TIZUS

Can anyone offer any assitance? Trying to find out more about Nelson any suggestions of websites etc would be great

Thanks Tori

Roger

Tori,
We visited Nelson end of February and would recomend it as a destination. Surrounded by mountains, Tasman Bay seascape, very nice town, affordable (Kiwis may disagree as it is more expensive than most). Good dry climate. Very Med.

We would have gone but the job did not pan out.

About four hours from Christchurch, and two from Picton for the ferry to W'ton. Airport flies to Auckland, Wellington etc. A bit isolated but has all the shops mod cons etc. Nice sailing marina.

I'll send you some photos if you e-mail me.

Try: www.nelsonnz.com & www.nelson.co.nz
Roger

TIZUS

Hi Roger
I have just emailed you.
Where abouts in Hampshire are you and are you planning to emigrate too?
Tori

southerner

Hi Tori

Have found these useful sites on Nelson:

http://nelson.net.nz/living/index.html

a bit touristy, but has some bits on moving to Nelson.



http://www.tdc.govt.nz/

This is the Tasman District Council, which is the local govt for Richmond and the country areas of Nelson province.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/nelsonmail/

This is the local evening paper. Sorry to say it is a very small newspaper, and many locals would get the Press (published in ChCh) instead (or as well). Now that we are going to Dunedin I make a point of reading the Otago Daily Times online almost every day. It is good to get au fait with local news and events before we go - might make the transition a bit easier.

http://www.honestlawyer.co.nz/

This is the local English style pub. I haven't yet been there but it has been highly recommended and has a great setting by the waterfront.

While you're still thinking in pounds, you must go to the Boatshed cafe. It has the best setting of any restaurant I've been in and you can have the best seafood around cooked in a Pacific Rim style. For example we had scallops and crayfish etc for about £50 I think for 2 of us. We were sitting outside on the veranda looking straight down on the harbour (and of course it was brilliantly sunny). This restaurant is one of the top ones.

Others I would recommend are Lambrettas in the city (great al fresco cafe), and Flax (top restaurant) and The Smokehouse (fish and chips) at Mapua. Mapua is where my parents and Brother/Sister n Law live - it is a great day out.

NZ never had a distinctive style of food - but it is now very adept at taking the best of the world and coming up with something quite distinctive. The so-called Pacific Rim style of food is coming out of NZ as much as anywhere. Peter Gordon and a few other kiwi chefs have made it big in London now.

Anyway, my English wife (Penny) is a bit of a foodie, and she raves about the food in NZ. For example we were in Richmond Shopping mall, and they had a better takeaway sushi stall there than I have ever come across in London. And they were making it freshly in front of you, rather than the pre-packaged stuff you get in M&S or elsewhere.

There are also plenty of healthy eating options, and particularly in Nelson.

Are you in to wine? If not I won't bore you here about that - needless to say there are some top wines coming out of Nelson too. They have a local brewery or two as well.


Where have you ended up renting? Bet you are already looking at realenz website for a place to buy.


Hope the above helps

Regards

Blair

Wilf

Lovely place, all the Wish You Were Here stuff above all true, but jobs will be your problem. The place nowadays has an end of days feel to it. You will find in NZ that a lot of the work that used to be in places like Nelson is now in Wellington or Auckland. Even Wellington is dying - giving too much blood to Auckland. I was in Nelson earlier this year and have a pal there too. What I have written is his take based on about 5 years of living there.

southerner

Agree it is a bit quiet for some - my brother is struggling to get the sort of work he wants there (after 7 years in London).

But for the outdoors lifestyle and food and wine stuff it is unbeatable. Kiwis themselves are moving there in droves - some are retiring but many are younger ones looking to downsize a bit.

The cost of housing is becoming a problem. Many rich Brits and Yanks have been buying the premium properties with sea views, and there is plenty of comment in the local press about this (although far less than 5% of coastal land is overseas owned). This is not just Nelson but NZ wide.

There is a building boom in Nelson at present - presumably that is what Tizus's hubby will be into?

Wilf

Anyone in building downunder is fine, it's true, so yes I agree on that.
My pal is a kiwi and lost his professional office job in insurance when the firm moved to Wellington. After best part of a year on the dole, all he could get was a job packing fish for Sealord. He is still there 18 months on and no sign of change. Thank god he was able to pay off his mortgage with redundancy. True story.
The whole world would like to live in Nelson if you like the quiet life but can you make it work?

TIZUS

Thank you soooo much Blair will catch up with you soon.
Tori

TIZUS

The quiet life is exactly what we are after and my husband is in the building trade so we are going to ghive it our best shot!
Tori