When I moved from Auckland to Tauranga at the age of 23 I found it difficult to meet people about my age.
There were plenty of teenagers and couples in their mid to late 20s with young children but young working professionals seemed few and far between.
Having gone throughschool and university in Auckland, I had a large group of friends around my age and stage of life but Tauranga was different.
With no major university campus here many teenagers finish secondary school and move out of town for university. Often they are in no hurry to come back and take a job wherever they can find one.
The issue of keeping young people in Tauranga is back in the news after Waikato University council member Paul Adams yesterday told the Bay of Plenty Times the new university campus that is planned would be a catalyst to rejuvenating Tauranga city and keep young people in the area.
Not only is Mr Adams pushing for a new campus in Tauranga but he is already building close ties to the University of California, which has 235,000 students.
Mr Adams gave University of California chairman of the board of regents Bruce Varner a tour of Tauranga on Tuesday after signing an agreement of collaboration between the two institutions.
A university, especially one with close ties to such a well-respected international institution, is bound to go a long way keeping young people in the Bay and even bringing them in from elsewhere.
More young families are moving to the region in search of affordable homes but there is still a way to go before Tauranga can shake the reputation of being the retirement capital of the country.
A university campus will go a long way to doing that.
Every other major city - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Dunedin - have universities, which attract tens of thousands of students, and a campus here will help boost the local economy and create jobs.
I applaud Mr Adams for continuing to help drive the Tauranga campus project forward.
