Yes, traffic is definitely much lighter down your way! I’m cooking Scallops with Pernod tonight using a recipe that we first ate in Fleurs Place down in Moeraki - it’s a small world, really!
After a little research, it appears that the b-hyve units use PWS Weather as their weather source so that is good, there’s one not far from you and if you decide it’s not accurate enough for your location, you always have the option of installing your own weather station and then connecting it to PWS. Your nearest station is https://www.pwsweather.com/station/pws/25550972.
FYI I don’t use a physical rain sensor any more as the Rachio and previous Hunter controllers both disable ALL watering after rain, which is no good if you have a greenhouse and want it watered, whether it has rained or not! On the Rachio 2 I can disable rain skip on the greenhouse zone. - don’t know if you can do the same on the b-hyve?
One plus of the Rachio 3 is that I gather it works on either 2.4 or 5Ghz whereas the b-hyve (and Rachio 2) only work on 2.4Ghz. I have a separate 2.4Ghz SSID for my IoT devices so not a problem for me but it may be relevant.
The basic unit you sent me details of is for use indoors only - is yours going to be located inside or out? They do a 12 zone outdoor model too - https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-57950-12-Station-Controller-Compatible/dp/B01D15HOTU/ref=psdc_3480701011_t1_B07CZ864Y9
Sorry (for Rachio!) to say that because you won’t get the benefit of the seasonal shift, I’d be tempted to go for one of the b-hyve units as it seems they do all the Rachio 3 can do (outside US/Canada) for a lot less money…