Les Smith

Hi, I have been offerd a job in Gisborne on the east coast and we actualy go for our medical/xrays tomorrow in the UK. Visiting the site in the past 24hrs we have read such negative comments by Brits in NZ returning home or wish they had never even gone,quite worrying.
Does anyone have local knowledge of the Gisborne area or perhaps further comments on good/bad in NZ.

Thanks

JWW

Les, New Zealand is a great place to live. Not everyone is successful and it doesn't suit everyones lifestyle. Just come over with your eyes open and enjoy it for what it is. It is a fact of life that people with negative views tend to be the most vocal, everyone else just gets on with their lives. If you don't enjoy it over here you can always go home eh?

Gisborne is a smallish beach town with probably the best all round climate. Be prepared for a 'small town' with a large Maori makeup (approx 20% I believe). As a town its become a tourist destination and hotels etc are poping up. It is a little isolated and the pace of life will be slow. Wages will be low, housing will be cheap.

Les Smith

Thanks for that JWW, we are probably going through cold feet stage and reading some of the quotes from others has not realy helped much. Would you know what the average salary would be in the general area? and are English welcome in NZ.......again we hear various reports. Thanks again

JWW

I have always found New Zealanders to be extremely friendly and welcoming. They seem genuinely pleased you've chosen NZ to live in, and are generally very proud of the place. You will receive some POMy banter no doubt, but in our experience it has always been lighthearted and you just give as good as you get. At the end of the day noone wants someone coming over from another country and then whinging about it. Give it 18 months and if you don't like it go home.

I've only been to Gisborne on holiday, so can't tell you what it's like to live there except to say it's typical rural NZ. Very pretty, fantastic surfing, isolated beaches, horse riding, mountain biking, fishing etc. Not much else going on though.

I have to say that Gisborne wouldn't be my cup of tea, a better bet in that neck of the woods would be Napier or the Western Bay of Plenty...or Nelson and Blenheim on the South Island.

scottish

Try *****.co.uk Some people who post on there are in Gisborne. Search under Gisborne and you should find what you need.