Sydneys

Hi all

Just joined the forum as hoping to get over there soon. I've only got one question at the moment, which maybe someone could help me with. It's quite a simple one really: Given the existence of a good job offer, can anyone think of a reason not to live in or near New Plymouth? It looks great to me, but I don't want to get caught out!!

Any help with this much appreciated

S

Snap Shot

It's a nice town. It has a motorcycle gang reputation. Nearly all towns in New Zealand have a reputation like that. I live in Wanganui. We went for a drive to New Plymouth on Boxing Day last year. We visited Pukekura park, it was lovely. New Plymouth as a town looked ok to me. It's got an oil refinery near the shore, but it's not an eyesore. Some people think New Plymouth is rich because of it's oil money. It's got a buoyant economy but is not totally reliant on oil.

Sydneys

Thanks Ray & Debbie - good balanced answer! Much appreciated.

HeatherGirl

Hi Sydneys

New Plymouth is lovely - we've just moved to a small town about an hour away but have visited NP 3 or 4 times and plan to move there as soon as we can..

The park is beautiful as Debbie said. Last weekend we got lost in it so it's a good size. In the summer there are cricket matches and open air concerts there where you can sit out on the grass and chill. Apparently their festival of lights is pretty special too.

The walkway is amazing - perfect for walking and cycling. The town itself is very hilly with lots of trees. I like the size of it too - enough shops, cafes and restaurants but not sprawling and congested.

And then there's the mountain!

I've heard it's a good place to be as it is relatively unaffected by the recession, compared to other places in NZ - because of the oil.

Negatives: I think it rains rather alot! There are bound to be other negatives but I can't think of any. But then, I've not seen much of the rest of NZ as I've only just arrived and perhaps I still have my rosy spectacles on!!!

HeatherGirl

AndyEvs

Hi there,

Are you still considering New Plymouth? We have been here since 2004 (with 2 years out in Qatar). If you have any specific questions let me know.
A

mikesurf

It's a one street town. Can't really understand why anybody would want to live there unless you surf.

AndyEvs

Would have to disagree with that. Definitely more than one street here since I live on a different street to my colleagues so there must be at least two.
Not paradise but different strokes for different folks, it is a great place to live for many of the 70-80k people that live here. Totally depends what you want out of life, and I don't surf.

thepinkone

We like it so far, I wouldn't say its a one street town, just that you can get at a good chunk of stuff centrally.

RachelG12

I'll be arriving in April with OH & Cats. Can't beat being able o Snowboard & Surf in the same day :-)