Have LSB, just trying to get to it.

Hi, we have a 4 acre LSB in Waipu, which we are not yet living on. Can't wait, but reality is we need work, or one of us needs work somewhere around Whangarei before we can move and build a home. But we have big plans and we visit from Auckland whenever we can. Bit nervous of the work we are letting ourselves in for as we have never been "farm" folk. But we love the land, the area and the huge possiblities of being self sufficient, or at least as close to it as we can be. I love gardening as well, so there is a lot of discussion around what we will and will not be growing. I am so desperate I have planted some of my roses on the land which are surviving, amazing considering they are not getting any TLC. When my husband talked me into a life style block, it helped I had run out of room for more roses at our home so I could see the possiblities. Luckily a farmer is using our land for crazing so keeping it undercontrol and well fertilized for when we manage to move there.
Waipu is a lovely place, been camping there for many, many years with our family so it feels like home and a great place to move to. We spent some time looking between both coasts before we decided the extra cost to buy into the Waipu area was worth it. Our land is bare(other than some landscaping near the entrance) so I know there is a lot to do, and it will be a huge learning curve. Very happy I have found this forum, it seems to be full of helpful people on a similar bent, so much to learn and put in practise so Hello.[]

welcome stanaway.clan and am sure you will find lots of help and advice on here
Roses on your lsb i think will make sheep and goats very happy campers lol as they love them ... very good garden fences will be in order i think
oh happy new years to

Hey welcome, Waipu is lovely- I like it more now the motorway has by-passed it. Turned it back into a sleepy wee town again

I am in a simmilar position. Finishing off a few things in West Auckland before I make the move in Feb sometime, except I have a 'sort of' house to move into.

Have you thought of relocating a house on site, it will be cheaper and get you on site faster than building from scratch?
Plus old houses whilst higher on the maintenance, have a nice homely feel built in[8D]
I bought a 20' shipping container for $1500 which gets my gear on site and will act as a secure lockup workshop until I build a proper one, then I hope to sell it again for $1500

Great forum eh? I have been using the search function to answer all my questions- awesome. Keep us informed on how you go.

Regards,

Mike the Westie.

Hi stanaway.clan and welcome to lsb

We are camping on our new block at Helena Bay, north of Whangarei so can understand...it's very exciting and slightly terrifying

Good luck and if there is anything you want to ask, we're here to help.

Cheers
Kate

Welcome to the site and good luck with the job hunt. Do you plan to live on the block straightaway? Northland must be booming at the moment with all the lsb-ers heading north LOL.

what sort of work are you looking for? Northland isn't the best right now for jobs, and unemployment tends to run significantly higher than the national average, but there are jobs around - if you know where to look.
Depending on what you want (or are qualified for) I may be able to point you in a couple of directions - at least to some decent recruitment places.

Wow, what a friendly helpful bunch!! New we were doing the right thing.

Stu_r: know what you mean, lucklily we have a few "double" fences around the entrance to the property which the developer(I assume) did to protect the natives planted there so the roses there now are quite protected, just neglected, but yes there will have to be a good strong fence otherwise.

Westie: my husband has tried to talk me into a container, but at my age I told him if I have to work (and I have to), then I need conveniences. I have found the best house option, which is a "unitec" house, they build a 114sqm metre house for $100,00 (the students under supervision) which comes with a Code of Compliance certificate acceptable to the council, and then the cost of relocation and decoration - I would have loved an' older house but my husband is not keen - well, refused to do it actually, and since he's a good man in every other way I support him, and it would be a lot to have to do after work - hes not handy in the house and I am past doing the heavy work. So we could do it all (including water/Sewerage) for $150k max. I just know that what we put on their temporarily will be it because money is so tight etc. I don't expect a castle, just something enough for us and rooms for the kidsgrankids when they visit, its the lifestyle we really want. My sister in law has just put an offer on the property next door, so if that goes through we can stay there while we work on the house. I agree, the bypass has allowed Waipu to be the sleepy town it was, although still a lot more development than I ever expected - I think that RuakakaOnetree point development will ensure Waipu stays sleepy. Great to hear you can make the move in February though, I am jealous, but good for you.

Kate, thank you for encouragement, I can tell you that your site is absolutely a lifesaver and I feel the great community feel coming through. A big thank you Kate for making this resource available to the many newbies who are trying to make a go of lifestyle blocks. Its absolutely fantastic.

Hilldweller. thank you for the welcome. We planned to move to the site once we had work up north, but slight change, my sisterinlaw has just put an offer on the block next to ours and if its successfull ( and I am sure they will agree) we can live there till we manage to put something on the block.

Jerry Leadbetter: My husband will be looking for driving work - hes an electronics tech by trade but gotten past that and drives now. I work in IT infrastructure - large networks, so really hard to get work up North - so much of that is outsourced up North and I hated working as a consultant visiting multiple companies, I like people interaction - and being a woman in a mans world doesn't help either, but if My hubby gets work then I will go to Teachers college and re train - realistically that will happen next christmas.

This welcome shows me that NZ as it used to be still exists. I can tell you the sense to community comes through so strong and I thank you all for taking the time to encourage us. It really is appreciated.

Best wishes for the new year to you all.

Thought i had to reply to you as we are in the same situation as you. We also live in Auckland and moving to waipu as soon as . We bought our land about 6 years ago ( 10 acres) . Living in our caravan on the land for 4 years.Now we finally build a house and moved in just before Christmas. Still working in Auckland , so we are looking and researching what we can plant on our land to make a living of .Waipu is a great place.

Hi growing and welcome to lsb

I'm worried about your tale of living in your caravan for 4 years...I really want to be out of this 'camp' in a few months. I'm not sure I can stand it for years...

Cheers
Kate

Hi Growing, good to hear we will be in the same community, we too think Waipu is pretty special. I take my hat off to you if you have lived in a caravan for that long. Good on you. Congratulations for getting your house finished and getting in. But Gosh that must have taken a great constitution. Its good to hear though that you still work in Auckland. People have put me off doing that because of all the driving. Can I ask how long it takes you to get to work, and where about's in Auckland that is? I work in Queen St so not sure I could get across the bridge in time. But its certainly interesting to know you are achieving that and a possiblity.

Sounds like we are in exactly the same boat except you are further ahead than us. Luckily you didnt have covenants on your land and you could live in a caravan, ours is like that as well so we could if it came to it. We havent looked at planting to make a living, we just accept we will have to work for another 10 years, and hey by then we may have found something to grow that we can live off. Thank you for your help.

Hi, we only lived in the caravan when we came up from Auckland to visit the land. So we still have a house in Auckland and work there . It would take too long to travel there and back everyday. Hopefully at the end of this year we would sell the house in Auckland and move up. Still have to find some work here. In Auckland i am working as a painter/paperhanger in my own business and my husband works as an electrician in his own business. I would like to do something totally different , but i'm still looking for what that would be. Our caravan will go up for sale soon on trade me. i'll keep yous updated when.

Hi Growing, Thanks for that, I thought you must have been commuting, got that wrong sorry. Pleased to hear you have your house though. Know what you mean re doing something else, I think the job situation is the key really. Harder two as you both have your own business. I wish you all the best and hope you can move to Waipu permanently soon. I totally understand how hard that is. But I am sure it will be worth it in the end (I keep tellling myself that).