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Oamaru, here we come (eventually)!
Oamaru is a great place: a fraction of the rain here, great weather, beautiful Victorian limestone buildings, friendly people, excellent amenities, and there are no mosquitoes and flies in summer. Or insane traffic. I can't wait to move there!
Our offer on this house is about to go unconditional, though we won't be moving for a few months yet as we have to do some alterations here (kitchen and bathroom) and sell our current place. It was built in 1927 of the beautiful Oamaru limestone and looks out over the Oamaru Gardens and sea, and you can even see the snow on the alps in the other direction. We'll rent it out till we move down; apparently there's a shortage of rental places there. Once we do, there's some work to be done, but it's worth it.
I have some cool photos (incl. the Steampunk Museum) but I lack the energy to edit and post them. Oh, and all the streets are named after British rivers. Our new place is in Stour Street (which rhymes with "tour", not "sour"). For B7 fans, Avon Street is on a hill with magnificent views (I took a photo) with a B&B called Federation House a couple of blocks down the hill. :-) We considered staying there, but instead chose a much smaller place, and this worked out well as we made friends with the owner who is also a builder; we'll be hiring him to do some work.
In unrelated news, I bought something called ginger nuts from the supermarket last week. No, not the dunky biscuits, but nuts coated in ginger, and they were so yummy I polished the whole lot off this afternoon.
Our offer on this house is about to go unconditional, though we won't be moving for a few months yet as we have to do some alterations here (kitchen and bathroom) and sell our current place. It was built in 1927 of the beautiful Oamaru limestone and looks out over the Oamaru Gardens and sea, and you can even see the snow on the alps in the other direction. We'll rent it out till we move down; apparently there's a shortage of rental places there. Once we do, there's some work to be done, but it's worth it.
I have some cool photos (incl. the Steampunk Museum) but I lack the energy to edit and post them. Oh, and all the streets are named after British rivers. Our new place is in Stour Street (which rhymes with "tour", not "sour"). For B7 fans, Avon Street is on a hill with magnificent views (I took a photo) with a B&B called Federation House a couple of blocks down the hill. :-) We considered staying there, but instead chose a much smaller place, and this worked out well as we made friends with the owner who is also a builder; we'll be hiring him to do some work.
In unrelated news, I bought something called ginger nuts from the supermarket last week. No, not the dunky biscuits, but nuts coated in ginger, and they were so yummy I polished the whole lot off this afternoon.
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My grandmother went on a tour of the South Island and brought back a piece of white Oamaru stone to show me. It really looks lovely in a house; are there a lot of buildings made of it, or just a few older ones?
After this wet and blustery week, you will certainly be looking forward to getting away from rain! I'm very tired of it.
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Quite a few newer houses are made from the stone too, and of course the historic Victorian precinct in town is all Oamaru stone: beautiful buildings, many with pillars. :-)
That colourfully-lit one is the Opera House at night. When we went out one evening, we saw it going through its colour changes.
Man, I'm tired of the rain. The amount that fell yesterday was what fell in Oamaru for the whole of August. I can't wait!
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I've had ginger-coated nuts, and they are scrumptious indeed.
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The historic Victorian precinct in town is all Oamaru stone: beautiful buildings, many with pillars. :-) They survived because there was a local slump in the 20s so the buildings weren't torn down and replaced.
There's even an Opera House, such a good one, artistes go out of their way to perform there. The Russian Ballet was there recently.
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There's a bit of work to be done, but it's such a beautiful place and town.
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How will the cats cope?
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The cats will love it. It's a pity they wont inherit the current little tabby's territory, but they'll have big safe grounds. Getting there won't be at all pleasant, but I'm told there are pet transport companies to make it easy; it'll be worth the money.
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Oamaru looks to be a wonderful place to live. :)
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...this worked out well as we made friends with the owner who is also a builder; we'll be hiring him to do some work. Did you find out why, if he's a builder, he hasn't renovated the house already? I'd have thought that, as he is selling, he would have wanted to do so to help in selling it and/or to be able to ask a higher price.
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And ginger-coated nuts sounds fantastic. I wonder where I can get some of those?
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I have no idea - it's the first time I've ever seen them! And damn, they were more-ish.
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Finding a house with enough garden for the cats, safety from traffic, and privacy for us, was a big consideration. There was already a cat, a small silver tabby like our Ashley I saw going over the gate. :-)
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Oamaru sounds like a very beautiful and pleasant place - and I like the sound of the word:-)
Oh, and that fabulous house!!!! Even with those necessary changes it looks worth the price, with the solid material, glorious view and all.
I am really glad!
Well...your ginger nuts ...mmmmm!:-)
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If you google 'ginger-coated nuts' or 'gingered nuts', you'll find recipes, though I don't know how similar they are to the ones I bought. BTW a favourite recipe I have for carrots is to slice them, boil to starting to get soft, drain, then saute in butter and ginger and a little brown sugar.
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I can't help thinking that the cats are going to love haring round on the floors and that sun room area sounds perfect for them.
Federation House looks more like a Western set so Blake's 7 is magnificent 7 in space. : )
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The grounds are really big, safe, and private so the cats will enjoy inside and out. :-)
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Only 1 parking place for 4 bedrooms seems lacking though, but I guess it wasn't a priority in 1927!
The ginger nuts sound yummy
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And anyway I think it's really 3 bedrooms as the upstairs room with all the windows is really another sun room. There's also a loo and handbasin up there so 1 bathroom isn't as bad as it sounds. We're going to add an en suite though. The street is one of the most desired in Oamaru so we can only add value.
Someone in England said they love the ginger-coated nuts, so you must be able to get them there. :-)