nice small town to base ourselves

amy85

Hello. My sister and i are coming to NZ in June on a WHV. We are flying into Auckland. We are hoping to stay maybe 2 nights there and then move off to another town. We dont have any jobs lined up as of yet, we are still looking online and have applied to the ski resorts. Obviuosly if we get a job in the ski resort this will determine where we stay.

But if we don't i was just wondering what might be a nice town to base ourselves in. We are going to stay in the North island first i think.
We have both been to NZ a few years ago and loved it. Spent most time in South island if i remember correct. We visited a good few places in the North too. All i know is, i don't want to base myself in Auckland or Wellington. We were hoping to maybe base ourselves in one of the more rural/smaller towns,like Turanga or Taupo,something like that.

We just cant narrow down our search. I know the job prospects wont be as good as in the bigger cities,but i have no major qualifications, so i might as well be working in a cafe in a smaller town,than large city!
If anyone could maybe suggest some towns that they think could be nice to start off in, it would be helpful.
Thanks very much
Amy

mickyboy

Personally I would recommend Mt Maunganui/Tauranga, Paihia or Napier. Although arriving in June these towns will be relatively quiet. I would also consider the top of the south island somewhere like Nelson. These towns are thriving during the NZ summer with fruit picking/vineyards also an option. Trademe and gumtree are good websites for picking up casual/seasonal work.

9seamie

Hi there
I cant tell u from experience but we are going to Gisborne next week. Small city/town north east north island.From what ive been told very nice warm climate year round, cafe/catering work available,a friend of mine is there for last 2 months but in NZ for 3 years he highly reccomends it.
food for thought hope it helps
best of luck with everything

amy85

Thanks so much for both replies. I will check both of them out. I never went to Gisborne when i visited NZ before but its somewhere to consider. Is it a WHV that you are going out on 9seamie?

mickyboy

Hi folks,

I didn't make it to Gisborne on my travels but it was recommended to me by a few friends who made the annual pilgrimage to the Rhythm and Vines festival. They kept going on about the beautiful beaches and surfing spots. It is rather isolated from the big cities but I think it this could be an advantage for the OP. I would leave a post on the Irish people living in NZ facebook page to see if there are any Irish living in Gisborne that can help you with info https://www.facebook.com/irishpeoplelivinginnewzealand?fref=ts

9seamie

im afraid we re over the 30 mark so no whv. I got an essential skills visa but only cos i got a job offer, if you dont want the city lights id say Gisborne will be a good spot,Napier n Hastings are bigger cities only 2/3 hours away if u need a bit of city life.

Cookie_Monster

New Plymouth, recognised as one of the most liveable places in the world, big enough to have one of everything, small enough to drive anywhere within 5 mins, walk from most places. Has amazing surf, great for cycling, lots of nice cafes, plenty of cultural stuff, amazing city park, bit short on night life. A bit remote from the rest of the island though, it takes 3 hours to get to the likes of Hamilton and Palmy, longer to Auk & Welli

That said I'm biased

amy85

Hi cookie monster. Its interesting that you mentioned New Plymouth. It was somewhere that i heard mentioned a few times and had been looking it up as well. It looks like a lovely little town so it does. Looks really scenic around it and all that. It is easy to get a lot of flat/apartments shares in these smaller towns? I am travelling out with my sister and we would be hoping to maybe rent in a large apt/house with some other flat mates!

Any idea what sort of rent you could be looking at on a monthly basis. Currently i pay 400euro a month back in Ireland for double room with ensuite in 2 bed apt. That's roughly the same as about 615NZD. Is it likely that i would get something similar out there? Doesn't matter about having an ensuite. That was just a bonus where i live at the moment.

Sorry now going a bit of topic!

Calgary22

New plymouth just looks amazing so does new zealand in general i wonder am i making a big mistake going to the oil sands of alberta,canada to follow the coin instead of following my heart and going somewhere with a better lifestyle.

Amy i will be following your process please keep us updated:D

Mrs OBumble

I'm not sure that there would be many jobs going in Gisborne ....

Cookie_Monster

amy85 wrote: »

Hi cookie monster. Its interesting that you mentioned New Plymouth. It was somewhere that i heard mentioned a few times and had been looking it up as well. It looks like a lovely little town so it does. Looks really scenic around it and all that. It is easy to get a lot of flat/apartments shares in these smaller towns? I am travelling out with my sister and we would be hoping to maybe rent in a large apt/house with some other flat mates!

Any idea what sort of rent you could be looking at on a monthly basis. Currently i pay 400euro a month back in Ireland for double room with ensuite in 2 bed apt. That's roughly the same as about 615NZD. Is it likely that i would get something similar out there? Doesn't matter about having an ensuite. That was just a bonus where i live at the moment.

Sorry now going a bit of topic!

We rent a 3 bed house for 400 NZD a week. if sharing you'll do far better than that though. 100-130 a week for a room in a nice shared house? that's about 65-85 eur a week. always done weekly rather than monthly in my experience.
have a look at the towns / regions you want here for rentals: http://www.trademe.co.nz/property?cid=4233

Cookie_Monster

Calgary22 wrote: »

New plymouth just looks amazing so does new zealand in general i wonder am i making a big mistake going to the oil sands of alberta,canada to follow the coin instead of following my heart and going somewhere with a better lifestyle.

Aus is the same in oil and gas, money easily 2.5-3 times better (than NZ) but in general you are stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Calgary22

god i was at a jobs expo for canada and there crying out for spark's the rate is 50 dollers and hour could i really make twice that an hour in oz?:o