daveandjue123

Hi guys,

Looking at Dunedin as part of our ongoing research. We would like to move to somewhere that is not isolated, travelling distance of the Uni and centre. One thing that is worrying us is social life so would be interested in any comments on the following:

What are the best areas to live?
Is there a decent social life around Dunedin?
What is the employment scene like?
Is the whether that cold as some have said?

BEVS here, if you read this I’d still be interested in your comments from our last post on the intro section.

Cheers everyone, look forward to hearing from you.

Dave

daveandjue123

hi guys,

Guess Dunedin is not that popular, oh well, beck to google,

Have fun.

Wessa

Dave, dont be put off by the lack of replies, i have a driend how lives in Dunedin, he loves it there. Its a little colder than most places but a beautiful place. It was shown on wanted down under recently. He has two girls,18&21 and a boy of 14, all are really enjoying themselves there. They have been In dunedin for about a year and ahalf and have said they won't move from there.
Sorry i cant tell you more. I do know that at NZ house in london you can pick up a Dunedin presentation with dvd. The best way to find out about it i spose is to go there. We will be visiting them in March, so i could let you know in April.

Gary.

JoanneD

Hi there

We moved to Dunedin in August 2006. It is a great compact city with easy access to the Uni and access to the sea if you are into water sports etc. It is also within 3-31/2 hours from Central Otago which is great for water sports, skiing etc.. In terms of places to live, St Clair, Andersons Bay have easy access to the beach, they are on bus routes into town and have nurseries, schools etc nearby. There are also good areas at Maori Hill, Roslyn which are further away from the sea but provide great views, and then there is the Penninsula (Macandrew Bay, Portabello etc) which are a bit further out but great for kids. Social life.. well its not Manchester.. but given that it has a big University it does have a range of bars, clubs and restaurants depending on what you want. The place is very laid back so you really do have to make the effort to get out and meet people. If you are single/young couple with no ties then it is probably easier for getting out and about and meeting people. If you work full time and have two kids (like me) then its a bit more of a challenge :-) What type of employment are you looking for?? There are work opportunities out there for various fields

Weather wise!! probably similiar to what you are used to really!! It does get cold and it does snow, so if you are looking for somewhere really warm this is not the place, but dont write it off on that alone.

If you want anymore information I am happy to help were I can :-)

daveandjue123

Cheers Guys,

We have 2 boys 15 &12, oldest will be looking at uni so thats why we thought of dunedin. Would be really interested to see how you get on in March Gary so drop us a line when you get back.

Joanned, thanks we have looked at house in most of those areas and liked the look of them. Suppose it's a case of whats available when we come over for a reccie in july. Work wise, thats the tricky one, will be looking at the WR visa. I have 21 yrs in financial service, basically sales but recently started my own Property maintenance business (Renovating property has been a hobby since I could walk). Thinking of using an agency as It could be a bit tricky for us. Are there any areas to stay clear of?

Cheers Dave & Jue.

JoanneD

just sent you a PM

daveandjue123

ty, just replied>

daveandjue123

keep the info rolloing guys, the more info the more we like the sound.

BEVS

You may wish to send a PM to Southerner. He is a Kiwi that returned from the UK to live in Dunedin 4 years ago.

daveandjue123

Thanks Bevs here

did you get pm?

irnbru14

Ahh, Dunedin, Edinburgh of the Southern Hemisphere, statue of Robert Burns, the steepest street in the world, a McDonalds with an internet McCafe, 65% of street names taken from Edinburgh, rain on Princes Street which made me feel right at home, nice botanic gardens, the only castle in all of NZ, and just about far enough away from Invercargill to be safe, oh and lots of students who are no longer allowed to burn their sofas...

daveandjue123

hope your right Irnbru as we love Edinburgh, but is the weather as bad??

irnbru14

Oh, sorry, I didnt actually mean it was physically like Edinburgh, thats more Wellington!!

To quickly explain, Dunedin is the Gaelic name for Edinburgh, thats what I meant, and Dunedin here (NZ) was mainly settled by Scots, and it pinches half the street names from home too, there the similarities end I'm affraid, apart from the fact it has a University with a good reputation...oh and it rains

SLH

Hi we settled in Dunedin in 2003. We love it here. The weather is not as bad as it's made out, yes it does get cold in winter but it is bearable. You must bear in mind though that houses in NZ are not as insulated as UK houses, central heating is only just becoming available and this is on LPG. Dunedin is a good place for people who like water sports as we have great beaches. There are good schools here and of course the university. Please IM me if you want more details. Hope you enjoy your trip here in July but remember it is our winter so bring jumpers.

daveandjue123

Thanks for the info,

One of the reasons for coming over in july is to see what it's like in winter. We could get a false attitude if we came in the middle of summer

Hopefully all will go well and we'll IM if we need anything.

Thanks

Dave & jue