So.........where to now?

Hi everyone
Having immigrated to NZ in April of this year, we took up residence in Christchurch, mainly because I have been in the construction industry for the past 40 years, so that made sense, and there is a real need in the shaky city.
Now we have the enviable task (yes really) of finding our future home.
We have a son and family in Auckland, and a daughter and family in Sydney, and we lived in the UK, and South Africa.
Now having entered my 7th decade, we need to figure out where we want to settle, hence the "where to now".
We have our hearts set on a lifestyle block, and the main question to be answered is ... where?
This in itself is very exciting, and I am sure you will all have a different suggestion/comment, which is exactly what we are looking for.
So over the next few months I will be posting, and seeking advice and informed opinion from you about your area, and what you find great about it, and what not as well!!
We are planning a road trip in January to look at our new country, and will visit most areas of New Zealand.
I do hope you will all help my wife and I in our search.
We look forward to being part of your online community.
Garry

Hi Garry, welcome to the site. A road trip sounds like a great idea, so that you can really get a feel for the area/s that you like. I guess it also depends on what you want to do on your LSB - if you have a particular crop or animal in mind which might need a particular area, or if you just want a few beefies and sheep for the freezer and a few fruit trees, chook and a vege garden, which you could do most places.

We live near Hamilton in the NI and find the winters are not too cold and the summers are not too hot, we can grow a pretty good range of fruit including ones that require chilling, like apples, but it can be hard to get a hot enough summer to get a decent tomato crop some years! And of course the scenery here, while pretty, will never compare to the spectacular SI ranges...

Good luck with your search.

Hi Kaybe
Thanks for the warm welcome.
To be honest we don't know what we want, I suppose we will know when we see it.
As far as use goes, well I reckon this is more of a quest for a nice quite place to spend out advancing years, maybe a few chooks, a veggie garden etc, not really looking to farm. More wanting something small, maybe a few acres, probably with some native bush, and a stream would be nice. Of course place for a big shed is mandatory .
I don't think a flat pasture type block would cut it, perhaps something a bit more "wild", without being a mountain side.
Not much of a wish list, but we have the whole of the country to find it
I think we probably favour the North Island, due to the climate being a bit warmer.
We are looking forward to the adventure of it all as well.

We could say that here the winters aren't too cold, nor the summers too hot! I think we all become accustomed to the temperatures where we live - except I'm not convinced I could survive long enough to do that somewhere south of about, oh, Auckland. Even Auckland is two degrees colder than here. Chilly!

Where you go might also depend on the type of community you wish to be part of (or not). If you're looking for something sort of like England, stay down south. There's not much point coming to live in Northland if you have "difficulties" with the dominance of a culture other than your own. For example Far North Pakeha culture is heavily influenced by Maori, who are approximately 50% of the population. There are many people who live here who somehow fail to appreciate that fact (in either sense).

Generally you'll no doubt have found that we're a pretty open and friendly sort of people.

Welcome to the country and the site Tworrs. I live in Franklin which used to be South Auckland but is now North Waikato. Winters are reasonably gentle but the mugginess hits hard in the summer. I have always fancied Nelson in the SI but it's not cheap.

Wow what an opportunity!

I'd be favouring the Coromandel. It has a reasonably large retired population - so well suited community facilities/services in that regard. Close (approx 2 hours depending on how "bush" you go) to Auckland, and a great place for the son and family to visit as the beaches are wonderful. Great subtropical climate and doesn't suffer from drought (although it gets plenty of rain - so watch out for flooding possibility on properties).

Rates are quite high I understand but there is quite an excess of property on the market there - so lots of choice and prospects for negotiation.

I put a search of "stream shed bush" in to TradeMe lifestyle property search function - and here's "my pick" of that selection;

www.trademe.co.nz/property/lifestyle-pro...uction-372979661.htm

Welcome to NZ and have fun looking!

Ruth, thanks for your reply and explanation of your region.
The further I can get from an English climate the better, I grew up in SA and am more accustomed to the heat than cold.
We have never had a problem intergrating with different cultures so we don't see that as an issue.
We firmly believe that you should treat others as you wish to be treated. Mutual respect.
So far all that we have experienced has been friendly, open people, so we are very pleased.

Cinsara
Thanks you for your welcome, we are pleased to be here. Our son used to live in Nelson, so we have visited there a few times, and it certainly a place to consider, but as you say expensive.

I reckon the road trip will open our eyes somewhat, and show us more of this beautiful country.

Aria

Thanks for taking the trouble to look at properties for us. That one certainly ticks a lot of boxes for us, and we will definitely be looking at the Coromandel area on our road trip.
I like the "no drought" part, I will just have to get good weatherproofs though , and I take note of the flood warning on properties as well, thanks.

We'll have fun looking.

Hi there, we are from the UK too, been here 8 years , we think we chose the best area Rodney(Waitoki to be exact) the summers are not too hot and the winters not too cold. Lots of lifestyle blocks on the market here too. Message me if you need any help - what part of UK are you from?

Hi Bevhawkins

We lived in Fareham, Hampshire for the last 10 years, which was quite different to what we were used to in SA.
Rodney sounds like the sort of climate that we are looking for, I'll have to do a little research.
I'm sure that once we have done our road trip, we will be more confused than ever, so will need to talk to people for advice.
Thanks for your offer.

I was brought up in Thames, and spent 6 years after that in Palmerston North before I became a Mainlander. I would not go north again ... unless I was paid heaps to go .... because it rains too much, and the humidity makes the hot weather feel much hotter and the cold weather is much colder than here in Nelson. That humidity also causes Facial Eczema in sheep and cattle, which only hits us occassionally, and those further south never.

Welcome to the site

Do your road trip and then make your decisions. People live in areas because it suits them for whatever reason but those reasons may not suit you or anybody else. I've read through the above posts and there are some areas that I personally would never want to live in.

If you ask nicely, you will possibly be able to stay with other LSb'ers on your way who will be able to show you their area, town, facilities etc. and give you a better idea of what to expect in that particular area.

Cheers,
Ronnie

Hi LongRidge
Nelson keeps popping up, and before we even arrived in NZ it was on our list, so it is definitely a strong contender. The Murchison area seems quite pleasant. We have traveled the road between Nelson and Christchurch a few times and absolutely love the area. We would also like to cruise up the coast from Nelson toward the Spit to see what that is like as well.
I reckon this road trip is going to be exciting and we are so looking forward to it.

Hi Ronney

You make a good point, look before you buy!

Which I think is the reason for the road trip, and if we were to be able to meet up with local LSB'ers on the way who could give us a bit of an insight into their area, that would be first prize.

Perhaps over the next couple of months, before our great adventure, we may have made some friends on this site, who would be kind enough to show us theirs .
Everyone has been so friendly, thanks.

Hi Tworrs - as a Mainlander doing Volunteer Service "Abroad" in the North Island, I sure don't envy your task of deciding where to live - there are so many beautiful places in both islands. Welcome to the site, and I'm sure that if you post where you'll be tiki-touring to, you'll have lots of people putting their hands up to show/convince you of just the right place

Cheers
Mich.