  I'm hard on Rotorua, possibly too hard a lot of the time because it really is a beautiful place.. so long as the sun is shining and you're surrounded by good people (because the people already here are CRAP! get away from me you backwater hicks! ) Without being too specific, I live at the base of the gondola hills.. if you've ever been to Rotorua you'll know roughly where I mean.. if you haven't and you don't know what the Gondolas are, and the word 'luge' makes you lift an eyebrow in a kinda 'huh?!?! ' wtfmate? kinda way - well, then you're stupid. Go away. I grew up in Rotorua, but on the -other- side of Rotorua, the 'remuera' part of Rotorua, called Lynmore.. nestled between farmland and the expansive forest, and on the way to some of Rotoruas' most well-known lakes. Got the mental image? right. That was then... ... now I live in the 'Manurewa' part of Rotorua, where rent is cheaper, and a huge double garage is almost a property pre-requisite.
Choice.. somewhere to work on the car. In a lot of ways, aside from being a shitty area, its a good place to live, for me, who is currently confined to 'walking' or public transport (more on public transport later I'm sure) Across the road , and we're talking maybe 50 metres tops, there is a good 4 Square dairy, a decent enough fish and chip shop, an extremely dissapointing bakery, a hairdressers that seems constantly booked out(?
) a pub, and soon to open, a laundromat. Within walking distance, I've got macdonalds, kfc, and about 3 service stations - two of which are 24/7 (even if it is only through a piddly 'we dont trust you big scary man' hole in the wall) The bus into town, stops almost on my doorstep - yet I can still miss it.
Wow..sounds pretty good huh? well you'd think that, and I guess it is, except for two times of the day, its a nice place to live. Between 7-9 in the morning, and between 3-4 in the afternoons, it becomes a very silly idea to try and go to the dairy. You -will- be forced to wait while a 7yr old spends $15 on lollies, picking them 2 at a time, from the kazillion different types they have on offer. Fond memories tho.. uh oh.. heres a 'when I was your age' story - cant help but feel old now. 
