mexnick

Hi,

I'm a newbie here. Been reading through various threads and you all seem pretty active when responding to questions so here goes:

I have a job officer in Auckland, the firm are very keen for me to get there asap and are aiming for a 3-6 month time period to get it all sorted. I have a wife (primary teacher), 2 kids (11 &9) and a dog. We currently live in a very pretty semi-rural location in West Yorkshire, Hebden Bridge, small place that many people seem to have heard off. Having never been to NZ before I'm pretty much in the dark about what life will be like for us, in particular in Auckland. I have trawled through many pages on the net, spoken to friends living or have lived in NZ (no one i know lived in AK) and have a general idea of what we can expect in NZ but not AK. We like being close to country side for dog walks and simply to be out and near to nature. I appreciate that AK is a big city so imagine that we'd try to find a place within commutable distance (1 hour drive max) to my job. We would like to remain semi-rural, preferably near a beach but realise we won't be able to tick every box in the initial stages.

I have many many questions which I won't throw out there in one go but the main questions I have relate to areas within or close to AK that people can recommend given the above type of life style we're looking for? We want to develop an outdoors lifestyle for the whole family, don't expect to be able to live in a posh area (prefer more working class enviro anyway), decent enough schools, a community we can tap into and integrate with and preferably better weather than here (west yorkshire is very wet a lot of the time!) .

any suggestions or general thoughts on this would be much appreciated...many thanks
Nick

BEVS

Hi there and a warm welcome to this little NZ forum. We emigrated to Nelson some 15 yrs ago


Ooo... Auckland people? Weather !

mexnick

Hi Bevs

Whilst researching best places weather wise Nelson seemed to score high. The firm I will potentially be working for have an office in Nelson but unfortunately the job offer is in AK so maybe there'll be scope for transferring if AK doesn't work for us. What are your thoughts on Nelson especially for a family with 2 young girls?

Moses2013

Can't comment on locations but if AK wouldn't work, what about the kids? They might just get settled and would have to move again.

mexnick

I have considered that Moses but i don't feel persevering with a location if you're not happy with it is good the family as a whole. My family emigrated when I was similar age to my eldest and although tough initially it provided me with a lot of useful life skills, it's a part of my life that shaped my following years in a positive way. I agree too many big changes can be hard for kids but my intention would be to only move again if it really wasn't working for us all. It's tricky when moving to a country we've never been to before, challenges all round but I'm a positive person and am confident we'll do our best to research as much as possible to help achieve the best result, hence my thread on this forum.

BEVS

If you are set on New Zealand & you have a well paid job + a reasonable sum for set up, house buying etc then I am sure you will love the area. It is a great place for a young family to be honest.
You may have already realised from my past posts that we live in the area. You will achieve the semi-rural lifestyle and have easy access to quality beaches. It is not a cheap place to live in comparison to other areas of the South Island & it is out on a limb however there is much here to keep a young family happy.

Justcol

I think where in aux you will be working will in some way determine what is an hour's commute. It's a VERY congested city and traffic during rush hour can be a nightmare. There has been a lot work going on to improve things and there is a rail link which may suit you or regular ferries from a few places on the north shore which could make that an option although having lived on the north shore I don't think anywhere could be considered remotely semi rural until you get up past Albany. There are plenty of beaches but many (most) are simply that, a beach, no or little facilities, maybe a dairy (corner shop) nearby if you're lucky. Another thing to consider is access to the outdoors if that's your thing. There are a few tracks and paths but there is nothing like the open access enjoyed in the UK. There is no right to roam, no rights of way. There are reserves and scenic reserves but a lot are nothing but scrub and bush. The waitakari ranges are your best bet, there are trails and a fair bit of mountain bike tacks up there as well. I moved to nz from Haslingden, not too far from Hebden bridge but a wee bit smaller and I struggled with life in Auckland. We were at arkles Bay on the whangaparoa peninsula which did have some of the community feel you are looking for. It was a beautiful spot but eventually it proved to be not enough and we moved south. I can only comment on the places I lived while I was there but I'm sure there will be others along soon with more info.
ps funnily enough I'm writing this while I've got my SID'S CAFE t-shirt on 👍

Bo-Jangles

A lot will be depend on whereabouts the job based - with the two key factors for you will be the length of the commute and affordability of somewhere to live that fits your brief. You have to allow at least an hour to get anywhere in Auckland even if it may appear to be a 20 minute journey, you can easily triple that at peak times. If the job is in one of the outer suburbs then you possibly could go semi-rural in some places out West, the North West or farther South.

Weather is massively changeable; the old cliche about four seasons in one day is not an exaggeration and we get a lot of wet, wet, more wet and windy stuff or humidity.

Moses2013

Oh yeah weather and such a complex subject. There are so many other factors that can change your perception of weather. I'm based in Ireland, so well used to the topic and while we might not have the extreme differences NZ has, microclimates exist and never believe what the stats say. Wellington is a great example and while the figures might show you'd get more sun, somebody who was living in West Yorkshire in a protected valley will walk along Wellington Waterfront and complain about the wind. But then again a person around Wellington with a walled garden that get's all day sun will ask the other person who lives 20 mins away why they are always complaining. No different if you move to Auckland and the hours that are better on paper might be spent in traffic, or you moved from a house to an apartment and end up with less outdoor space. There are many variations.

mexnick

Thanks for the input, i get the impression that there's no simple answer which is expected I guess as we all have differing expectations and interpret our environments in a subjective way. My plan is to land ahead of the family to try and scope out the various options re locations to settle. I'm surprised to hear about the apparent lack of public access to the countryside, we do enjoy an abundance of footpaths and bridleways in the UK, something we as a family take full advantage off, this will definately be something we would need to consider in a move. Weather wise we're used to changeable climates in a single day, we're just hoping to get more definitive seasons. We're still cold here and apart from a few days of nice weather in the spring we have had the heating on regularly for 8 months now! I like the seasons and would prefer that to a continual heat wave, my wife and I have lived that life before and for us the novelty wears off after a while. I don't mind the wet/wind/cold as long as you know there's a trade off when the warmer time pf year comes round, not often the case here i find! The commute sounds potentially scary, something again I won't really be able to assess until actually there as the company have offices all over the Auckland area, I've yet to receive the full spec on where my role will be based.

Thanks again for the advice, i'll keep researching and obviously welcome any other views from people,

Ex Bristol

The trick with NZ weather is to live on the north side of any hill, that way you get the most sunshine. For instance Nelson is the north of the South island and wellington is the south of the North island so gets the full blast from the Antarctic. If it's convenient for work I would recommend the North facing side of Whangaparaoa.

BtotheR

Hi Nick - having only just returned after living in Auckland for 13 of my 14 years in NZ, I may be able to give you a informed opinion on some of these matters.
I would say your best bet for semi rural with a hours commute to the CBD would be to look out West in the Waitakeres where I used to be. I was in Titirangi (also known as Britirangi due to our numbers there) but you could go a little further to get more rural if you needed it in places like Laingholm. You will find a great community out there and not the snobbery you find in many parts of city fringe and north shore areas. This brings me to the North Shore which geographically will be closer but anywhere where you have to cross over the bridge or go around the bays on SH16 and end up at the back of the Western Highway is not ideal and you will pay for in time.

Schools are a big one in Auckland and the whole system (which I think is ridiculous) is based on where you live gives you access to what schools - even the grammer schools (NOT tested on ability - just your suburb which just meant how much money you have - yes I know it is similar in parts of UK but its just utter crap). So you get people literally buying horrendously expensive apartments and units in order to get there kids in there. Out west there is a Steiner school and a lot of very good primary schools, it gets a but more complex for secondary out there and you need to choose carefully. Traffic everywhere in Auckland can be bad but if you have ever experienced London or Manchester then I don't think its anything out of this world crazy.

Auckland can be wet in summer yes and actually the good part of the summer doesn't usually get there until a couple of weeks after Christmas Day. The difference is its still warm so you can go out in just a t-shirt and it doesn't matter. Smaller places like Nelson are nice but if you go really small in NZ then expect quite a different place to very small UK.

Whatever the circumstances bring your cheque book, or your companies cheque book if you want to buy a house. The Auckland average is about $1m (£500k) - take a look at properties on www.trademe.co.nz but do your homework on the area a house is in before thinking you found a bargain - the truth is there are no bargains in Auckland. I also wouldn't get sucked in by the Kiwis work less hours and work life balance is amazing - in my experience Kiwis work hard and long hours and I'm quite sure this is documented if you search for it.

Hope this helps to start with.

BEVS

Morning Mexnick.

You have a job offer which is a golden egg re immigration so set your head to Auckland for now. Regardless of the ins and outs your family life will settle to the new environment and you'll make the best of what is around you. If it then does not suit you seem to be in a position to look to Nelson and Tasman . Of course, once you gained NZ residency you would be free to consider anywhere in NZ provided there was a job/income.

Ex Bristol

Yes I would agree with pretty much all you said there BtogeR. Titirangi and areas would be great half of my family live out west. I wonder if the OP would be able to get the address of the business in AK then we would have something to get our teeth into.

Justcol

Walking is called tramping over here and most places have a local tramping group which are great places to meet new people and they are usually a wealth of knowledge when it comes to tracks, trails and all things accessy outdoorsy, they'll be a big help for info for you