TiggerLottie

Hi

my hubby may have a job in Wanaka, anyone any thoughts or info on the place?
Thanks

whisky

Hi TiggerLottie,
I have not heard of the place, but wouldn't like to get the spelling wrong.

Whisky

TiggerLottie

LOL hmm i've already been pronuncing it in my head....dont wanna tell friends and family the wrong thing...heehee

Pollyana

Whisky - its southern South Island NZ (but I know what you mean!)

TiggerLottie - Haven't been there myself, but had a friend who went to the airshow there 2 years ago. No idea what its like to live in I'm afraid, but he said it was beautiful - and the photos looked good. Mountains nearby, very remote and peaceful. Big warbirds airshow there every couple of years, so perfect for an aviation enthusiast!
If you search the net for "Warbirds over Wanaka" that might produce pictures of it?

jandjuk

it's a small tourist town, relatively near Queenstown.

Beautiful place to live and great for an outdoor lifestyle.

I think property around Queenstown is going through roof, so Wanaka is probably following.

Otherwise quite isolated, so if you're looking for a job as well, it could be difficult. It would be a bit like living in the Highlands of Scotland, say Fort William.

Gorgeous part of the country though, so it depends what you're looking for.

There's someone on here who lives near queenstown, I'm sure they will tell you more... (sorry I forget what their name is)

TiggerLottie

Hi Thanks everyone,

Hubby has more or less been offered the job so im just checking the place out, we have kids so a remote lifestyle and a added bonus of skiing sounds wonderful and stressfree ! thanks all

cinderella

Hi there,

Wanaka is about about an hours drive from Queenstown. A really nice small town situated on the lake side. We have looked at land prices there over the past few years and they are rising now. Not as fast as Queenstown though. Get in now while they are still relatively good value.

It is a big place for summer holidays and of course you have the skiing in the winter at Cardrona.

http://www.cardrona.co.nz/

deedee

Hi,Wanaka is about 1 hour and a bit from where we live.I think i know it well enough now to be able to pass an opinion.We did stay there a week whilst we were buying our farm and visit regulaly now.
Its a very nice place,not in your face like Queenstown as the mountains a slightly further away.The lake is perhaps a little better as its not normally as busy,however,if you look at the district plan and a map of the farm land that has been sold as development land it is obvious it will end up like Queenstown....sprawling.They local council have to curb the development in Wanaka or it is going to spoil the very thing that makes it great.The town alone has seen huge changes recently and a huge night club with a glitzy entrance and terrace is not what should have been built on the lake shore!It does have a large transiant population too,mainly youth,working part time and blagging as many days as possible on the ski slopes.Although the youth culture is nothing like the typical youth culture in the UK it still is getting too rowdy and aggressive for what is an alpine village.Prices too are just speculation.The real estate agents will tell you anything to get a sale and they want 1m$ for 50acres of dirt out of town.Its all nonsense,things are not selling anything like as well as what people make out......we read the property pages every week out of interest and the same houses and sections are always in there Yeah,prices have gone up 100% plus over the last 10 years but you can still find a bargain(hmmmm...bargain?)
One thing to bare in mind though is that Wanaka is not really near anywhere and its only isolation freaks like me and ms that use Wanaka and Queenstown as local spots.Other than Alexandra and Queenstown half an hour down the road there is nothing at all West (Haast but theres only 200 odd folks there), North or South.Just a thought,especially if your not use to living in the Alps.
Weather is another small problem in Wanaka.It gets bitter cold in the winter and stinking hot in the summer,real extremes.The most extreme place in the country for weather is Alex just up the valley.Try -10 to 37 degrees.Just out of interest where is your job offer in Wanaka?Good luck, its a great place on the whole and you will never feel out off place because theres so few true locals.

Laughed at an American tourist asking for directions to "Wanker"

miss brodie

I was in Wanaka only last weekend and support everything that Deedee has to say. Very pretty. Property expensive. Lots of development is likely to happen here is the future if landowners get their way. Remote. Cold last weekend. Not that many local employment opportunities - Council would like to see more. Young and transient population.