lizard

Hi everyone, We are moving to Whakatane june 29th. It would be nice to hear anybodys thoughts on the place and the BOP. What its like to live there etc. We were there in nov 2004. It seems nice enough. We will also be bringing a dog Mitch ( our beautiful Labrador). Still worried about temporary accomadation though, more difficult to find with a dog. My wife starts work at the Whakatane hospital in July. Anybody work there? whats it like? It would be good to have some feed back

Sega Mad

Hi

The Bay of Plenty sure looks wonderful to me.

We intend going there but not until next year. Good luck!! You are to be envied

Fergus McAlistair VII

lizard

Thanks Sega, We are getting a little bit nervous now, but also excited

deewee

Great place to be - came in January - feel like we have lived here years, an easy place to settle into. My husband works at the hospital and is happy there. Good micro climate of it own - misses a lot of rain, although not the last two days. We like the size and feel of the place but it depends on where you come from in the UK. We are in Ohope 10 mins from town and right on the beach - its lovely.

lizard

Hi Deewee, that sounds great. We come from a small village in Nottinghamshire next door to Sherwood Forest. The beach life really appeals to us as well

deewee

We came from a small Bedfordhire village and Ohope has a similiar feel to it with the convenience of a large town being 10mins away and beach - well Ohope has one of the best in NZ. Ohope is more expensive but you pay for the lifestyle and when you drive down the hill into Ohope and see the view - its priceless.
We are just over an hour from Tauranga, 1 hour to Rotorua- have an airport and are at least 3-4 hours from Auckland thankfully.

lizard

What are the people like? I have read a few negative reports on here. When we were last there everyone we met was really friendly. Do you know of any dodgy areas? Whats the nightlife like pubs/ restaurants etc. Sorry lots of questions

deewee

People are fine - friendly and nothing negative about them. Does not appear to be any dodgy areas that we have seen but there rough parts in Whakatane as in any town. There are a couple of areas you may choose not to live in (west of town near the river I think) which does has some undesirable behaviour and crime apparently. There is not and probably never will be any rough areas in Ohope, its wall to wall paradise!
Nightlife is OK, lots of restaurant -chinese, indian, thai, european etc. Several bars, cinema etc. But like most of rural NZ its not a late night party type of place. You will get a better idea when you are here but I dont think you will regret the move to Whakatane unless you have family you will badly miss - we don' t and found the move worth every bit of effort - we are definately staying put here.
Have been away most weekends to other parts of the north island and always wonder why as its never as nice as here. There is loads to do here -and it is Bay of Plenty's undiscovered gem and I hope it stays that way.

Sega Mad

The people will be fine (there are far too many cathodes on the forum)

Just look at what youare leaving behind!

Here are a group of MP's leaving the house after a hard day's exterminating

lizard

Thanks Deewee, thats really helpful

scottish

Whakatane is a lovely place - quiet and laid back is how i would describle it. Dont worry about getting a rental with a dog. We brought our dog over and had no probs at all. One tip I would give you is offer another weeks bond on the rental and have added to the tenancy agreement that you will clean the carpets when you terminate the tenancy and any damage done by the dog will be repaired at your expense. A landlord can only charge by law 4 weeks bond, so offer them that.

Lived in the BOP for nearly a year and can highly recommend it.

Good luck
x

lizard

Cheers Scottish that is really helpful

scottish

Lizard, also try this site for a holday let, some take dogs, until you get a rental sorted www.holidayhomes.co.nz

xx

scottish

Just heard from my friend in Papamoa about all the flooding. Hope everything oks where you are.

lizard

I have just found the web site for Whakatane local radio ( 1 XX) it it reports alot of burglaries, car crime and teenager problems. I wondered how it affects you guys there. Have you noticed alot of anti social behaviour, crime etc. I know we have crime here in England too, but if you take sensible precautions it rarely affects you. Can you let me know how you guys see it.