jodaid

Hi,

I'm not really sure what to say so i'll just waffle a little... My husband and I have been thinking about moving to NZ for a while on and off now. We finally made an executive decision and have decided to sell up and see what NZ can offer. We have been looking at various areas, but are trying to get as many opinions as possible.

The type of area we are looking for would be for families. We have 3 boys aged 3,7 and 9 who love to be outdoors. It would be nice to walk to the beach, but just as easily go to the park, or for a bike ride (without having to go somewhere in the car first) and do understand you sometimes can't have it all... We have already pretty much determined that Auckland is not for us. Although it looks beautiful and there appears to be a lot to do, it is far too busy for our liking. We live near Leeds and find it busy enough here. We have looked at Tauranga and Wellington but don't know many people from these areas who could give us an idea as to what it's like and how busy, what the surrounding villages are like and ofc.... the weather. Wellington has been voiced to me as snowy in winter, rainy in winter and freezing in Winter... sooo, more like the UK than anywhere else? lol.

Catchafire

Hello and welcome to BE

I used to live in Sheffield and we were in Auckland for two years. I agree that Auckland is not best place to settle, if you want a more accessible laidback outdoors lifestyle.

The East coast from Gisborne down to Christchurch is gonna offer you lots of choices. Nelson/Marlborough are also areas that have good weather, great outdoors and low population.

We live in Marlborough, where we are bringing up our young family. Its an amazing area, we love it after being in Auckland, its a different world.

Apart from the flippin earthquakes!

Snap Shot

Hello and welcome. Despite rumours to the contrary, New Zealand has four seasons in a year, just like Britain.

Where I live, two and a half hours drive from Wellington, the summers are the same as Britain. The winters are a little milder though. It still gets cold, but, it's rare to see frost, never mind snow.

Good luck with your decision making.

Just a thought: paddle your own whaka. (Whaka is the Maori word for canoe.) Don't let anyone put you off, unless you are having serious doubts. That includes me !

BTW - what visa will you apply for ? Y'know, first things first. What industry do you and your partner work in ?

Charismatic

That said the West coast (Christchurch, Blenheim, Napier, Tauranga etc.) tends to be more two-seasonal. Plenty of frosts in winter with long hot summers .

Auckland and Northland seem to remain warmer all year. Wellington really is windy.

Robbie2010

First thing to do is find out where the work is.
Tauranga and Welly are both nice places but the way earthquakes are going at the moment I'd tend to go for Tauranga.

shocked kiwi

tauranga has a beautiful white sand beach and is fab for families, another place I love is Napier for its art deco and both family friendly.Also the climate is generally the warmest the further north you are.

MrsFychan

Wellington and snow do not go together, it did snow here 2 years ago but that was the first time in decades.
Wellington is WINDY Wellington and that is no joke eve 40km's north the winds scares the bejebbers out of me at times. The rain also can be torrential. When its hot it is hot and I would say 9mths out of the year kids should have sun screen as not much ozone layer to stop the rays.
Its cold yes and not many houses have the same type or any double glazing as you would know of in the UK. Also most do not have central heating as some area's just don't have piped gas and rely on bottled. so that's where the comments about it being cold come from.

As not driving to the beach I think you may well have to anyway to get all the body boards, wet suits, towels, kites etc down there to spend the day/couple of hours.

Stormer999

Jodaid as an all year round motorcyclist I can assure you the winters here in Chch are nowhere as severe or as long as the winters we had in the UK midlands. We get some frosty mornings but they are usually on dry mornings so no black ice of volume as the roads are dry. Usually by 10.00 am the sun has heated the roads to riding temperatures. It is August at the mo, NZ winter, and the Camelias, cherry blossom and daffodils are all in beautiful colour. The NZ sun has a lot of heat when it shines through and soon has me in shorts and tee shirt. Very few grey days and we dry the washing outdoors....all year round!

LauraNotts

I've landed in Timaru, a little down about 2.5 hours South of Christchurch and 2.5 hours North of Dunedin. It's quite a family and older couples kind of place but it has enough amenities to keep me happy. The house prices are pretty decent and everything is quite close as it's small. It has a beach and is a decently close drive to the Mt Cook/Aoraki park and lake Tekapo. Take a look, it's pretty nice so far.

alastair 1980

I would recomend Tauranga, The climate here is brilliant compared to the uk. Think there was only ice on the car window 3 mornings this past winter. Even if there is it still usually warms up to 12c to 15c during the day. Only 5-10mins from many beaches. Big enough town but not to big. Everything you need here and plenty of things to do. Rotorua 1hr away, Taupo 2hrs and Auckland 2hrs away.

moonie2011

We have lived in wellington since May and we have had the worst storms in 35 yrs, and the recent earthquakes have been awful but the locals assure us that they haven't felt anything like it before. That said we have been on the beach, in shorts and kids swimming at least four times, the sun shines hot and if we have a day of rain or cloud then a few good days follows. Way warmer and drier than UK winters, and summers for that matter

We live 30 mins outside the city at Porirua, it has everything, sea, beach, bike rides, mountains. Like you I wanted to be in walking distance but the cost of rentals by the beach were way too expensive.

Like MrsFychan says with kids and all the stuff you need a car is essential anyway, nothing like grumpy kids after a day on the beach

Hope that helps, any questions just ask

jodaid

Thank you so much for responses... There is lots of great information there, including places we hadn't even really looked at or considered that now seem appealing.

We intend to submit an EOI as soon as I find a job and will hopefully apply straight for residency. I suppose it depends on how long they give us to get over there. That failing, I guess it will be a work visa until it comes through, or alternatively, if my husband lands a job first he will apply for a work visa until I can submit the EOI and start residency.

My husbands work is in I.T and I work in Cardiology, i'm a Cardiac Physiologist that needs a reasonable size hospital to keep up my skills list... Some areas don't have any techs it appears lol... so job choices are fairly hard to come by. Fingers crossed it will be easier for my husband.

We kinda figured look for jobs in a decent amount of areas and see what happens. If we hear of a rough area we scrub it off the list If we hear of good ones... we look harder for jobs there

Thanks again

Snap Shot

Good luck.

There's a contributor to this site who's husband got a job in Tokoroa, NZ last year. It's maybe not everyone's first choice as a destination but it got them to New Zealand.

I think they have it mind to move to a larger city in New Zealand. Basically, Tokoroa was their, 'toe hold', their starting point in NZ.

I would say the same for us and Christchurch in 2011.

So, you may be in the same position if you come to NZ on the strength of your husband's job. I guess the larger the town, the bigger the hospital. You may get to a large city in NZ from the start.

jodaid

We are willing to wait until something comes up in an area that we can see ourselves in. There are so many wonderful looking places, I would hate to end up settling the kids into an area/school etc only to move them again. We are open to so many areas though... its difficult to choose! I guess what i'm saying is... although we are pretty open atm as to where we go, it has to meet certain wants and needs for us both and the kids, which is why it is pretty important to hear views on everywhere. I would hope to settle wherever we end choosing... I understand this can be tricky, but it does happen, umm doesn't it? lol

Purrball

Wellington's not really a city for family cycling, to be honest, particularly for kids. It's pretty hilly and breezy in most places and the weather can be unpredictable which is OK if you're into mountain biking, but that may not be what you're looking for. What's more, it's not really close to beaches, except for either a pocket of sand on Oriental Bay or the other bays around the harbour... or the bays around the east of the city, which can be a bit windswept and more suited to surfing, but on occasional good days, end up packed. As others have said, unless you have beachfront property, you'll end up taking them in the car somewhere anyway.

Wellington's best beaches are to the North up on the Kapiti Coast, from Paekakariki onwards where it's flattish and the weather's usually a little better. That could be a possibility if you don't mind a longish commute into town. The drive can be about 45-60 mins or so, the commuter trains go all the way up to Waikanae now and there are moves to extend them to Otaki, although that might be some years away.

Napier/Hastings/Havelock North would be OK, but the beach in Napier isn't suitable for swimming in many places as it's a bit dangerous due to a sudden and steep drop-off not far from shore. I don't know the south of the South Island too well, but with hospitals of their own, I'd look at Nelson and Tauranga if weather is an important factor. Nelson is lovely in its own little way, is handy to Tasman National Park for boating, hiking and fishing and so on, but can feel a little cut off. Tauranga is better placed for visiting Auckland and other North Island destinations and has a wonderful climate. It is a bit of a seasonal town, though. Tends to fill up over the summer as tons of people descend on the Mount.

Hope that adds a few things into the mix.