Recently I have been tripping around the North Island as well. I am delighted to tell you that I think you could find a great many places which you might appreciate as places to live. Personal tastes will differ, but in terms of basic amenities, you might want to consider the following places:
1. Wanganui: This city has an undeserved reputation for its gang activity. I have lived in Wanganui for a year now and I find my neighbour's friendly and quiet. We heard verbal abuse on the street for the first time last night. We have public housing at the end of our street, and there has been some isolated gang incidents over a year ago, which resulted in a drive-by shooting. But essentially its a peaceful place. Yet this city has a bad reputation in NZ as a gang centre. It is a low-income city, though it also has lovely parks, a good beach, good services, a good climate, friendly people, and is well-positioned to provide access to the rest of the North Island, as well as for tours of the South Island. Property is cheap. Skiing is just 90 minutes away.
2. Stratford is a nice town near New Plymouth city. It is an inland town, though one might want to worry about being down-wind from Mt Egmont volcano. Perhaps not the most active volcano, so not too much to worry about. The Taranaki region appeals to many retirees. There are many lifestyle blocks around this area.
3. Whakatane: I liked this town because it offers good access to the Bay of Plenty coast and Gisborne. It is a reasonable size town with ok beaches, services, and not too far from Auckland.
4. Napier/Hastings: This area, like New Plymouth, attracts a lot of retirees, so there are a lot of lifestyle properties, and property prices are generally higher. The climate is more pleasant on the East coast, though sparingly so. The sea is still cold most of the time, and its still windy. The fact that there are two significant sized cities together appeals, even if its remote from Wellington and Auckland. A lot of wineries and fruit growing, and good services.
5. Lower Hutt: I like the idea of being on the coast, but if one must be inland, than the proximity of Lower Hutt makes this area a good choice. It has a walking/bike track along the river into Wellington, which appeals to me, as well as a railway connection, even though traffic is not so bad.
6. Whangerei: I have not been to this city before, and not to the region for a long time. Northland though is the northern-most part of NZ, and thus arguably the mildest climate in NZ. Its close to Auckland, but it does not have good access to the rest of the island.
I retain Wanganui as a preference as a place to live on the North Island. I would not be looking to buy property here for another 2 years until interest rates bite, but thereafter it will be a good place to buy in capital growth areas. These areas currently have too high property prices attached to them. No pain has yet to be applied in the recession because of government bail-outs. The pain will come in the form of higher inflation and interest rates. This allows the government to evade responsibility for its monetary manipulation. In any case, Wanganui is a nice place to live, and in 2-3 years I'd look at other places as lifestyle+investment choices if you are so motivated. I see no great growth in Wanganui unless there is a jobs stimulus in NZ. The culture seems more lifestyle orientated.
1. Wanganui: This city has an undeserved reputation for its gang activity. I have lived in Wanganui for a year now and I find my neighbour's friendly and quiet. We heard verbal abuse on the street for the first time last night. We have public housing at the end of our street, and there has been some isolated gang incidents over a year ago, which resulted in a drive-by shooting. But essentially its a peaceful place. Yet this city has a bad reputation in NZ as a gang centre. It is a low-income city, though it also has lovely parks, a good beach, good services, a good climate, friendly people, and is well-positioned to provide access to the rest of the North Island, as well as for tours of the South Island. Property is cheap. Skiing is just 90 minutes away.
2. Stratford is a nice town near New Plymouth city. It is an inland town, though one might want to worry about being down-wind from Mt Egmont volcano. Perhaps not the most active volcano, so not too much to worry about. The Taranaki region appeals to many retirees. There are many lifestyle blocks around this area.
3. Whakatane: I liked this town because it offers good access to the Bay of Plenty coast and Gisborne. It is a reasonable size town with ok beaches, services, and not too far from Auckland.
4. Napier/Hastings: This area, like New Plymouth, attracts a lot of retirees, so there are a lot of lifestyle properties, and property prices are generally higher. The climate is more pleasant on the East coast, though sparingly so. The sea is still cold most of the time, and its still windy. The fact that there are two significant sized cities together appeals, even if its remote from Wellington and Auckland. A lot of wineries and fruit growing, and good services.
5. Lower Hutt: I like the idea of being on the coast, but if one must be inland, than the proximity of Lower Hutt makes this area a good choice. It has a walking/bike track along the river into Wellington, which appeals to me, as well as a railway connection, even though traffic is not so bad.
6. Whangerei: I have not been to this city before, and not to the region for a long time. Northland though is the northern-most part of NZ, and thus arguably the mildest climate in NZ. Its close to Auckland, but it does not have good access to the rest of the island.
I retain Wanganui as a preference as a place to live on the North Island. I would not be looking to buy property here for another 2 years until interest rates bite, but thereafter it will be a good place to buy in capital growth areas. These areas currently have too high property prices attached to them. No pain has yet to be applied in the recession because of government bail-outs. The pain will come in the form of higher inflation and interest rates. This allows the government to evade responsibility for its monetary manipulation. In any case, Wanganui is a nice place to live, and in 2-3 years I'd look at other places as lifestyle+investment choices if you are so motivated. I see no great growth in Wanganui unless there is a jobs stimulus in NZ. The culture seems more lifestyle orientated.
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