Moving to Northland

Hi everyone,

I've been a long-time lurker on the forum and reader of LSB magazine while nurturing dreams of 'having land'. At the moment we are on 1/4 acre with bees, chickens, and vege gardens, but our two ponies graze 30 mins drive away and we are pretty much wearing out the tarmac the amount we drive back and forth!

Anyway, seems like that dream might come true. We are scouting for a few acres near Whangarei , possibly Poroti, Maungakaramea, Maungatapere way. If anyone lives around there it would be great to get your local knowledge of what's happening in the community, and what to look out for in terms of properties.

Thanks - so great to meet y'all

Chrissy

chrissyb;508979 wrote: Hi everyone,

Anyway, seems like that dream might come true. We are scouting for a few acres near Whangarei , possibly Poroti, Maungakaramea, Maungatapere way. If anyone lives around there it would be great to get your local knowledge of what's happening in the community, and what to look out for in terms of properties.

Thanks - so great to meet y'all

Chrissy

I should think freehold land in most of those areas would be very expense. Rich volcanic loam, so good quality soil, but also quite a lot of Maori leasehold land, around the volcanic cones so do your homework well.

Welcome to the LSB and the magazine is not related, but still a good read.

Stikkibeek;508982 wrote: ...Welcome to the LSB and the magazine is not related, but still a good read.

Little bits of it have some connections. []

Welcome to the forum.

Hi Stikkibeek, very nice to meet you . That's useful info to put into the think-tank. Any areas you could particularly suggest as affordable and not too far from town? [8D]

Thanks Ruth, I've enjoyed your articles in the magazine. Seems like you must have boundless energy with a farm to run and writing as well.

chrissyb;508988 wrote: Thanks Ruth, I've enjoyed your articles in the magazine. Seems like you must have boundless energy with a farm to run and writing as well.

Smoke and mirrors.

Plenty of clay around too, not just volcanic stuff. Price will change accordingly, and it always pays to check what you're buying.

We're out at Ngararatunua -- little blip on the map just west of Kamo. Fabulous volcanic soil, especially compared with the Waitakere Ranges clay we used to have. Digging holes for trees is now a matter of minutes, not hours. Expensive area here though -- it really depends what you're looking for and what you consider expensive (coming from Auckland this area doesn't really seem that expensive!)

We're out at Helena Bay with a mixture of volcanic loam and clay. Land is pretty cheap out here and the beaches are amazing. Moving up here was the best thing we ever did

hi chrissyb.. we moved nth 4 mths ago.. like u we were looking in maungatapere and maunkaramea... we ended up in Mangapai which is just sth of maungakaramea turn off.. we are 5km from SH1 and 15km from centre twn...we got 5 times the land and house for half the price ..compared to the above...our soil is not great but then we are only grazing, not orcharding

also the m'tapere and m'karamea are on main logging truck routes coming down from dargaville...also be aware that a lot of these two places are in orchards..with the associated spraying and activities...

realy depends on what you want to do on your block..if its peace, quiet, chooks and a beefie.. I would suggest looking elsewhere

cheers

Hey everyone, thanks for replying to a newbie, and for the information. It's great to hear a bit about the different areas from people who live in them. Seems there are lots of great choices for places to settle.

seatil: Wow, you are also ex-Waitakere ranges folk? Yes, I must say I wouldn't miss digging in Waitakere clay [] Hadn't heard of Ngararatunua so will be keen to investigate

kate: Very tempted by beaches. Northland beaches are the best

stephclark: Thanks heaps for the tip about logging trucks, hadn't thought about that at all. Mangapai sounds great, and from memory it's a very pretty area. Like you, we are wanting grazing so the volcanic soil isn't a must. Will be keeping my eyes peeled for property listings [^] [8D]

Yup, we used to live a stone's throw from the Waiatarua TV transmission tower on Scenic Drive.

I don't miss the clay, and I don't miss the rain and clouds at ground level either.

seatil;509106 wrote: Yup, we used to live a stone's throw from the Waiatarua TV transmission tower on Scenic Drive.

I don't miss the clay, and I don't miss the rain and clouds at ground level either.

And the 62km round trip to work, in the traffic jam, now I get upset with 30 min trip to / from work

I used to commute 26 miles to my first job (in Northland). My best time was 24 minutes.