Stone999

After 6 months of ups and downs, tears and joy we are actually nearly on our way to fulfilling our dreams. This is to move to the beautiful land of New Zealand. I have been asked many times why we would want to go and what's wrong with the UK. To answer the latter first, there is nothing wrong with the UK and I don't intend slagging it off because it has served my family and I well for many years and will do the same for many more.
The problem is my wife and I have changed, and feel its time to live life the way we want to live life and not be categorised, classified, fleeced and pushed into following the UK orientated commercially accepted route.
We all have choices, so we've made the conscious decision to slow our lives down and refocus on what is important to us. Our children. Our family.

The only problem is, being a plumber, I'll need to find a job, which I have been told will not be a problem because just like the UK there is a major shortage of skilled trades people. My arrival in NZ is mid January 2003 with my family following on.

A question I have been asked by a number employment of agencies is - where in NZ would you like to relocate to?

Whaaaat, and I thought it would be plain sailing from now on.

Not an easy decision to make so I am hoping for some positive feedback from members or families who have made the move, settled and /or native kiwis.

Some of the areas we are considering:
Kerikeri
Central North Island
Hibiscus Coast
Coromendel
Hawk Bay
Napier
South Island

With 2 children(7&9) we are looking for a nice medium to large town with good schools and local amenities.
Any advice on these points would be welcome and appreciated.

Cheers

shepslady

Hi There...Congrats on making such a wonderful choice of country to go live in. Yes Im a Kiwi & cant praise this place enough. I note that your children are quite young so I would suggest avoiding the bigger cities if you want to give them a better quality of life. Depends on what climate you are after but the entire country will be milder, warmer & drier than your used too. Plumbing work is plentiful all over. My personal preference is the South Island...the North Island is great for a holiday but a bit of a rat race to live permanently. Housing is cheaper in the South & the rugby is better too. Goodluck on the move. I wish you & your family well.

JWW

Christchurch, and wake up to the Southern Alps every morning.

shepslady

Good call JWW Im a cantab too & couldnt agree more. Christchurch would be the ideal place as its so English but also so very different too.

JWW

Well you can't go to far wrong in Canterbury can you? Good schools, cheap housing...rural 10mins outside the CBD...skiing in winter, fantastic beaches in summer..dry, mild climate...need I go on.

I moved to Ch'ch, with wife and 2 kids, 3 years ago from Surrey and wild horses couldn't drag us back.

Stone999

Ch'ch was our first choice, but friends who visited in August from the UK felt it was a bit quiet? Did you find this? Coming from Cambridgeshire, we are not big city people, but we are looking a nice town with good facilities, schools, leisure, and affordable, quality housing. Can you provide more info on these points? Have you found the transition from UK to NZ easy? Any tips on things to avoid, important things we should consider before/on arrival? Is it easy to get a mortgage/credit if required?

Why did you choose to settle in Ch'ch - did you consider other areas?

Thanks.

JWW

It's funny because I've heard Ch'ch compared with Cambridge a few times, but I haven't really spent enough time in Cambridge to comment.

We originally moved to Auckland, and after 3 months we felt it wasn't what we were after so tried Ch'ch and found it spot on. I'm not quite sure what you mean by quiet, but it's certainly not a one horse town. There are 400,000 people in the immediate area, and lots of bars and resturants to keep them happy. I guess only you will know if its too quiet. Also, August is obviously the middle of winter...how lively would walking through Cambridge be in February?

As for your questions about moving to NZ in general, just bring all your English documents (bank references, doctors records etc) plus some cash and you will find opening bank accounts, getting morgages and credit cards really easy. Renting over here is really cheap as well, with very cheap bonds although a lot of the rental properties are without furniture.

With the exception of some parts of Auckland, all housing will be cheap compared to the UK, esp with pounds. Just get the normal property checks done as you would in the UK and you'll be alright. Also, don't bother bringing your car,they are really a lot cheaper over here.

I know as a family you're going to get stressed about moving but it really is straightforward, just set up as much as possible (hotel etc) before you get here as you don't want to be farting about after a 30 hour flight with a couple of tired kids.

Black Sheep

Sounds wonderful, BUT.... what about smog in Christchurch?! I've been reading other newsgroups where there's been considerable discussion about the 'inversion layer' there (a problem mainly in winter I gather?). You've been there 3 years now, can you tell us what the real deal is on this? I just can't imagine, as fantastic as everything else about it might be, considering anywhere with a smog problem to be a good place to bring up children. We have 2 little ones, and are looking to escape the serious smog problem in our small town (atleast 10 'code red' ozone days over the past summer, and plenty more 'code orange'). We had no idea that smog was a problem where we are now (nor violent crime for that matter) - our town was named 'best place to live in USA' by 'Money' magazine 5 years ago after all, which very much influenced our decision to accept a job offer here, and it was a real shock to discover just how many serious problems (that weren't mentioned in the magazine) exist here.

We've heard so much about 'clean air' in NZ, and Christchurch sounded so much like the perfect place for us - until I saw the words 'smog' and 'Ch'ch' linked. First thought of course was: oh no, same thing all over again?! Is it really so??

I wonder if maybe, considering that you lived in one of London's most expensive 'suburbs', you didn't perhaps bring a fair amount of money with you to NZ? And if so, whether this perhaps has had some positive impact on your quality of life there? Also, haven't house prices been rising fairly steeply in Ch'ch recently? Am curious too: 'fantastic beaches' - do you actually go to the beach alot? 'Skiing'- do you actually go skiing much? 'Good schools' - private or state? 'Cheap housing' - ? And restaurants- do you manage to eat out much? (I'm presuming you have PR and are on a NZ salary...?)

Cheers! TA

shepslady

Having lived in Christchurch for over 40 years I can tell you that yes smog was a big problem here in the winter but with the banning of open fires the air is so much better, Its a great place to raise children. The state schools are good in most areas. Housing is reasonable & quite easy to secure mortgages etc. My youngest son purchased his first home ( a 3 bedroom villa type house) when he was just 20. My middle son got his when he was 25. So if they can do it I think its reasonable to expect most people to be in a position to do it. The wages are fairly average here but yes it is possible to live well & eat out on a regular basis if thats what you want to do. Dont be put off by what you read. If I did that I would never had taken a chance on my American husband & I wouldnt now be waiting for the INS to approve my visa so I can immigrate to the US. As much as I love this beautiful country that will always be my home, I have to go where my heart is & as long as Im happy in my heart I can be happy anywhere as Im sure will be the case for you too.

JWW

Ok, you raise fair questions, here are some detailed answers:

Smog. There were approx 5 high polution nights in Ch'ch last year, and notice I say nights. I have never seen smog during the day in Ch'ch, except early mornings. It is caused by open fireplaces and seems to occur only in older suburbs in the inner city areas, where lots of older housing exists. As Shepslady has pointed out, only 'clean' forms of heating are now permitted for new housing and upgrades so expect this problem to completely disappear very shortly. Sept-May the air is as clear as a bell.

Houses. The prices are not rocketing so don't worry about that, unless you consider going up by $10-15,000 rocketing. There is ongoing migration to Ch'ch, esp from UK, but there are plenty of new houses being built so I don't expect this to change. If you want to see rocketing, go to Auckland, Taraunga or Nelson. You can buy a 3/4 bedroom house with garden in a nice semi-ruralish suburb like Halswell, 10 mins from CBD for between $170-220,000 NZD.
Yes I lived in Camberley, Surrey which is considered a wealthy town, and we made a bit on the sale but we had a 30yr mortgage and remember this was over 3 years ago, before the prices went mad. Lets just say we had a deposit for a house over here.

As for the natural stuff, I would challenge anyone to show me a more beautiful city environment. There are 10+km of sandy, uncrowded, unspoilt pacific beaches, plus breathtaking natural bays made by volcanic activity. The Alps and Port Hills are clearly visible from the city, as shown in any photo of Ch'ch, and about an hours drive.

In order for my personal use of these things to be clarified, you need to know I have two young children(5 & 7). We live down the beach during the summer and my walrus like entries to the water to bodyboard with the kids are legendary. Last winter we bought a season ski pass to Mount Hutt for $300 and went about 9 weekends. The kids and my wife are naturals, I am not. I have to mention some memorable Nor' Wester days in winter when we went skiing in the morning and down the beach in 20c in the afternoon. Not many places you can do that.

As for resturants, we try and get out with friends about once a month and normally spend about $50 per couple on grub and wine. When I go out with mates I can get tired, emotional and a KFC for about $80, although I shouldn't be proud of that, with practise I could probably get to the $100 threshold.

The kids go to a state primary school, and are having a great time. Seriously, we are really pleased with it. I'm sure there are bad ones, you'll have to do your research.

We are on PR, soon to be citizenship, and yes, I am earning NZ dollars. My wages go into the same black hole they did in the UK, but the household Minister of Finance seems alot less stressed when I stray off the budgetry path and have the occasional drink after work, except for the noise of me throwing up in the morning due to bad piece of KFC.:-)

I have to say I have found Ch'ch to be an excellent place to live, you get exactly what is says on the tin.

Black Sheep

Thanks JWW, you're a real gem, as are you Shepslady (and good luck to you with new hubby in USA) - OK then, Christchurch sounds wonderful, and no 'buts' this time! Just a little sorry now I asked for the details in such a public forum, won't everyone want to live there now?

So what do you think 'Stone999', would Christchurch work for you? It certainly has the best fan club so far, wouldn't you say?!

Cheers! TA

P.S. (can't help myself, I actually have a million questions I WANT to ask but as this thread is not exactly titled 'living in Christchurch', will restrain myself) - is the ocean warm??

shepslady

Email is a wonderful thing & I would be more than happy to help answer any queries you might have. The Ocean is unpredictable but more often than not its relatively warm for swimming in the summer!!
Cheers

Stone999

Many thanks to you all for your help in solving our dilemma!

A friend of ours who is from NZ and living in the UK had originally raved about Ch'ch and felt we should make it our destination (she is also returning there next Autumn to settle with her american husband). Having read everyone's responses it is obvious that this is where we must go......hope to see you all there!

Perhaps we could continue with the topic 'living in Ch'ch' as suggested by The American, we would certainly like to hear more as it sounds like such a lovely place to settle with a young family.

Cheers...and hope to keep in touch.

lizzie

My partner has been in Chch for 2 wks now on the work deferral visa. Hopefully, if everything pans out me and the children will join him next year. Perhaps this is a personal thing, although I know the names of many of the suburbs I don't know much about them really, in your opinion what are good residential areas, I don't necessarily mean the poshiest, more a good, safe environment, fresh air, places for the children etc to live in Chch? I had been looking at property near the sea and noticed that Sumner was an expensive seaside place, however, we have a friend who lives in Southshore and they much prefer it there because, although not as "posh" . they get more sunshine as Sumner suffers from being in between two hills and gets shade. Any little pointers like this would help.

Lizzie

Ian Guy

ChCh is a fine place, bit like a small provincial UK city (e.g. Cambridge) -
would never desribe the sea as warm - too many snow topped mountains
draining inot it!

"shepslady" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Email is a wonderful thing & I would be more than happy to help answer
    > any queries you might have. The Ocean is unpredictable but more often
    > than not its relatively warm for swimming in the summer!!
    > Cheers
    > --
    > shepslady
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com