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Thread: Tauranga vs Nelson vs Dundedin? Why can't i make up my mind??

  1. #11
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    As for 'friendly people' you are likely to find that pretty much anywhere in NZ (except, maybe Auckland )

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ShineyPeople View Post
    The weather in Nelson is great - we get more sunshine hours per year than anywhere else and snow is virtually unknown at sea level, grapes, olives, lemons and avocados all grow here.
    Well...., that is debatable, isn't it... Just because I can't help myself- the sunshine records are usually battled out between Nelson, Blenheim and Whakatane.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidekickeh View Post
    yeah... i know that a recon trip is definately in the works as the only way to really find out. Ideally spending 2-3 weeks in each place would be ideal. But just funds and time are going to make that pretty difficult. Was hoping that there would be a few people here who have visited all 3 and could just give their opinions on each, and which they would prefer to live in hypothetically out of the 3. I realise everyone has a different opinion of course. Guess i am just looking for some clues to pop up. The biggest 3 sellers seem to be weather for Tauranga, chilled out lifestyle in Nelson, and the friendly people in Dunedin and access. I knwo that there are a many things to consider. But for those who have been to all 3, I would be more thank thankful to hear your take on each and why you may personally like one more than the other.
    We lived in Dunedin and I have been to Nelson many times in the last three years as well as friends do live there. In my opinion you just can't compare those two cities, Nelson will always win over Dunedin weatherwise, the two towns are completely different, starting with the size!
    I have only been to Tauranga once very briefly, so can't really comment on that, but again, it probably depends on what you are looking for!

  4. #14
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    Yeah, you are probably right. I think that the problem is i am looking for the perfect place. And it sounds like there is no perfect place. Will have to take a sacrifice in some department. On a side note, I kind of thought that Tauranga would be a bit resorty, like much of Florida as mentioned in this post, just didnt know to what degree. This is how i am kinda ranking things...

    Weather
    1. Tauranga
    2. Nelson
    3. Dunedin

    Recreation
    1. Dunedin
    2. Neslon
    3. Tauranga

    Access to fresh local food and water
    1. Tauranga
    2. Neslon
    3. Dunedin

    City ammenities
    1. Dunedin
    2. Tauranga
    3. Nelson

    Ease of Travel (access to hubs etc..)
    1. Tauranga
    2. Nelson
    3. Dunedin

    Friendliest Place
    1. Dunedin
    2. Tauranga
    3. Nelson
    (note: i know that kiwis are known as friendly everywhere. But i am basing this off the fact that Tauranga has a large student transient population mainly. That Tauranga has a large elderly population, and that nelson has a mixed expat population)

    Best cost of living
    1. Dunedin
    2. Tauranga
    3. Nelson

    Best "Vibe"
    1. Nelson
    2. Dunedin
    3. Tauranga
    (this could of course be debatable. Dunedin likely has a young vibe, Nelson the laid back artsy vibe, Tauranga more of a resort feel)

    Safety
    1. Nelson
    2. Tauranga
    3. Dunedin

    Night life
    1. Dunedin
    2. Tauranga
    3. Nelson

    Cleanliness (less pollution)
    1. Dunedin
    2. Nelson
    3. Tauranga

    Workplace Environment
    1. Tauranga
    2. Dunedin
    3. Neslon

    Schools
    1. Dunedin
    2. Tauranga
    3. Nelson

    Safety (natural hazards)
    1. Nelson
    2. Dunedin
    3. Tauranga

    Overall quality of life? - this is what i am trying to determine here.

    I know that this is a lot of categories, but i am trying to find really the best overall quality of life. What makes it so difficult is that everyone has different categories that are important to them. I see on another thread that Dunedin got voted as the best place in NZ to live. And that Tauranga is where most NZ'ers are moving too. I know that there are many kinds of indexes that try to rank countries and cities etc.. but its such a personal choice.

    Dunedin has the most number 1s for me above. But it would really need to be weighted based on each person's individual categories that are most important.

    I guess for me the most important thing I want, is access to multiple recreation activities (i.e., beaches, mountians, ocean etc.. the more of this the better for me). I also like a safe clean location with good ammenities, and access to lots of fresh abundant locally grown foods and water. My understanding is that all these regions offer this. Just different kinds. Tauranga is avocado and kiwi region. Neslon more grapes, olives etc.. dunedin more stone and pit fruits and dairy and beefs etc.. so jeeze again.. its just really hard to decide. What looks best on paper is of course going to be different than what you think when you are there. But it is very helpfull to hear from people on the ground there, and the varying opinions ideas that you have of such places so I thank you for all the comments thus far.

  5. #15
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    I wonder why you see Dunedin in 3rd place regarding access to local fresh food and water? Water in Dunedin is sort of everywhere- you've got the sea and the harbour basin, and food is no problem at all, lots of places and, tbh, cheaper than up here in the north....

    Ease of travel..., mmh, same question, really..., Dunedin is far south, that is true, but still flights to the bigger cities are cheaper than from smaller airports, usually.

    And what do you consider 'natural hazards', if I might ask????

    Just my observation.
    Last edited by newarrival; 1st December 2011 at 07:34 AM.

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidekickeh View Post
    Access to fresh local food and water
    1. Tauranga
    2. Neslon
    3. Dunedin
    Some time ago I posted about farmer markets here with Dunedin's being awarded a prize http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=34661


    Quote Originally Posted by Sidekickeh View Post
    Safety (natural hazards)
    1. Nelson
    2. Dunedin
    3. Tauranga
    You may have forgotten that Nelson is closest to fault lines and subsequently has the highest Hazard Factor Z of these three cities.

  7. #17
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    Hey guys. Well.. in consider them all fairly close in those categories. For the travel, i see tauranga the best being so close to Auckland if you need international travel. Neslon being in the centre of the country so a good place for hop offs to the north and south. And dunedin ranking lowest being the furtherst from most major hubs and a long way away from the rest of the country.

    Ralf, thanks a bunch for the links about the farmers markets. Very good to read. I always assumed more (quantity) and more (diversity) of foods are grown on the north island, than the south? Is this true? Obvioulsy there will be things you just can't grow in certain regions (i.e., avos, kiwis etc..) but there are lots that grow in both regions really.

  8. #18
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    New Arrival i consider natural hazards such as earth quakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes. One might consider having a major shipping port a potential for natural disasters too, such as what almost happened off the coast of tauranga.

    I guess there are a few ways of looking at this. For example some people might look at Christchurch as a "hot spot" after the big quake there. But, most geologists look at it that it has just relieved its pressure/stress, and hence would be rather safe for some time, and the pressure shifts could have intesified more in other regions. No way of knowing otherwise people would be planning for it. Just trying to look at areas that would be most susceptible to such events. OBviously since all 3 are on the coast, they are susceptible to ocean related hazards/disasters, but perhaps some more than others.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidekickeh View Post
    New Arrival i consider natural hazards such as earth quakes...
    that is exactly what i was referring to when I mentioned the Hazard Factor Z

  10. #20
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    Just finished the Northern part of the south island part of my trip. Nelson has a definite fun and casual down to earth attitude. Friendly, fun, and casual. Really liked Motueka; a great little NZ town.



    Quote Originally Posted by ScottNZ View Post
    1. Nelson
    2. Dunedin
    3. Tauranga

    All great cities, but Nelson has a special cafe culture/artsy vibe. Hard to describe although it is a little small. Dunedin has history, culture and architecture. Definitely one of NZ’s more European cities. Tauranga is a boom town and all that goes with it. A lot like Florida or the Gold Coast AU.

    Best of luck!

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