# Moving to Tauranga



## escapedtonz

Woohoo!!!

Very good news from my manager yesterday. The office transfer request that I submitted this time last year has been accepted and I can move to our Hamilton office.
Woohoo!!!
Did I already say that ?
Woohoo again anyway.

Manager will let me know a date from when I can transfer in approx 1 month when they've gone through the work roster.
I'm expecting this to be from around April, but ideally we'd like to hold off until the Spring.
Gonna be living near the Mount in 2014


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## inhamilton

Congrats.  But are you sure you want to work in Hamilton and live at The Mount? That's about a 2 hour drive each way. Or have you been transferred to the Tauranga office?


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## escapedtonz

inhamilton said:


> Congrats.  But are you sure you want to work in Hamilton and live at The Mount? That's about a 2 hour drive each way. Or have you been transferred to the Tauranga office?


Yeah I'm sure 
I work shifts so won't ever be stuck in traffic as the shift times mean I'm never travelling at peak time.:car:
A colleague already lives at the mount and his drive is 1hr 15mins/1hr 20mins, but I won't be doing it that often as we're gonna buy an investment property in Hamilton city or surrounds and a main home somewhere near the Mount or Tauranga.
With the investment property I'll be staying in Hamilton whilst on shift for 2 days then coming home 24hrs before returning back for my nights and staying over again.
Rent out the other room to a colleague who does the same.
In the future I'll probably sell the investment property (hopefully for a profit) and then make a joint purchase on another one with a colleague who will be in the same boat.
It's an ongoing plan that's starting to fall into place :fingerscrossed:


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## inhamilton

Great stuff. I'm a little envious. Mount Maunganui is a beautiful place. I spent many summer holidays at Golden Grove camp on Girven Road (same road as Bayfair) as a teenager. And you're right, on reflection. The travel time is much closer to 1 hr 20. Although I think if I was doing the trip twice a day, the trip over the Kaimais would get to me. But sounds like you have it all sorted.


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## lancekdavenport

congrats


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## escapedtonz

So....
Little bit of an update.
I'm gonna be placed on the shift roster for Hamilton mid December this year so we are aiming to be living in the Bay Of Plenty by the end of November which ties in nicely with our current rental contract and the wife's job etc.

Just at the end of a week long recce and holiday in Tauranga going through a long list of neighbourhoods that we fancied and have whittled the list down to just two with one of them coming out in top after spending a day at them both.
So it looks like Papamoa has won us over. 
We've spent today looking at the 4 Primary schools in the area and deciding which one we would like our boy to attend and doing this has given us the zone we have to be living in to automatically become eligible for that school.

Now all we have to do is sell up in the UK and find a house in the school zone in Papamoa - all in 9 months.

Thinking we'll need a coupe more trips up North yet.


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## escapedtonz

Ok. The story so far..... 

Another 6 months further down the track of moving to Tauranga now.
All my work shifts are virtually set in stone. My last shift in Wellington will be on the 2nd November and my first shift in Hamilton on the 18th December - 6 weeks off woo hoo!!!
Planning to have the Wellington removals in on the 5th November and have the stuff delivered on the 7th November in Tauranga.
Mrs has handed in her resignation and finishes on the 31st October.

Not yet found a house rental in Bethlehem where we wanna live!!! Proving to be a tad more difficult than we thought. Just not a lot of them on the market. Tried the usual TradeMe and other sites but just keep drawing a blank. Only 6 in total tonight and all but one aren't suitable. Unfortunately we also can't do anything till we're up there in person as agents just don't take you seriously.
We have a trip booked up in Tauranga for mid September specifically to have a look at rentals, parks for the children, kindergardens, schools plus heaps of other stuff.
Hopefully we'll be able to secure a rental in that time ?

Was concerned how i was gonna get the motorbike up there given that I also need to drive a car up North but that issue has been resolved now as I bought a motorbike trailer the other day so that's one less thing to worry about. A bit drastic spending $750 just to transport the bike up to our new home, but I shouldn't lose any money on the deal as I'll sell the trailer as soon as we get up to Tauranga and doubt I'll lose any of the cash I paid for it. Would like to keep it but my financial manager and good time policewoman says NO! 😄

Also decided to swap my ickle skateboard hatchback for something more substantial, newer, less Km's and safer since I'll be commuting over the Kaimai's regularly. Took advantage of some friends heading back to the UK for good who couldn't sell their car so I've now become the owner of a bargain SUV and the skateboard has gone to a good home in Wellington.

That's about it so far. Really looking forward to being in the BOP. Counting down the days. Just wanna be there living the BOP lifestyle.


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## inhamilton

Sounds good. Just in time for summer!


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## Rosieprimrose

Congrats, awesome place to live and your right about the agents too. Sent about 6 emails to one, wanted to put in an offer (sight unseen) never replied. Sold last week for 15,000 less than we were going to offer, their loss!


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## surejpjohn

Congratulations... Enjoy the summer in beautiful Tauranga....


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## Mark D

Good news. I am going to travel when family come over. Trying to convince them that driving in the Evo is better than flying to Auckland for the week lol. 

People always say oh that's a big move?? Try moving from the uk. This should be a drop in the ocean for you. All the best.


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## JGJC

yeh sound a bit drastic, maybe you should just sell the bike and be done with it??????????


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## escapedtonz

JGJC said:


> yeh sound a bit drastic, maybe you should just sell the bike and be done with it??????????


Ha ha beggar off J & G. Don't you two start I have enough off the Mrs!
Sorry couldn't make it out with you guys yesterday.


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## escapedtonz

Woop woop. Tauranga house rental in the bag!


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## Mark D

Your moving to tauranga to stay in a bag??? Lol


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## escapedtonz

Mark D said:


> Your moving to tauranga to stay in a bag??? Lol


Yeah we got a long term pitch on a camp site for the tent 😄


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## escapedtonz

So ironic that we've both taken time off work (wife's time off for no pay), taken the boy out of kindy which we still have to pay for and are travelling up to Tauranga for a 10 day find a house and find a kindy mission costing us over a grand..............and all before we set off, the house rental is virtually sorted and the kindy is sorted.
Gonna just have to lie on the beach with a beer


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## escapedtonz

Twas the night before a big move to Bethlehem, Tauranga 😆
Removals booked for 08:30 tomorrow and will be moving in Tuesday 11th. Gonna take a load off and take the scenic route through Napier n mountains with an overnight stay on the East Coast.
Excited - Much!!!


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## escapedtonz

Hi,
So, we've nearly been living in the Bay Of Plenty for a month now and loving it.
Just has such a different feel than Wellington.
Less people, less traffic and the weather is way better. Fuel and other cost of living items so much cheaper.
People are also so much friendlier. We hardly ever pass a person on the street that doesn't say hello.
It's grrrrrreat 😊


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## Rosieprimrose

Thats great to hear, so pleased for you!


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## inhamilton

Believe it or not I was in Tauranga today. Good to hear you are settling in to this part of the country.


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## escapedtonz

inhamilton said:


> Believe it or not I was in Tauranga today. Good to hear you are settling in to this part of the country.


We spent the day cycling around the bays of Mt. Maunganui today, meandered around to the parked up Dawn Princess cruise ship. A couple of visits to the beach to dig holes and build sandcastles followed by lunch and ice cream. Awesome day and weather.


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## Leighr

Fantastic. We've just moved to Rotorua from Hamilton. Love it.


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## Mark D

Sounds like somewhere I would love to be. Fed up arguing with the Christchurch drivers. Glad your enjoying it.


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## luluminstrel

We're moving to NZ next year and Tauranga is one of our top 2 choices at the moment (along with Napier). Anyone able to tell me what it's really like living there? Best areas to live? Thanks!


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## escapedtonz

luluminstrel said:


> We're moving to NZ next year and Tauranga is one of our top 2 choices at the moment (along with Napier). Anyone able to tell me what it's really like living there? Best areas to live? Thanks!


It's awesome. We absolutely love it in Tauranga. 
We live in Bethlehem which is in our opinion the best subdivision, village or whatever you want to call it in the area.
Gonna have to be a bit more specific if you want to know what it's like living here?
There's lots to do, lots of places to go, heaps more places within travelling distance, the climate is much better than Wellington, property is cheaper, cost of living is cheaper, everyone seems way more friendly. Lots of good schools, a great shopping area, nice restaurants and cafes, countryside is minutes in every direction, 10/15 mins to Mt. Maunganui which is the best (and busiest) beach resort in nz, great roads, never any traffic, great golf courses, Tauranga "city" is 15 mins with all the shopping you need although it is tiny really but very beautiful especially down on The Strand. Also very nice park areas. Memorial Park is awesome. We spent the day there last weekend in the sun. Playground for the boy, passenger kids trains which is great, brass band playing Christmas carols, swimming pools, crazy golf etc.

Also, I'd be wary about deciding on a place to live if you haven't secured a job.
We wasted months of research time as we initially picked North Shore, Auckland but when I landed 2 jobs in wellington all that went up in smoke!!!


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## luluminstrel

Thanks so much for the reply. It's good to know a bit more. We're looking for somewhere with a sense of community, so I was worried Tauranga might be too big. Have you found it easy to meet people and make friends? We have don't have kids, so don't need to worry about schools, but no kids for a connection can make it harder to meet people I think. 

We like to be able to walk to some shops and a nice cafe. We lived in Auckland 10 years ago on the North Shore and I hated having to drive everywhere for everything! If we wanted a few bits in walking distance (10-20 mins), do you have any suburb recommendations? Bethlehem looks and sounds lovely but it's also top of our price range 

We're self employed, so will be looking for contact work and can work from a distance at home. But we'll need shop work or something part-time to get some pennies in while we build up business. I'm an editor and reflexologist and DH is a graphic designer. What's the job market like? Do people have money for therapies and 'me time'?

Is there really no traffic? That would be a dream! Our town is half the size and traffic is a nightmare!

Thanks so much. Hope I'm not hijacking the thread!


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## escapedtonz

luluminstrel said:


> Thanks so much for the reply. It's good to know a bit more. We're looking for somewhere with a sense of community, so I was worried Tauranga might be too big. Have you found it easy to meet people and make friends? We have don't have kids, so don't need to worry about schools, but no kids for a connection can make it harder to meet people I think.
> 
> We like to be able to walk to some shops and a nice cafe. We lived in Auckland 10 years ago on the North Shore and I hated having to drive everywhere for everything! If we wanted a few bits in walking distance (10-20 mins), do you have any suburb recommendations? Bethlehem looks and sounds lovely but it's also top of our price range
> 
> We're self employed, so will be looking for contact work and can work from a distance at home. But we'll need shop work or something part-time to get some pennies in while we build up business. I'm an editor and reflexologist and DH is a graphic designer. What's the job market like? Do people have money for therapies and 'me time'?
> 
> Is there really no traffic? That would be a dream! Our town is half the size and traffic is a nightmare!
> 
> Thanks so much. Hope I'm not hijacking the thread!


Tauranga is a big place in itself but like everywhere else it's made up of individual sub-divisions or domains. Bethlehem is one of many of those in tauranga and yes it is probably the most expensive but also the nicest. The costs involved relate to having great schools in the zone which pushes and keeps prices up. Houses for sale or rent don't last long in bethlehem! 
You can get a sense of community in Bethlehem. In my opinion it's just the right size for it. Other places too big or small - eg otumoetai and welcome bay both a bit too big and spread out to get that right feeling. Papamoa the same. Mt Maunganui is lovely but has a lot of holiday baches and full of tourists. Tauriko is nice but getting rural with no actual village centre etc etc.
We went through them all and settled on bethlehem being the best for us.

We've only been here 4 weeks and not really met anyone as such. A few people in the playground, at kindy, Golf and out on the motorbike. I'll talk and be friendly with anyone. We made plenty of good friends back in wellington in the 2.5 years we were there so don't expect it to be any different here, but for the moment were just taking it easy and getting to know the area.

We live 900M from our boys kindy and 1.88km from the Bethlehem shopping area so all easily walkable. There's a winery, event centre and restaurant even closer. The GP is 5 mins walk. There's a lovely garden centre with cafe next door to kindy where we go for refreshments before picking our boy up sometimes or for breakfast/brunch after dropping him off. The countryside is also a few minutes with country cafes and farmers shops for fresh fruit and veggies if you don't want to use the supermarket. There's also a petrol station, Butcher plus all the other amenities all within walking distance. The actual housing estate where we live is beautiful with many native trees dotted up and down the lanes. Everybody seems to really look after their property and maintain the gardens beautifully.

Suburb recommendations I'd say Bethlehem.
I'd also say it's your best chance of making a living out of people wanting treatments. There's lots of money in the area. Lots or retirees and ladies that lunch. Not too many treatment centre's that I know of. 
Other places like otumoetai, Papamoa, welcome bay etc are more working class and I'd guess the people who live there probably wouldn't spend the time and money on themselves. They would rather treat the kids or all the family before themselves.

You'll have to research the job market. Have a look on www.seek.co.nz and www.trademe.co.nz and nz.indeed.com 

Yes there really is no traffic to worry about. Tauranga rush hour lasts 10 mins! I've not been in a traffic jam yet anywhere in nz other than Auckland and maybe once or twice in wellington. We're in Auckland now for the weekend. Going home later today so just hoping the mway is clear this time. Had a bit of a delay on the way but only half an hour and only because of the sheer weight of traffic on the roads.
Just so much more easy going in tauranga. 
This is the view from the top of the Mount looking over Mt. Maunganui towards Papamoa and Tauranga.


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## luluminstrel

You're doing a really good job of persuading me it's the place to be! It sounds like our cup of tea (what an English expression!) 

It would be a good compromise too, as my family are in Auckland and are keen for us to be close, but it's far too expensive there for us. And we just didn't like it last time. But Tauranga isn't too far away for visits.

We're going to put the house on the market in spring. It can't come soon enough. I'll let you know how we get on!

Thanks again so much! Hope the motorway was kind to you coming home. I hate that motorway - especially the bit where traffic comes in from right and left and everyone is swapping lanes!


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## escapedtonz

luluminstrel said:


> You're doing a really good job of persuading me it's the place to be! It sounds like our cup of tea (what an English expression!)
> 
> It would be a good compromise too, as my family are in Auckland and are keen for us to be close, but it's far too expensive there for us. And we just didn't like it last time. But Tauranga isn't too far away for visits.
> 
> We're going to put the house on the market in spring. It can't come soon enough. I'll let you know how we get on!
> 
> Thanks again so much! Hope the motorway was kind to you coming home. I hate that motorway - especially the bit where traffic comes in from right and left and everyone is swapping lanes!


If you have family in Auckland then even more so as bethlehem is right on sh2 or sh29 giving two routes to Auckland.
Tis only 2 hours to get on to sh1 and south of Auckland city but then it's a lottery with the traffic.

Mway fine coming home. Still busy, no hold ups but glad to get out of the madness. Weight of traffic is just crazy and it's only gonna get worse. Don't know how people drive in that nowadays. Used to be like that for me in Manchester but left all that behind 3 yrs ago.

Good luck with the house sale.


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