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North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Old Mar 17th 2019, 8:52 pm
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Default North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Good Evening, I'm new to this forum but have spent a few weeks reading up on various discussions but haven't found one relating to my query.

My partner and I are visiting New Zealand in November 19' to see if it's somewhere we could see ourselves moving too in the near future. We have toyed with the idea for a few years but it's never materialised so this year we have already booked our flights and have started to research job opportunities, housing, things to do and climate etc.

We are flying to Auckland and so far we have decided to visit the following - Whangarie, Tauranga, Hamilton and possibly New Plymouth...

i understand the weather in the North is warmer and a lot milder, but I wondered if anyone could advise me on the best areas for say lower 20s in the summer and mild in the winter?

I'm thinking Whangarei may get high 20s and possibly Tauranga, so is it advisable to aim further towards South (middle perhaps) love being outdoors and my partner is a keen fisherman (mainly fly fishing) so being somewhere that doesn't get too humid would be an important factor to us.

We currently live in South Wales so have more than our fair share of rain and grey days (major factor for the possible move)

Finally, we have two dogs who would also be making the move if we decide to take the plunge - are there lots of dog friendly things to do?

Thanks in advance πŸ™‚
​
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Old Mar 18th 2019, 2:54 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

horray for another taffy, and one from the valleys as well (ex Ponty me - House of Pain Ponty, not that other one - lol)
Good win on saturday
Nowhere here is like the valleys except perhaps the western side of the SI. And you're not going there so no matter

So, West Wales weather is a line from Wanganui to Dannevirke South.
Pembs weather is Bay of Plenty
North Wales weather is the centre bit.....nice if you don't like the heat, love the snow and a drop of rain.
Valleys weather......er, there aint none ,cept for perhaps an August valley's thunderstorm and that would be everywhere up north, hot, humid and damp.

Thing to remember is no matter where you are, (except perhaps the west coast of the south island), summers are hotter and longer, winters are milder and there's more rain than you'll see in the valleys, only it comes in massive lumps rather than a persistent drizzle

But it horses for courses isn't it, suppose its what you are looking for.
Miss out Hamilton - it's called the 'tron' for a reason - Gurnos on prozac
Tauranga is rapidly becoming a mini AK.....and that's a reason in itself not to go
whangarei is a nice enough place but I've not been enough to get an opinion.
NP is like a lot of towns in NZ, out there on it's own. it has is all, all be it in limited supply, but when you live there you'll become "Are you local"? Ex Royston Vasey if you get my drift? (NP, Gissy, Napier, Palmy, Taupo......they're all in that club)

but anyway it will be nice to see another dragon flying.

Hwyl fawr
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Old Mar 18th 2019, 4:16 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Nelson most likely has sunnier & warmer weather than Wales. It's weather is also a bit more even than say Auckland.
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Old Mar 18th 2019, 6:17 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Originally Posted by Rainbow74
Good Evening, I'm new to this forum but have spent a few weeks reading up on various discussions but haven't found one relating to my query.

My partner and I are visiting New Zealand in November 19' to see if it's somewhere we could see ourselves moving too in the near future. We have toyed with the idea for a few years but it's never materialised so this year we have already booked our flights and have started to research job opportunities, housing, things to do and climate etc.

We are flying to Auckland and so far we have decided to visit the following - Whangarie, Tauranga, Hamilton and possibly New Plymouth...

i understand the weather in the North is warmer and a lot milder, but I wondered if anyone could advise me on the best areas for say lower 20s in the summer and mild in the winter?

I'm thinking Whangarei may get high 20s and possibly Tauranga, so is it advisable to aim further towards South (middle perhaps) love being outdoors and my partner is a keen fisherman (mainly fly fishing) so being somewhere that doesn't get too humid would be an important factor to us.

We currently live in South Wales so have more than our fair share of rain and grey days (major factor for the possible move)

Finally, we have two dogs who would also be making the move if we decide to take the plunge - are there lots of dog friendly things to do?

Thanks in advance πŸ™‚
​
Hawke's Bay maybe? I've always thought that would be a great place to live.
Friend just moved to New Plymouth - that seems to tick a lot of boxes.
Otherwise, you could consider Taupo or Rotorua? Good fishing in the middle of the North island.
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Old Mar 18th 2019, 6:46 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

TBH I'd say everywhere in NZ has much hotter summers than anywhere in Wales. Its not just the air temp we have to consider but also the much much higher intensity of the sun that can and does burn much faster

Last edited by Justcol; Mar 18th 2019 at 6:48 am.
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Old Mar 18th 2019, 9:20 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Originally Posted by cym
horray for another taffy, and one from the valleys as well (ex Ponty me - House of Pain Ponty, not that other one - lol)
Good win on saturday
Nowhere here is like the valleys except perhaps the western side of the SI. And you're not going there so no matter

So, West Wales weather is a line from Wanganui to Dannevirke South.
Pembs weather is Bay of Plenty
North Wales weather is the centre bit.....nice if you don't like the heat, love the snow and a drop of rain.
Valleys weather......er, there aint none ,cept for perhaps an August valley's thunderstorm and that would be everywhere up north, hot, humid and damp.

Thing to remember is no matter where you are, (except perhaps the west coast of the south island), summers are hotter and longer, winters are milder and there's more rain than you'll see in the valleys, only it comes in massive lumps rather than a persistent drizzle

But it horses for courses isn't it, suppose its what you are looking for.
Miss out Hamilton - it's called the 'tron' for a reason - Gurnos on prozac
Tauranga is rapidly becoming a mini AK.....and that's a reason in itself not to go
whangarei is a nice enough place but I've not been enough to get an opinion.
NP is like a lot of towns in NZ, out there on it's own. it has is all, all be it in limited supply, but when you live there you'll become "Are you local"? Ex Royston Vasey if you get my drift? (NP, Gissy, Napier, Palmy, Taupo......they're all in that club)

but anyway it will be nice to see another dragon flying.

Hwyl fawr
​​​​​​Thank you so much for the welcome, I live in Tonyrefail so can fully appreciate your comparisons of places.

The game was awesome and much needed too 😁 apparently we are No 2 in the world now with NZ in the lead!

Gosh there are so many places to chose from, I suspect it will be a lot easier to decide where to go when we get there. I like the thought of a small safe quiet town (maybe 20 minutes from coast). I don't like busy places, take yesterday for example, the first half decent dry day (8*) in weeks. We took the dogs to Barry Island at 8:30 (before the crowds) but everyone else has the same idea. We both said yesterday, wouldn't it be nice to find some quiet beaches where the dogs can run free with a lot less hussle and bussle!

Cym - how long have you lived in NZ? What are the differences you see compared to SW valleys?
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Old Mar 18th 2019, 9:27 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Bearskin, Bevs & justcol, thank you for the tips and advice. I'll add these to my research list.

Is NZ dog friendly i.e. is there lots of places where they accept dogs?

Thanks again,
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Old Mar 19th 2019, 8:40 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Originally Posted by Rainbow74
Is NZ dog friendly i.e. is there lots of places where they accept dogs?

Thanks again,
some towns don't allow dogs in the CBD or main streets of some smaller ones and some beaches have restrictions during summer and there are a few places where restrictions are in place to protect native
However there are plenty of dog areas in most places, I've got 2 and have never had a problem

Last edited by Justcol; Mar 19th 2019 at 8:46 am.
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Old Mar 19th 2019, 9:31 am
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In reality , you will go where the work is offered.

Start with that.
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Old Mar 19th 2019, 9:33 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Originally Posted by Rainbow74
​​​​​​Thank you so much for the welcome, I live in Tonyrefail so can fully appreciate your comparisons of places.

The game was awesome and much needed too 😁 apparently we are No 2 in the world now with NZ in the lead!

Gosh there are so many places to chose from, I suspect it will be a lot easier to decide where to go when we get there. I like the thought of a small safe quiet town (maybe 20 minutes from coast). I don't like busy places, take yesterday for example, the first half decent dry day (8*) in weeks. We took the dogs to Barry Island at 8:30 (before the crowds) but everyone else has the same idea. We both said yesterday, wouldn't it be nice to find some quiet beaches where the dogs can run free with a lot less hussle and bussle!

Cym - how long have you lived in NZ? What are the differences you see compared to SW valleys?
Not really. It will all depend where the work is. What visa is possible. What your occupations are.

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Old Mar 19th 2019, 9:34 am
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"Gurnos on prozac"

::marw chwerthin::
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Old Mar 19th 2019, 9:40 am
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Originally Posted by janiejones
"Gurnos on prozac"

::marw chwerthin::
I have no idea what that means.



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Old Mar 19th 2019, 9:47 am
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Gurnos is a somewhat *special* place in South Wales. Comparing it to Hamilton cracked me right up!
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Old Mar 21st 2019, 8:07 am
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haha
but i was right though, eh
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Old Mar 21st 2019, 8:36 am
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Default re: North and South islands - Climate Advice & wher to live for lifestyle

Rainbow
easy answer first, came here in Sept 05 and been here since. Only been back once to 'ome and it was a big struggle to get back on the plane to come back to NZ....not because I dislike it.....NO.....because I miss my family so much. I had a wander around Ponty when we went back and didn't recongise the place. It's become a dump. (some might say it always has been......but some of us know better)
Anyway compare with the Valleys?
There's none. There easy eh!
Imagine my face if you will when we first came here and went to Mitre10, kiwi B&Q, looking for a new door.
The conversation went something like this.
Me and her looking at two doors, along came some grandad .
"May I help you"?
"Yeah butt, where's the doors"
Grandad looks puzzled and points at the two doors.
"Aye, but where's the 'DOORS' butty"?
"These are doors" says grandad
"I can see that butty, I can see you have TWO doors, so where are you hiding the rest"?
"rest"? He says

So you getting the picture?

Now if you live in the city like AK or Tauaranga then there will be more builders merchants, electrical shops, plumbing shops, so on and hopefully more choice.
You live in the out on their own places like NP, Napier, Gissy then choice is a lot less.
And you'll think to yourself WTF, but eventually you'll get used to it and before long you'll be kiwi and accept it

The other thing to be aware of, is nothing here runs into another, No Porth/Pandy/Pentre/Herbert ribbon. Everywhere except AK is separate. And sometimes the distance in-between is really a long way.

So to give you something of a comparison with towns
Tauaranga = Bristol perhaps Swansea
NP = LLanelli
Gissy/Napier = Carmarthen
Palmy = Ponty (especially with the students)
Wangers = Zooport - but that's just me hating both places....but trust me I'm right (stand by for all Wangers and Zooport lovers to tell you different)

The thing to also be aware of there's nothing like Barry or Porthcawl here (shame Knights arms - miss that place) but there's heaps of beaches. For me the east coast is way way better for beaches - Anywhere from Napier to Castlepoint

The other thing to know is, in my opinion, kiwi's aren't dog lovers like what we are.
We used to walk our dogs everywhere in Wales. Here they can't go in any national park and most popular beaches are not permitted during peak periods. much like camps sites that say they are pet friendly - yeah in the low season when they want anyone's money.
But bring your fur babies - they'll be your link to 'ome and you'll need it

Keep asking the questions

(is sweaty betty's still open?)
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