Hi Duke,
We often visit Whangarei, our nearest city at over an hour's driving, and find it pleasant enough. It is not as affluent a city as some others but is growing more popular, expanding and improving. The city centre is easy to deal with, the 'Town Basin' is an area of shops and cafes alongside the river, and there are the odd retail parks in the commercial areas. There are some nice commutable towns nearby, long beaches to the south and many small bay settlements to the north-east if you would like to be within commuting distance and have that beach/sea view. The weather is subtropical (as Auckland going north is) which means plenty of heavy rain, plenty of sun, and winters free of snow.
Whangarei is one of those places you may like as soon as you arrive there, otherwise it is sure to grow on you.
