Looking to make friends in Tauranga

[iamkim330]

Originally Posted by spiderpig

Hi there again,

Has been over a month since I last wrote,
We are still looking for any youngsters in the area to hang out/socialise/movie/coffee/walking/camping, anything to get us out the house.

We have been here for over a month and are currently located in Papamoa and are 27 and 28.

Any peeps out there similar ages and fancy doing something, let us know.

thanks
spiderpigs

Hey, do you all still live in Tauranga? I've just applied for a job there and waiting to hear back from them. Do you mind telling me what Tauranga is like? (It's probably a bit breif aye? Oops)

[spiderpig]

Hi there,
yes we are still here, when we first arrived in new zealand we did about 6 months touring around each area to see what it was like, and fell in love with Tauranga, so decided to settle here.

It has around 100,000 people so it feels like a large town except its not as big as a city. It has about 3 different cinemas, 2 large pak and save's, and a hand full of countdown and new worlds. The largest shopping mall is bayfair, and then you have the centre of tauranga town which has a fair few shops, probably would take a few hours to walk around. The mount has lots of small boutique shops and then in papapmoa there is a smaller shopping centre called palm beach plaza and fashion island. The mount is a great place to go for a hike, either around or up it, the scenery of the beach is beautiful, there are also lots of shops, bars and restaurants there to choose from. On a good night out i would recommend tauranga town though, as it feels more like the bar scene in the uk, they also have a few clubs there, where as going out in the mount is more laid back.

If you like the beach then as its soo long you would get a spot to yourself, but if you prefer to be around people then head to the mount as the beach there is more busy but also very beautiful. There are lots of walks and hikes around if you enjoy that sort of thing. You also get your other large stores such as briscoes, bed bath and beyond, jb hifi, farmers, noel lemming, harvey norman, hunting and fishing, rebel sorts etc, unlike some of the smaller town in nz.

The summers here are lovely, mainly 25-28 degrees, winters are more wet and damp, and the houses do get cold as they don't seem to have an decent heating in the houses at all here. So you need to invest in some extra layers. Winters can also be cold at nights but then crisp blue skies in the day.

We have found other areas of new zealand more friendly though, the whole area of tauranga/mount seems to be very clicky so its hard to make friends. I recently found meet up.com and found a local group of people in tauranga, since then have made a lovely bunch of friends, so the internet has really helped in that department let me know when you get up here and we can meet up. Or if you have any more questions let me know and i will try and answer them. What job have you applied for?

[iamkim330]

Thanks for your long message! Where did you guys travel to when you did the 6 months touring? Did you manage to travel to Dunedin? If you did, how would you compare Tauranga and Dunedin? I'm currently in Dunedin but I have been here for about 6 years now so I am ready for a change of scenery to make my life more exciting hehe.

The different shops sound rather cool, how long would it take from town to town? I doubt that I will be driving because I'm scared of cars! (I do have a full license though but I'm still too scared to drive!!) So I will be likely to rely on walking and busing :P

I saw some research that there are more British people than other international people in Tauranga, would you reckon it's true? I'd actually LOVE to go back to the UK one day but I think I will stay in NZ for another few years more at least. I'm actually originally from Hong Kong but I lived in Scotland through high school before I came over to New Zealand. Where abouts in Britain are you from originally?

Speaking of bars and clubs, do you know of anywhere that has Latin American music? I'm really into salsa dancing and all sorts of Spanish things at the moment, and zumba too! (In case you know anywhere that does that!)

The weather sounds lovely there. The winter seems quite similar to Dunedin's winter though, and the cold houses too. Would it be difficult to look for a warm flat or house do you think? Most houses here in Dunedin are REALLY cold in winter too even with heating system, but I'm staying in a studio at the moment that is quite warm (but expensive! so it's probably worth it in the mean time).

Wow, I'm really looking forward to meeting you all when I do move up there!

I've applied for a teaching job at a Montessori School in Bethlehem. I do hope to hear from them soon.

What is your occupation? And, would you mind if we add each other on facebook?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by spiderpig

Hi there,
yes we are still here, when we first arrived in new zealand we did about 6 months touring around each area to see what it was like, and fell in love with Tauranga, so decided to settle here.

It has around 100,000 people so it feels like a large town except its not as big as a city. It has about 3 different cinemas, 2 large pak and save's, and a hand full of countdown and new worlds. The largest shopping mall is bayfair, and then you have the centre of tauranga town which has a fair few shops, probably would take a few hours to walk around. The mount has lots of small boutique shops and then in papapmoa there is a smaller shopping centre called palm beach plaza and fashion island. The mount is a great place to go for a hike, either around or up it, the scenery of the beach is beautiful, there are also lots of shops, bars and restaurants there to choose from. On a good night out i would recommend tauranga town though, as it feels more like the bar scene in the uk, they also have a few clubs there, where as going out in the mount is more laid back.

If you like the beach then as its soo long you would get a spot to yourself, but if you prefer to be around people then head to the mount as the beach there is more busy but also very beautiful. There are lots of walks and hikes around if you enjoy that sort of thing. You also get your other large stores such as briscoes, bed bath and beyond, jb hifi, farmers, noel lemming, harvey norman, hunting and fishing, rebel sorts etc, unlike some of the smaller town in nz.

The summers here are lovely, mainly 25-28 degrees, winters are more wet and damp, and the houses do get cold as they don't seem to have an decent heating in the houses at all here. So you need to invest in some extra layers. Winters can also be cold at nights but then crisp blue skies in the day.

We have found other areas of new zealand more friendly though, the whole area of tauranga/mount seems to be very clicky so its hard to make friends. I recently found meet up.com and found a local group of people in tauranga, since then have made a lovely bunch of friends, so the internet has really helped in that department let me know when you get up here and we can meet up. Or if you have any more questions let me know and i will try and answer them. What job have you applied for?

[Kellie85]

Hi hi , new to tauranga by 4 months after being o/seas for 6 years . picked tauranga as it looked sunny !! Was great to get a job first up but the social aspect of my life is currently non existent ! Anyone no of any coffee clubs etc would b much appreciated , 27 f kid free !originaly from sth island

[spiderpig]

Hi Kellie, have just send you a private message on here, let me know if for some reason you can't find it.

[Kellie85]

Gah no i can see en in my inbox ! I think i have to write 5 msgs in total so im 2 to go !

[Kellie85]

Not on iphone app cant see it ..

[Kellie85]

Oh yip found it spiderpig !

[StevevdW]

HI guys, I have also just moved to Tauranga with my girlfriend and I have also found it to be a bit clicky when it comes to meeting new people. I am 25 and Helen is 23, no kids. Into all things outdoors especially cycling. Would love to meet up with people for coffee or something. originally from the south island

[spiderpig]

Hey StevevdW,

Welcome to Tauranga, where abouts are you guys living, what are you doing here?
If you go to meetup.com there is a tauranga get out there and do it meet up group. Think there are about 78 members of all ages and they regularly organise activities. There may be a small join up fee but its for lifetime membership.

When i first arrived I knew no one, but the meetup site lead me onto meeting a few people, who then introduced me to others more my age group (who arent on the meetup site). We regularly got out bowling, mini gold, cinema and on hikes so will let you know on here when we next plan to do something.

I cant private message you yet because i think you need to do at least 5 posts first. :-)

P.s whats your full name and i will look for you on FB.