eg - Nelson - you can be at the local ski fields in 1 1/2 hrs
The original poster is from Calgary, so his idea of skiing might be vastly different from what Nelson (or all of NZ for that matter) has to offer. Once you ski the Rockies (or Whistler BC) it's really hard to appreciate the more modest ski areas, especially if you have to deal with expensive lift tickets and long lift lines.
easy access to the Marlborough Sounds, Abel Tasman NP for the most amazing kayaking and beaches, Nelson lakes NP for lakes and mountains, Kahurangi NP for absolute wilderness with amazing tramping.
I agree with all that, except maybe the mountains. While Nelson Lakes feels faintly alpine, it pales next to the Rockies (Lake Louise, Bow Lake, etc.) So, like the skiing, the terms "mountains" and "lakes" need to be taken with a grain of salt. Likewise, I wouldn't pitch NZ as "tropical" to a Hawaiian!
What NZ does have is an intriguing mix of terrain and vegetation, and, in places, a very friendly and/or laid-back vibe.
Tauranga felt tense and cramped to us, a bit edgy. Maybe that's because we were there in the tourist season, or maybe the development is overwhelming people. You can get away from the "aggressive relaxers" there pretty easily (as you can in all NZ) but eventually you have to interact with your neighbors and people in stores and on the roads, and it's those interpersonal interactions which will make or break the vibe of an area.
And you won't know until you check out the various places whether the vibe is right for you. The people vibe, not just the natural vibe. So keep your plans flexible. And don't be expecting Lord of the Rings scenery everywhere you look. There's a lot more humble scenery on the way to the big stuff. It's more compact than North America (which means more terrain/vegetation changes per hour driving) but it's also all a bit scaled down.
Each place has a mix of farms, towns, forest, hills/mountains, and beaches... Some have bigger mountains or slightly beaches than other places, but no terrain absolutely dominates. You're gonna get a mix wherever you go. It's the people that are the tie breaker. You absolutely have to get a feel for the towns, cities, and the other human factors and find what clicks with you. And none of that stuff can be guessed by looking at topo maps or NZ travel videos or reading immigrant blogs or quizzing people on here (and I know because I tried). You have to actually be here, interacting with people, observing people, to know which places feel the most comfortable.
My suggestion is pick a place, but give yourself a couple weeks (at least) when you first arrive to tour both islands. Get a feel for the various places you might move. Try to take your time. If you don't want to miss a lot of work, then make it a "working vacation" like I did: work in the morning, explore in the afternoons, and drive to the next place on the weekend. Repeat until your shipment arrives (ours was 4 months late!), and then redirect your shipment to whichever place felt the best to you. You can also have your shipment sit in the port while you decide. That's what we did! We shipped in October and didn't get our stuff until the next May, and this worked our perfectly for us!
Think of it this way: it's a lot cheaper and easier to redirect your shipment before you unpack it than to have to move all your stuff (plus everything you accumulate in NZ) a year after you arrive should you change your mind about where you want to live. You want to make a good first decision, but it has to be an
educated decision, and you can't be truly educated until you actually spend time in NZ.
I, like you, spent tons of time trying to pick the first spot. I researched the heck out of NZ. All that was perfectly fine and dandy and I don't regret informing myself that way, except none of the remote research could tell me how each place *feels* to me. Your research will always be incomplete, until you get here.
So make a plan which acknowledges that. Since you work remotely, you have a chance of doing what we did. Stay flexible. And enjoy the truly fun part of the research, which starts when your plane touches down in Auckland.