DEANO79

Hi folks...if possible, I would like to pick the brains of a few of you who may have some local insight into the Bay of Plenty area. Me and my little gang are at the medical stage of the ITA process and were hooked on the Napier area, however, I have recently been a little side-tracked with the Bay of Plenty, particularly due to higher education access. Can anyone comment on what this area is like? Are there any areas that should be strictly avoided? I have got to say, this task of finding the right area before we pop over to activate the visa is becoming rather more difficult.

Thanks folks for any advice

MooMoo290373

Hi we recently emigrated to Bay of Plenty, like yourselves we orginally wanted to be in Napier too, but the job was really the deciding factor for us, being that there were none to be had in Napier, so we looked further into our second choice of Tauranga!!!
We Love it here and are so glad we are here now it is just a lovely place to bring your family, so much for us all to do and see. Schools from my point have been fantastic especially as i have a son with ADHD and who can be quite a handful at times!!!!
Hope this helps

Ginny

Margaret Parkinson

My family live in Papamoa (BOP) and love it. We have been 3 times and coming again next week. Having visited various parts the North & South Island if we were younger this is where we would like to settle.

bdclayton

Yep The Bay is a good place to live and so is Tauranga.
but a bit expensive and lots of traffic on Cameron Road.
but good access to lots of nice countryside and great beaches
don't know about the schools.
Areas to avoid not to sure? I am sure someone will be along with better advice that me

Tomsk

I'm also in BoP, but inland in Rotorua.
Have to say that I love it here, it's a small city (in fact I'm not entirely sure how they have the cheek to call it a city given it's size...but I'm not going to argue about it).

It's nicely located, almost central North Island, less than an hour to the beach, less than 2 hours to skiing. An hour to Tauranga, an hour to Taupo, 90 mins to Hamilton.

Heaps of things to do in Rotorua itself, too many lakes to start mentioning, gorgeous Redwoods & forested areas, plus all the activities aimed at tourists...but great fun to do as a local (and usually with a locals discount to be had ).

I get the impression that Rotorua is a cheaper area in which to settle than Tauranga in terms of house prices & council charges, but I could stand to be corrected on that one.

Oh, and not forgetting the climate which is, overall, pretty kind. Although in fairness it does have to be said that Rotorua doesn't exactly go short on rainfall.

Higher education in the area (I'm assuming you mean post 18 as opposed to High Schools) is concentrated at Waiairiki Polytechnic which is in Rotorua http://www.waiariki.ac.nz/ .

Good luck with your researches....I do have to say that I think that the BoP is a great choice.

RobDon

Hiya I have to agree with everything Cate says, we are also in Rotorua and love it here. It is central to almost everywhere with lots to do whatever you age.

willand tina_h

Hi,

I can comment after next week as we will be arriving in tauranga on sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are also staying in papamoa beach untill our container arrives, whilst waitiing for our belongings, we can take our time in looking for a school then a house thats in the area, job done

Hope you figure out all you can,

tina. x

The Jezzers

Hi I love it in the Bay, I live in Mt Maunganui with 6 kids and the schools here are great my kids love it, they get to be kids, not growing up to fast if you know what I mean, smaller class sizes and very friendly people.
We go down to the beach most days because it is only 5 mins walk around the corner, very laid back this side of Tauranga. Good luck.

Psychopandy

We had a day out there yesterday. It is very pretty and theres some nice houses to be had - we went to a couple of open homes to see what they have to offer. Still undecided jobwise but we thought a trip may help.

My overall impression was a good one. I agree with the OP about the amount of traffic. we were there on a sunday and it was quite busy - i would imagine that during the week it could be a bit of a git.

We went to the Welcome Bay area and had a look at a house there. DH was blown away by the view from the house there and the layout worked very well for us but there wasnt much in the way of garden - that does seem to be an issue for most of the houses in the area. We had a look at 3 on the same street in the Bethlehem area aswell - all in a different price bracket ranging from $439k to $749k - the different between them imho wasnt £300k but who am i to say . Both of the areas we looked at were quite 'hilly' which is what affords them the fabulous views but the downside was the steepness of the gardens - one house we looked at - the plot 'next door' was to steep to even build on!!! helps with the privacy i guess but you cant use most of the garden unless you like climbing mountains every day

Then later in the day we went back down to what i think was called 'Pilot Bay' and we watched a cruise liner called the Diamond Princess go back out to sea - and at 5 ocklock in the afternoon it was still gloriously hot and whilst the beach was quite busy with others that had come to watch the ship go it wasnt to crowded to have fun. The seagulls were a pest though!!

I liked it - but do i want to live there - dont know if i'm honest - but will be following your thread to learn what i can also x

I hope this has helped from another newbies first hand experience. Good luck with your search xx

Psycho x

Margaret Parkinson

Have you called to say hello to the friendly butcher & his wife (my daughter)

Psychopandy

With my sense of direction - no!!

but we intended to - what i could do with is a pm with the address on

I have sampled them though - the lamb and rosemary ones, i think they were, when we were at newfies house the other day - very nice x

Am Loolah

We've been living here for nearly 3 years now and are so pleased we chose this area. Mind you, I've yet to see a part of NZ that I don't warm to!

For us we love the climate and the beach lifestyle. The larger area has something to offer all of our kids (now aged 17, 14, 11 and 7) and us too.

The Bay of Plenty per se covers a pretty large area, both inland and coastal. We come under Tauranga which is the fastest growing city in NZ, currently the 4th largest.

My kids are at 3 different schools and all have something different to offer. There are new school going up too.

Have a look in the Wiki under City Guides NZ for Tauranga - lots of stuff there to keep you busy! If you want to know something area specific ask away!

Oh, and it's the chicken, chestnut and cranberry sausages from Doug's for me!