Hokowhitu Lagoon

I read about Hokowhitu Lagoon numerous time. There have been a few times I look it up on Google map but I can never see the "water" on the map. I always thought this lagoon must be soo small it didn't appear on the map.

We went there the other day anyway to have a look. It sure worth a visit. The park surrounding it was nicely kept. It was also quite nice to walk around just to admire all the various types of ducks and birds. And don't forget the houses surrounding the lagoon. It sure was a nice place to visit for picnic, feeding the duck or kayaking.

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Te Apiti Windfarm Lookout

One of the more popular places to visit around Palmerston North is the Te Apiti Windfarm lookout. I have to say the road to the lookout is a bit windy for my liking.

But once you get there, I have to say the scenery is breathtaking. The developer left one of the turbine in the middle of the car park, which is spectacular! Standing at the bottom of the turbine, one can really appreciate the size of the turbine! Its HUGE!

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Highbury

I forgot to mention in the previous post that as far as what people have mentioned to me, avoid Highbury if you can.

I am sure there are probably good streets and bad streets in all suburbs, but as far as what I heard from people (friends and real estate agents), avoid Highbury if you can.

River Walk or Bike Trail

One of the more beautiful thing one can do in Palmerston North is the river walk. It basically run across the bottom part of Palmerston North. It is the Manawatu River.

This is a common place for people to go for a walk or go for a bike ride. The bike trail is quite easy with very few slight incline.

There are a few access point from the road to the river walk. I find the bike trail map provided by Palmerston North city council to be the best.

The map also shows different bike route for Palmerston North. I personally think Palmerston North to be the best place to get into biking. The road here are mostly flat - really easy for beginners.

Map

Saturday Market

One of the first thing i try to find out here is where to do my Grocery shopping. Beside all the usual places like Countdown, Pak n Save, and New World, i always like fresh markets. One of the places is Saturday market corner of Church Street and Albert Street. I don't know what time they start (never get there that early) but I suspect around 6 or 7am. It finishes around 11am so be sure to get there before that. I usually get there around 10am and usually a few stores already starting to close.

This market is good for all type of vegetables and some fruit stalls too. I also notice that they have a fish van too, and the fishes too look fresh. This place is particularly good if you are into your Asian vegetables - bok choy, kai lan etc.

Where to live in Palmerston North?

Hokowhitu
Hokowhitu I believe is the best suburb in Palmerston North. It is basically the central of Palmerston North. It is also near the river which is popular here. But there are pockets of less desirable streets here, so be careful when you are looking for a place to stay.

City Centre
This place is not bad. As its tittled it is in the city centre. From driving around some streets seems a bit rough and abit rundown. I think most of the city centre places are probably rental property as with many city centre.

Roslyn
It is where the Palmerston North hospital located. So it is extremely handy if you work there. However by driving around, there are alot of state housing looking properties. From listings, there are alot of good properties there, so if you looking to stay here, make sure you choose the right street to live in.

Milson & Kelvin Grove
There are quite abit of newer properties in both these locations. So if you looking for newer properties, look here. I personally find Kelvin Grove to be abit far from city centre.

Awapuni
This is more of a suburb area. While driving around, I can see alot of children and families which I like. Choose the part of Awapuni which is closer to the river. The further away, the rougher the area looks.

Terrace End
Like all suburbs in Palmerston North, Terrace End can have pockets of streets that look abit run down. Not sure why this is the case. By driving around, I can see quite abit of young families, which is always good. There are a few streets that have very nice looking houses. As always, the more desirable area would be the area closer to the river and the golf club.

Takaro
I personally haven't have the chance go there yet. But by what people have told me, avoid Takaro if you can.

Please note that these are just my personal opinion which can be biased. A few people also have mentioned to me that the rule of thumb for Palmerston North is to look at the map and look for the grid. You will see a cross dividing Palmerston North into four squares. The bottom two squares is the better part of town... in general.

Hope this give you a rough idea on suburbs in Palmerston North. Please ask any questions and I will try to answer it, or I will try to find out.

Where to live in Palmerston North

The fist question I had when I was planning to move here is where should I live? Which suburb should I look for and which suburb should I avoid?

At first what I did was pretty easy, I have no one that I can ask. No one I know is from Palmston North. So what I did was go to Trademe property and arrange the property listed from the highest price to the lowest and thought the highest price must be the sought after suburb. And I was right :)

Anyway, since then I have talked to numerous real estate agents and friends that I meet since I moved here. For the next few postings, I will write about the suburbs that I know or at least opinions on suburbs that I know.

Hokowhitu
Terrace End
Parklands
Kelvin Grove
Milson
Roslyn
Takaro
City Centre