For a lot of people this week is the week that they head back to work. Usually with a fresh tan, not enough sleep and hopefully lots of happy memories. The reality starts to sink in that it’s time to leave 2022 in the rear view mirror and look into the future and to what 2023 may hold.
This week in my blog I will start the first of what I hope to be many ‘Suburb Spotlights’ in which I will take a suburb in Tauranga and dive deep into all the insights you may be interested in learning about have you any desire to move to that suburb. Every fourth blog will be a different suburb and this weeks suburb is the one I am lucky enough to call home – Welcome Bay.
Welcome Bay is one of the largest suburbs in Tauranga with a population total of around 11,000. The unique geography of Welcome Bay means it sits on it’s own to the South-East not really bordering any other suburbs. To arrive from the city centre you have to cross a causeway with beautiful water on both sides when the tide is in. Welcome Bay road acts as a thoroughfare to all parts of Welcome Bay meaning there is really only one way in and one way out from each end.
This brings me to the traffic… You may have heard that Welcome Bay traffic is a nightmare and at times you would have heard correctly but I would like to debunk this myth somewhat. People will say “But Nick, you are a Real Estate Agent you don’t get out of bed until 10am and are home by 2pm so you never sit in the heavy stuff” this statement I would also like to debunk but that is an entirely different blog which would be much longer and more tedious than this one. Traffic can be heavy coming out of Welcome Bay and travelling towards the city centre during peak hours, this is true and a lot of it comes down to traffic merging into one lane on the causeway and traffic coming in from Hairini and Ohauiti joining in. Overall, traffic is not that bad when you compare it to Tauranga as a whole and even on a cold, wet Monday morning traffic usually flows slowly but steadily.
Enough about traffic, what about places to walk my dog? Well.. you will be pleased to know there are multiple great dog walking areas in Welcome Bay. Johnson Reserve is a beautiful scenic walk through nature which really gives a ‘gone bush’ vibe with birds singing and peaceful serenity. It’s mostly covered too so it’s great for in the summer time when you don’t feel like getting baked by the sun. Waipuna park is predominantly for sports – football, athletics, school cross country etc but when it’s not being utilised for these activities it makes for a great place for the family to take the dog down and throw a ball around. There is plenty of space away from the road to let the dog off of the leash. If you prefer to take your dog to somewhere with a bit of water, picnic tables, a playground and still lots of space for the dog to run around, Tye park and the end of Forrester Drive is a beautiful setting for these leisures.
Local amenities you ask? Well, Welcome Bay has it’s own little shopping centre. When I say little.. I do mean little. You won’t find Hallensteins, Glassons, Kmart or anything even resembling a clothes store. It does have the necessities though, a Four Square, fuel station, a pharmacy, bakery and multiple takeaway options. A side note the fish and chip shop there has a great Chinese smorgasbord and the sushi is delightful!! Behind the shopping centre is the Welcome Bay Tavern and a liquor store.
Welcome Bay has a huge scale of diversity when it comes to areas, boasting some of the most beautiful streets in Tauranga and properties with views of the water and in some cases Maouo- Mount Maunganui. Various areas are extremely desireable with lots of great views and waterfront homes in some cases, and areas like most suburbs less desireable as well.
In terms of schooling you have a couple of options at primary level with both Selwyn Ridge primary and Welcome Bay school in zone and easily accessible, there is also a Welcome Bay kindergarten too. Tauranga Boys and Tauranga Girls are both within a 10-15 minute drive for high school options.
To sum up Welcome Bay I would say it’s a lovely suburb to live in if you can brave a bit of traffic from time to time, there are beautiful parks to walk your dog and lovely scenery with the water never far away throughout. It does get let down by the amenities in my eyes and if a supermarket was to ever be built here I think it would become even more desireable.