Best town to move to in New Zealand and Australia (ski resort, home)

[ssm4ssm4]

My wife and I have the opportunity to work either in Australia or New Zealand for a period of time (1-2 years). We need advice about where to move to. Here's what we are looking for.

1. Beautiful beach with beautiful weather; 70s-80s F, low humidity all year
2. Medium sized town, preferably a university town
3. Cultural stuff to do (theatre, movies, concerts, etc)
4. Great restaurants
5. Town needs to be a walkable town
6. Outdoorsy stuff to do with beautiful scenery (We're into hiking, biking, etc)
7. Mountains with skiing if possible, but not critical

In short, I'm looking for paradise on earth for 1-2 years. Would appreciate all advice given.

[Jonotastic]

You need to decide which country, before asking which city.

[ssm4ssm4]

I would start with Australia first.

[wanneroo]

I've never heard of a beach town with low humidity and a ski resort next door.

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by ssm4ssm4

My wife and I have the opportunity to work either in Australia or New Zealand for a period of time (1-2 years). We need advice about where to move to. Here's what we are looking for.

1. Beautiful beach with beautiful weather; 70s-80s F, low humidity all year
2. Medium sized town, preferably a university town
3. Cultural stuff to do (theatre, movies, concerts, etc)
4. Great restaurants
5. Town needs to be a walkable town
6. Outdoorsy stuff to do with beautiful scenery (We're into hiking, biking, etc)
7. Mountains with skiing if possible, but not critical

In short, I'm looking for paradise on earth for 1-2 years. Would appreciate all advice given.

Your pretty much looking for the impossible. Australian and New Zealand cities are a lot different to US and Canadian. Its rare for a city to be entirely devoted to a University. Certainly in Australia the main universities are in the big cities which are definitely not medium sized. There are a number of smaller towns which have universities. University of New England which is in Armidale (not close to a beach or ski field, not likely to have great restaurants or huge international concert scene). Charles Sturt which is in Bathurst is almost the same.

The closest you will get to a university town is Dunedin in New Zealand. Its pretty walkable, close to ski fields and is outdoorsy. It is unlikely to be above 70 except for a few months of summer.

Your going to need to prioritise what you really want to be near.

[ssm4ssm4]

Fair enough, thanks for the honest reply. My priorities are:

Australia at this point, on the coast (east or west, I'm not limiting myself at this point)
Beautiful beaches with good weather all year is a priority
Medium sized, safe, progressive city with good schools and nice cultural stuff (museums, theatre, concerts), nice outdoors scene (hiking, biking, etc)

[wanneroo]

And probably the best thing is to take a trip and travel around for yourself to find a "dream town".

And true Australia and New Zealand doesn't really get into the trendy, hip, liberal university towns like you see in the USA. It doesn't seem to define a town or city like it does in the USA.

Dunedin weather I would approximate as being similar to Portland, Maine or Seattle, Washington.

Bathurst and Armidale are both small towns I like. I think the population is around 30000 in Bathurst and around 25000 in Armidale. The Armidale area I'd like to explore more closely next time I go back. Bathurst, I like for the track.

One option in New Zealand would be Palmerston North with Massey University but that is hardy the "dream town" the OP seems to be looking for. However Mt. Ruapehu is about 2 hours drive away and the ocean is fairly close. Palmy North kind of reminds me of an Iowa town with a small university. The economic base is mostly agriculture.

[minibrings]

If you want a smaller city (and avoiding the usual Sydney-Melbourne bias), try Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.

[Derek40]

Wollongong, just south of Sydney right on the coast may qualify, it has a university, is close to mountains - but ski fields are still some distance away. Climate is moderate.
Beautiful scenery in the surrounding area and escarpment.
Plenty of restaurants and culture,as well as facilities, which you don't get in smaller towns.
I might add this is classified as a "city" with about 250,000+ people.
Not sure if you want to go somewhere this big.
Proximity to a large city like Sydney is a plus as all concerts etc go there.

[joeldew]

Originally Posted by ssm4ssm4

My wife and I have the opportunity to work either in Australia or New Zealand for a period of time (1-2 years). We need advice about where to move to. Here's what we are looking for.

1. Beautiful beach with beautiful weather; 70s-80s F, low humidity all year
2. Medium sized town, preferably a university town
3. Cultural stuff to do (theatre, movies, concerts, etc)
4. Great restaurants
5. Town needs to be a walkable town
6. Outdoorsy stuff to do with beautiful scenery (We're into hiking, biking, etc)
7. Mountains with skiing if possible, but not critical

In short, I'm looking for paradise on earth for 1-2 years. Would appreciate all advice given.

Wollongong springs to mind. A sizeable catchment area surrounded by beautiful beaches

Located south of Sydney and not too far away from the "Southern Highlands" where you can pursue the outdoor activities.

It has a local university and hospital

Drive further south (extraordinary coastal fishing towns like Ulladulla and Milton) and you'll never want to come home