Best Places to Live with Hiking Nearby?

Wellington's compact for walking if you get the right place, cycling's popular and there's reasonably good public transport (though timetables are sometimes fictional). You can also get to lots of good places nearby for walking completely through public transport. Good internet's also available. It's one of the more expensive places but that also depends on how you live your life. It wouldn't meet your other preferences of being next-door to snowy mountains, etc, and it sounds like you've ruled out the north island as an option. Just thought I'd fill it in in case, however.

Plimmerton

Sounds like I need to speak up for Dunedin. Within a one hour drive you wouldn't do the same track twice even if your out every weekend for a year. Go two hour's and you won't know what to do with yourself, alpine is around two to two and a half hours away although there is one or two that rate as alpine about an hour away (up on the rock and pillar range). Then we have Fiordland with the flowery tracks. Once your over them there is some serious tracks to do down there. There's some like 25 beaches with a 15 mile radius from the city centre, a well known varsity and out where I live there seems to be plenty of jobs for IT types.

Oh, and there is a harbour in the city that is a five minute walk from the city centre. Birds and penguin colonys on the harbour. To push bike from the city centre to the beach 15-20 minutes and there's the pineapple track which starts at the edge of the city and opens up a lot of tramping tracks from there. http://tramper.co.nz/?2822 I've spent a lot of time in Chch over the last few year's working, personally it's not a place I look forward to going to, but different stokes......

I’m glad that i found a place to get such great information

Dunedin is good I started tramping there many years ago and my father still does. Wellington is good as already mentioned with the Tararuas only a short walk from a bus stop and if you chose the suburb of Wainuiamata you can walk from the town center to any of the Orongaonga river huts in a easy medium day. Pity that there is little else to do over there

That is a question I've considered myself. I've purposefully moved in order to pursue outdoor interests including tramping & fishing many times over the years. I'm currently in Hokitika & it gives huge scope for outdoor enthusiasts. Sea, rivers, lakes, bush & mountains are all close at hand and there is quite good infrastructure in the area. Some consider the high rainfall especially in spring a drawback but it is something you learn to live with. It's a short drive through to the eastern side of the alps if you wish to escape rain on the western side. In the North Island Taupo offers heaps of scope and is probably where I'd be based if in the NI. The lake is like a sea. There are some places with lots of outdoor recreation opportunities that lack a bit in mainstream job opportunities and infrastructure. Haast, Karamea, Tuatapere, Murupara & Turangi spring to mind.

NELSON WITHOUT A DOUBT. KARUANGI NATIONAL PARK, NELSON LAKES,ABLE TASMAN,MT RICHMOND FOREST PARK,JUST FOR STARTERS ALL WITHIN 1 HRS DRIVE

A different way to think about this is the best place to live with hiking nearby is anywhere that you have a job to fund said hiking. Theres good hiking close to most towns and cities throughout NZ but its a waste if you cant afford to get out there

I've lived in various places around the country. Christchurch and Nelson in the South Island, both have a seemingly unlimited amount of weekend tramping within a couple hours drive. In the North Island I've spent a large part of my tramping life in Wellington, plenty of fantastic weekend tramping available in the Tararuas, Rimutakas, and Aorangi Ranges. Also for those longer trips you are living in the transport hub of NZ so the south island is only a short (but hardly cheap) trip across the ferry or flight. Two other cities I've lived in are Napier and Palmerston North. Napier is good access to the Kawekas, Ruahines, Kaimaniwas, and Urewera NP, plus the great weather of the East coast (and wine!!!). Palmerston North is absolutely spoilt for choice as there is tramping in every direction. I never any enjoyed the city itself but that provided good motivation to get out into the hills every weekend! But I agree with Geeves though. The best place is where ever you are working and have the opportunities and can afford to go tramping.