Pom_Chch

Hi, I would basically echo everything LauraNotts has said. I think she hits the nail on the head with her thoughts about Chch.

My partner and I moved out here about 2.5 years ago now and love it. Canterbury is a playground for outdoor activities if that's what you're into. The climate is one that is suited for being in the outdoors for a large part of the year. You've got the usual suspects like hiking, biking, fishing, camping etc and then if you're a snow sports kind of person you can head to the mountains for the day to go skiing. Summer time you've got a good choice of water sports - stand up paddle boarding, surfing etc. I think that's something special about living in Canterbury - to be able to live in a place where I can drive 5 minutes to the beach and surf in summer and drive an hour into the mountains to go skiing for the day in winter. We're rarely bored with nothing to do in these parts, put it that way! At the weekend I was sat outside my local coffee shop in the sunshine, I could hear the sound of the ocean whilst looking at snow capped mountains

Anyway, at the risk of sounding like a tour guide I'll leave it there! If you have any specific questions about Chch or Canterbury please ask away...

Tom H

First things first - where have you been reading this from? Look i'm the first to admit the country isn't the gods gift country that some make it out to be, but find some of that a bit huh??


One thing I have experienced is that it's more a who you know when job applications - followed closely by immigration status. It's not a case of locals hiring locals over immigrants. When you are on a work visa, there's a lot of paperwork to do beforehand, as well as the risk that you may not be allowed to stay. Where as whether you are a citizen or a resident, that's not the case. We obtained residency in March last year and we've noticed with the wife in particular, she's getting more job queries and interview requests than beforehand on a work visa. Even myself has.


Secondly, with regards to bullying - I believe that is a worldwide problem, not just confined to New Zealand. I watched the bullying documentary on catch up recently and given the population vs the cases, then it is a problem here. But it's a problem everywhere, USA, Australia, South Africa, UK, New Zealand - everywhere has their bullies and they're not the hardest to deal with unfortunately.


It's good that you are doing your research because many of those commentators I think didn't, and didn't expect the shock reality of living here. When we moved over to here, I was lucky that I knew a lot of New Zealanders and they all mentioned about the price of food for example. It is an expensive place to live in and the best example I can give to many ones coming over is think London prices on UK national wage. It's not cheap, far from it.


I see your partner has been offered a job in Christchurch. Will he be doing business properties or homes? If homes, he's got a job for life! That could be another grump that you may have seen from people about New Zealand. There's a lot of homes that haven't had the inspection yet, let a lone discussions with insurers and the government department. A colleague of mine after 4 years, is now seeing her home be repaired and there's still a lot more to do. So by all means, you may here the city side of things being all hunky dory but the grumps and anger (I can include myself in this) are the speed and time it's taking between insurers and the government department for sorting and fixing homes. Even worse in the winter, where Environment Canterbury have clamped down on the types of fires/wood burners people use to warm their homes. We're currently experiencing an ice cold winter, and un-heated homes are becoming a hazard. Yes, you can have heaters or a heat pump but even if you use them as the folks say (from experience here), you'll still be on the receiving end of a $400+ heating bill. For some, that unfortunately is unaffordable - and the family I care after experience this (I do part-time charity work), but they don't have a TV in their place, nor the latest I phones etc.

Poundstreetcrea

Thanks so much Pom_Chch I think you painted a beautiful picture! Canterbury will suit us so perfectly! We hike, camp, fish, ski here, the beach is an absolute bonus as the nearest beach is a 17 hour drive away! I cant remember the last time I saw the ocean!
Thanks again! Great feedback!