masterton

[CrystalLil]

Funny you should mention it, Mother Bear, the people I know there are church-goers...I reckon that it might go along with the fact that you'd find a fair deal of "traditional" values out there in the countryside, pretty much in the same way as you would in the more rural parts of the UK, rather than imagining an especially pious bunch of people. I might be wrong, though. You'd probably be right in thinking that the churches are fairly spread out - as are most things in the Wairarapa! The towns there are mostly made up of one main street with houses along each side. Masterton itself is a bit bigger than that but all in all, it's mostly countryside (beautiful too).

While I was living in NZ, the local Wairarapa community held a pretty impressive scarecrow competition. I don't know if it's annual, but that's an example of what folks get up to for kicks!! I hope I don't sound too full of patronizing urbanity - I just mean to say that it is a different pace of life.

[nattydread]

thanks for all the info Lil.

One thing that comes to mind, maybe Jodie can comment too..

Will our kids have plenty to do?
They're very much outdoorsey types my daughter is football crazy at the moment.. and the boy loves getting out and about.

I see plenty of walks and stuff around so we'll be able to get into that, we'll be able to get the bikes out too , I'm more thinking of what they'll have to do when the wife and I are pie eyed on wine and they have to fend for themselves for days on end...

[CrystalLil]

If you ask me, it depends on your kids ages. If they're young (under 12), I can't think of anywhere better to let them grow up - especially if they're outdoorsy. Loads of space for them to run about in safely, rivers to splash in and you're not far from the coast for some beach action. I hear Castle Point is nice. If they're teenagers, it might become a different story. I fear it might suffer a bit from bored-teens-with-nothing-to-do syndrome. However, there are bound to be local sports teams they can join to keep them busy and Wellington's not too far away, depending on how you'd feel about ferrying them backwards and forwards or letting them make the trip themselves...if I were you, I'd try to make contact with the local schools and ask them what kind of extra-curricular activities might be available.

[nattydread]

the kids are 7 and 3 so I think we fit into the first category and by the time they are teenagers, as you say, hopefully, by then they'll be in some sports team or other and we should be okay..

[Jodie]

Well - the winter for me was cold [smiley=icon_rolleyes.gif] , but I think that was more to do with the fact that i was still getting used to no central heating and trying to keep warm around one oil-filled radiator! But we've just bought a house (yay!! [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif] ) and its got a woodburner and gets all-day sun, so I'm hoping next winter will be much warmer! To be honest, a lot of the days it was actually warmer outside than inside, but I thinki thats pretty normal for over here! I think the temperature ranged from around 5 - 10 degrees during the day through the winter, and I don't remember any frosts either. Also, you get lots of blue sunny days in Welly which is great for the winter when you're used to British grey winters day after day. It's about this time of year (September/October)that the Welly wind comes out for a blast or 2, but it had died down by about November time last year, and January - March were completely still which apparantly is quite usual too. Its alraedy really warm here - this last week it's been blue skies and up to 20 degrees and it's still spring time! (Ok the wind has been up too but thats to be expected at the moment!)

As for your kids, yeah I think the wairarapa would be a great place to bring them up, with all the countryside and community feeling, but I would be a bit worried about the teenage years - Welly would be at least a 45 minute - 1 hour commute by train (and they're not that regular from what I hear - I think the evening trains back from Welly are at 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 and then 10:30pm or something,...), but I suppose if their friends from school etc are close by then they'll all keep each other busy as they'll all be in the same situation. Also, remember that kids can learn to drive when they're 15 here [smiley=icon_eek.gif] so can be independent travel-wise earlier than back in the uk! (Less years of being their taxi! [smiley=icon_lol.gif] )

If there's anything else just give me a shout - I'll reply as soon as I can but I don't get chance to come on here that often any more so apologies for any delays!

Jod
8-)

[nattydread]

thanks for the info Jodie..

We should be out there by March (touch wood, fingers crossed..)