nickandlyn

we are thinking of moving as we now have our residency YYYYYeeeeehhhha, where we are now is very pretty but not for us I feel. Property is reasonably cheap compared to other parts of the country, and it is near the sea, a must for us, can anyone give us an insight into the area? we know its cold,but then so is mangakino!!!! we just like what we have read about the area,but we do know from personal experience that the north island is very very different in all respects from the south island, and we dont mean just climate and scenery!!! can anyone give us an unbiased opinion, we would really appreciate your views. cheers

dannigirl

Very difficult question as where you live is totally subjective.
Oamaru is not very remarkable but not awful imo. I see it as a town/city??? you pass through to get from Dunedin to Chch.
Very beautiful Oamaru stone buildings, quite a historic place, beautiful surrounding areas, within good distance of Dunedin if you want to go to the big smoke occasionally (although maybe not of an evening say to the theatre and having to drive back). Very cold temperatures in winter, summer can go either way - really dry or wet and cold, people is my experience are friendly, lots of surrounding farmland and countryside. More of a pakeha population than up in the North Isand and probably stronger connections to the UK. Can be seen as a bit of a hicksville. Would imagine that housing is cheap and cost of living fairly low compared to some bigger cities, but then that depends on your employment opportunities I guess. Have several friends who have grown up in Oamaru and they seem normal :lol

dannigirl

PS - congrats on your residency.

nickandlyn

many thanks for the reply, you have given us a better insight into the area and the community, being female I would like a few more shops etc, where we are now is an hr from anywhere and a bit too rural, with quite a few problems of its own ie mongrel mob. Am gonna fly down to take a look in the next few weeks and check out dunedin upwards. We both like the north island but it may be time for a change, and as the OH is a sparky may have more opportunities, cheers

southerner

Hi - we visit Oamaru from Dunedin occasionally. Its a nice sized town probably about 80min north of Dunedin, mainly rural servicing. Has good access to the Waitaki Valley lakes and to the Mackenzie Country. The old part of town is well worth a visit - and its really up to you whether the town itself fits the bill for you.

Shopping is limited - although it has some excellent supermarkets for its size.

Would highly recommend stopping at Moeraki for lunch at Fleurs restaurant (20min south). Or alternatively Riverstone (about 10min north near the river).

alanmacc

Id say Oamaru is more like a village than a town, its pretty quiet, not much in the way of shops really, so if you are looking at SI id say Chch is a better bet in that respect.

But to be fair it does sell some decent Whisky

kiwinow

Just went down last weekend. It's got some nice restaurants and bars - Portside is nice although a tad expensive and The Last Post which is more of a pub/bistro is popular. The Blue Penguin nightclub is supposed to be good and has some great visiting singers. It has a good art gallery. In fact it's quite an arty town. It has a small but fun swimming pool. It also has a little blue penguin colony and yellow eyed penguins, but in my opinion the best place to view these as well as seals is the Moeraki lighthouse.

There are some nice beaches just south of Oamaru, but the water can be more suited to furrier mammals.

Shopping is limited but it's not that far to Dunedin for a shopping fix and I think a lot of people would travel to the theatre for an evening. It must only be about 1 - 1 1/2 hours drive. It's pretty in a quaint sort of way and there's some nice scenery. Jobs could be a problem though, depending on what you do.

nickandlyn

many thanks to all that have replied, its good to hear views from others, oh and thanks for the tips on where to eat !!! Many thanks to the review of the sea temps that is a must for us, it was bad enough in the uk, so we may think a little higher, keep the reviews coming,it all helps, cheers guys

kiwinow

You'll find people still get in the water though. Just a tip - in the South Island a lot of people, especially those with young kids, buy wetsuits (even the cheap Warehouse version) to get the most out of swimming outdoors at either end of summer. Hope you enjoy your trip.

One odd thing about Oamaru is that in some ways it seems more go ahead than Timaru, which is larger and has a central beach. We live in Timaru which has two large pools, but our kids love the Oamaru one because in a small space it has hot spa pools, mock rock pools and water fountains, diving boards, swing ropes and inflatable toys. We can leave them there for 2 - 3 hours while we look round the galleries and old Oamaru. Timaru used to have a bowling alley which went bust. Now Oamaru has a successful one adjoining a family restaurant.

Anyway, you'll either like it or you won't so good luck.