Linguo1988

Hi all,

These threads are like buses today, I don't write one in a while and 3 in one day .

Anyways, I'm just trying to figure out where would be best to base myself for my year in NZ. Factors that are in the front of my mind are employment, decent/safe areas, transport links as I can't drive, cost of living and rent. Now I know Auckland would seem to have more employment oppertunities, being the larger of the two, but coupled with that of course is a higher cost of living and presumably higher than average rent.

On the other hand there's Christchurch which, being a smaller city, may suit me better, as it'd be less of a culture shock what with me coming from a small town. The only downside to that of course is that I know it's still recovering from the quakes, and I'm not sure how that'd affect the residential/transport side of things.

Any advice would, as always, be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Persephone

I can't speak for Auckland as I've never lived there.

Chch does have a fairly extensive bus network but you'd find life a lot easier if you learnt to drive. I'm not sure how good the public transport is once you get outside the big cities and you'd want to explore a bit whilst here so really a car would make your life easier. However it depends on what you want to do. I would say that this would apply to any cities in NZ really. Maybe Auckland would be better if you were able to live centrally, hence easier to get around but that's something only those who live there can answer.

Chch does have a shortage of accommodation due to quake damage and the influx of construction staff. As a result accommodation can be expensive and very much in demand.
Try looking on Trademe at rental costs for both cities.

There's no easy answer really, spend 6m in one and 6m in the other perhaps

Linguo1988

The 6 month split might be a good idea. Unfortunatly, learning to drive isn't really an option as my eyesight isn't good enough (not blind as a bat, just a bit too short-sighted to be a safe driver. )

My general intentions whilst in NZ would be to work in either city and when not working to explore the surrounding area, and try out something new e.g. I've always fancied skiing, which I suppose is why I was more drawn to the South Island.

I had a feeling the recovary would have an affect on the accomodation, might have to consider small towns around with a decent bus connection. I see what you mean about Auckland and living centrally, I know that I'm going to be there for the 1st week or so after I land, so I might give that some serious thought.

Aha, thanks for the trademe suggestion, I'll have a gander and see how rentals compare.

Thanks for all your help with my various quandries.

Snap Shot

I'd say Christchurch has better public transport, which in New Zealand means buses. Trains in NZ go from city to city, not suburb to suburb.

Auckland has trains and buses. The bus lane is good in Auckland as it's reserved just for buses who go whizzing past stationary traffic at 100kph. Oh ok, that's only 65 mph but still.

The bus lane is parallel to the motorway in/out of Auckland. The bus lane ends at the harbour bridge and then the buses join the bottleneck with all the rest of the traffic.

We tried looking for jobs and accommodation in Auckland in Feb 2011, we can drive but did not have a car at that time. I felt we were not being taken seriously for either jobs or accommodation. If you enquire about a property and ask if it's on the bus route, the conversation will come to a pretty swift end. I wonder if they just heard a British accent and thought I was a time wasting tourist.

We got to Christchurch in March 2011. Things perked up as we got a rental car and found accommodation too. We ended up handing the rental car back to save costs and got around on the bus or on foot afterwards. We left Christchurch in June 2011 to live where we are now in NZ.

I get the impression that accommodation is hard to find in Christchurch right now. About the only thing we had in our favour was that we were moving in to Christchurch in 2011 when the majority of people were moving out.

Good luck.

barnsleymat

Having lived on the North and South Island I can tell you there's very little difference in the cost of living, it's probably cheaper in Auckland TBH. I never needed a car in Auckland as I used to go to work on the train, but here in Dunedin life is hard without a car as NZ cities have stupidly being designed and planned around the motor car. Supermarkets are the same price, petrol is the same price, household bills are the same price, going to the pub is the same price. There's a bigger choice of shops in Auckland so there's a bit more competitiveness between shops and there's more independent retailers like Asian supermarkets where you can land on some bargains.

So I wouldn't worry about the cost of living in different parts of NZ, it doesn't matter which bit of NZ you are in, the costs of living are roughly the same............ a bloody fortune!

davros1984

The only difference would be buying a house in Auckland That is a very different story.

Charismatic

If you take into account all the costs of home ownership (rates, maintenance, insurances etc.) you often need a decent rate of capital appreciation to make rentals pay as an investment. If or when price increase head towards the inflation rate (or even go lower, depending on the situation) you’ll get to see who has done their sums and who is relying on price growth in the underlying asset. In a real way increases in the asset price are subsidising cheap rent, Auckland prices have jumped 15% but rents increased just 2% which has squeezed yields.

This is my take on the rent v.s. buy scenario, it’s much more complicated than just deciding on mortgage payments or rental payments if part of your consideration is financial. As much as Auckland and Canterbury have got “expensive” very quickly the rest of the country is comfortably back on inflation adjusted prices (around 20% under 2007 peak prices in the provinces when inflation adjusted) and so are much safer.

Tom1983

Not really, both are in the same boat regarding housing

For the purpose of this thread

Don't do either

Do Wellington for 6 months and then Dunedin for 6 months

You'll get more with your income in these two cities than you would in Auckland and Christchurch

Plus do you really want to spend 6 months in a city where it's constant orange cone after ******** orange cone. Diversions everywhere, jams common, chance of tyre blow out high and no housing because people that had houses are in other accommodation due to their house awaiting repair for the 30th month - plus in a city where the rebuild leader is more interested in eating his 78th pie for the day, pretending that he's doing a good job when infact he's not? Move elsewhere - Chch can't cope and soon, it'll be as bad as London!

shocked kiwi

chch is better for married people with kids, auckland for the singles...but make sure you on a high wage so you can enjoy it...both are different pros and cons

ChrisWilson7

Christchurch isn't spatially that small, it's just spread out and has the small town feel as a result. Buses are good and cheap particularly when you have a Metro card. More things are starting to happen here as time goes on and it is still (in my view) a very nice place to live in, with the obvious caveats of roadworks, building sites, EQC/insurance issues and rental/house prices. It's well worth being here.

MrsGreen2013

Hi

I lived in Christchurch for my years OE and i didnt have a drivers licence then.
Whilst it was a bit of a shame it didnt stop my wonderful experience.

I flatted with 3 kiwis in Hallswell and worked in town - caught the bus each day it was really easy and not too expensive. When I wanted to do my travelling i used the kiwi experience great fun but dependent on your age you might want to look at other bus companies as i think ones like Magic cater for a slightly older crowd. having said that KiwiExperience doesnt have the reputation of the Oz version!

How about wellington ? that is a fun funky city to be in and then you have easy access to both North and South

excited for you!

Linguo1988

Buses seem to be that way to go by the sound of things . Looked at trademe last night, specifically at 1/2 bed rentals, and got a hell of a shock when I saw 1 in Auckland going for $1,200 a week :O. Most others, in both Auckland and Christchurch, seem cheaper thankfully.

I had considered Wellington initially if I'm honest. But, and I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in another thread, due to my Hydrocephalus (that's water on the brain for those not too hot on their Greek ) I've been looking specifically at cities with neurology wards/clinics so that in the (albeit extremely unlikely) event that my shunt blocks (last time in 2009), I'll be within a decent distance of good treatment options. As far as I'm aware that limits me to Auckland and Chch, unless getting to these places from say Wellington or Dunedin isn't too difficult. To compare with my current situation, in case of emergancies I have to travel 2 1/2 hours from my home in the back of beyond in rural Wales to Liverpool.

Tom, seeing as you're living (or existing judging by the tone of your post) in Chch, I may take your word for it if a Welly/Dunedin split looks doable.

Thanks once again for the brilliant advice all!

MrsGreen2013

Have you considered renting a room? try the local papers thats where i found my place. (all be it 10 years ago!)

Also a good website for when you first arrive is www.airBnB.com you can rent a room in a persons home or sometimes the whole home - for way less that you would pay for a motel etc. have a look. I have booked a studio in Timaru in Feb for two weeks for when we arrive and its cost £19 a night.

Linguo1988

Thanks very much for the suggestion Mrs Green, definatly something to look into.

Ebonhawke

Another alternative for housing is to see if any of the youth hostels in either Auckland or Christchurch offer longer-term rentals. Probably would want to have a semi-private or private room. Would definitely present opportunities to meet lots of new people (even if they are only staying for a week). However, would be much noisier and could be problematic for people who actually have to be somewhere at 9 am on a Wednesday