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Thread: Update! (was - "California family - scouting NZ for a possible move to Nelson or Tauranga.")

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    16

    Default Update! (was - "California family - scouting NZ for a possible move to Nelson or Tauranga.")

    Hello!

    Last year we posted about our upcoming trip to NZ. Our plan was to find out whether we indeed wanted to immigrate, and where to.

    NZ was easy to fall in love with. The friendly people, the amazingly beautiful scenery, the feeling of safety and the calm vibe is everything we've been hoping it would be.

    Our first stop was Tauranga, and while we thought it was great (especially Mount Maunganui), we got more of a young - touristy vibe there. We have two little girls so we weren't sure that would be a perfect fit for us.

    When we arrived in Nelson we immediately felt at home. There's definitely a family / community feel, and we loved the town itself and its surrounding.

    Upon our return to CA, we immediately started immigration proceedings and we just found out that we've been approved for residency!

    The one wrinkle in our plans is that since returning home we started reading about Wahieke Island and we are very intrigued. We understand that it's a bit isolated and we'll be dependent on ferry schedules, but it appears to be a micro-paradise.

    Our current plan is to start in Waiheke Island in the spring, spend a month or two there to see if we like it, and then proceed to Nelson. By next fall we'll hopefully know where we'll end up settling for sure!

    We'd love to hear any thoughts from locals about Wahieke vs Nelson.

    Staci

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    NZ (Auckland; via Canada)
    Posts
    1,350

    Default


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    852

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    Big congrats on your successful residency application!! Jealous :-) We intend to do the California to Nelson thing as well, but it's taking awhile. We have to figure out the endgame for my husband's small company first, waiting on an offer...

    Sorry I don't have any insight on Wahieke!

    Will you be working remotely? It doesn't sound like you're tied to a location-based job.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Christchurch
    Posts
    384

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    Nelson vs Waiheke Island is like apples vs watermelons. For starters, the average home price on Waiheke Island is more than $1 million. Nelson would be less than half that. Completely different crowd. Completely different vibe. Completely different scene.

    A US analogy might go something like this: we fell in love with Eugene, Oregon but now we have our eye on Martha's Vineyard and can't decide where to go. I'm not trying to be sarcastic. The difference is that great.
    Last edited by Bozeman; 24th June 2017 at 10:21 AM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    UK->NZ
    Posts
    118

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    Waiheke is beautiful, lots of vineyards, quick ferry to Auckland CBD. Never been to Nelson so can't comment on that. However, Waiheke houses are expensive, like the rest of Auckland. Living on an island is a different kind of living, water conservation is a big deal, probably need to have a water tank to collect rain water. I also wonder how fast internet speed will be living on an island! My husband works at home so unlimited broadband is a must.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    28

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    Hi and congrats to you on your residency!
    When my husband and I lived in Auckland in the early 90's, we loved Waiheke! When we started our INZ journey, we started looking at real estate online there. We were shocked at how much growth there's been on the island! It used to be such a quiet artist's paradise! Now it's wall to wall people and houses. The prices of homes on Waiheke have gone through the roof! We were seriously considering what looked to be a beautiful home there. However, when my husband came and looked at it in person, it turned out to be a "leaky" house. We were heartbroken...
    If you're the type of person who doesn't mind living near lots of other people and don't mind the commute by ferry, then you may have found your paradise! I still think Waiheke is beautiful, just not for us. Good luck!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    16

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    Thanks for the feedback!

    We are flying to Auckland in exact one week from today and are quite excited!

    After giving it some thought, we believe that Waiheke might not be the most practical place to settle in, so we are focusing on Nelson. However, we will spend a week in Waiheke / Auckland, before continuing on to Nelson.

    We will spend 3 months in total, and stay in AirBnbs around Nelson in different suburbs to get a feel for the neighborhoods, check out schools, etc.

    And just for fun, in December, we'll go on a road-trip through the South Island, all the way down to Te Anau.

    We are very excited!

    Thanks all.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

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    For your road-trip, think about arranging things ahead of time. Don't forget that the Christmas/New Year holiday is the major holiday for NZers, so accommodation can get booked up, and there isn't a lot of it, comparatively speaking, in small centres of population.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    16

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    Very good advice - we have already booked accommodations for our entire trip and indeed in some places it was nearly impossible to find anything available during the holidays.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    28

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    Enjoy! And good luck...

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