# Anyone in Hamilton??



## Andrew Family

We are hoping to move over in October and wondered if anyone on this webste lives in or around Hamilton. We will be living in Ngaruawahia (hope I have spelt it right). The Andrew family consists of myself, Nick, my husband, Millie (5), Morgan (3), Jasper our black labrador and Moses our cat. We are debating about bringing our cat as we have heard that cats are not well received in NZ but our current plan is that he is coming as he is 11 years old and we feel bad about leaving him. It would be nice to hear from anyone who lives in or around the area for an update on what it is like and what to expect.

Take care and thanks

Dawn


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## p&b

*RE: Hamilton & Ngaruawahia*



Andrew Family said:


> We are hoping to move over in October and wondered if anyone on this webste lives in or around Hamilton. We will be living in Ngaruawahia (hope I have spelt it right). The Andrew family consists of myself, Nick, my husband, Millie (5), Morgan (3), Jasper our black labrador and Moses our cat. We are debating about bringing our cat as we have heard that cats are not well received in NZ but our current plan is that he is coming as he is 11 years old and we feel bad about leaving him. It would be nice to hear from anyone who lives in or around the area for an update on what it is like and what to expect.
> 
> Take care and thanks
> 
> Dawn


Hi Andrew family, I am married to a Hamiltonian and we have recently moved here for a year for her to study @ Uni of Waikato. In general the Waikato is very scenic and agricultural. The thing I like the most is the location of Hamilton/N-wahia, it is very close to both coasts and Auckland (largest city). Ngaruawahia suffers from somewhat of a reputation for crime but I cannot comment personally. It is very close to Hamilton at 12km's and is a center of Maori culture. The climate is temperate with moist mornings and often fog (from the Waikato river) in Winter and warm summers that are best spent at any beach on the Coromandel Peninsula (search wikipedia for more).

Best of luck with your move! Post again if you have more q's  

Phil


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## H4NA

Hi,
Hamilton is a really nice city, good for shops, bars and restauarants. The best thing about living around here is it is very central to most things, Raglan (the beach) is about 45 minutes away, Auckland 2 hours away, Taupo and hour and half. There is so much to do and see and costs very little to do this, unlike in the UK.
As p&b said Ngaruawahia does have a reputation for crime, but the saying goes here 'people don't tend to **** in there own back yards' so hopefully this applys for you guys!! 
The weather is just starting to warm up after a cold winter (nothing like the UK blizzards and snow though) and a rainy start to August, the past week has been around 17, which has been lovely!!
I wouldn't hesitate about bringing over your cat, there does seem to be a good population of cats here in the waikato and the SPCA is always looking to rehome several. I'm sure he'll love it over here and settle in.
Good luck with your move over here, best thing I ever did and i've not looked back since!!


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## Leighr

*Meeow*



Andrew Family said:


> We are hoping to move over in October and wondered if anyone on this webste lives in or around Hamilton. We will be living in Ngaruawahia (hope I have spelt it right). The Andrew family consists of myself, Nick, my husband, Millie (5), Morgan (3), Jasper our black labrador and Moses our cat. We are debating about bringing our cat as we have heard that cats are not well received in NZ but our current plan is that he is coming as he is 11 years old and we feel bad about leaving him. It would be nice to hear from anyone who lives in or around the area for an update on what it is like and what to expect.
> 
> Take care and thanks
> 
> Dawn


October's a nice time to arrive, the temperature really starts ramping up. We've had a wet winter, but even so you get some nice days of 15 - 17 degrees. 
After a year in Rototuna, my wife and I now live in Ohaupo, that's the other side of Hamilton from Ngaruawahia. Very rural.
Cats are ok here, there are at least 10 around us! We just got a kitten, Oscar, 2 months ago.
Hope your journey all goes smoothly.

Leigh


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## Livingthelife

Hey there 
Stumbled across this site by accident, lovely to see some English people around the place. I married a kiwi many years ago, but would really enjoy swapping life experiences and the journey of imigration etc. We are in Hamilton near Rototuna, moved here about 18 months ago!


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## topcat83

Livingthelife said:


> Hey there
> Stumbled across this site by accident, lovely to see some English people around the place. I married a kiwi many years ago, but would really enjoy swapping life experiences and the journey of imigration etc. We are in Hamilton near Rototuna, moved here about 18 months ago!


Welcome to the Forum! We've been to Hamilton a few times, and love it there! No sea views but the river more than makes up for it. Reminds me of Henley on Thames a bit... and I love Hamilton Gardens.


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## Livingthelife

Hi top Cat

Nice to hear from you, thanks for the welcome, I can see now I popped into the wrong place to say hi, I`ll remedy that later 
Yes we love Hamilton, I was originally from the South Coast in UK and enjoyed being by the sea, but don`t miss it, there is plenty to do here, and handy for our teenagers, they all have jobs locally. Yip! Love the gardens, best in NZ for sure


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## Leighr

Livingthelife said:


> Hey there
> Stumbled across this site by accident, lovely to see some English people around the place. I married a kiwi many years ago, but would really enjoy swapping life experiences and the journey of imigration etc. We are in Hamilton near Rototuna, moved here about 18 months ago!


Hi we emigrated from northwest England 4 years ago to Hamilton. We lived in rototuna for a year and then moved out in the country. Great place to live!


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## Livingthelife

Leighr said:


> Hi we emigrated from northwest England 4 years ago to Hamilton. We lived in rototuna for a year and then moved out in the country. Great place to live!


Hi Leigh

Nice to hear from you, I am originally from the South Coast of UK, and I wish I had a facility like this when I first emigrated, I had to do the hard yards!
Although I married a kiwi, we were farming so moved around a bit. I enjoyed the country too, although the change to being a City Slicker and handy shops and cafes etc has been a welcome change 
Hubby and I work from home/self employed, so don`t get out too much but happy to help any newbies to the Country if we can, or catch up with others about their transitions, still enjoy the Great British culture and sense of humour


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## escapedtonz

Hi,

I do get to Hamilton occasionally as my employer has another office out towards the airport so have to attend sometimes for training courses or the odd shift run even though I'm based in Wellington.
I'm up there again for a week mid May.
Employer has a couple of apartments in the city so accommodation always sorted and just round the corner from a great Irish pub 

I've actually put in for a transfer to the Hamilton office - just seems life is easier further north, way more opportunities and amenities, even more laid back, cheaper cost of living, cheaper rent, cheaper house prices, better weather, better beaches etc etc than here in Wellington.
Probably wouldn't live in or around Hamilton, most likely live in the Bay Of Plenty and commute.
Just hope I get the ok from work one day soon as currently there's no possibilities.

I too am from Northwest England and have been in NZ 13 months now and loving it


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## Livingthelife

escapedtonz said:


> Hi,
> 
> I do get to Hamilton occasionally as my employer has another office out towards the airport so have to attend sometimes for training courses or the odd shift run even though I'm based in Wellington.
> I'm up there again for a week mid May.
> Employer has a couple of apartments in the city so accommodation always sorted and just round the corner from a great Irish pub
> 
> I've actually put in for a transfer to the Hamilton office - just seems life is easier further north, way more opportunities and amenities, even more laid back, cheaper cost of living, cheaper rent, cheaper house prices, better weather, better beaches etc etc than here in Wellington.
> Probably wouldn't live in or around Hamilton, most likely live in the Bay Of Plenty and commute.
> Just hope I get the ok from work one day soon as currently there's no possibilities.
> 
> I too am from Northwest England and have been in NZ 13 months now and loving it


Hi there 
I am enjoying Hamilton, I think there is everything you need here.
The housing prices are starting to rise a bit, but still affordable when you consider what you get for your money in the UK!
Good luck with getting the job, I hope it works out for you, although a trip over the Kaimais daily might prove a bit much after a while, but you are right the BOP has some pretty amazing beaches etc. Finger crossed its a welcome to the Waikato


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## topcat83

escapedtonz said:


> ....I've actually put in for a transfer to the Hamilton office - just seems life is easier further north, way more opportunities and amenities, even more laid back, cheaper cost of living, cheaper rent, cheaper house prices, better weather, better beaches etc etc than here in Wellington.
> Probably wouldn't live in or around Hamilton, most likely live in the Bay Of Plenty and commute....


Hm.... I need to talk to you, fellow moderator. It's a long way from BOP to Hamilton! Looking at Wises, it's 1.5 hours from Tauranga to Hamilton. And Hamilton is lovely! 
If you're set on living on the coast, how about Raglan? It's a lovely little town on the west coast.
Or where we live in Miranda? We have a sea view too. I've actually just applied for a job in Hamilton as it will take me less time to commute there than into Auckland now.


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## Livingthelife

Raglan is`nt too far, I know some of the High School girls get the bus in to Hamilton everyday, it has some quaint charm, and apparently the surfing is great


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## Sasandougjohnston

We loved Hamilton when we visited and Raglan was lovely even popped into bridal falls on the way. Although it looks like my husbands work is mainly round Auckland , takanini .


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## escapedtonz

topcat83 said:


> Hm.... I need to talk to you, fellow moderator. It's a long way from BOP to Hamilton! Looking at Wises, it's 1.5 hours from Tauranga to Hamilton. And Hamilton is lovely!
> If you're set on living on the coast, how about Raglan? It's a lovely little town on the west coast.
> Or where we live in Miranda? We have a sea view too. I've actually just applied for a job in Hamilton as it will take me less time to commute there than into Auckland now.


Ha Ha...Thanks for your concern topcat83, but I have it on good advice that the journey takes no more than 1hr 15 mins from Mount Maunganui.
I have a colleague who works in our Hamilton office and has lived out at the Mount for years.
Luckily due to shift start times I shouldn't ever be driving during the rush hour and the plan is to stay in Hamilton when I'm on the night shifts so I'm never driving home early morning after a night shift.

Ideally we would like to be at the Mount, but in real life it would just be way too busy living there with the tourists and tourist traffic during summer etc.
The compromise is that we want to be living within 30 minutes of the Mount, but for the time being, whilst our little one is growing up we need to be living in a decent sized town/city so have kind of decided on Tauranga and maybe Bethlehem.
Don't want to be on the West coast so that rules Raglan out and we don't want to be anywhere small village as our son grows up so it looks like our only alternative is the area we have picked.
May take a while to get the ok from work, so anything can happen in the meantime.


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## topcat83

escapedtonz said:


> Ha Ha...Thanks for your concern topcat83, but I have it on good advice that the journey takes no more than 1hr 15 mins from Mount Maunganui.
> I have a colleague who works in our Hamilton office and has lived out at the Mount for years.
> Luckily due to shift start times I shouldn't ever be driving during the rush hour and the plan is to stay in Hamilton when I'm on the night shifts so I'm never driving home early morning after a night shift.
> 
> Ideally we would like to be at the Mount, but in real life it would just be way too busy living there with the tourists and tourist traffic during summer etc.
> The compromise is that we want to be living within 30 minutes of the Mount, but for the time being, whilst our little one is growing up we need to be living in a decent sized town/city so have kind of decided on Tauranga and maybe Bethlehem.
> Don't want to be on the West coast so that rules Raglan out and we don't want to be anywhere small village as our son grows up so it looks like our only alternative is the area we have picked.
> May take a while to get the ok from work, so anything can happen in the meantime.


Have you been to The Mount? I say this, because of all the places in New Zealand (with the possible exception of Huntly) it's one of the last places I'd choose to live! I say this with some experience, as my cousin used to have a motel there. It is one of the most crowded peninsulas of land in NZ. Full of motels and apartments, and very busy in the summer. I would check it out really well before you buy there. Maybe rent for a bit. Bethlehem would be a better option for me in any scenario. 

Even better (IMHO), with a job in Hamilton, I'd be looking at Cambridge. It's a lovely little town - certainly not 'small village' any more than Bethlehem is. 

I suppose I'm saying don't just assume that Tauranga is the only place that will give you what you want until you've seen elsewhere. Yes, Tauranga is lovely - but there are other places that will be closer to Hamilton that will give you just the same facilities and lovely places to live. 

Just my advice - why travel for longer than necessary? (says she who regularly travels for 1.5 hours into Auckland and is contemplating an hour's commute into Hamilton every day! )


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## escapedtonz

topcat83 said:


> Have you been to The Mount? I say this, because of all the places in New Zealand (with the possible exception of Huntly) it's one of the last places I'd choose to live! I say this with some experience, as my cousin used to have a motel there. It is one of the most crowded peninsulas of land in NZ. Full of motels and apartments, and very busy in the summer. I would check it out really well before you buy there. Maybe rent for a bit. Bethlehem would be a better option for me in any scenario.
> 
> Even better (IMHO), with a job in Hamilton, I'd be looking at Cambridge. It's a lovely little town - certainly not 'small village' any more than Bethlehem is.
> 
> I suppose I'm saying don't just assume that Tauranga is the only place that will give you what you want until you've seen elsewhere. Yes, Tauranga is lovely - but there are other places that will be closer to Hamilton that will give you just the same facilities and lovely places to live.
> 
> Just my advice - why travel for longer than necessary? (says she who regularly travels for 1.5 hours into Auckland and is contemplating an hours commute into Hamilton every day! )


Hi,
Yes we've been to the Mount a few times and love it for the beach lifestyle, but as I said we wouldn't live there as it is too busy a place in the summer to be a resident of the town.
We just want to be close enough to jump in the car and be on the beach within a half hour.
It's exactly the kind of place we always imagined we would be living near whilst back in the UK.

We've done our homework and have assistance from my colleague and we've ruled out anywhere further East of Bethlehem as it increases my commute too much and the bridge over into the peninsula could cause me issues with traffic.

Yes we know Cambridge and yes it's a nice village but too remote for the wife and too far away from the East coast which we want to be near. Same applies for Matamata and Morrinsville.

Long way to go yet before it even becomes a possibility so no use worrying about it yet.
Could take 2 years before I get the ok from work.

Cheers


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## Livingthelife

escapedtonz said:


> Hi,
> Yes we've been to the Mount a few times and love it for the beach lifestyle, but as I said we wouldn't live there as it is too busy a place in the summer to be a resident of the town.
> We just want to be close enough to jump in the car and be on the beach within a half hour.
> It's exactly the kind of place we always imagined we would be living near whilst back in the UK.
> 
> We've done our homework and have assistance from my colleague and we've ruled out anywhere further East of Bethlehem as it increases my commute too much and the bridge over into the peninsula could cause me issues with traffic.
> 
> Yes we know Cambridge and yes it's a nice village but too remote for the wife and too far away from the East coast which we want to be near. Same applies for Matamata and Morrinsville.
> 
> Long way to go yet before it even becomes a possibility so no use worrying about it yet.
> Could take 2 years before I get the ok from work.
> 
> Cheers


Hi there

Interesting little topic as we went through the Hamilton v Mount dilemma.

Actually I love the hustle bustle of the Mount in summer (except for New Years eve!), I find it atmospheric, and we go every so often, I can totally see why you are drawn to the area, I personally think its the best holiday destination in NZ.

For us, we were outpriced at the Mount for what we wanted, and I preferred Hamilton to Tauranga as a City, more central and better facilites...If we had to get in the car to go to the beach, then we may as well have stayed in Hamilton. The other factor for us was the road over, in the winter it can be a bit hazardous with black ice etc.

My opinion anyways, I do like to get my pennyworth in ha ha


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## RichardNZ

Livingthelife said:


> Hi there
> 
> Interesting little topic as we went through the Hamilton v Mount dilemma.
> 
> Actually I love the hustle bustle of the Mount in summer (except for New Years eve!), I find it atmospheric, and we go every so often, I can totally see why you are drawn to the area, I personally think its the best holiday destination in NZ.
> 
> For us, we were outpriced at the Mount for what we wanted, and I preferred Hamilton to Tauranga as a City, more central and better facilites...If we had to get in the car to go to the beach, then we may as well have stayed in Hamilton. The other factor for us was the road over, in the winter it can be a bit hazardous with black ice etc.
> 
> My opinion anyways, I do like to get my pennyworth in ha ha


Hi there

I'm not sure I am allowed to comment on this site as I am not an expat (rather, I'm second-generation kiwi), however I thought I would provide a few comments to the readers.

I have lived in Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga.

I am currently living in Hamilton and I will not be moving again. My family and I just love it here. Beautiful city.

For a city of only 200,000+ people, Hamilton is very vibrant. It has great shopping, an unbelievable restaurant/cafe/bar scene, the river walks and gardens are stunning, excellent motorway systems, affordable housing in nice locations, it is extremely central (cheap international flights from Auckland Airport are only 1 hour or so away) and best of all it is growing fast (Stats NZ placed it growing as fast as Auckland %'wise last year). 

Another forum, SkyscraperCity Hamilton Projects NZ (google it and have a look through the pages) tracks building and development in New Zealand (and its cities). $20 million of building consents are issued in Hamilton every week ($1+ Billion every year). Outside of Auckland and Christchurch, there wouldn't be a city in New Zealand that would be coming close to that. If you flick through previous pages of that forum you will see just how much is going on in the city just in the last year. The upshot of all of this is Hamilton is set to continue developing, with strong housing and employment markets. Hamilton's employment market would be at least twice the size of Tauranga's, and at the senior management level, there would definitely be far more $100,000+ jobs in Hamilton than Tauranga. I work in the ITC industry, and the city has a real buzz in that area and a strong job market.

I would also say that Hamilton feels more like a city than Tauranga, although I also love Tauranga and travel there all the time (about 1 hour 10 mins travel time). Great place, very relaxing atmosphere there.

Overall my family and I love living in Hamilton, we love how it is growing and developing and just its beauty.

Hope this helps.


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## topcat83

RichardNZ said:


> ...I'm not sure I am allowed to comment on this site as I am not an expat (rather, I'm second-generation kiwi), however I thought I would provide a few comments to the readers....


Of course you are! And welcome to the Forum.



> I have lived in Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga.
> 
> I am currently living in Hamilton and I will not be moving again. My family and I just love it here. Beautiful city.
> 
> For a city of only 200,000+ people, Hamilton is very vibrant. It has great shopping, an unbelievable restaurant/cafe/bar scene, the river walks and gardens are stunning, excellent motorway systems, affordable housing in nice locations, it is extremely central (cheap international flights from Auckland Airport are only 1 hour or so away) and best of all it is growing fast (Stats NZ placed it growing as fast as Auckland %'wise last year).
> 
> Another forum, SkyscraperCity Hamilton Projects NZ (google it and have a look through the pages) tracks building and development in New Zealand (and its cities). $20 million of building consents are issued in Hamilton every week ($1+ Billion every year). Outside of Auckland and Christchurch, there wouldn't be a city in New Zealand that would be coming close to that. If you flick through previous pages of that forum you will see just how much is going on in the city just in the last year. The upshot of all of this is Hamilton is set to continue developing, with strong housing and employment markets. Hamilton's employment market would be at least twice the size of Tauranga's, and at the senior management level, there would definitely be far more $100,000+ jobs in Hamilton than Tauranga. I work in the ITC industry, and the city has a real buzz in that area and a strong job market.
> 
> I would also say that Hamilton feels more like a city than Tauranga, although I also love Tauranga and travel there all the time (about 1 hour 10 mins travel time). Great place, very relaxing atmosphere there.
> 
> Overall my family and I love living in Hamilton, we love how it is growing and developing and just its beauty.
> 
> Hope this helps.


A great and informative post - thank you. I doubt that too many expats have lived in all three


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## escapedtonz

Livingthelife said:


> Hi there
> 
> Interesting little topic as we went through the Hamilton v Mount dilemma.
> 
> Actually I love the hustle bustle of the Mount in summer (except for New Years eve!), I find it atmospheric, and we go every so often, I can totally see why you are drawn to the area, I personally think its the best holiday destination in NZ.
> 
> For us, we were outpriced at the Mount for what we wanted, and I preferred Hamilton to Tauranga as a City, more central and better facilites...If we had to get in the car to go to the beach, then we may as well have stayed in Hamilton. The other factor for us was the road over, in the winter it can be a bit hazardous with black ice etc.
> 
> My opinion anyways, I do like to get my pennyworth in ha ha


Hey Livingthelife,

Totally agree with what you say about Mount Maunganui. We just love everything about the resort. It is just so energising with fantastic beaches, the walk around and up the mount, the sea life, excellent cafe scene and shopping good, with Tauranga very close.
We are completely drawn to the area. 
Visited again in January with some family and good friends and it seems we've convinced our friends it is the place to be so they're interested in emigrating there in the next couple of years which will be excellent 

Putting the issue with tourists and traffic aside, the house prices at the Mount for what you get are just way overpriced and you rarely find any property with a decent garden so thats another reson why we wouldn't live out on the peninsula.

Living in the Tauranga area and commuting over the Kaimi's a few times a week does pose a risk during the winter months with black ice etc but then again I've been well used to it in the past living in the UK so nothing new.
I'd mitigate the risks as much as possible by sharing the commute with my colleague, staying overnight in Hamilton during the night shifts and getting a car with 4 wheel drive again for the blast over the Kaimi's.

Cheers


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## escapedtonz

RichardNZ said:


> Hi there
> 
> I'm not sure I am allowed to comment on this site as I am not an expat (rather, I'm second-generation kiwi), however I thought I would provide a few comments to the readers.
> 
> I have lived in Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga.
> 
> I am currently living in Hamilton and I will not be moving again. My family and I just love it here. Beautiful city.
> 
> For a city of only 200,000+ people, Hamilton is very vibrant. It has great shopping, an unbelievable restaurant/cafe/bar scene, the river walks and gardens are stunning, excellent motorway systems, affordable housing in nice locations, it is extremely central (cheap international flights from Auckland Airport are only 1 hour or so away) and best of all it is growing fast (Stats NZ placed it growing as fast as Auckland %'wise last year).
> 
> Another forum, SkyscraperCity Hamilton Projects NZ (google it and have a look through the pages) tracks building and development in New Zealand (and its cities). $20 million of building consents are issued in Hamilton every week ($1+ Billion every year). Outside of Auckland and Christchurch, there wouldn't be a city in New Zealand that would be coming close to that. If you flick through previous pages of that forum you will see just how much is going on in the city just in the last year. The upshot of all of this is Hamilton is set to continue developing, with strong housing and employment markets. Hamilton's employment market would be at least twice the size of Tauranga's, and at the senior management level, there would definitely be far more $100,000+ jobs in Hamilton than Tauranga. I work in the ITC industry, and the city has a real buzz in that area and a strong job market.
> 
> I would also say that Hamilton feels more like a city than Tauranga, although I also love Tauranga and travel there all the time (about 1 hour 10 mins travel time). Great place, very relaxing atmosphere there.
> 
> Overall my family and I love living in Hamilton, we love how it is growing and developing and just its beauty.
> 
> Hope this helps.


Thanks for your response.
Great to have the opinions of someone who has lived around the area.

I quite like Hamilton, but being a man I'm easily pleased and comfortable settling anywhere as long as I have the family with me 

Unfortunately my lady wife - bless her cotton socks, isn't as easy to please 

She doesn't like Hamilton as much as Wellington and doesn't feel as safe in the city as she does when she's walking around Wellington.
She likes the surrounding areas of Hamilton but would rather live closer to the northern coast over living in Hamilton even though it means I have to commute to work.
Since she will be the one spending a lot more time at home with our little one and working part time in the future it's more important for us that she is happy where she is living and happy that wherever we choose to live fulfills the demands of us as a family and more importantly our son as he grows up.
We both think Tauranga and the Bay Of Plenty offers more than Hamilton in theis respect but it's only our opinion.
Maybe this will change after we have spent more time in both places - who knows ?
Only time will tell


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