Hi
I love Taranaki! We bought a house there last year and are moving over next summer.
NP is quit small, pop. around 60-70k, but as was mentioned it has everything you could need (unless you're used to London and want overcrowding and being jostled on the street!). The areas to avoid in NP are Marfell and Waitara, other areas are fine. Oakura is very up and coming, prices are really shooting up there (helped a little by Tom Cruise et al staying there while filming the last samurai.
Opunake is the nearest town to our house, it would be classed more as a village here, distinct seaside feel to it and has a fabulous little cafe on Tasman Street (the main Street) called 'The Sugar Juice Cafe'
Taranaki is a place where you can build sancastles (or surf) in the morning and throw snowballs (or ski) in the afternoon. For me it has everything and the drive along the surf highway is to die for (told hubby we have to get a convertable just for the drive into NP - dont know where we'll put the kids though!) with the sae on one side and Mount Taranaki on the other.
Hawera is fairly bustling, theres quite a bit of industry there, mainly based around the Dairy - Fonterra and the petro-chemical sites.
The TSB (Taranaki Savings Bank) is great - no charges on their account. Also can highly recommend Viv Scott at McDonalds Real Estate based in Opunake/Eltham and Robert England (solicitor) with Thomson O'Neil based in Eltham.
The Rugby team is the Warriors.
Here are a few useful Taranaki links:
http://www.opunake.com/
http://www.newplymouthnz.com/
http://www.taranakijobsnz.com/index.php
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailyne...0a6002,00.html
http://www.eieio.co.nz/index.asp
Hope this fuels the imagination a bit - any more q's just fire away!