Brian3388

Hello everyone

Me and my girlfriend have already got are visas for nz but are struggling to pick which city to go to would like your advice with the best place for work and accommodation and obviously nightlife
Both from Liverpool Am 28 gas fitter/ plumber my girlfriend is 25 beauty technical

Any advice would be very appreciated

Bo-Jangles

If you've no plan then I would suggest you check them both out when you get here before committing to one or the other.

Both are very different and depends on type of lifestyle you are looking for depending on whether you want beachy life, access to other areas of interest, Coromandel, Bay of Island, or South Island skiiing etc Once you settle on one its not particularly easy to flit between locations.

Certainly you can get a feel for Wellington within a few days as it's quite compact; Auckland will take quite a bit longer to explore various areas

escapedtonz

With consideration of your occupations and age and even though I avoid the place like the plague I'd say Auckland over Wellington for you.

Wellington is fine but the weather is questionable - especially the constant breeze and regular storm force gales plus the horizontal rain. The place is also very hyped up but nothing we ever went to lived up to the hype which was disappointing. The city is pretty cool and compact with many bars and restaurants and with a pretty decent night life but I'd think you'd get bored with it after a while and unfortunately it's a major journey to get anywhere else decent due to it's position for travelling/visiting other places.
Yes you are at the gateway to the South Island and easy access to the ferry but it is the most expensive ferry crossing known to man and not one you would do often due to the high cost and huge time it takes each way (4hrs if I remember correctly). Going the other way you're a couple hours drive to the next "city" of Palmerston North which, although quite nice in my eyes there's not much happening there. After a while of checking out Wellington, it won't take you long to also check out the surroundings and then what do you do? This is one of the reasons we left for up North.

If you take away the high population, high costs and high traffic of Auckland, it's a pretty nice place to live in my opinion, especially for a young couple. Awesome scenery, beaches, cafe culture, restaurants, bars, the harbour area is awesome and much better than Wellington waterfront. It is at the gateway for Northland, The Coromandel, the Bay Of Plenty, the Waikato. Only my opinion but it's just in a better position on the map to allow you a more fulfilled existence with lots more opportunities of things to do and places to go.
When we were living in Wellington, trips to the South Island were out due to the high cost and time of the ferries. It was a major expedition with the kids and after paying out over $400 for a return ferry trip in the car, a quick weekend break away would run to around a grand. When considering where to go North you could just about manage a weekend in Hawkes Bay or Taupo before having to give it up and come back to Wellington. We did New Plymouth once but man that was a long way to go for a weekend!!!
Being in Tauranga we can get to Hawkes Bay in a few hours. We can be in Rotorua in 45 mins. We can be at Lake Taupo in just under 2 hrs. We can be in South Auckland in 2hrs. We can go to Hamilton and the rest of the Waikato easily in an hour. We can go East through Whakatane to East Cape (avoiding the current earthquakes) and get to Gizzy for a proper road trip....that's one on the bucket list. I can get to the ski slopes of Ruapehu and Tongariro in 3 hrs. Just way more things to do and places to go.

MrsFychan

weather can also be a factor for Auckland. I see mention of horizontal rain and they do seem to have more storms than Wellington.

I think it depends on what you are really looking for, busy streets with more night life, or a more slower pace of life with easy access to SI and an hours flight to Auckland (obviously an hours flight to Wellington).

As you already have your visa's why not just try out a few places and see how you fit, getting a job I assume could be a factor

rason

Welly is the coolest place in NZ in my opinion (and a lot of others). Great Nightlife and just a good vibe about the place
Weather can be shit but on a nice day you would be hard pressed to beat her.

Auckland, good nightlife more of it but i think i prefer Welly's, rent in Auckland is nuts unless you end up miles away from Ponsonby/CBD and then the access to nightlife can become an issue and unless you have a stack of money buying at anytime in Auckland is impossible.
Traffic is shit and the cities spread out.

S_and_T

In other words, you'll have great scenery, but you'll be living in a box and it will take you hours to get home. Give me Wellington any day.

MixieMiks

Hi. Me and my fiancé live in Birmingham and are seriously considering moving to New Zealand in June next year. He is 28 and a quantity surveyor (which is on the long term skill shortage list) and I am 25 and an estate agent so hopefully we should meet the criteria for a visa, just waiting to hear back. We are looking at renting an apartment in Auckland as we think it will be easier to deal with homesickness being in a busy city as we will have more chance to make new friends and hopefully settle in quicker.

We havent ever been to New Zealand but we really like the idea beaches, skiing, better weather and being more outdoorsy. Have you been to New Zealand before?

elainec_nz

You'll get biased views. The North / South divide that exists in the UK, also exists in NZ.

I live in Welly and love it. It's a very pretty city and easy to get around. There's fantastic beaches, lots of outdoor activities and plenty of nightlife for all tastes.
Plus, I enjoy the weather in Welly

Browse TradeMe to compare rental prices before you make a decision.

Clappy

Both of them have their positive points and both of them have downsides so it is difficult to provide an answer that I know would be useful.

I live in Auckland because that is where my wife grew up and she wouldn't live anywhere else.

I love visiting Wellington but I always have this feeling, that I can't put my finger on, that tells me I wouldn't like living there.

hth

MrsFychan

I don't particularly like cities, so live on the Kapiti Coast, I can just about stand going into Wellington CBD on the odd day. I hate Auckland CBD very claustrophobic, lots and lots of tall built up buildings everywhere.

I think to be honest try where every you manage to get work first and if its not what you want then try the other.

Droidling

Was there a fair while,3-4 years,Auckland weather a distinct improvement over Gods country (SE Engerland/irony)
There's no way you could parade around in shorts for 7/8 of the year in Brit. That alone speaks volumes (but nothing about style).
Xmas day marked the 3 months solid beach weather,Easter BH usually it tailing off a bit.
Whenever I visited Wellington with my Premium IT company (?!) the wind was always there to a lesser or really f"ing annoying amounts. It's really noticeable to the point that it's a complete showstopper. I couldn't live there for all the tea in China.IMO

BEVS

The OP hasn't been back but I am assuming that the visas are WHV as for any other visa they would be tied to a job.

I think perhaps they could widen the choice to more than Auck or WElly.

chocolate cake

Yeah, I'd second those comments. The Wellington weather and particularly the wind a showstopper for me too. Auckland's great but pricey, housing particularly so after 4-5 years ridiculous growth. They are plenty better places in NZ than Auckland for sure, but depending your occupations things can be limited, can't comment re: gas fitter/plumber, there's generally not too much natural piped gas around, but plumbing should be more widespread.

andy1133

Wellington is smaller but has far better nightlife.

For me it would be Auckland. The weather in Wellington is often awful. Even in the summer it can be downright cold and wet.

I was there for NYE once and they called off all the fireworks due to wind and rain. I'd say the South of the UK has a better climate.

Bo-Jangles

Last summer was apparently one of the best on record and yet all the girls were still wearing their thick black tights and boots in middle of February.