pumpkin blossom

In what ways?
I mean I am not fussy. As long as it is not Manchester.
I loved Australia, I loved Canada, I could live in the US happily enough.
From what I have read there is nothing which would stop me liking living there.

lapsed kiwi

The weather's a funny one in Auckland, quite unlike UK. Not as sunny as the med, not nearly as rainy as in the minds of the WPs. A few examples:
- we had a really cold (for AKL) winter. The coldest overnight minimum in my garden was +2.5C. The coldest daytime maximum was +12C. A more typical winter is probably +6-10C at night, +14-16C in the day.
- I leave home every day at around 7:10 to drive into work. In the 15 months I've lived here, I have never had frost on my windscreen
- there are citrus trees everywhere in people's gardens, laden with fruit in season
Having said that, this summer got off to a slow start with lots of westerlies and Nov/Dec weren't too special. Jan and Feb have been nice though, with daytime temperatures in the mid 20s and quite a bit of sun. Last summer was nice through to the end of April, with the cold months typically being June, July and August. There was really only one period of about two weeks when we felt the need for warm coats, woolly hats etc last winter.

Any idea where you're going to be working? Your house with chooks for under 0.5M$ will be a struggle within 45-50 min of the CBD, but if you work for example in Albany you could be well out in the country with that sort of commute, and a decentish house with a large garden well affordable for that money.

Spacecake799

Hi Helen,
PM me nearer the time for my address, your welcome to come round and check out the area. North Shore is definately worth a look.
We came out via Dubai and Singapore,the kids loved it.
Carole

helinuk

Hello Carole- many thanks, will try to remember to do that!

Jude J

Not been on here for a few days and have only just seen this. What a lovely offer! Great idea, I would have loved to have made some contacts early on when I moved so hope it gives the future Aucklanders something else to look forward to!

Otis

Hi all,

I'm another Torbay resident and loving it! I'd love to meet you guys sometime -
how about a picnic at Long Bay?

Spacecake799

Hi Otis,
How long have you been in Torbay? Do you have kids. A picnic sounds like a great idea, let me know when your thinking of.
carole

Otis

Hi Carole,

We've been in the area for a year, bought our house in Torbay back in November before that we were renting in Waiake/Browns Bays. We've got 2 kids, 10 and 13.

How about the weekend of 24/25 Feb or 3/4 March?

The Weezer

Don't move to South Auckland!!! It is *filthy*, and you'll probably get robbed.
You will *absolutely* have grafitti on your property by your first year.
People build houses in their front and back yards, but I think this is a trend
throughout Auckland. I should know, I've lived here for the past two years.
Auckland is not safe; the crime rate, especially robbery, car theft, vandalism and graffitti is high. Our house has been robbed twice in the last 10 years, and our car was broken into just two weeks ago, on a Sat. afternoon in the *busy* Warehouse parking lot in Manukau City. In the past year, we've twice had to remove large graffitti from the fence.
Although there is more crime in South Auckland, the teachers I work with who do not themselves live in South Auckland complain about crime in their neighborhoods. In fact, all that I spoke to have been robbed at least once.
When I lived in the US, I was never robbed, nor did I ever know anyone personally who was, except one friend whose car was broken into when he drove into Manhattan.

The parks do not have a lot of trees, sometimes none at all. Seems like NZers call playing fields "parks." They're mostly an expanse of grass, often without benches even.

I work in schools in South Auckland, and was shocked to discover that many
NZ schools do not have lunch rooms. The poor kids either sit outside on the ground, in the stairwells, or sometimes in a classroom to eat. I guess only the lucky ones get to sit on the few outside benches available. This is true even in winter, where it rains a lot. Indoor heating is not common here, so it's hard to find relief from the cold and damp. And schools do not provide good, hot meals. The school canteens sell mostly sweet snacks and those revolting pies and sausage rolls. They do have fruit, and some pre-made sandwiches, though.

By the way, both myself and my partner work in schools (he has worked in education here in NZ for nearly 20 years). We both agree, NZ schools are
generally substandard, especially compared to those in the US.

As for beaches, beware. Too many in the Auckland area close periodically
due to raw sewage spills. There are some very nice ones, though, but as you probably know if you've been reading the forums, you will need a car to do anything in Auckland. There is not a lot of public transportation, and what there is, is spare and inefficient. And cars are extremely expensive as is fuel.

There have been articles in the local papers recently about the lack of clean, wholesome water in Auckland (one third of NZers do not have access to clean, healthy water), and also the air quality, which in some parts do not meet World Health Organization standards for safety. Certainly this
is due to the fact that everyone must drive, and lack of mass transit.

As for commuting: I accepted a job at Auckland University when I first arrived here. The hours were until 10 PM at night. I had to decline the offer when I discovered that the trains *stop running* at 9:00 PM! Yes, that's not kidding, you cannot leave the city in the evening by train. Since everyone drives, the commutes are a nightmare.

By the way, are you aware that NZ has the highest cell phone rates in the world? And slowest broadband? And if you get Sky TV, you'll only get 30 channels at most?

A recent article in the paper states that housing in Auckland is more expensive than New York or London. And today's paper has an article about how it costs 80 percent more to build a home in Auckland than a large city in Australia.

High cost of living, low wages, etc., etc., I wouldn't have moved here if I had been aware of all these things.

kwprwn

Ok I can take the fact that not all the beaches are perfect but it is nice to not have to drive 3/4 hrs to a decent beach like i would have had to in the uk, and the ones I have visited over on the west coast have been lovely and no sewage in sight

and on the subject of petrol.....paying approx $1.40 ish at the moment is not expensive to me when it was almost the equivalent of $3 a litre when I left the uk 10 months ago then that to me is Expensive

Jude J

Sorry, Weezer, but if you are in South Auckland, you are in the equivalent of a ghetto. It's well known, I'm suprised you didn't move elsewhere in 10 years if you have had that many problems.
Think of the worst neighbourhood in your hometown, now imagine living in it.

UKNZAUS

So you like NZ then ?? Thanks for the tips - I haven't looked at anywhere in S.Auckland due to warnings about it previously!

mazi

Just one Q - WHAT were you doing in the Warehouse?!

jueinnz

There have been articles in the local papers recently about the lack of clean, wholesome water in Auckland (one third of NZers do not have access to clean, healthy water)

Wasn't this the homes that have water tanks that collect rain for there water supply?? and I've always thought that that this was dodgy and would never consider having one of those for my drinking water!!!!

southerner

The 1/3rd number was mainly small town supplies where the treatment system is adequate but not the latest A standards that the WHO recommends.

Rainwater collection is fairly limited, and dodgy if not done correctly.