9 Best Places To Retire In New Zealand
You could probably pick any place in New Zealand and enjoy your retirement. The country provides public healthcare, a universal superannuation payment after age 65, and a beautiful cultural mix of Western and Indigenous influences. Plus, it has landscapes that people fly across the planet to photograph. But the best places to retire in New Zealand take things a step further, combining all of the country's perks into accessible and affordable town centers.
To qualify for this list, towns had to be affordable, defined in this article as having a home price below the New Zealand average of NZ$ 906,572, reported by Opes Partners in June 2026. Each town also had to have fewer than 50,000 residents. Finally, because affordability alone will not fill your week, every place on this list also has an interesting social scene or a beautiful geographic location to keep you on your toes long after your working days are done.
Gisborne
Gisborne makes it easy to see the light. This town calls itself the first city in the world to see the sunrise each new day, and that glow makes for a great place to settle down. Gisborne's median home price has more than doubled in the past decade, but for now, it's still an affordable $566,000 to get involved.
Planted on display in the early-morning light is the National Arboretum of New Zealand, 131 hectares of native and exotic trees with 25 kilometers of trail at the Eastwoodhill Arboretum. Also enjoying the sun's warm glow is some of the country's best chardonnay along the Gisborne wine trail. You can soak in the sun as a member of the Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club and enlist in weekday indoor bowls, darts, line dancing, and outings at the Gisborne Senior Citizens Association. On the practical side, you've got Gisborne Hospital and the Three Rivers Medical Center on standby for any medical concerns.
Ōamaru
If you're looking to retire in the coolest town in New Zealand, Lonely Planet recommends Ōamaru. The town's Victorian steampunk harbor district and seafront Moeraki fishing village helped it earn recognition in 2014 as the coolest town in the country. With that kind of press, you might expect extraordinary housing prices, but Ōamaru is very affordable. The average house value here is $448,800, almost half the national average. That buy-in plants you close to a 24-hour emergency department at Ōamaru Hospital, a unique downtown, and beautiful wildlife right downtown near the Ōamaru harbor.
More than 70 buildings along Harbour Street and Tyne Street in downtown Ōamaru carry Heritage New Zealand Category 1 or 2 registration, highlighted by Steampunk HQ, a former grain elevator turned gallery and museum that does a great job representing this town's quirky nature. Steps away from steampunk, you can check out the Ōamaru penguins, two colonies of little blue penguins that coalesce nightly in the town's downtown harbor.
Alexandra
Good weather, great scenery, and affordable housing. That's the simple pitch for Alexandra, a small town in Central Otago on New Zealand's South Island. Alexandra is one of the driest towns in New Zealand. In fact, it was the driest town in 2013. Alexandra is also flat as a pancake, which makes it a great place to stay active. You can easily ride from your home to the Otago Central Rail Trail, a 152-kilometer bike path known as New Zealand's original great ride, without worrying about the hills.
If you're tempted by Alexandra, you'd better get there in a hurry. For now, this town is still below the nationwide average for housing values, but home prices here have been skyrocketing. The average house value in Alexandra has gone from $268,000 in 2011 to $743,150 today. Meet up with some of the other folks who have figured out Alexandra is a great place to retire at the Alexandra Senior Citizens, a meet-up group for weekly card games and exercise classes. You'll also feel at home at the Dunstan Friendship Club downtown.
Whanganui
Every day, the oldest person in all of New Zealand runs right through downtown Whanganui. The Whanganui River, the first river in the world recognized as an official person, provides a beautiful backdrop for this town of just under 50,000 residents. The town of Whanganui has developed at the rivermouth of the third-longest river in New Zealand, right where the water flows into the Tasman Sea. While the Whanganui Chronicle reports that the town's housing prices are increasing faster than in surrounding areas, Whanganui's median home price is still several hundred thousand dollars below the nationwide average at $524,930.
Not too bad to set up shop in an oceanfront town with great outdoor access and the Whanganui Regional Healthcare system. Whanganui is New Zealand's only UNESCO City of Design, a worldwide recognition for the city's commitment to creativity. You can see that dedication to the arts on display in the 8,000 works of art at the Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery.
Feilding
Despite being relatively small, Feilding, New Zealand, is no stranger to the awards circuit. This town has won the annual award for the most beautiful town in New Zealand 16 times. Despite the acclaim, Feilding has stayed affordable, with an average home price of $629,400. Locals call this town "Friendly Feilding," and that effort is apparent in its retirement offerings. Groups like "60s Up" and Senior Hub provide several community support programs. A Health Shuttle system helps residents get around Feilding to appointments at the local Feilding Health Care Center and the larger hospital facilities in Palmerston North.
Feilding is primarily driven by an agricultural economy. The town attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, but not tourists: sheep and cattle, who pass through the Feilding saleyards, which host daily tours and have been actively trading livestock since 1880. You can also enjoy its agricultural prowess at the Feilding Farmers market, which sells fresh local produce each Friday in the center of Manchester Square.
Masterton
If you'd like to retire close enough to the big city to enjoy its amenities while still living in a calmer town, settle down in Masterton. Average home prices here are several hundred thousand dollars cheaper than in nearby Wellington, but living here keeps New Zealand's capital within easy reach. Masterton is just over 100 minutes from Central Wellington via the Wairarapa line, allowing you to pop into New Zealand's capital for medical checks, special events, or family time.
You won't need to leave town often, though. Masterton has a great infrastructure for retirees right by main street. Retirement communities like Wairarapa Village are within walking distance of Masterton's main shopping areas and Queen Elizabeth Park, a great place for fresh air with a miniature train, swing bridges, paddle boats, and a historic cricket grandstand. In the surrounding Wairarapa wine region, you can enjoy boutique wineries and sip Pinot Noir from a district that helped pioneer the variety in New Zealand.
Picton
New Zealand's South Island has several dreamy retirement destinations, but some areas can feel a bit isolated. Picton is a great place to set down roots because it offers the best of both worlds. Picton is the gateway town between the North and South Islands, connected to Wellington by multiple daily ferries. It's also close to great outdoor action at Abel Tasman National Park and the Marlborough Sounds. To top it all off, Picton is one of New Zealand's more affordable coastal markets with an average home price of $618,350.
Picton is near wonderful wild areas, and its downtown is well-equipped for retirees. As of the 2023 census, 32% of Picton's residents were aged 65 or older, among the highest proportions of any small town in New Zealand. Retired residents frequently congregate at the Picton RSA, the Picton Bowling Club, and the Picton Golf Club. Picton also has a robust care system, highlighted by the Older Persons Mental Health Service, which provides free mental health care. You'll also have access to the Picton Medical Center and emergency care a 25-minute drive south at the Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.
Whakatāne
The eastern Bay of Plenty is a cost-effective and naturally beautiful place to retire. There are many towns around the Bay of Plenty where you could lay down your roots, but why not head to the sunshine capital of New Zealand, Whakatāne? The town logged 2,704 sunshine hours in 2020 en route to claiming its sunny crown. Town Mayor at the time, Judy Turner, boldly declared that this makes it the sunniest place in the world, and the average house value here is still an affordable $650,950.
Whakatāne's social infrastructure shows that retiring in the country's sunshine capital is a popular idea. U3A Whakatāne runs monthly speaker events and dozens of interest groups covering cycling, mah-jong, and current affairs, and they'll even help you write a memoir. You'll also be close to bowling and morning teas with the Ōhope Friendship Club, and your healthcare will be covered by the Whakatāne Hospital, which operates 160 beds and houses the Project Hope Cancer Center.
Motueka
Many people dream of retiring near a national park, but if you settle down in Motueka, you'll be setting up shop on the doorstep of two. Both the Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks are within easy reach of downtown Motueka, located on the South Island's wild northern edge.
Motueka is the second-most-populated town in the Tasman region, but that's not saying much. As of the 2023 census, it had 8,190 residents, of whom 2,364 were over 65, indicating a relatively large retiree population. The buy-in here is a respectable $704,200, which, in addition to the nearby national parks, will land you close to the New Zealand Golf Club of the Year in 2018, the Motueka Golf Club. With outdoor recreation, elderly communities, and health care access at The Doctors Motueka, plus larger hospitals in nearby Nelson, Motueka is a great place to be.
These are New Zealand's best places to retire
You can retire comfortably in any of these nine towns while paying less than the national average, and each offers you something special. Some put you on the water. Some put you in the sun. Some put you on a short train ride from the capital. What they share is low housing prices, healthcare within reach, and a community that already runs afternoon bowls and takes care of its seniors. Pick the one that tickles your fancy, then go see it for a week and start making your arrangements.
