sammii

Hello
My family are looking to move to New Zealand in the next 6 months and I am trying to research where is a good area for us to live which has good schooling and job prospects. I know it is difficult to give advice on such a question but i have researched so much and not having much luck but hearing from others who have already moved would be advantageous.
We visited NZ in April and travelled for 3 weeks but still did not cover a vast part of either island. I would love to hear any comments/advice anyone can give.
Thank you

DennisBergkamp

I guess it depends on what job you do
The big 3 cities of Auckland, Welly and CChurch might have more jobs on offer
Where did you go on holiday? Which bits did you see and like?
I'm in the same boat as you right now, just planning on where to go (ideally anywhere i can get a job)

simonsi

Look on http://www.minedu.govt.nz/ and wiki, there are details/lists of schools with their decile rating, that tells you which schools have surrounding areas of higher and lower socio-economic status - that will tell you something about the areas, you can extrapolate to the schools but in general, generalisations are just that, individual schools will vary.

As for job propspects, check out seek.co.nz and trademe.co.nz, where the jobs are is where the jobs are....that you can see from a distance anyway...

When you have a shortlist come back on here and ask about specific areas and I´m sure someone with 1st hand experience will answer any questions you may have...

ashafrance

As simonsi, trademe, seek and careerjet are good job-hunting websites.

For which city to live in, it really comes down to whether you are wanting a more rural, slow paced lifestyle in the countryside or to live in a big city (where of course, jobs are much easier...). The big cities are Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Personally, I love Wellington as I find its one of the "cultural" cities of NZ. The weather may not be great (the wind!!) but the lifestyle makes up for it. Always festivals, shows, bars, cafes, childrens shows, fitness, dance all throughout the city. So it really depends what lifestyle you and your family are looking for.

In any case, as a kiwi, welcome to our country very soon Youll find kiwi's are only too happy to help out if you need it.

Dewb09

Hi Sammi welcome to the site Such a difficult decision to make. I see others have given you some good pointers already. For us it was really between Auckland or Wellington as this is where the work is for my OH. From a geographical point of view Welly was the better option. Once we had whittled that down we just started to home in on the area and surrounds. Best of luck with you move

Dewb

hmjb

Hi there, I guess it really depends on your work. We settled in Chch 7 years ago and have really enjoyed it. It's a great place to explore the South Island from and there is quite a bit going on, sports events, festivals, kids events etc. On the down side you don't get as many of the international bands / big theatre tours come down here and have to travel up to the north island to see them.
I would see if work takes you to a particular spot and go from there.
Good Luck! Where ever you do choose it'll be a great adventure! We LOVE it here!