Gisborne, Whakatane, or Hamilton? Thoughts?

[Sarah Boston]

We're moving to NZ in Sept/Oct, and top on our list right now are Gisborne, Whakatane, and Hamilton. (Currently, all three have job openings for my husband; we'll most likely make a 2-year commitment wherever we end up.) Our two young kids will be 5 and 3 when we arrive. We're looking for a family-friendly place, with activities for young kids, to settle down for our first two-years. Anyone have opinions on these places?

Thanks!

[Sam B]

Very different places. I work in Hamilton, and have only visited Whakatane and Gisborne. As they are both on the East coast, they get better weather I think - more sunshine hours.

Whakatane is a smallish seaside town, Gisborne is a larger town/city and Hamilton is by far the biggest of the 3, and is one of the few cities in NZ that is not by the sea.

Hamilton is more central with much better road links, so it would be more easy to travel to other places and does not feel as isolated. Whakatane appeared to be a nice sleepy seaside town, based around fishing, tourism and whale/dolphin watching. Because it is small, you may be limited in the choice of schools and kindergartens available.

I don't know Gisborne well, but it seemed nice enough when we stayed there. Hamilton is big and quite sprawling, there are lots of different areas, lots for kids and families although it is probably fair to say it is not the most inspiring of cities.

It has easy access to lots of cool places within a 2 hour drive, like Rotorua, Auckland, the Coromandel, the West coast.

I guess it depends whether you want coastal, and if you want a small town or a larger city.

[Sarah Boston]

Thanks, Sam B. This is great information, especially in regards to Hamilton.

Does anyone have any experience living in Gisborne or Whakatane with small kids?

Thanks!

[Hagabel]

No, neither but I work in Hamilton and commute from Cambridge, really like Cambridge. Lots of families and smaller more friendly feel than Hamilton.