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Why move to Otorohanga?
Otorohanga wants to help you find an ideal commercial and lifestyle location, where our business-friendly Council and District plan will enable you to concentrate on running your business and enjoying your family and recreation time.
Great Business Opportunities
It makes sound financial sense to establish the right business in Otorohanga.
- Do you want to get into the tourism industry?
Why not do it in Otorohanga, where 500 000 tourists visit every year? - Do you have a new idea for a rural business product?
Why not develop it in Otorohanga, the centre of rural New Zealand? - Have a great idea for an IT product?
Why not develop it in Otorohanga, where costs are low and the lifestyle is relaxed? - Otorohanga is close to larger commercial centres.
Auckland (2 hours), Hamilton (45 minutes), Tauranga (1.5 hours), Rotorua (1.5 hours)
Wonderful Lifestyle
Enjoy all the benefits of a vibrant, friendly, small town and rural lifestyle, with the attraction of larger towns and cities nearby. The Otorohanga District is all about a wonderful lifestyle at relatively low cost.
- A friendly caring community
- Work from home or spend 5 stress-free minutes driving to work
- Vibrant local sports clubs and facilities – netball, soccer, rugby, tennis, golf, squash
- Excellent choice of schools
- Good health care facilities.
Lots to See and Do
Whatever your passion, you can experience it within a scenic two hour drive.
- Waitomo caving adventures - 15 minutes
- Shopping and Casino - 45 minutes to Hamilton
- West Coast beaches - 1 hour
- East Coast beaches - 2 hours
- Skiing and winter sports - 2 hours.
Eric Tait (past Mayor) invites you to give him a call and have a chat about what Otorohanga has to offer.
Phone: 07 873 4044 (office)
Mobile: 0274 845 147
Email: eric.tait@otorohanga.co.nz
If you then feel like exploring further, Eric will invite you to spend a day in Otorohanga, introduce you to the people who can help you and visit the places that may interest you.
Typical itinerary for your visit to Otorohanga:
| 8.15am | Arrive at Hamilton International Airport to be met by Eric Tait |
| 8.30 | Travel to Otorohanga – informal discussion on the way |
| 9.00 | Meet local Mayor, Dale Williams, and Council CEO, Dave Clibbery, for coffee |
| 9.30 | Visit relevant Otorohanga business/es and meet their owners |
| Midday | Lunch at a local café – further questions and answers with Eric |
| 1.30pm | Meet local Real Estate Agents |
| 2.00pm | Visit suitable land / buildings for both residential and commercial purposes |
| 3.30pm | Visit Primary School/s or High School Principals / Deputy Principals |
| 4.30pm | Visit sporting facilities |
| 5.00pm | Drive back to Hamilton International Airport – further discussion with Eric on the way |
Your personalised itinerary will vary according to your requirements – Otorohanga has a surprising number of community leaders, wonderful businesses and strong business leaders, who would be happy to show you why they choose to live there.
Otorohanga is strategically located in the North Island, close to major cities and ports
Otorohanga is served by two major State Highways – SH3 to Hamilton + New Plymouth and SH31, which acts as a 'short cut' to Auckland and northern markets
Build your Business in Otorohanga
Reduce your overheads- Find a great location close to major markets
- Cut your transport costs
- Reduce your supply chain times
- Own affordable land.
Very affordable land is still available amongst well-established businesses in Progress Park, a purpose-designed commercial estate close to major transport networks.
For example, Lot 5 (4025m2) is available for an unbelievable price direct from the Otorohanga District Council – take a guess and contact Eric to see how close you are! To give you a hint a similar size piece of industrial land around Auckland would cost in the region of $800,000 +GST.
So what does this mean in real terms, if you chose to build a new factory in Otorohanga rather than Auckland?
- Your capital outlay would reduce by around $600,000 – The funding on this amount at 7% per annum is $42,000 or $3,500 per month.
- $600,000 could be spent on building a factory in the region of 400m², making the difference between building and paying for your own asset rather than leasing and paying for someone else’s asset.
- Lease on a similar size facility around Auckland would be around $80,000 per annum – total funding on $800,000 at 7% would be $56,000. This gives you a significant cash flow improvement whilst paying for your own asset and making capital gains over time.
- Transport costs to Auckland would be higher, but they would reduce for markets south of Auckland – as an indication, freight from Otorohanga to Auckland (over and above delivery around Auckland) would cost between $15 to $25 per m3 depending on volume and delivery address. In round figures, just the cost savings on the lease would cover the freight of around 1200m³ per year or 100m³ per month.
For those of you in Wellington or Christchurch the difference in Otorohanga land costs will be a little less than for Aucklanders, but they still offer a significant saving and bring you closer to the major markets north of the Bombay Hills
A willing and able Labour Force
Mayor Dale Williams has worked hard to implement Youth Development policies, which have been extremely successful. They have resulted in extremely low youth unemployment in Otorohanga and a community value system based on a strong work ethic.
"Congratulations to the Mayor of Otorohanga and the heart and spirit of Otorohanga. You have a town to be proud of – from the Public Toilets (superb!) to the retail shops, gardens etc. Everything and everyone is working towards the same purpose and it shows. Last time I drove through 'Oto' a person told me there was no unemployment – all the youth were employed. You obviously love people and people love this town. I think it must be the best town in NZ. It is an absolute pleasure to drive through – to stop by for a coffee takes 2 hours, because one gets waylaid by the pleasures..."
The alternative of bringing your own labour force or key employees with you is also very attractive. Great value housing and fantastic schooling are available – more about this later.
Tourism Business Opportunities
Otorohanga sees over 500,000 tourists pass through the area every year and provides a wonderful opportunity to start your own tourism business or create exciting new products for both tourists and tourism operators. As a well established tourist destination Waitomo is one of the jewels of New Zealand tourism. It's only 15km from Otorohanga and provides a strong cluster of tourism businesses – its make sense for people who love tourism opportunities to live in the Otorohanga and Waitomo districts.
Intellectual property and IT Business Opportunities
In our lifetime the greatest new paradigm for those in business must be the internet. It is being considered as a contender for a Nobel Prize, because of the significance it has made to so many lives.
This communication evolution has come about as a result of faster, more reliable and ubiquitous internet connections supported by mobile devices like laptops, PDA's and smart phones that allow more people to be online longer and from more places.
With easier and more affordable communication opportunities, we can now conduct business on a global platform; our rapidly growing online communities are absorbing content and information at an unprecedented rate.
The advent of broadband internet connections has changed the way we do business – so has the "where we do business". We are no longer tied to our desks and our offices and this makes Otorohanga a wonderfully cost-effective place to live and work amongst others who embrace excellence in performance and a sound work/life balance.
Agricultural Business Opportunities
Otorohanga is at the heart of rural New Zealand and an ideal location for establishing and developing businesses or business ideas in the agricultural sector.
Residential Property / Lifestyle Property Opportunities
Median residential and lifestyle property prices for Otorohanga are $195,000 and $320,000 respectively. In simple terms, you get a lot of house for a little money.
So what does this mean?
Reducing your mortgage by the difference in the median house price between Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch and Otorohanga saves hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For example, a Christchurch couple with two young children run their own internet-based business and own a home with a 750m² section, which is worth $595,000 and has a mortgage of $250,000. They could "move to the country" and buy an 8,000m² small holding with three bedrooms and a large work-from-home office for $345,000.
- They no longer have a mortgage to worry about
- Their children have a wonderful garden to enjoy
- A passion for gardening and growing vegetables can be explored
- No more traffic jams and hence much more time at home with their children
- If their income drops by $500 per week, they are no worse off in real terms and therefore don't have to work so hard – giving time to enjoy their new home and lifestyle.
Where is Otorohanga?
Otorohanga is in the North Island "Golden Triangle" within 2 hours of major centres, airports and sea ports.
Otorohanga is at the intersection of 2 major highways – State Highway 3 and State Highway 31, which is effectively a shortcut and "bypass" to Auckland.
In Summary
Otorohanga has a solid core of well-established national and international companies, rural support businesses, plus a full range of banking facilities, excellent retail and service providers.
The Otorohanga district has excellent education facilities at primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
Otorohanga is a very caring community with affordable and effective medical and health services, close to major hospitals.
The Otorohanga District is heartland dairy farming country with fertile soils, a temperate climate and good rainfall. We have excellent transport networks – Otorohanga is serviced by State Highways 3 and 31, which reduces travel time to Auckland by another 30 minutes.
Otorohanga is an ideal location for:
- Rural support businesses
- IT developers & server location
- Call centres
- National distribution centres
- Cool stores
- Manufacturing businesses
- Secure document storage
- Tourism related businesses – Otorohanga is the closest service centre to the Waitomo Caves. Waitomo has in excess of 500,000 visitors annually.
To find out what Otorohanga has to offer and arrange a visit to meet all the right people, please contact Eric Tait (past Mayor and enthusiastic Business Development Coordinator)
Phone: 07 873 4044 (office)Mobile: 0274 845 147
Email: eric.tait@otorohanga.co.nz