Dolly Daydream

Hi there,

My name is Barbara and my hubby and I live in the south east in Kent and are hoping to go and live and work in NZ in the next couple of years. We have been out there 2 years ago on a long holiday and just loved it. I would love to find out which areas of the country people think are the nicest and what the weather is like. We liked Auckland, but were a bit concerned about how busy it is, crime levels etc. Also I don't like humidity and worry that may be a problem. Nelson looks lovely but we never got there!! Do you need heating in NZ other than say a log burner? We would want to live semi rural as we have dogs and horses and therefore need to buy something with a little bit of land. We saw a nice little place called Clevedon in Auckland that looked lovely but probably far too expensive for us!! Also my husband is interested in motor racing and wonder what goes on there racing wise. We managed to catch some racing at Pukokehe when we visited and that was great fun. Also where is a nice place to learn to sail as we both would love to learn? This web site is fantastic, I am so glad I have found it. Look forward to hearing from any of you lucky people who live in NZ now.

happynz

Hi Dolly,

Think eastern areas as they tend to see less rain. Also, going by the information you have provided in your post I think you had better have a huge wedge of cash. Rural land is getting more expensive, like most things. Moving animals is expensive.

Good luck.

Dolly Daydream

Hi happynz,
Sounds worrying, we had better win the lottery!! Only need to move with our 2 dogs as our 2 retired horses are staying here with family, so not too bad moving wise. Thought land may be cheaper than UK as less people in NZ, but roughly same size country. Oh well, never mind!!

happynz

I have no idea what rural land prices are in the UK, but I imagine they are astronomic. Maybe take a look at www.trademe.co.nz or www.allrealestate.co.nz to help give you an idea. Maybe what I view as high priced you might find to be good value.

BEVS

Hi Dolly and welcome to this forum.
They're a friendly bunch of people here.
We live just outside of Nelson which has plenty of rural areas but are currently sunning ourselves in Bournemouth UK for the next month.

Dolly Daydream

Hi Bevs,

Glad to hear you are enjoying your time in the UK. We have had a really bad summer weather wise, but it is making up for it now and September so far has been lovely. I have only seen photos of the Nelson region but it looks amazing. We did get to Picton, Blenheim and the Marlborough Sounds, and then sadly ran out of time for Nelson and Abel Tasman. Are there lots of Brits around Nelson? Seems a popular area. Tell me a bit more about living in the region. Thank you for replying, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Beachcombers

We live just outside Blenheim, we moved down here last year, after struggling in Auckland for two years.

The area is just beautiful, we both work in the wine industry (very laid back), house prices are affordable (though rising fast), fishing, skiing, diving, horse riding all on your doorstep. Great outdoors lifestyle and the best weather in NZ.

We love it here and it fits our picture of what NZ would be like, before we arrived.

Dolly Daydream

Did you find Auckland very expensive? We visited Blenheim - lovely place. I believe the wine business is a growing industry round there. Did you work previously in the wine industry? I know nothing about the wine business but I love to drink it and that region produces some lovely wine!