busterjaques

afternoon everyone, just asking for some more info on south island; I:E weather ,bars(most important) houses , well most things in genral. your info would be most helpful .am probablely thinking of the greymouth area. cheers .

Sally1

I drove through Greymouth when touring both islands in Jan. The answer is in the first part of the pace name....grey! I loved all parts of NZ, we stayed in a place called Hokitika further south than Greymouth. That side of the coast is much wetter, having the most rainful and was cold and miserable when we were there in their summer. Don't think it is the best place to be if you want nightlife and bars, very remote "drive through" towns with a few places scattered either side of the road. That whole coast is quite remote.

busterjaques

cheers pompeymike. am just sounding out several areas in nz. have applied to solid energy in the coal mining, and there were two post at greymouth,spring creek.Have also appiled at hunly too.

southerner

There was a news item last night on tele about Greymouth's coal industry. It is projected to grow from 2m tonnes per year to 5m.

Also, there was a documentary awhile back about Yorkshire lads migrating in mass to the West Coast mines. They were all from long-time mining families and seemed over the moon to get good work in a place as scenically special as the 'coast'. There were comments about the remoteness of the place, but nothing too bad it seems.

There are mines/pits in Southland near Invercargill too, and a big open cast (and shafts) gold mine at Macraes about 50min from Dunedin. www.oceanagold.com

busterjaques

Thanks for info southerner: Am in west yorkshire at the moment , alittle place called rothwell. am just sounding the place out. My partner is a social worker and has heard from several colleges that theres a shortage of social workers. So if i could get a job coal mining ,and her a post we have thought about moving over. . would miss leeds utd even if were having problems at the moment(HA HA HA HA).

busterjaques

good one pompeymike. am LOL here back in yorkshire we need a a sense of humour after the result the other day. lost againest sheff utd 4:0

garrisondamn

Come to Nelson, the sunniest place in NZ!
Go onto www.yahoo.co.nz and put in Nelson on the search, lots of sites, photos, info, job pages etc.

Greymouth is wet and boring, you really don't want to go there

shepslady

Greymouth is an ok place but somewhat quiet lifestyle. If your after a night life & a place with lots of good bars & clubs etc you will have to look at going to a city. The weather in Greymouth also leaves a lot to be desired as its often wet, even in the summer months & they do have the occassional problem with flooding to consider too. Of course when it is decent outside it goes from one extreme to the other.

Roger

Never been to Greymouth, but it must be an improvement on Huntley which is a real dive.

Best advice is investing in a couple of airline tickets and a months leave and sussing it out for yourself and meet potential employers.
Roger

tallyrand

Hi everyone
Originally from Plymouth, and after training at Plymouth CFE and then many years travelling and working around the world as a chef, I now live in NZ and indeed in Greymouth!

OK, I admit it is not the Carribean, Bermuda or many of the other sunny places I have worked and lived in....but then one cannot live in a luscious green bushland area without some rain. But in general the weather is far better than the UK

Lifestyle? Well I have wonderful ocean views and being on the west coast this means sunsets over the sea horizon, luscious bushland and the house (7 yrs old) on 1/2 acre cost me less than 50,000 sterling!

I have a 5 minute drive to work (we have a rush minute on the roads rather than a rush hour!) and when I drive out of my double garage I leave the door open and all my tools etc are still there when I get home

I am 3 minutes from the sea, 45 minutes from a ski field and alpine region, 2 hours from a glacier and a magnificent coastal drive to some excellant other beaches and scenery you all saw in Lord of the Rings

Nightlife etc....well its no Soho, but there are some great bars, local bands etc (and we all know how great NZ bands are....Shiha, Crowded House, Bic Runga etc etc) and if your into karaoke a great place called 'The West end' , a fabulous Tex Mex restaurant: 'West of the Border' and as of this Monday a #1 radio station called 'The Jade' www.thejade.co.nz ...... OK slight plug there cos I am part owner of them and also of www.letz.co.nz . But for those of you that are thinking of coming this way, and least you now 'know' there will be a friendly welcome, face and another pom here in Greymouth. Feel free to email me, if you want to know more about the area or NZ in general....and if you do get here the first beer is on me!

On 'The Jade's website you will find lots of shots of the scenery I mentioned above...so it will give you some idea of why I came here and stayed. Oh and its only less than a 3 hour drive or 30 minute flight to Christchurch, when you need to really hit the night club scene....and trust me we do that approx. once a month, its no biggie.

So.....personally I think its a great way of life here, great place for bringing up kids, wonderful lifestyle, low unemployment, cheap housing and quite frankly a jewel hidden from the world ... schools are ok and one of the best tertiary education establishments in the country www.tpp.ac.nz (just hope we don't get too invaded now!)

NZ and Greymouth rocks!!!

Biddy

Good for you Tally - sounds really really nice - great news that you've settled in so well.
Biddy