Amber and Chris

IT MIGHT BE HAPPENING...I have almost got a proper job offer in Rotorua!!!

Now tell me about Rotorua...

Does it really stink? (that being the most important lifestyle question of course)...

Cost of living? What sort of salary could a couple be comfortable on? I am kind of spoilt cos I live in one of the lowest cost-of-living areas in Canada, so anywhere is going to seem expensive after this.

Library system? OH is a librarian. Anyone know anything about it?

Do you love it? Or is it a halfway place for where you really want to be? What are the best things and worst things?

Ease of getting about. Can we continue our bike lifestyle or are we going to have to find ourselve a vee-hickle?

ANYTHING you can give us...we will love you forever.
And if this falls through, I'll be asking this about the next place where there's a "possiblity"...and the next...

dreamfish

oh well done you. i spose if you live near any tourist attractions boasting thermal activity, then yes it will smell eggy. I also thought the town smelt rotten - but that might have been DP.
I thought it was quite a pretty place - has a lake right in the centre and a couple of business parks. I know thats not much help to you... town seemed pretty self-sufficient.

Apple12

Rotorua has some of the best mountain biking tracks in the country, heaps of single track built through the forestry of levels of difficulty. The MTB World Champs were held in Rotorua last year.
http://rotorua.mtbclub.org.nz/

Don't forget that Rtotrua is not a big town, only 55,000 people so it won't take you long to get from one side to the other =) But there is so much to explore nearby, that you will need a car, weekends in Taupo, walking on the volcanoes etc etc. You don't want to miss out on what the surrounding area has to offer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotorua

danny.f

Apparently,you get used to the smell after a couple of days,but we weren't there long enough to comment,,but check or PM CathynClive,they're moving out that way,and know of peeps in the region-good luck though!!

Maz

Oh wow... didn't realise Rotorua had such a gang problem

Apple12

So do many places.

pixi-dust

I've visited Rotorua three times, so this is only that point of view. Have not a clue about living there, but I really really liked it.
Yes parts of it are a bit eggy, but you get used to it really fast.
There's tonnes to do if you like adventure sort of stuff. Also some lovely eating out places.
Now I live in the middle of nowhere and am not really a shopper, but I thought the shopping was good too!

Jasmic

Hi

My husband and I are going to live in Rotorua in 16 weeks time. We are currently in the UK.
We have done masses and masses of research before accepting the post and turned down jobs in Auckland and Oz in favour of Rotorua.
The government report for Rotorua made the place sound a nightmare re socio-economics ie: Highest rate of violent crime in NZ poverty no professionals, gangs, schools all rubbish and drug ridden.
Based on the above info and with a teenager and a toddler I was ready for pulling out however I voiced my concerns with our recruiting agent (in an attempt to get a more balanced view) who in turn happily put me in touch with a number of professionals who have moved out to Rotorua and one lady who has been there over ten years.

This is the bad bit:
Yes there is one gang on the fringes of Rotorua but apparently they don't create problems in their own back yard. I am assured there are many more gangs in Auckland.
There are some rough areas but they can be easily avoided as is the case in most places in the world.
Crime occurs but again you take the same measures you would take anywhere to avoid being targeted ie lock door/windows when not at home don't walk around alone late at night etc..

The good bit.
Some great schools - I'll send them on if you are interested.
There are some great suburbs to live - we are looking in a place called Lynmore right next to redwood forest.
There are great restaurants.
The people are very friendly and down to earth.
Great kindergartens.
Loads to do if you are the outdoorsy type.
Small town but adequate shops and anything else you need can be got from Taranga 40 min drive away which has Malls.
Plenty of grocery stores.
Get much more for your money property wise.
My OH is a Surgeon due to start at Rotorua hosp we have already been invited out for meals by pending workmates. Our agent has put me in touch with her own friends in Rotorua and they are more than happy to take us around and show the place off to us so I think it sounds like a welcoming place.

We have thought long and hard and compared it with practically all of NZ and have still decided to go for it and give it a minimum of two years.
Re the smell - presume it's something we will get used to.
We even researched the effects of sulphur gases on health due to having an asthmatic child, short term exposure studies do flag up some concerns which it is good to be aware of. Longer chronic exposure results are thin on the ground but certainly we don't believe low exposure would be any worse than exposure to car exhaust fumes or we wouldn't be taking our little one there.

Now we have made up our minds we are happy with our decision and are really looking forward to it. We don't expect it to be any where near perfect, no where is, but we feel that the positive experiences we will have in what is an incredibly beautiful place will hopefully outweigh the negatives.

Hope this helps.

P2L

Welcome Jasmic

Great post, one of the best I've seen from a newbie in a while karma to you.

You sound like you've really done your homework & are going into this with your eyes wide open.

Good luck to you & your family, I'm sure you've made the right decision for you!!

RobClubley

Melanie and I have visited Rotorua three times now. The sulphur smell varies quite a bit. When we were there at the height of summer it was quite strong and kind of wafted over you every now and again. When it was cooler it was much less noticeable.

It's a fascinating area with the thermal activity and there is loads to do there, especially if you're a tourist. The trips and activities are the sort of thing that I suspect would be an expensive luxury if you were living there. Then again you can probably do most of them very cheaply or for free under your own steam.

My brother-in-law lived and worked there for about eight months and he didn't settle. He ended up coming back to the UK, but he is a very social person and spends a lot of time with his mates down the pub. The guys he worked with in Rotorua were all older than him and settled with families, so weren't so interested in the socialising. They did take him fishing on a weekend, which he loved. And he got to do lots more diving than he does in Leeds!

It's quite a "small town" sort of place - we went to a curry house on Friday night at 9pm and they were closing because they'd had four customers and they'd run out of food!!

Also in the centre it was quite expensive to eat out, presumably for the tourists.

I'm not trying to put you off or be negative, just telling you our experiences.

It's one of those places in NZ that we will keep going back to because there's so much to see and do.

RobClubley

Just to add as well - my mate grew up in Rotovegas in one of the areas where there are gangs and stuff, and he said he often saw them around but there was never really any trouble. They basically left him and his mates and family alone.

Gill and Rob

Well first of all I LIVE IN ROTORUA and have done for almost 4 years and LOVE IT.

The smell is piped in especially for the tourists to keep the tourist eccomomy going (locals can't smell the suphur)

It is a great place, with affordable housing, great free activities, loads of amenities, accessible to loads of places, has it's own airport, what more can I tell you? The library in town is very well stocked. I usually spot books I like to read in airports, write down the title, then once home log on to the library website and reserve the book. You are nobody unless you have a library card - gives you free access to the museum as a local too.

I LOVE ROTORUA !!!

We even have a settlement officer at the local council to help new comers.

You can live relatively cheaply in ROTORUA.
What is the job you have been offered?

Any specific questions just ask.
Gill

cherry

[QUOTE=RobClubley;4482445]

It's a fascinating area with the thermal activity and there is loads to do there, especially if you're a tourist. The trips and activities are the sort of thing that I suspect would be an expensive luxury if you were living there. Then again you can probably do most of them very cheaply or for free under your own steam.




QUOTE]
thats a corker there Rob the last 4 words
"Under your OWN STEAM"
now in a geothermal area of sulphur springs would it !ADD" to the "EGGY" smell

Never been there yet but may do a side trip from Taupo one day

RobClubley

[QUOTE=cherry;4483218] That wasn't deliberate either - doh!!

Jasmic

Thanks - fingers crossed , bit worried about the cold houses though, anyone in Rotorua know any good heating/insulation/double glazing firms or is that level of hope pushing it a bit