katiepai

auckland is best if you want a good varied social life but it is expensive and there are areas you should avoid - like anywhere. hamilton has good bars,restaurants etc and is cheaper with less traffic. I would personally go for Hamilton or if Auckland - head north - but that means a long commute to CBD

bourbon-biscuit

Right, Hamilton has nothing to compare with these sorts of suburbs, imo. I assumed if you were choosing between the two you must be considering the cheaper streets of Auckland. If you can afford to live in decent areas of Auckland I can't see why you'd even consider Hamilton- and I'm not a Hamilton-hater; Hamilton has its pluses.

This is why I think recces can be a total waste of cash. Some rubbish weather, see a few kids hooning about, have a bad meal out and a quick chat with a grumpy local and it's too easy to get an unfavourable impression of a place.

Not really, to be fair. I LOVE Hawkes Bay- especially to visit- but unless you're a proper small town/rural sort there's really nothing more to HB than Napier, which is still at best a small town.


Agreed- you get this everywhere! Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland- everywhere. Can't believe this would actually be something worth noting unless it was large gangs.

Infern0

Having lived in Hamilton for the last 18 months, I have to say I can't wait to get out of it.

I live in the Rototuna suburb, which is actually quite nice, but the place is just so boring and insular.

It's the hardest place to make friends I have ever been to, the only thing people seem to want to do is go out and drink, which is fine from time to time, but not as a lifestyle.

The CBD is a crypt, there is no culture.... yeah, not good.

It's probably fine if you are a lot older and just want to settle down, but if you still have a spark left in you, go to Auckland. I might see you there as soon as I can get a transfer out of here.

Assanah

It is good to know the bad parts about a place too. It is not all nice here. In Auckland it rains a lot - A LOT! We just had a nasty tornado today. Auckland is expensive! But if you want some sort of cultural life than Auckland or Wellington is your best bet. Nothing compared to European cities though but tons better than other cities in NZ.

Justcol

its always a better idea to live in the smaller towns around Hamilton than in Hamilton itself.
Smaller towns have more character, community spirit, and its easier to make friends as small
town folk are usually more amiable