Location location location
 

Morning/evening all

So in January the great job hunt will start..myself and the old lady have put together a list of 10 locations based purely,at the moment, on locations of the biggest neonatal units. Any further information on these areas (rental prices,schools, weather,family life,areas to stay away from etc) would be great. Locations are:

Dunedin
Christchurch
Nelson
Wellington
Palmerston North
Hastings
New Plymouth
Hamilton
Rotarua
Tauranga

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One thing I will mention is that most areas of Rotorua have a sulphur smell from the geothermal activity. I understand most people get used to it quickly, but I think its something to be aware of. Would you like to be near the beach? Tauranga / Napier Or inland Hamilton / Palmerston Nth. Was in New Plymouth 2 weeks back and was very impressed. Surprisingly good waterfront and parks etc set under the mountain. Most of these places are similar in terms of population dynamics, although Dunedin and Chch more European and Wellington considered more academic but windy. Weather generally warmer as you go north. Personally I wouldnt pick any of those cities and say avoid that one. Enjoy your research.

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Cheers, I remember the smell but the relatives over there say you go nose deaf quickly. I'd like to be near a beach but not the most important thing.

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its going to depend on your budget.
house rental / purchase prices vary massively between those towns/city's


My first thoughts are
Rotovegas...smellY, too native (sorry but we all know what I mean)
Tuaranga...good brit community, great weather+ beaches, getting VERY expensive
Palmeston North. ....I just didn't feel the place but some say its nice.
Wellington...nah, very windy, very hilly, getting expensive, nice city centre
Chch...outskirts look nice but lots of new subdivisions, center still looks a mess and I'm not very impressed with what I've seen of the rebuild, it will never be finished...nah!!
Hastings...nice area, bit poor, bit out on its own
New Plymouth...as above but not as poor
Dunedin....cold, bit out on its own, very cheap housing but often poor standard, uni town so lively centre

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Cheers for the reply budget we could afford (as it stands) is 450nzd a week max would need a 3 or 4 bedroom

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look on trademe and realestate nz for property and rental prices


being comfortable in a nice place can make or break you when you arrive
theres nothing worse than working all day or stressing about settling in and
then coming home to a crappy, un insulated cold house

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Rangiora's nice :-)
Lots of the town street had to be rebuilt after the earthquakes and it's a really attractive little town now.
It's not a bad commute to Christchurch city and there's a few beach options only a 10 minute or so drive.
There's lots of new houses going up so they'll be nice and snugly warm so no freezing to death and hyperthermia.
The weather is great, it's not as warm as the North Island but it's bright and fresh and not horribly humid. It can have scorching summers, it's reached record highs for the country in summer.
Facilities are good, Drs, bus service to the city, sports centers, libraries, churches, parks etc and the great outdoors is on your doorstep for walking, hunting, skiing and such like.

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Is it a specific Neonatal unit that you are looking for as they are not all Neonatal or should I say NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) ?

For instance, the Tauranga unit is a SCBU. They only take baba's that are 32 weeks and over 1.5kg's and don't usually have critically ill baba's. For those and baba's that are born prior to this gestation or under this weight they must go to the NICU at Waikato Hospital, Hamilton.
Not all the places on your list will have what I think you think is a NICU, or what you know as a Neonatal unit in the UK ?
Hamilton and Wellington does for sure as we were threatened with Hamilton NICU when our latest was born at 31 and 1 and 1.51kg's and an ex. pat friend of ours who's a Neonatal nurse from Lancashire got a job in the Wellington NICU.

NICU/SCBU - NNCA

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Cheers I'm not specifically after a NICU would be happy in a scubu and looked at the NzNo page to get places that had the most cots logic being they were more likely to need nurses

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Ok, just had visions of you thinking it was like the UK here and there's a Neonatal unit on every street corner when there's only maybe 6 across the whole country.
Didn't want you expecting a busy Newborn Intensive Care job only to get bored within 12 months in a unit that's nowhere near as full on

:thumbsup:

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Firstly, rule out any you really don't fancy in that list.
Then use the DHB recruitment pages to apply for any current vacancies and to send CV/ register interest for future. In the end you will need to go where the work is.

I would suggest on your budget *probably* ruling out Wellington, Chch, Tauranga. You could make them work but it's just going to be heaps tougher. Then you're left with Palmie, Hastings, Rotorua, and Hamilton as the inland lot; NP, Nelson, and Dunedin would give you close proximity to the coast. Then think about weather: Hastings and Nelson have the standout warmer climates; Dunedin and Palmie are the cooler ones, although the humidity can be draining in Hamilton.

Do you want somewhere that is verging on a city or somewhere that is distinctly more like a small UK town? Hamilton and Dunedin are the most city-like of those but Palmie, NP, and Hastings come close to pretending (and Hastings has Napier on its doorstep).

Does proximity to the rest of NZ interest you? Hamilton would be the standout winner if it does; Dunedin, Nelson and Hastings might fight it out as losing in that respect. Oh, probably NP too.

Also, think a out whether you have a particular hobby you are keen to continue. For example, if mountain biking is your thing then Rotorua is probably going to really float your boat, ditto Dunedin. If surfing is it for you then Dunedin or NP.

But in the end, you will doubtless go where the work is.

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Thank you for the input and yes being in such a small trade as neonatal nursing it really does depend where I get offers a job however if the lovely people on here really have an aversion and good reason to not settle in a certain place I would obviously factor that in it's a big enough upheaval of emotions moving over without living somewhere you don't like being in

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Tough one as what suits one person may not suit another.

Only thing for Nelson is that it is out on a limb. You want to go somewhere , be prepared to spend hours traveling or peeling the eyes for grabaseat deals. Some find it a gilded cage. Some think they have landed in their own forever place.

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The smell is only found in specific parts of the CBD. 👍
Sometimes noticible sometimes not. 👍
To us it's just home. :thumbsup:

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I assume from your list and your indecision you have never visited NZ?
The problem with your list is that it covers the whole of NZ (apart from Auckland) which is a country of huge diversity in culture, cost of living, population and the weather. And, you'll find biased views everywhere. It's a bit like asking a Southerner (UK) what living in the North is like... Even if they've never visited, they'll have an opinion.

I first moved to Dunedin where my family reside and I love it. Otago is simply stunning and it's so easy to get to the Southern Alps. House prices are still reasonable too. For me, job vacancies (in IT) were few but once I looked at the bigger cities, Welly & Auckland, I quickly found a job.
I love Wellington. It can be windy but in reality strong winds are not a daily occurrence and you can always find a sheltered spot.
The more north you go, the warmer the winter will be, but it can also become very humid around Auckland. Personally, I can do cold, windy and hot, but not high humidity.

Rental prices will vary considerably across the country too. No different to the UK there.
In the UK I owned my home, so renting has been a shock. The main problem is the lack of regulations placed upon landlords to provide a reasonable standard of accommodation. Do not expect central heating or double glazing.

Wherever you begin your life in NZ, it's doesn't have to be permanent.