I live in Eastbourne and as Avalon said houses are v expensive to buy. However renting there seems to be relatively cheap, so definately worth looking at renting there for a while and using that time to figure out how the sun and wind works. There are a lot of microclimates and Eastbourne is defo warmer in winter than anywhere in Upper Hutt for example.
Landslides seem to happen everywhere where its hilly, there were a lot of them in the Belmont region of Lower Hutt and in hilly parts of the city at the same time the couple in Eastbourne happened. It took us 2 days to clear the road, good bit of excercise!
I use the ferry to get to work, its a great way to travel and no issues with traffic jams or parking, but it does get a bit rough sometimes. (like this morning!)