Can you advise me on great places to live in New Zealand?

I would like to know about the different areas of New Zealand- i want to be very close to the beach, not too far from the city for a bit of culture and nights out, but with out the feeling of living in a city...oh dear i may be asking a little too much...basically i want eutopia!!!! Thanks in advance for your help :)Can you advise me on great places to live in New Zealand?
Erm, yeah, I probably agree with the others!! Up north is where it's all happening, so Tauranga is in a brilliant position. You've got Auckland not tooooo far away if you want a bigger city and so many fab beaches, plus the Coromandel and Bay of Islands if you fancy travelling a bit further. Only trouble is, it's a bit expensive up there!!





My only other suggestion would be to live in some where like Paraparaumu....it's on the coast at the bottom of the North Island, just a train ride away from Wellington (which is the BEST city for culture, and the prettiest!!). Beaches here aren't as good as up north though, but you can't have it all!!





So are you thinking of emigrating to NZ then? I'm very jealous!!! I lived there for year and I've never been to such a beautiful and varied country with lovely people too. Good luck!Can you advise me on great places to live in New Zealand?
oops sorry about the simon Harwood question. I thought your name was simo and thought i knew you ...oops...


thanks :)

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that's ok! Forgot to mention Dunedin, that's a pretty cool place! Small but lots of culture %26amp; nice architecture. Fab beaches nearby. Problem- on South Island so a bit isolated %26amp; damn cold in the winter! Glad I could be of some help, I might just have to follow your advice about moving back!

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I go along with Dakota. Tauranga would be my choice given where and what you want, Tauranga is only 5-10 minutes from a great ocean beach at Mt Maunganui or Papamoa and some of the semi-rural areas around there are niceand yet only a few minutes from the city centre. I think the population of the area is about 100,000 so not too small and the night life is good too.
ok i wasnt going to answer this .... but i read the answers... and i have to agree on Queenstown... no beaches, but right by an awesome lake... always lots to do in the outdoors, great people.
I would go with somewhere in the Bay of Plenty along the East Coast of the North Island. i am from Whakatane in this area originally. Whakatane is a nice town right on the coast with the sea and rivers it's awesome. it is only an hours drive from here to 2 major cities if you need to do anymore shopping. Tauranga and Mt Maunganui are great places too. Check out this website and see what you think. The weather here is pretty awesome too.








http://www.bayofplentynz.com/





P.S I live near Queenstown now and trust me it's not the sort of place you would want to live. Far too expensive among other things it's really just a tourist trap.
Christchurch..A little\big place on the south island. Very clean and green. Iloved it there
Don't know about beaches but Queenstown rocks! It's a major ski type resort in winter and just cooool in summer.





I love Ashburton which is a teeny town a short drive from Christchurch. Railway running through the centre of the town. Might be a bit quiet though.





Really anywhere in New Zealand gets my vote.
Christchurch, beautiful city, the nicest people I've ever met. I stayed there a week in 2000 and yearn to return. Would very much like to move there.

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