Re-locate in New Zealand

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Ricecakes

Auckland is definitely the best place to settle. The rest of the towns in NZ are tiny hick towns. Although some people seem to love Wellington.
It's a great city - easy to navigate, loads of beaches and water, quite a lot going on (don't expect much culture) and all the good jobs.
The suburbs vary. But lots are by the water and have nice beaches (Mission Bay, Takapuna)
There is no hostility to ex pats, In fact if you are British you won't even be considered an 'ex pat' because there are so many British people out there and just about everyone is either married to a Brit, were born in UK or have grandparents in UK. There is no resentment about Brits going over and getting jobs.
It's cheaper than UK but you earn a lot less. It's hard to compare the cost of living because wages can be so rubbish. Generally, when you are there you will have a disposable income, but if you try to go abroad you will feel utterly poor. And a trip back to the UK to visit family will bankrupt you for the rest of the year!
There is no M&S and in general you can't buy 'UK' groceries, although you can buy marmite and a few other popular goods.
Climate - in the winter it rains and rains and rains and then rains some more, but you do get lots of lovely sunny days when it's not raining. No grey overcast days like in the UK.
Summer is not very hot - 24 degrees max but generally pretty sunny. It feels like summer for at least 6 months of the year, not just for 2 weeks like in the UK.

Auckland is a great place. The lifestyle you have there can be great. People work less, play more and if you like sailing etc and the outdoor lifestyle it's amazing.
On the downside, it's dull as anything in winter, there's never any cultural events and it's a long way from anywhere, particularly when the NZ dollar is worth something akin to a magic bean!

Btw - just read some of the other answers - the cost of living is NOT pound to dollar, except for maybe petrol. And anyway, you won't be earning pounds so it's irrelevant!
And don't compare someone's experiences living in the south island or on a 6 week holiday with living there - it's totally different!

hunneybunney

I have been to nz but wasnt all that impressed.
Lived on the south island for about a month. Found them pretty primeval. The men go out to work and the women stay at home and bake.. Very laid back and country like.. I hated it! Scenery was 2nd to none but that wouldnt convince me to live there.
I hated grocery shopping... similar to shopping at lidl over here. nothing in its rightful place.. no glitz and glamour of sainsburys.
They dont buy anything new... everything is recycled. These are actualy good things but if you are used to having the best car or the best pram for your baby be prepared to be frowned upon. They pass everything down and no-one is materialistic!
Yes everything is slightly cheaper there ...but then you should be prepred to be paid alot less also.
My friend gets Â£20 housekeeping from her husband as her own to spend which she finds is sufficient but then he only gets paid about Â£140 per week as an electrician.
In 2 months in march/april i saw 4 days of sun (equivelant to our sept/oct)...
Summers are no better than ours but the winters are alot worse ie they actually get snow. Especially on the south island. Skiing is big down there!
I would definitely recommend going over there for a visit.
We chose to rent a house for the time we were over there. Cost about Â£300 per month for a big place.
Most of the houses are built out of wood or tin and most are bungalows. Its a bit like the usa.. they are all detached.. Not many semi's etc.
Any questions just send me and email jema_bunney@yahoo.co.uk xxx

As_It_Is

South Auckland is rough

Christchurch looks best... surfy beach, snowy mountains, fairly flat, big park...

In kost places there is a set city centree and bungalow suburbs just outside.

No m&S

Climate varies widely as to where you live.

Dolphin swimming an hour away.

Auckland is big but you need a car as no nightbuses.

More sushi shops.

Maybe have a look around various auckland suburbs.

Id go for Christchurch

Smiley Chick..

Can t belive hunneybunney 's answer...... New Zealand is amazing...By far the nicest, friendliest place I have ever been!! stayed there for about two years and want to re-locate there. I had the best time over there!!! Go for it its an amazing place with amazing people x x good luck and don't let others put you off!! x x

mark

If you're used to big city life then Aukland or Wellington is where you'll want to be. NZ isn't all that big and driving around it is really enjoyable. The climate is pretty similar to the UK (a bit milder but still plenty of rain), but the seasons are all back to front.

There are a lot of Brits in NZ, so not a not of hostility (the usual banter) and the cost of living is a bit higher (but it's been a few years since I've been there).

This doesn't help your question but i love the fact that you asked about M&S lol.. great food isn't it.

Anyway sorry for the rubbish post!

Travellin Bry

It all depends on what you are looking for. Auckland is a really vast city, although only 1.2 million people it takes about 3 hours to drive from the north to the south. I'm from Scotland and hve never encountered any hostility because of where I come from.

THe north shore is where many ex pats live and has british pubs, a british food store (bramptins). THe climate is briliant 26 degree's in the summer and about 12 in the winter, obviously that changes the further south you go. NZ is actually more expensive than people think with a high cost of living in comparison to wages. Yes it's cheap compared to the British pound, but research your type of work and average salary over here.

Wellington is also an awesome city and slightly more compact and full of culture. Further south the temp isn't as good but things are more English, especially Christchurch.

Where ever you go it's a great country and I doubt you'l look back. Good luck

an_articulate_soul

i lived there 25 years ago so i can't talk about the cost of living...but of all the places i did live (from Hastings/Napier to Invercargill) was Nelson, the northern tip of the South Island...

mild climate, good people, right near the Picton Ferry if you want visit Wellington...yet far enough away from the hubbub...

ohhhhh, TAKE ME WITH YOU! lol

x-yoga-hun-x

omg wow im so moving to NZ when i can - go for it!
auckland is lovely, beautiful scenery, cost of living is about pound to dollar so its about a third of the price, the climate is warm even in winter i don't know much else about your questions but everyone's really friendly so grab the chance while you can!! Good Luck!

Nannycait

Hi

I am an New Zealander living in the UK with my English partner. I think Auckland would probably be the better place to settle in terms of employment, climate and things to do. It is quite a sprawling city with many faces to it. A lot of English settle in East Auckland and the North Shore. South Auckland (where I was raised)is predominatly Pacific Island and quite industrial. North Shore and the Eastern suburbs are very residential with lovely beaches. My partner never experienced any hostility when he lived there and I certainly have never witnessed any hostilities towards Ex pats. With the cost of living we did a comparison between England and NZ and we found very little difference. Salaries are low in NZ and house prices are high. I find food here in the UK is cheaper and there is way more variety. There is no M&S in NZ unfortunately. The climate in Auckland is mild, but we do get a lot of rain compared to here, I was told that this was because Auckland is situated on such a narrow part of the island. Which brings me to another point. Public transport is not the best really. You have to get a car. Overall it depends on what it is that you want out of a city/town. One thing that I have come across quite a bit is that people are quite shocked by how quiet it is in NZ, even though Auckland is the largest city in NZ it is still nothing in comparison to London and some of the other big cities in Europe, you really notice the low population. I hope this helps.

funkygurl123

Auckland is good is has the sky tower and a really nice heritage hotel, it's quite busy it might as well be the capital city as well, i don't know what that one means, very cheap! well when i went our money was something like worth 4 times as much as it would be at home. It probably changes all the time though. I didn't see any UK M&Ss we missed UK shops there lol but there are big supermarkets quite similar with similar brands e.g bounty kitchen roll is called handee, rice crispies are called rice bubbles, we got used to it though.
The climate is similar to the UK I think it is warmer in the north island though where Auckland is. I went in winter and it was quite a warm winter but still cold like in UK! People there said we should go back in January/February so it would be hotter (i went in UK Summer/New Zealand winter. People are really friendly in New Zealand and I did some amazing stuff there, skiing, shotover jet, I really want to live there when I'm older. The only thing is earthquakes most aren't big though I was in one

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Re-locate in New Zealand - Where ?