What To Like About The Bay of Plenty

It will soon be two weeks since we arrived here in Tauranga. So much has been crammed into that short space of time. I haven't had much time to pine away for my house and Canterbury, but starting to feel a few pangs now as the two week mark approaches. I think that is the longest I've been away from my house since we moved into it, so right now I can still pretend I'm on holiday and will be going back to it soon. Sometimes I find myself mentally walking through the rooms, trying to recall each little detail.

But we are settling in nicely here in Tauranga. There's always that 'lost' feeling for a little while after you make a big move from a place where you've been happy. I know that over time that will fade, and in the meantime, I am focusing on the positive things about our new town.

For one, the school is lovely. Today I am going to meet with Theodore's teacher to talk about strategies to get him caught up academically (he lost a year due to his epilepsy and struggles to retain information due to the effects of the medication he is on). The teacher rang me the other night - it is so nice to have pro-active educators, and not having to chase it up ourselves, as we had to at his last school.

Tauranga is warm! We are all struggling a little with the heat and humidity. But I am glad that my hair has not gone frizzy, and for some strange reason actually is quicker to dry in the mornings with my flat iron than it was in Canterbury (I thought it would be the other way around).

We are living close to family - that is so nice!

I'm glad we didn't sell our house before we moved, because we probably would have bought in the wrong area. Now, as we wait for it to sell, we can take our time, look around, and we definitely know what area we want to be in now.

I like it so much, as I drive around the city, that the sea is usually always in view out the car window.

And fruit and veges are much cheaper than Christchurch!