Hamilton/Tauranga? We need good schools, access to outdoor areas/swimming and some 'life' (if that makes sense?!) I have read some contradictory reports on Napier - it's idyllic but very quiet etc

I promise not to base my family's entire future on the answers you give so feel free to be as truthful as you like ..... no pressure!! Any experiences, good or bad, will be most helpful. I'm off to surf the web to try and gather more info as well but I thought it would be worth asking people who are already there/in the process of being there what they thought.

Thanks in advance!