Editorial: A good time to live in Rotorua

Kelly Makiha

There's been a pretty clear message in some of our top stories this week.

Living in Rotorua is cheap, safe and if you need to get out of town, it won't cost you as much as elsewhere to fill your tank with gas.

Today we do a cheeky comparison about what you get in Rotorua for $1 million compared with the poor suckers in Auckland.

A house in Auckland has featured in the news as expecting to sell at auction for $1 million. It is basically a shack with no power or water and you'd feel bad letting your pets live there let alone humans.

Compare that with Rotorua, where you can get close to a mansion for the same price.
Another big news story this week is Rotorua's reported crime rate is dropping. Our city is the star performer in the Bay of Plenty region - which as a whole achieved the best result in the country.

Then there is Wednesday's story proving that despite rises in prices at the petrol pumps, Rotorua motorists are still doing better than most, with our prices much cheaper than our neighbours in Tauranga.

I spotted a Facebook post on Thursday from long-serving Rotorua district councillor Charles Sturt who was wondering what all the hype was about with Auckland when places like Rotorua appeared to have it all.

It sparked some healthy debate with those commenting saying Rotorua lacked job opportunities to create a migration to our city.

Yes, we have a long way to go but yesterday's announcement of a $60 million super mill at Red Stag is a good start.

After this week in the news, I'm feeling pretty upbeat about our city's future. Spring is definitely in the air.