Mizz

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum, Ive been trying to find out info about Tauranga, but there's some things I cant find from other peoples posts that I wondered if anyone would be kind enough to answer for me?

My other half has been offered a job in Tauranga for about £3k more than he earns in Cheshire in UK. We've been fancying moving there for a while and this seems like be easiest way to go. He will be earning $70k with a pay review after 3 months. I don't have a job to go to and I'm assuming for the worst that I might be out of work for a while. I'm an IT coordinator/admin and they don't seem abundant on seek! Its just the 2 of us, so no major expenses other than living costs as we can manage on the basics usually. I wonder if 70k initially will be survivable to rent a 1-2 bedder?? i hope to get a job asap but must bank on being unlucky!

The things i'm wondering about, if anyone would be able to share their thoughts, are:

1. We are 26 and 27, 2 little chihuahuas, love the outdoors beach lifestyle and hiking with the doggies, don't frequent nightclubs but rather prefer "hangs" with friends at houses. Are we going to struggle to meet like minded people in our age bracket (20s/30s)?

2. Is there anyone out there that falls in this category that could be my mate? :P I'm worried ill be totally isolated!

3. Ive heard about the humidity....is this livable with a de-humidifier? I dont fancy feeling like i'm permanently slow cooking...but happy to deal with it for a season.

4. Where the heck do you buy furniture?? We've had a quote for 3200 and recon we could sell most of our stuff (3 bed semi, no kids, quite minimalist in terms of furniture) for around a grand, giving us 4 grand to play with to replace our essentials as opposed to ship it all. Ive googled shops but ive been brought up with Ikea and Argos! cheap cheap cheap! Are there similar places we can get the essential home furnishings for a 4k budget (so like 7kish in dollars?)

I'm really worrying about these things! My family is small, just me and the parents, and they want to move over there in the future, so i don't have to worry about that, so now I've turned my worrying to the above issues eek!! I know I come from a real consumer society and live really close to Liverpool which is quite the metropolis now, so I'm looking forward to a slower more laid back pace....but I'm having a little panic about being able to buy the essentials. There is just so much conflicting information.
We need to give and answer re: the job like yesterday, but I'm reluctant to commit in case I really regret it! Aaargh!!! Someone please help me!! Any info re: Tauranga would just be the hugest help!!

Oh and 1 other thing....Ive heard there are pit bulls over there :S I love pit bulls, they're awesome misunderstood dogs, but its the owners that raise them badly that worries me, as I worry about having tiny dogs. Ive read some news stories about people getting attacked? Anyone in Tauranga seen many pit bulls/ know where to avoid? I love all dogs but wouldn't want to put my little dogs in harms way, as typically, they are sometimes afraid of bigger dogs.

Thanks so much

old dragon

Hiya,

A super quickie if that's OK because I'm about to fly out of the door.

Jobs in admin are about as rare as hens teeth here because middle management doesn't exist in the same way that it does in UK. In my experience (over 20 years in corporate and small business) most of the business in Tauranga is small sole trader outfits which have grown over time. The admin is mostly done by the wife of the owner with a part timer so they have school holidays and time off guaranteed. Most business owners here started as trade and then went self employed when the recession hit in the 90s - and so although they are successful, they micro-manage which means they don't see the point in paying someone to manage for them - or can't give up control.

They're very difficult to work for, they take you on because of what you've done - but can't give up control enough to trust you to do it.

70,000 is enough to get by - but keep in mind that the cost of living is a lot higher here. We were used to living well and saving approx 1500 minimum a month in UK. We arrived on a very low income in order for husband to complete training and stay in his field (completely changed career)

We're now up to 70,000 and while it's enough to keep the wolves from the door - I wouldn't be comfortable if it was going to be our income forever.

That said, we're older than you and we have teenage children.

Dogs - yes there are pitbulls here, it's not at all unusual to see them wandering the streets without their owners. Dog control are pretty good and you can call the police if you're worried about an animal.

Dog fighting is very common here and mostly linked with gangs.

That said, a lot of families keep pit bulls as family pets and don't seem to have any problems.

Have to say I'm not a dog person, and have gone off them even more after living here - it's more to do with having to 'poo dodge' when we go to the beach.

Walk on any of the access points and you end up river dancing to the sand trying to avoid the bloody stuff!! And they've banned horses!!!!!! At least you can see their crap so you stand a chance of avoiding it lol!

Landlords don't like dogs very much, it might be worth checking out rural rentals because they half expect you to have animals. Check out towards Kati-kati, whakamarama, aongatete, oropi, and rural pyes pa. All glorious areas and if you're off the bus routes, the rent will be cheaper too.

We love Tauranga and even on a low wage we think it was the best thing we ever did. We may go travelling again when youngest goes to Uni, but that's only because we love it - we'll very probably settle here long term.

Am Loolah

HI and welcome to BE. I'll add my 2 cents worth, which may be a differing opinion to old dragon's!

Firstly, for just two of you $70k should be very easy. Depending on where you rent you'd be looking at between $250 - $350/week. Have a look at www.trademe.co.nz for rentals.

Employment for you in admit/IT? No idea. Again have a look at Trade Me and also www.seek.co.nz But so often the kind of work you may be interested in would be word of mouth. You definitely need to be here.

I wouldn't have thought you'd struggle to meet people if you do all the usual things. Accept every invitation going, attend the opening of even an envelope, join a gym, a pub quiz team, a walking group whatever it is. Obviously you won't have the advantage of meeting people through kids and school so you will have to make the effort.

I've not suffered through the humidity. It gets pretty hot in the summer, which I love. But I only use a dehumidifier for a couple of weeks in the winter, although this winter has been very mild.

Furniture is extremely expensive here. $4,000-$6,000 for a sofa suite for example. Have a look at www.harveynorman.co.nz and www.noelleeming.co.nz I would recommend you bring your own stuff, plus it helps you feel at home. Unless it is old and decrepit?

Pit bulls? I think I've seen maybe 2 here in Papamoa, but then many of these types look the same to me. I haven't seen any dogs wandering without their owner, the fines and chances of being impounded are high. I have a doberman and have only seen three others here.

Grab the chance whilst you are young and child free!

lisamct

Cant really help with your other questions but I can maybe with the furniture issue.
I moved over with just some boxes and easily furnished a 2 bedroom house (well 3 bedroom but one is an empty junk room!) for max $4000.
For this I bought 2 queen beds, one set of bedroom furniture, 2 sofas, 2 bookcases, TV unit, 6 seater dining set, a few electricals like a hoover, microwave, TV and DVD player as well as all the little things like crockery, cutlery, duvets, pillows, cushions.
I didnt buy anything from 'high end' stores but did manage to get everything I needed between sales in Harvey Normans, Dick Smiths, Big Save and a few bits and pieces from Warehouse.

Its definitely do-able if your not attached to your present furniture and dont mind shopping around a bit as well as a wee bit of haggling!

old dragon

Different opinions are good We must be in a lower class area than you, we have dogs wandering in our road fairly often and have now fitted a spring to the gate incase one of the kids leaves it open. We're between a reserve toward the back and the beach to the front so we could be on someones dog walking route and when they get out, they go where they know.

We've had other peoples dogs in our garden chasing our cats at least twice in the last year.

I wonder if it's the time of day I'm driving home from work, the lazy dog owners just get in after the commute and open the gate instead of taking them for a walk. It was definitely a pitbull we drove past on Friday night - son's best friend has one almost identical.

As I said earlier, I'm not a dog person so perhaps I just notice because they make me nervous.

maoriauctions

hi, i actually came across this forum by chance but i saw your thread, i live in tauranga have done for 17 years although i am from nz, this is a great city to live and its amazing in the summer which will be coming along shortly. As for your furniture there are lots of places to buy here depending on what your wanting. As for the pitbulls there are a few around im a owner of two, they are great dogs to me it depends on the owner, any dog can be dangerous. As you are both still young it would be a great opportunity for you both to come to a beautiful place and experience nz and its culture for yourselves a

Mizz

Hi everyone and thanks to each of you for taking the time to reply to me, your replies have been incredibly useful to me!

I have read through them all in a bit of a wave of emotion really, one minute I think ill be OK, the next I think, yikes, im going to fail at life there!!

The job situation worries me. I dont mind waiting 3-4 months to find a job, but if im going to struggle to find something/anything for a long period of time, I think we would start to suffer financially just relying on the other half's 70k wage.

I feel a lot better on the humidity and furniture issues now - thanks for all your help and advice on that front. My furniture here is the usual ikea/argos stuff so perhaps id be better off selling up and buying new over there. Id prefer to have less stuff anyway.

The leaky home/damp issue worries me. I'm not sure id be able to tell if a home was a damp or dry one...has anyone found a foolproof way of finding out without some sort of professional survey?

Also, does anyone know of any dog meets/walks that anyone is doing that I could join?

I think in summary...I still feel quite terrified that I'm not going to get a job, make friends, live in a damp free house and generally enjoy life....but I do want to be positive because I know if i go with negativity, that's all ill see, and if I go positive, ill see the positive.

Did anyone else hate it at first then do a 180 to love it?

old dragon

Hey there,

Spent the day in the company of kiwi friends (3 of them) and we were talking about your post - sorry if your ears were burning, it was all nice though.

With regard to the jobs and your skills - what about contract work. You could try to get in with a temp agency in the first instance and then network from there - or contact the local college and see what you would have to do to teach, IT for users or people returning to work for example. There's a big drive for people to go to college and up skill and the University of Waikato has a campus in Tauranga.

Also, there is the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Western Bay of Plenty Council and the Tauranga City Council - it might be worth doing a bit of research on each organization and then skyping the HR depts first of all to make contact and win them over with your charm hehe - and then follow it up with a CV.

They're very informal here and a short, light conversation can go a long way.

Also, I volunteered for several organizations when I arrived so that when I was applying for jobs - I'd already been police checked and could give character references which were local. It's a very small world and it all helps.

If we were child free, we'd be heading rural because you're never more than 15 minutes out of town where every you are and the area is just gorgeous.

The kiwis are REALLY friendly, I love them - and you can walk up to a complete stranger here and ask a random question - and they will help you or just give you the time of day.

Probably 80% of our friends are kiwis and the rest are expats from various countries - if you just get into things that interest you, you'll find like minded people of all nationalities. If you're just open and friendly here - it's amazing how quickly you're welcomed in

johnht

I don't know a lot about leaky homes, but I can say that one of the things which has caused problems for my mother in law is the set up of the guttering. On her house the outside edge of the gutter is higher than the inside, it's behind a deep fascia, meaning that any blockage or overflow will cause water to go in towards the house rather than away from it.
There are other things to do with the construction methods used, but IMHO pouring water down the walls from the gutter is not a good start.
John.

rason

We are 28 and we love it here. We live a street back from the beach and would find it hard to live anywhere else in NZ.

Dogs are no problem although finding somewhere to rent might be difficult if you offer the landlord extra deposit you should find some accomodating.
Jobs are there but not as many you might find you take up some retail work etc until your field becomes available but they certainly come up.
Honestly Pitbulls are not a problem some varietys are banned and ive never once seen any dog mess on the beach, its a great place to have a dog infact.

Its slower than you would be used to but its safer and warmer and more relaxed. Humidity is a non issue in my opinion we have a HRV system and its good otherwise a dehumidifier would probably be good idea to take the moisture off the windows in winter.

Houses are generally cold in winter as central heating doesnt really exist but you adapt and dont need it for 6 months of the year.

I get to come home from work and in Summer we go down the beach and swim and Surf, if you like that sort of laidback lifestyle you will enjoy it probably, the first 6 months are incredibly tough I reckon but after you get to know people sorted house wise and financially things get better and better.

Just my opinion though obviously. Feel free to PM me if you want to know anything

Batty

This might help with the leaky home thing

http://findaleak.co.nz/what-does-a-l...look-like.html

or

http://www.prendos.co.nz/the-prendos-leaky-home-guide

Mizz

Hey thanks for your replies everyone. I'm slowly starting to feel better about it all now. I wouldn't mind going to college to be able to eventually train people as Ive done a bit of training here.

The leaky homes situation is worrying, but thanks for all the help, im going to read those links and try to educate myself as best as possible. We could be looking to rent in as little as 8 weeks eek!

I know there's a lot of posts out there about areas but wonder if you would all state your favorite area in Tauranga to live and a brief reason why? I see a lot about where to avoid and where is ok but I'm interested to know what the best is?

Thanks everyone!!

old dragon

You can't really choose and area for someone else. We're currently in Papamoa and have loved it here and when we leave, it will be with a heavy heart. Ultimately for us though, it's rural. Not too far out of town, but far enough to achieve couple of horses, chickens etc.

When we first arrived it was what we wanted but we couldn't afford it and we thought it would be sensible to try other things first before we were committed. (we've had horses before so know what's involved)

We've done Bethlehem, the Mount and Papmoa - all of them absolutely brilliant and very different lifestyles - even though they're only a short drive from each other.

Personally, from your posts - Papamoa sounds like it would suit you because you can take your dogs onto the beach and out onto the reserves - they sound like a high priority for you. It's all about the outdoors down here.

It's also fairly busy with people always around walking etc, so it won't take you long to meet people with just a little effort.

The only downside is the drive in and out of town, but it's only 10 minutes to Bayfair/Mount and only 5 or 10 minutes further on into town so hardly a deal breaker.

Those are only my rambling thoughts though

mrhodgepodge

In many parts of the UK dogs are banned from beaches. That's something the UK has over New Zealand!!!!!

Margaret Parkinson

One thing I have noticed on the many beaches we have visited the owners always have them under control and take their "business" home with them. That cant be said about the UK. I live facing an open common and the number of people who walk their dogs and let them do their duty is unbelievable they even bring them in cars. The local Chapel had a Family Fun Day on Saturday but before it started they had to go all over the field clearing you know what up first.

Sorry went off topic.

June