Family of 4, oldest kid going to intermediate soon. We moved to NZ about 10 years ago from Europe.
We’ve been pondering with the idea to move somewhere within NZ. We love the outdoors and the beach, right now we’re not near a nice beach (Petone) For my work we have to be near a big city. Thought about CHC but there are much fewer IT contracts there. Auckland is an option but we think it’s too big for us.
Schools are also important, we want to live close to good intermediate / secondary schools.
While I like IT as it’s convenient and pays extremely well, it’s not super exciting. Then, I thought, what about a career change? A job as park ranger at DOC looks cool, however it would mean a big drop in salary. Could be manageable if we can get a cheaper house.
Also thought about starting my own business, but don’t have experience. I love making ice cream, not sure though I want to do that professionally.
Our latest idea is to move to Kapiti, as it’s a change of scenery and it’s close to nice beaches.
I still feel a bit stuck. Does anyone have tips?
Waikaenae could be an option, weathers better and not far away from welly. Another option could be try to get a fully remote job the move to anywhere you want :)
Yeah thinking about kapiti coast now. Ticks a lot of boxes. We were discussing Raumati and Paraparaumu, Waikenae is probably a bit too far from Welly for my liking.
I do IT work, mainly remote and the occasional business trip. Based near Masterton, so 1.5 hours to airports in either direction either Welly or Palmy. It’s big enough to have most of what I need, and close enough I can get anywhere quick enough. Housing is way cheaper. Quality of life and community feeling just way better for us. Recommended.
Thanks for your reply. We also like the Wairarapa, but we’ve now realised we’d like to be close to the sea. So think it will be the Kapiti Coast.
Fair call. Don’t think you can go too far wrong either way. Good luck.
Sounds like you’ve been going through many of the same thought processes we went through a year ago, we ended up moving to kapiti and brought a nice old place in paraparaumu. The commute into the city twice a week isn’t too bad (take a book) and the beaches are great, the weathers warm and there’s a few nice rivers for swimming around as well.
Easy access to the Tararuas and journeys north are much easier as well. There always seems to be crafty things happening, although we’ve been busy with Reno’s the last 6 months so haven’t had a ton of time to explore. Access to some of the best mountain biking in Wellington too if that’s your thing
Thanks! Looks like we’ve gone through the same process as we are now also looking at Kapiti. How are the schools, do you know?
Sorry don’t have kids so can’t tell you much about the schools!