Hi Carol

I'm a kiwi living in London. My suggestion is Nelson. It's slower paced than say Christchurch and is close to Abel Tasman National Park. Nelson is a retirement, alternative life style town. There is not the same problems in Nelson with law and order as there is in other towns. Nelson has all the facilities you require without the big town feel. Nelson has the highest number of sunshine hours in New Zealand and has plenty of orchards and vineyards. The downside - housing is expensive. My retired parents live there and if we ever move back to New Zealand our choice would be Nelson or Napier (Hawkes Bay in the North Island).