helinuk

We have been here 3 1/2 yrs and haven't felt a quake.
BB- I'm surprised at your reply -that is not accurate and verges on stirring it . How can you say 'much of NZ is not warm and sunny'?
Tauranga weather has often been as warm or warmer than yours in Melbourne this summer (according to our TVNZ weather forecast) apart from your few 30c-40c+ days . BOP is warm- spring-summer-autumn is 18-28c .
Winter was chilly, as in 12c a couple of yrs ago, 12- 16c in the day - the evenings and night drop a bit more but no frost here really.
Garden wise warm : We grow citrus fruits, Kiwi, passion fruit, guava, subtropical plants, and almost all the plants you have in OZ can be grown in Bay of Plenty.
I do miss not having the buzz of city life on my doorstep (as Buzzybee knows I love Melbourne ) , but we can drive to Auckland in 2 1/4 hrs to a concert or show, and we visit our adult children in Wellington, and to go to shows and the museums. I would not want to live in Auckland - although I would consider Wellington.
the beaches here are white/yellow sand not crowded .

To the OP we also chose BOP for the climate and beaches and found work after we arrived. But as others have said some prefer to get the job first and that is a good idea.

Just my opinion

sirplug

First step has been said, find where employment for your trade or skill is more prevalent. If you have a skill that is in great demand and pays well in all areas of NZ, then great, you have the pick but that is unlikely. Job, cost of living, education for kids, affordable housing and accessibility should be your goals, followed by earthquake free, warm, etc.......Unless your a lottery winner!....good luck

Browner_

I doubt many would argue that the Bay of Plenty has nice climate, as can be seen from the amount of fruit and wine that comes from that region.

But BB's point is "much of NZ" is not warm and sunny and hes right. Certainly when compared to the populated areas of Australia. But also it doesnt have the spiders or snakes or god knows what else. If I was choosing NZ based on climate then it would be Tauranga or Hawkes Bay. Out of those two places Tauranga is way less depressing than Hawkes Bay.

MattandJax

I've lived in Melbourne and Auckland and hands down I would take the Auckland weather every time and this isn't even the sunniest place!

The weather is insane in Australia and especially Melbourne, 40c one day and 20c the next. 16c on Christmas day one year and 38c the next. Coupled with the fact that you often get very strong northerly winds it isn't very pleasant.

I wanted to live in BoP or Nelson but work dictated that we had to come to Auckland and very happy we have been too

P18PPS

KurlyK - you've not said where you're originally from.... unless it's a channel island you will find all of NZ a warmer and more pleasant climate to live in. The summers are so long in comparison to england, and it's certainly saying something when today, for example, it feels cold as the temperature is only 18c! Yes we do have cold weather here, snow on high ground in the north island and all over the south island, frosts as far north as Auckland (and possibly further north too). Melbourne where BuzzyB is from - is often likened to Auckland for weather, infact I have a number of Melbourne friends who say it's even colder in the winter (though warmer in the summer) than Auckland.

What type of work will you be looking for? You'll probably find huge amounts of advise on work via the forum too.

Ex Aucklander

My late Fathers reaction when I told him we were moving to Australia 44 years ago was "Why do you want to move there, the country has a history of bush fires, floods & droughts" & during my 32 years there I experienced the lot.

NZ does not have the same extremes & I personally prefer NZ to Australia any day.
By the way Australia also has earthquakes I experienced the Newcastle earthquake in 1988!

jayandbill

Tauranga is where I live and I love it. Not earthquake or Tsunami free but it's warm in summer, cool-ish in winter although my overcoat hardly got an airing last year. It's a bit chillier indoors I'm afraid, no double glazing/central heating of course and draughty (or is that drafty?) windows. But that's New Zealand generally. Son lives in Browns Bay, North Shore, Auckland, 2 1/2 hours from Tauranga, and I think that's very nice as long as you don't need to drive into the city every day, nightmare rush hour.
Hope you make the right choice wherever you settle, Good luck

jayandbill

We were in Melbourne in late September, hot one day cold the next. Too many people, too many high rise buildings, too noisy. I liked it better in 1986. It's population is as big as the whole of New Zealand, enough said!

Expat Kiwi

Ha! I was going to say the same if you want the sun and warmth there's nowhere better.

As for lack of earthquakes Auckland's probably your best bet.

Though back in '95 those in the know were getting very twitchy about ash from the Ruapehu eruption clogging up the city's drinking water. It was touch and go for a while but it all came good in the end.

Ex Aucklander

Well you should have been living in Sydney during the period (think it was 1995) we were getting all the ash from the cutting & burning the rain forests in Malaysia in order to supply the world with timber for furniture & make way for more grazing land.
Lots of houses, balcony's were covered in this ash & just goes to show how far ash can travel with wind drift.

newkiwi

Bay of Plenty and Nelson are generally regarded as having the most sunshine. I guess you will never know if a place is 100% earthquake free, dont think either of those places have had too much by way of earthquakes recently.

but you will probably find your choice is dictated to a large extent to where you can get a job, which will mean looking at Auckland and Wellington first I would imagine

Arthur Daley

Earthquake free...........forget NZ.
However if you want to live in a fantastic country like NZ then my choice would be Wanaka. Warm in the summer and cold in the winter - there's a suprise! I have travelled the world many times over and I have yet to find a place as good as the South Island of NZ.
But as a previous poster has said, you need to be where the work is.
Good luck with your choice anyway.

sr71

Certainly not Melbourne over the last year.