scottkoster

Hello,
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We are looking to relocate to Tauranga area within next several months. No clue about schools, jobs, neighbourhoods, pretty much everything. I am American/British and my wife is Kiwi/British. We have two girls aged 11 and 14. After 5 years in UK we are looking to take the leap. Cheers

escapedtonz

Hi to you,


Beautiful part of the world for sure. We love it in Tauranga.
First thing you need to do really is decide where to send your kids to school so you need to research the best option for them. Do they excel in any particular area as there are specialist schools out here that cater for children who appear to have talent in certain areas. These schools are generally what is classed as state integrated so in effect they are fee paying schools but follow the NZ curriculum or there are others that are fully private with high fees - Look at Bethlehem College (approx. $4500 per year per child), ACG (approx. $15 000 per year per child) and Aquinas (approx. $9000 per year per child). For sports look at Tauranga Girls which I assume specializes in that area just the same as Tauranga Boys although they are completely different schools a couple KM's apart on Cameron Rd and it is a state school so the fees will be low, possible only a few hundred per year.
I say this as a lot of schools are zoned, so if you pick a school that is zoned you must live in the zone in order to get a place for your child which sort of narrows down where you need to be living. If the school is not zoned you can live anywhere.


Lowest socio-economic areas are generally Merivale, Parkvale then the older parts of Welcome Bay which are the areas close to the main road that runs through Welcome Bay. Gate Pa and Greerton also mid to lower end of the socio-economic scale. It's a tad rough around the edges to the Eastern end of Mt. Maunganui (towards Bayfair or East of Golf Rd), Bayfair and then Papamoa but generally fine. There are some very nice properties all the way down Ocean Beach Rd and Maranui St since it is beach front or the first road back from the beach and that is all the way down the coastline.
The better areas are the far Western end of Mt. Maunganui near to the Mount (towards the Mount or West of Golf Rd) and properties that surround the Mount golf course, Bethlehem, Tauriko, majority of Otumoetai, Matua, Pyes Pa, Ohauiti and Oropi. Also Te Puna, Whakamarama and Omokoroa over the river are beaut. We've lived in Bethlehem for 18 months and love it. Really nice feel to it and very well looked after with great shopping and links. We've recently bought a rural section in Te Puna and our boy goes to one of the best primary schools in the area at Whakamarama.


Anything you wanna know just give me a yell.

scottkoster

Thanks for that amazing response. We are taking huge leap of faith on this venture as I have never been to NZ. My girls were born in Monterey, California and we love the outdoors. We moved to Southport 5 years ago because we have family here and had no work life balance in the States. We really miss the outdoor lifestyle and the sun and I am a firm believer in you only go around once. I will be probably be looking at State schools as my wife and I will need to find jobs as well. They are well rounded, get good grades and love sports, oldest does gymnastics, Jiu Jitsu and is dying to surf. I play squash or racket ball 2 times a week. Have you met a lot of ex-pats? Will you be building on your land? My wife is very eager to buy a place (that nesting gene) but will have to rent until jobs are secured. Thanks again for the info, it was truly needed and when we start to look at neighbourhoods soon I may ask your advice.

Thank, Scott


Beautiful part of the world for sure. We love it in Tauranga.
First thing you need to do really is decide where to send your kids to school so you need to research the best option for them. Do they excel in any particular area as there are specialist schools out here that cater for children who appear to have talent in certain areas. These schools are generally what is classed as state integrated so in effect they are fee paying schools but follow the NZ curriculum or there are others that are fully private with high fees - Look at Bethlehem College (approx. $4500 per year per child), ACG (approx. $15 000 per year per child) and Aquinas (approx. $9000 per year per child). For sports look at Tauranga Girls which I assume specializes in that area just the same as Tauranga Boys although they are completely different schools a couple KM's apart on Cameron Rd and it is a state school so the fees will be low, possible only a few hundred per year.
I say this as a lot of schools are zoned, so if you pick a school that is zoned you must live in the zone in order to get a place for your child which sort of narrows down where you need to be living. If the school is not zoned you can live anywhere.


Lowest socio-economic areas are generally Merivale, Parkvale then the older parts of Welcome Bay which are the areas close to the main road that runs through Welcome Bay. Gate Pa and Greerton also mid to lower end of the socio-economic scale. It's a tad rough around the edges to the Eastern end of Mt. Maunganui (towards Bayfair or East of Golf Rd), Bayfair and then Papamoa but generally fine. There are some very nice properties all the way down Ocean Beach Rd and Maranui St since it is beach front or the first road back from the beach and that is all the way down the coastline.
The better areas are the far Western end of Mt. Maunganui near to the Mount (towards the Mount or West of Golf Rd) and properties that surround the Mount golf course, Bethlehem, Tauriko, majority of Otumoetai, Matua, Pyes Pa, Ohauiti and Oropi. Also Te Puna, Whakamarama and Omokoroa over the river are beaut. We've lived in Bethlehem for 18 months and love it. Really nice feel to it and very well looked after with great shopping and links. We've recently bought a rural section in Te Puna and our boy goes to one of the best primary schools in the area at Whakamarama.


Anything you wanna know just give me a yell.[/QUOTE]

escapedtonz

Hey no problem. Happy to help.
Yes totally agree. Our migration was also a huge leap of faith into the unknown. We hadn't ever visited Aus or NZ before but yearned for adventure, a more outdoorsy lifestyle in a safer environment for our children but after months and months or stressing about it we just said stuff it, you only live once and if it doesn't work out we can go back home!
Luckily it was a huge success.

Southport, Merseyside ??? or Lancashire as some beleive 😋
The place where the sea is usually a mile from the Prom and also probably the coldest and most blustery Prom around the English coastline 😉
We've spent a lot of time there. My in-laws live in Churchtown / Marshside and are currently here on holiday. We lived in Southport just before we moved out to NZ (Barford House apartments) and spent all of September 2015 at the in laws as we were over in the UK for a visit. Small world ay!

Yes we have met quite a few Ex. Pats and funnily enough we met our closest friends in Tauranga via forums like this and have just kept in touch plus our kids go the same school. Also friendly with many Kiwis mainly through school.

Yes we are building on our land. We signed the build contract on Wednesday and paid our build deposit so now it's working drawings, engineering reports then the council application for approval will be going in. Hope to start construction by mid July and move in before Christmas.

The cost of land and property here is truly shocking now and getting worse. Lots of outside investment especially from Auckland as many people are seeing the light that you get way more for your money here than in Auckland even though we feel it is expensive here. Auckland is crazy prices. We just fell really lucky on our land. Right place right time. Did our research and due diligence in a few days and put in an offer which was accepted. I'm sure our land would cost us another $100k if we bought it again today.

Ask me anything.

scottkoster

Small world indeed, ask if your in-laws bank at Santander. I am a relationship manager in Southport, I may have met them. A long way from a cruise ship DJ when I met my wife 20 years ago.
Property prices are scary, the only other area I was thinking about was Hawkes Bay but figured job opportunities would be better in Bay of Plenty. What are your thoughts? What is your real name? I only know you as escapetoNZ, a beer or coffee on me!!

escapedtonz

Not heard back from the In-Laws yet (they're having a lie in while I've been up since 4.40am for work in Hamilton)


Location all depends on your occupation and skills.
If you wish to continue the Relationship Manager role then all the bigger centres will have them but the smaller the centre / smaller the population in the centre the fewer roles there will be and the harder it will be to land a job.
My wife is a nurse of 20 + years and a trained ICU Sister. She wanted to try something slightly different here so went in to practice nursing. Didn't find it that hard to get a permanent job in Wellington when we lived there for 2.5 years. Got one almost immediately, but since moving up to Tauranga she struggled to find something permanent as all the roles were filled in the area where she could work. She did land a casual role which she can go back to after her maternity break finishes but that permanent position remains elusive. Sure she'll get one eventually.
You should have more opportunities for work in Tauranga as in Napier simply because Tauranga is a bigger centre, but again you may find it easier to get a job in Hamilton/Wellington/Auckland more than Tauranga as they are all bigger again so more people and more banks but that's maybe where you draw the line with location as none of them are the beautiful Bay Of Plenty


I'm Chris BTW and coffee or beer suits me fine


So a cruise ship DJ to a relationship manager...that's a drastic change


I'm from Wigan...yes the one near you where all the pies are made...and eaten
Spent a lot of time in Southport in my youth with parents on holiday trips as it was our closest beach and there was an open air swimming pool there for many years through the 70's/80's/90's.
The wife is from Leigh so we're both born n bred Lancashire.
I'm an Electrical Engineer and specialize in Transmission Control and Management of Grid Networks etc. I currently manage the NZ National Grid and work for Transpower as the System Operator in an office on the outskirts of Hamilton....bit of a commute but it's fine.


Got your other message and will reply.


Cheers

LittleGreyCat

Another vote for Southport.

My father's family lived in Hillside, just by Royal Birkdale, for a long time.

My Maiden Aunt (after my Uncle and Granny had died) moved to Churchtown.

So I've spent a lot of summer times there.

Bit of a Kiwi feel to the whole place - sun, sea, sand and no hurry.
Allegedly one of the best places in the UK to take a driving test because the roads are all very wide, nobody drives fast, and the only hill (for the hill start test) is a railway bridge.

escapedtonz

Oh by the way....yes they do