Unsure where to study.

[JaykeDW]

I'll be moving over to NZ from Adelaide, South Australia at the end of 2012 to study, and I'm really not sure where to go. I'll take a holiday mid next year to scope out the cities, but I'd like some opinions first

Dunedin was my first choice as it's considered a student city, but after reading into it a bit more, it seems that the 'student culture' is mostly just heavy drinking. Now, I enjoy a drink as much as the next person, but I was hoping to escape the binge-drinking aspects of Australian culture as much as possible. Are all Dunedin students heavy drinkers, or is it like most places where some drink heavily (and get lots of attention from it) while others just chill?
Nelson I know very little about, but apparently it's lovely there. Maybe a little bit too small.
Hamilton I've heard is full of bogans, but seemed pretty nice in other aspects. One of my favourite NZ bands (Katchafire) are from there, which is a plus)

Basically, I'm looking for a city that a 20 year old musician can settle into nicely. I prefer cold to hot (snow would be a plus) and preferably a city where riding a bike to Uni wouldn't be too difficult. The more info you can give me on these three cities in particular the better!
Thanks heaps!

[ralf-nz]

Are all Dunedin students heavy drinkers, or is it like most places where some drink heavily (and get lots of attention from it) while others just chill?

No, there wouldn't be enough alcohol in town for them all to be like that.
So as usual there is a certain minority who does it and gets all the attention.

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

[fury147]

If you prefer cold to hot... and with snow... then I'd have to say Dunedin. It's very rare that it will snow further north than that (expect for the silly exception this year). Someone can correct me here but I don't think it even snows in Christchurch....?

It also depends on where you want to live while you study. If you live in student accommodation (whether it be halls or self-catered flats), you're going to meet new people regardless of how much you drink. If you choose to sort out your own accommodation, then you'll have to make more of an effort to meet people.

Also, it depends on what you're coming here to study. I assumed you were doing some sort of generic degree as you didn't state that you NEEDED to go to a particular uni or anything. But you also suggested moving to Nelson which doesn't have a uni per se, only polytechs (for a guess).

So I suggest researching the courses at the different unis, then narrowing it down by location/social scene.

[ScottNZ]

Dunedin sounds perfect for you.

[dilanium]

What are you planning on Studying?

Have you considered Palmerston North? It's very central- easy (few hours) to get to Wellington, the beach, Napier, and Mt. Ruapehu (and I have friends that went snowboarding almost every weekend all winter).

Plus WAY easier to cycle around than Dunedin.

[smith2182]

What about Wellington??? Good uni, good culture, good transport, weather decent.

[louiser]

Plus WAY easier to cycle around than Dunedin.

Much of the student accommodation here is on the flat. Most students seem to prefer the skateboard over the bike, though there are lots of cycle parks around campus. Maybe I'm just showing my age, but Otago uni's the only place where I've attended a lecture with a row of skateboards lined up at the front of the lecture theatre.

[JaykeDW]

Sorry to revive the old thread, my parents are buying a house at the moment so life's been hectic, and I completely forgot about this place.
Thanks for all the responses so far guys, I have a few more questions.
Wellington I considered but they're built on a faultline much the same as Christchurch's, and I just don't like that thought at all.
My shortlisted locations so far are Dunedin, Hamilton, Nelson and perhaps even Tauranga. I can deal with warm, I'm just sick of 40 degree summers here in Australia.
A big thing for me is the music scene, as I'm a very serious musician and would love to get into a band and play some gigs around the place, so I'd need a city big enough to have a solid live music scene.
I'll be studying education with the hopes of becoming a secondary school biology/history/english teacher.

Thanks again,
Jayke

[ralf-nz]

Nelson's Hospital e.g. is build on a fault line...