Kerry11

Hi

Can anybody give me any information on New Plymouth.
Good areas, bad areas in New Plymouth
What surrounding villages like Eltham, Kaponga and Stratford are like.
Good schools, where are they?
Crime?
What is health care like/ private & public - New Plymouth

Thanks
Kerry

drdan

Hi Kerry,

I have never been to NP but have just been offered a job there starting next year, so have been doing some heavy research. Here are some quotes that I have received from others about the place over the last few weeks. Hope they help. Also some weblinks I found useful.

Are you planning on going anytime soon?

Danny

=====================================

New Plymouth is on the west coast and is a bigger more lively town. It is close to Egmont National Park which serves Mount Taranaki. Again, lovely coast and also it is a very arty town with lots of small galleries. It is also home to quite a big rugby team (Taranaki). I haven't been to the hospital but I am told it is one of the bigger peripheral hospitals. House prices are steeper in New Plymouth than you'd expect - they've had an influx of people because that film The Last Samurai was filmed there! It's a great place to be based for the central north island where they have ski fields in the winter and walking in the summer.

NZ is the most beautiful country. It is a cliché but it is true. Never have I been anywhere where there are so many amazing things to see in such a small place. Weekends not on call are a real treat, travelling round - accommodation is cheap and plentiful, even the activities you may want to do are not expensive. I could happily spend the rest of my days here but there is a sense of isolation from the rest of the world, particularly for me because my family is so far away.

NZ salaries are less than the UK but living is cheaper. Cars are cheap to buy (mainly Japanese imports) and run as insurance is not compulsory (!) and petrol is about 60% of UK prices. Houses are far cheaper than the UK, especially if you're not in Auckland. My supermarket shop costs less (mainly because there are fewer microwave/convenience foods!) and eating out is spectacularly cheaper. The wine is fab and don't let anyone tell you the beer is rubbish - they may not have all the real ales etc of the UK but they have a decent range which seems to be growing.

The weather is definitely a bonus. No frost, snow or ice in the North Island (except in the central plateau where the ski fields are). I have only worn my winter coat when I went ski-ing. It is currently spring but hot all day with rain at night to keep things green. It is not so hot in the summer that it's unpleasant. Those of us blessed with pale skin do have to be careful with the rays though as the ozone layer is reputed to be at its thinnest over NZ.

I have been here a total of about 6 months over the past 2 years, through various seasons. It seems to me that it is predominantly a British-style climate, with definite seasons. Wellington can be very windy, and is known as the windy city. New Plymouth, being somewhat further north is a bit more settled, but it is not that far further north. Maybe a bit warmer. It is coming into summer now, and there have been some glorious days over the past month. Hot, sunny and dry. Maybe it is a result of the ozone hole that hovers over here, but the air is so very ‘clean’. There have been some fabulous anomalies in the weather, but the talk is of the results of global changes that we have all experienced. For instance, when I was last here a few months ago, there was serious flooding in the Bay of Plenty (north island). And this month, there was yet again serious flooding in Gisbourne (also north), with a month’s rain falling in two days. But overall, I would reckon the climate is temperate and very UK-style.

The quality of life is superior to just about anywhere; part of the reason why I love coming here so much. Food is of a high standard (except for their lamb! And NZ cheese just sucks from beginning to end; they do not allow unpasteurised cheese to be made here!) and relatively cheap. There is a large and varied range of quality restaurants throughout NZ, and in some of the most unlikely places. I have had probably the best meal ever in a class Wellington restaurant and Julia has just told me that her favourite restaurant is a weird Art Deco-style place in Whangarei! All of NZ is actvity-oriented; you were asking about the swimming facilities and stuff like that? They have been swimming in the sea here for the past few weeks, albeit sometimes in wet-suits. But come higher-summer, they are in the water nearly all the time. And it is relatively warm (although compared to the English Channel). Julia agreed that New Plymouth is that much warmer and more settled than Wellington.

New Plymouth is coastal and there are some nice beaches but its main
attractions are the National Park and the mountains. It is a garden town
with some really beautiful gardens. My brother (who's a bit fussy) said he
could live in New Plymouth. I have a few pictures on PBase. This website
tells you how long it takes to get between various places by car:
http://www.accommodationz.co.nz/distancesnorth2.html. You will see that from
New Plymouth you can get to Waitomo Caves and Wanganui quite easily - both
are lovely weekend trips. Whakapapa Village is a ski resort - 3 1/2 hours to
there. From Whangerei all the places further north are accessible short
trips but for anywhere south of Auckland you'd really have to fly or break
your journey. Both towns have direct flights to both Auckland and Wellington
with endless connections form there. New Plymouth to Wellington is 5 hours
from where you can take a ferry to the South Island - a whole new world!

I thought you might like to see what houses are available in New Plymouth. I used an NZ eBay look-alike site, TradeMe (the number 1 site in NZ for eBay activity, www.trademe.co.nz) and if you follow this link, you will get a flavour of specification and price. I searched for 3-bedroom minimum houses just in the New Plymouth and Taranaki region.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/l...h=1&mcat=0350-

A common way to sell and buy houses over here is by auction. Seems a wacky way of doing things, but it is very popular and apparently works. I am trying to get a few local New Plymouth and Whangarei newspapers to bring back for you to read and see what other things are what.


Re New Plymouth
Right - weather - yes it can absolutely p**s it down sometimes and it can be windy but it can also be really sunny and hot - I was burnt yesterday while out weeding and it is only November! (A kiwi lady was talking in a shop and saying she was looking forward to the warm weather in January!! And it has been 20 plus degrees all week!) Last summer was great - we were swimming in the sea and slapping on the sunscreen like mad. It never gets that cold really compared to the UK (I have worn my down jacket once since we got here a year and a half ago and that was to a outdoor concert in the middle of winter - I used to LIVE in it in London!) We have had just one frost this winter and we are near the mountain here - it is even warmer in town. When it rains, it really does and you can have long periods (ie three or four days) but the sunshine lasts a long time too - the weather really doesn't bother me as on balance I think it is far, far better than British weather. It is a very outdoorsy sort of place - everyone has a bike, runs, goes surfing or does something outdoors and there are loads of playareas for kids.

New Plymouth doesn't have any 'bad areas' - the kiwis will tell you there are dodgy areas but their concept of what is 'bad' is so different to ours that it is laughable. NP is great for families and I think it is a safe, clean, happy place to live. Yes, there are burglaries and the odd assault but you would get that anywhere IMO.




http://www.tdhb.org.nz/
General information about the area - New Plymouth District Council
http://www.npdc.govt.nz/
District news http://www.npdc.govt.nz/new+plymouth...ct/default.htm
Visitors information http://www.npdc.govt.nz/visitors+and+events/default.htm
Govett Brewster Art Gallery http://www.govettbrewster.org.nz/sitemap.htm
Virtual Tart - artists cooperative http://virtual.tart.co.nz/
Egmont National Park - Mt Taranaki
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Explore/001~N...nal-Park/index
.asp
Sugar Loaf Islands
http://www.doc.govt.nz/Conservation/...Parks/Sugar-Lo
af-Islands-Marine-Protected-Area.asp

Taranaki Tourism pages:
http://www.windwand.co.nz/

New Plymouth people statistics:
<http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/CommProfiles.nsf/FindInfobyArea/033-ta> http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/ext...obyArea/033-ta

Taranaki weather & region profile:
<http://www.labourmarket.co.nz/regionalprofile_tk.htm> http://www.labourmarket.co.nz/regionalprofile_tk.htm

oxford UK weather for comparison:
<http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/averages/19712000/sites/oxford.html> http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/...es/oxford.html

Kerry11

Hi Danny

Thanks for all that information. We will go as soon as our immigration application is accepted or my husband gets a job. We are currently in Adelaide and emigrated to Australia in Jan 2005. We are not happy here and New Zealand had been one of our options originally. We have heard that New Zealand is very expensive but so is Australia. We will try and move as quickly as possible.

Thanks for all the information, we have heard a lot of negatives lately, so it is great to get some positive feed back.

Thanks

Kerry

drdan

No problems. My brother & his wife moved back to Adelaide a few years ago from the UK but was not happy there and returned. We grew up in Pt Noarlunga Sth until age 17, but then returned to the UK.

Good luck,
Danny