#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Thailand, Asia & the rest of the World Questions & Answers Forum >  >  Where are the Crappy Areas of New Zealand ?

## Wasp

*
*
So there I was doing a bit of musing about where to retire to when I have had enough of Ghent.

And I came to some decent-looking properties in New Zealand which were  inexpensive .
But who can tell me if the areas are shit areas or not ?

Tokoroa , Waikato seems to have cheap places . Which makes me suspect its not a great place .
And a place called Kawerau pops up  a lot .

So if you are a Kiwi please can you help ?

Where should I avoid ?

And where MUST I avoid ?


Thanks .


W.

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## thaimeme

No such luck as crappy areas in the Land of Plenty.

Quite the paradise.

 :Smile:

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## Horatio Hornblower

wherever the Maoris are.

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## Horatio Hornblower

huh never been there then Jeff have you. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 





> No such luck as crappy areas in the Land of Plenty.
> 
> Quite the paradise.

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## BaitongBoy

> But who can tell me if the areas are shit areas or not ?


Hi Wasp...I look forward to your NZ build thread...

Perhaps that Sharky fellow can direct you "better"...

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## thaimeme

> huh never been there then Jeff have you.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by thaimeme
> ...


Lived there for 12 years, Literal Jack....

 :Smile:

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## Horatio Hornblower

never opened your eyes then.

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## Topper

> never opened your eyes then.


How so, HH?  Could you expand upon your opinion?

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## Wasp

> Originally Posted by Wasp
> 
> But who can tell me if the areas are shit areas or not ?
> 
> 
> Hi Wasp...I look forward to your NZ build thread...
> 
> Perhaps that Sharky fellow can direct you "better"...


Hi BB .

You do  get around ! What are you doing here looking at shit areas of New Zealand ?

I was bemused because there are some very decent homes at some very low prices .
Suspicious methinks  .
Because when you look at Auckland they are Sydney prices - meaning they are also London prices .
 If you don't know your way around Liverpoool you can find some very cheap houses there too and they look OK .  But I DO know my way around Liverpool and you shouldn't touch them .
 Fix all the 6 locks on your front door no later than 7 pm and stay inside until  8 am and maybe you'll be alright. 

But is that the story with these cheap NZ houses ?

thaimeme thinks NZ is Paradise ! 
But thaimeme is a well-established idiot .



*W.*

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## Horatio Hornblower

Wasp which areas are you talking about in Liverpool.?

I have been in Liverpool for 52 yrs on and off and never heard what you just posted.

Then again i suppose we could talk about any UK city if we go down that road :Smile:

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## wasabi

In Liverpool, that would be in the areas where the slaves live.

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## BaitongBoy

> You do get around ! What are you doing here looking at shit areas of New Zealand ?


Heh...Just following your lead, Wasp...On the virtual highway...




> well-established idiot


Heh, again...I kinda like that one...

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## david44

My old room on MT Victoria, there's some kiwi ghettoes in Newtown Sydney that seemed pretty daggy to even a rolling stone like myself in the 1990s,as a vade mecum the rooms are cheaper nearr the sheepshagging

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## Wasp

> Wasp which areas are you talking about in Liverpool.?
> 
> I have been in Liverpool for 52 yrs on and off and never heard what you just posted.


Croxteth  . Netherley  . Liverpool 6 .  Bootle  . Kensington . Newsham Park . Anfield anywhere off Breck Road. Kirkby . Fazakerley . Norris Green . Stockbridge .  Page Moss . Dingle .

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## Stinky

NewZealand, sheep everywhere, black white AND brown!! Soft and tender to the touch and not too fussy on the catholic moral values (so Ant tells me?).
Sounds like there ain't a lot of shit anywhere in the whole islands  :Smile:

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## Latindancer

Auckland is apparently a shithole, and the downtown streets stink of piss.

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## wasabi

The worst neighbourhoods in New Zealand are easily spotted, it's were the residents are all Black supporters.

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## GoldieNonce

Anywhere in the vicinity of any mongol mob clubhouses or members.

 :sexy:

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## Horatio Hornblower

Know all the areas, whilst rough they ain't No go areas and people certainly don't lock up at 7pm and resurface at 8 am,the areas you have posted are accessible though caution is warranted.

True enough I wouldn't venture into a local pub on my own.




> Originally Posted by Horatio Hornblower
> 
> 
> Wasp which areas are you talking about in Liverpool.?
> 
> I have been in Liverpool for 52 yrs on and off and never heard what you just posted.
> 
> 
> Croxteth  . Netherley  . Liverpool 6 .  Bootle  . Kensington . Newsham Park . Anfield anywhere off Breck Road. Kirkby . Fazakerley . Norris Green . Stockbridge .  Page Moss . Dingle .

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## thaimeme

Seems as this thread is being pushed as to assume there's only a city side to NZ...

Sad that.

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## Exit Strategy

> NewZealand, sheep everywhere, black white AND brown!! Soft and tender to the touch and not too fussy on the catholic moral values (so Ant tells me?).
> Sounds like there ain't a lot of shit anywhere in the whole islands


Apparently many people commenting Auckland who have not lived within 10k radius. OK. I call them euroshite. Fair, Jeff?

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## thaimeme

Auckland might do itself a favour and rename itself _Apia._

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## Horatio Hornblower

Live on the south Island. then you only have Christchurch to deal with.

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## AntRobertson

> Tokoroa , Waikato seems to have cheap places . Which makes me suspect its not a great place .
> And a place called Kawerau pops up a lot .
> 
> So if you are a Kiwi please can you help ?
> 
> Where should I avoid ?
> 
> And where MUST I avoid ?


Those are kinda difficult questions to answer, depends on too many factors.

Generally speaking though both Kawerau and Tokoroa are small ruralish areas/towns so that's why house prices are going to be cheaper than the main cities and centers. 

Both have their pluses and minuses. Both were built up around the logging industry and are pretty quiet and sleepy really. 



> wherever the Maoris are.


Well then that pretty much rules out the entirety of NZ.

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## Barty

I own a handful of houses in Kawerau. It is a mill town that was developed in the 1950s basically from nothing. It was setup to take advantage of the geothermal nearby and water from the Tarawera River. There are two mills, Tasman Pulp and Paper and Caxton. I am guessing at one point both mills would have directly employed about 3,000 people.

  Typical of most mill towns around the world it is dependent on the mills as a source of income. Since the 1990s the mill has been down sized a number of times and also sold onto various international investment groups. Due to the downsizing of the mills the population of the town has dropped and it has kind of turned into a social security town. It is full of single mothers, unemployed and retirees. However it is a well-run town, the local council take care of everything very well. 

  The only things that are against it as a place to live is that as a small town you cant buy anything there. You would have to travel to either Whakatane or Rotorua to purchase anything of significance. Both are about 30 minutes away. Kawerau also has an odour from the geothermal and the mill that takes a short while to get used to. It is not anywhere near as bad as the smell of Rotorua. (See Panama Hats thread about NZ). I most certainly would not classify it as a shit area but it is a small rural town. It definitely is not like living in Auckland and it is a long way from living in Ghent.

  For about NZ$50,000 you can buy a fixer up house. For $100,000 you can get a fairly decent house and for less than $200,000 you will find a really nice house with a couple of acres.

  I cant say that I know much about Tokoroa except that I assume it is similar to Kawerau, a mill town that once supported a saw mill that has slowly been down sized.

  I would say that there are very few places that I would avoid in New Zealand. It really comes down to each individual. Once you are outside of the large cities everywhere has a rural feel to it. If you can handle that it is great place to live.

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## phunphin

The west coast of the south Is is cheap , hokitika or greymouth, great scenery and you can go gold mining in your free time.
The north Is has a far bigger Maori population than the south, the south Island natives are lot better behaved too.

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## NZdick1983

Japan is the best place in NZ, bro!

Just kidding... avoid Auckland unless you are well minted...

House prices here are a joke - I could go into more detail... but it's just depressing, so I won't lol...

OK... average house price in Auckland is creeping near 1 million.. *and that's just a simple, bog standard 3 beddy.

Not to mention the traffic is a nightmare, people are losing their friendly nature and becoming passive aggressive, etc...
Anyway, enough hating on my peeps...

On a positive note, anywhere outside Apia/Auck is much nicer (both environment and people IMHO)...

Sweet az bro!

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## Munted

You should avoid Kawerau. There are well established gangs there such as Mongrel Mob and Black Power. Both of these gangs are into intimidation. Avoid any place with sea views - you will pay a huge premium for such property. I would look at locations within 30 minutes travel time to the coast, mid North Island between say, Pokeno and Palmerston North. Don't go further inland or go further south unless you like cold. If you have an expectation for work unless you have a highly marketable skill you should stick to populations of 200000 plus.

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## pseudolus

Where did Jake the Muss live?

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## AntRobertson

In the book: my hometown.

In the movie: some unamed city but presumably South Auckland

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## chassamui

Looked very hard at NZ about 7/8 years ago and after extensive research I settled on Nelson at the top end of South Island. Based on my dislike of big cities and the best of both worlds weatherwise, Nelson came out top. Medium size for reasonable infrastructure and access to beaches and countryside which is my main interest.
Would be interested on Kiwi first hand opinions of the area.
I did mention this in a PM to Panama Hat but he's a bit of a snob who centred his search further north.  :Wink:

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## AntRobertson

Nelson is indeed pretty focking awesome. The whole bays area is beautiful.

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## pseudolus

> In the book: my hometown.
> 
> In the movie: some unamed city but presumably South Auckland


Your home town is the fictional town of Two Lakes? That explains a lot. Now make the man some Iggs.

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## AntRobertson

... Has Uncle Bully been touching you again??  :Very Happy: 

Rotorua = lit. Two Lakes, nowt fictional about it (other than my tales of being a hometown hero)

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## chassamui

> Nelson is indeed pretty focking awesome. The whole bays area is beautiful.


Thank you for the detailed and profound analysis.
No, really thanks.  :Smile:

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## NZdick1983

Maori, in general *IMHO are decent, warm people.









...until they slice your Pakeha throat, and eat your liver...

 ::chitown::

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## pseudolus

> ... Has Uncle Bully been touching you again?? 
> 
> Rotorua = lit. Two Lakes, nowt fictional about it (other than my tales of being a hometown hero)


Rotorua (/ˌroʊtɵˈruːə/, from Māori: Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe, "The second great lake of Kahumatamomoe")

So anyway, I doubt if the OP is going to retire to KiwiLand he would select the projects where Jake the Muss lived. 

Surely the advice is the same as is given to all people looking to move to a new country; 

1 - have you been there? If not, go and have a look
2 - When you move there, don't buy straight away. Rent. Wait until you are sure, and then buy. Don't ship all your worldy possessions over until you are sure it is for you. 
3 - avoid places with too many Aussie immigrants there. They are a pest, and citronella and deet has no effect on them. 

That should cover it. 

Has the OP watch Lord of the Rings yet? Also, Whale Rider was a good Kiwi Film




Will he need to get Tattoos ?

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## AntRobertson

> Originally Posted by AntRobertson
> 
> Nelson is indeed pretty focking awesome. The whole bays area is beautiful.
> 
> 
> Thank you for the detailed and profound analysis.
> No, really thanks.


 :Very Happy: 

Sorry mate. I've not actually spent a whole lot of time there, passed through mostly.

I do recall that I thought it was an 'old peoples town' but that was when I was a uni student so fuck what young people think.

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## Wasp

Must be time to end this  research now .

Thank you all .

I started it so surely it's reasonable that I finish it ?

Here .



W.

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## bankao dreamer

Oh bugger I was going to mention that film clip posted by pseudolis, great film haven't seen it in years  :Sorry1:

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## Wasp

> Wasp which areas are you talking about in Liverpool.?


Dovecot.

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## chassamui

> Originally Posted by chassamui
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by AntRobertson
> ...


As I am now officially 'old people' it may well be suitable. I have no problem with transitory aging hippies. Thanks for the update.  :Smile:

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## wasabi

> Oh bugger I was going to mention that film clip posted by pseudolis, great film haven't seen it in years


"The Piano"

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## reinvented

spent a night in nelson on my way to the abel tasman
lovely town, great food
struck me as wet
right at home for northern english to be honest

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## AntRobertson

> struck me as wet


Mighta just struck some bad luck weatherwise, Nelson has the highest sunshine hours in NZ (mind, it's relative of course).

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## pseudolus

> Oh bugger I was going to mention that film clip posted by pseudolis, great film haven't seen it in years


I think that is the full film. Only watched it once as a guest of the New Zealand High Commission in the UK for its premier. I went thinking it would be shit, and looking forward to the champagne reception. The reception was shit, but the film was very good.

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## Little Chuchok

> spent a night in nelson on my way to the abel tasman
> lovely town, great food
> struck me as wet
> right at home for northern english to be honest


More sunshine hours in Nelson than any other town . (Or close to it)

Lots of nice vineyards, gets a bit cold in the winter, but not too bad. Very nice part of the world.

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## reinvented

mate
i have pictures that prove otherwise
and im not being a nancy; ive been to manchester

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## Little Chuchok

^...Eh?

Climate

On average 2,457 annual sunshine hours (6.73hrs/day). Hawkes Bay averages 2,281 hours
On average 649mm (25.5 inches) of annual rainfall fall in Marlborough
Moderate diurnal temperature change – commonly a 10°C / 50°F range
Maori refer to the region as “Kei puta te Wairau’ / The place with the hole in the cloud”

Key Statistics Snapshot | Wine Marlborough

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## Wasp

I've lost interest in New Zealand now .

I'm  looking at Sweden instead.  :Confused: 



*W.*

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## AntRobertson

LOL! Well that was quick. 

Good luck with Sweden then.  :Very Happy:

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## Wasp

Tack .

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## chassamui

> spent a night in nelson on my way to the abel tasman lovely town, great food struck me as wet right at home for northern english to be honest





> Mighta just struck some bad luck weatherwise, Nelson has the highest sunshine hours in NZ (mind, it's relative of course)





> Lots of nice vineyards, gets a bit cold in the winter, but not too bad. Very nice part of the world.


Thanks all for the input. Hours of sunshine and average rainfall was another major consideration in my earlier research. Heard a few stories about sand flies in many beach areas all over the country and Nelson seemed only marginal in this respect.



> ive been to manchester


Not a sentence one usually hears in casual conversation about Kiwi land, but I get your drift.



> I've lost interest in New Zealand now .  I'm looking at Sweden instead


Happy to take over, consider it sold as seen. NZ remains on my serious long term bucket list and even considered buying a camper and touring there for the summer months last year.
Happy for any tales or info even if it's tales of woe.  :Smile:  
(Thanks Wasp)

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## PlanK

> Nelson came out top. Medium size for reasonable infrastructure and access to beaches and countryside which is my main interest. Would be interested on Kiwi first hand opinions of the area.


If I was to retire anywhere in NZ it would be Nelson (or Blenheim). Lotsa sun, FA rain, close to some of the best tracks in the world.  Ski fields though not too close, still accessible.  

Nelson was wine country but with the prime hops growing region just up the road in Motueka craft beer breweries have gained a significant foothold.  It's possible to do a bike-ride tour around a few of them to sample their wares.

I go to Nelson every year for the Marchfest celebrations when they celebrate the hops harvest and the local breweries present their fresh-hopped beers.  On my visit to Nelson this year I managed to get through 70 odd different, new beers at the festival and surrounding pubs.  It was quite a mission but I was up to the task.
 :Kiwi:

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## Wasp

chassamui : " Happy to take over, consider it sold as seen. NZ remains on my serious long term bucket list and even considered buying a camper and touring there for the summer months last year.
Happy for any tales or info even if it's tales of woe.  :Smile:  
(Thanks Wasp) "




ingen orsak chassamui .





*Wasp*

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## chassamui

> If I was to retire anywhere in NZ it would be Nelson (or Blenheim). Lotsa sun, FA rain, close to some of the best tracks in the world. Ski fields though not too close, still accessible.  Nelson was wine country but with the prime hops growing region just up the road in Motueka craft beer breweries have gained a significant foothold. It's possible to do a bike-ride tour around a few of them to sample their wares.  I go to Nelson every year for the Marchfest celebrations when they celebrate the hops harvest and the local breweries present their fresh-hopped beers. On my visit to Nelson this year I managed to get through 70 odd different, new beers at the festival and surrounding pubs. It was quite a mission but I was up to the task. Plan B is offline


Contributions like this are music to my ears. Craft beers Mmmmmmmmmmm.




> ingen orsak


Thanks. I didn't realise you spoke Euroblonde.  :Smile:

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## peterpan

Every one has different needs, I was watching grand designs NZ a concrete house near Invercargill  my idea of a hell but the guy that built it was happy so good for him.

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## Wasp

> Wasp which areas are you talking about in Liverpool.?



Tuebrook.

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