The joy of Hawke's Bay is not just confined to Napier, there is the twin city of Hastings, plus the upmarket village of Havelock North.

I am not aware of problems with boy racers and as already mentioned, if they do exist it keeps Napier in company with most large cities. The plus side of the ledger is best discovered with a quick exploration of Google, but examine Hastings as well. The two cities are only minutes apart and on the motorway, it would be quicker to reach the other city than to drive across Wellington during the busy time of the day.

The area is served with regular flights to the main centres, and there are frequent inter-city bus lines. Public transport is also quite good but most important of all there are no parking problems. The main road to Wellington is simple to follow, as is the main road to Auckland.

Being surrounded by high ranges, much of the bad weather that heads this way is either diverted around the ranges to Taupo or sent out to sea, 'The Bay' seems to have its own micro climate, this is very acceptable all year. The first day of winter was celebrated with the temperature settled nicely on 21 degrees. When we do get frosts, by 9:00am the sun will be out, there will be very little wind and it will be a nice warm day. At 4:00pm, when the sun drops, it will be closely followed by the temperature but winters are supposed to be cold, especially at night.

Hawke's Bay used to run the most wonderful advertising slogan. "Welcome to Napier, where it only rains because we need it." This past summer has seen that motto really come to fruition, a period where rain was needed most urgently.

Wellington has carried the news that in the last few days, even the hills are on the move. There could be no better time to consider a shift to this area. I also have a Chinese partner, and in Hastings there are four speciality shops that cater for Chinese food supplies, including a small Chinese supermarket.