Assanah

Well, in my opinion Auckland has it goods parts but I am sooooo glad that we will leave soon and I made the wrong the decision to move here.

Is that unbiased enough?

Synky

It might be too personal but it is useful for some of us to know why you want to leave.

chris the property man

That's fair enough, Assanah. Things haven't worked out for you and you are going back home. Good luck with that, I hope you find happiness.

In the meantime, can I respectfully suggest that if you decide to post on this or any other forum, that you do it with a balanced view. You've admitted yourself in o does have a lot going for it. Reading back on your past posts, it's hard to see that is your opinion. You have been very scathing and one sided regarding NZ and in particular, Auckland.

Newbies coming to the forum that are looking at moving to NZ, possibly Auckland, do need to know the good, the bad and the ugly. But there is a way to put things that doesn't necessarily put people off but does make them think twice and realise that they might need to look further into things.

As I said, a more balanced, less self-opinionated approach would surely be more useful. There must be more useful ways to vent your frustrations and disappointments with your life here than on this forum?

I say this from experience as I used this and another Expat site to help with my homework when I was looking to move here. I remember then that there was a lot of negativity as well as some really unbiased, helpful posts. I tended to ignore the rants and just take on board the ones that gave two sides, where applicable.

That's my two-penneth worth.

Chris

Foardy

Chris, Tommy and Sherlock - Bravo-well written - Happy Sunday

whitesand

Chris, it's pretty rich you criticising the comments of some posters who dare to knock Auckland when, as an estate agent, you have a vested interest in selling houses to those new migrants who may decide to move here.

Synky

Oh c'mon that's true of almost anyone who works for a living!

MrsFychan

Please

chris the property man

Have a word with yourself will you. If you think I'm here at BE to find clients then you are deluded.

I work in a very small area of approximately 20 minute drive of my office in Pakuranga, Auckland. Most of Auckland is too far for it to be feasible for me to work in as I'd spend too long back and forth to ppeoples houses.

People on this forum live or are looking to move to all parts of NZ. What benefit are they to me and my work? None.

I started on this forum as an expat not as a real estate agent. I won't apologise for my career choice. If I can give advice or tips on what I know with regards to real estate then I will. It won't earn me a cent and that's fine.

This thread is not about me or even real estate...have you been following it? I have offered some friendly advice about living in Auckland but believe it or not, even as a real estate agent, not everything I do is for personal gain.

chris the property man

Agreed.

chris the property man

Mercer Quality of Living Survey 21012...and in 3rd place...Auckland, NZ.

Can't be that bad then, can it?

barnsleymat

It can, I got out for the very reason that all the properties are a frigging rip off.

davros1984

Wow - this thread has changed. It was about moving to Auckland, the realities of living here. It has changed a LOT in the past 12-24 months, certainly price wise.

I think its pretty rude to be calling people trolls. Sure I am come across as biased sometimes, but if you look through my past posts they are a mix of positive and negative. I've been here over 18 months now, and on the whole it has been a fantastic move and I've really enjoyed living here (apart from the odd day).

Today though.. it was a beautiful day, I drove about an hour north and went to Tawharanui Regional Park - BEAUTIFUL! This is one of the great things about living in Auckland - its so easy to go and see and do many different things. We plan on going there again soon. I met up with 9 other Brits today, all of which had a similar opinion. They really like living here, but the cost of housing has gone too far - apart from one who's happy to rent.

The frustration I have is that I'd really like to be able to buy a house here so I can potentially continue this lifestyle, however with the recent price boom (like the early housing boom in the 2000's in the UK) - it seems incredibly difficult. 18 months ago, had I had a deposit - buying wouldn't have been a problem. So it seems, the only way to continue this lifestyle for a good time to come is to continue to pay $2000 a month on rent for a place that is ok, but is fairly average (even by UK terms). One of the reasons I moved here was that housing was considerably cheaper - not the case anymore. A 3 bed house near the New Forest in Hampshire would have cost us in the region of 250K GBP, which we always felt was out of reach.

You can't just lie to people, if you want to buy a house in a nice area in Auckland you're looking at 700K+ NZD (most people will probably find that crazy).

TommyLuck

It still amazes me that people are surprised that the major city (on the basis of population and industry) in a country is, relatively speaking, more expensive than the rest of that country.

It is a science as true as gravity, you can't compare the New Forest to Auckland for the price of property. I'm sorry, you just can't.

Auckland is where the money is in most abundance, so the areas that are nice to live in are more expensive than the rest of the country.

The areas you wouldn't go, ever, let alone live are sadly poverty ridden and tend to be on the fringes of the city boundries. The same is true of New York, LA, London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Sydney, any South American or African Capital City.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Auckland adheres to this phenomenon.

TommyLuck

It's not difficult to imagine. I hate cycling to work in the freezing cold, because I can't feel my fingers 15 minutes in to my journey and I moan to all in sundry when I get to work about how cold it is. But I don't stop cycling to work because of it, ultimately I enjoy cycling.

You are putting words in my mouth, or at my fingers given I'm typing this. I'm not presuming anything, I'm just hypothesising as to why the longer some people have used this website, the more likely they are to have a negative slant to their posts.

It's interesting to note that this is first time in a while you have admitted and given examples of enjoying New Zealand in recent times on BE.

This has come on the back of you feeling as if you have been called to task by my post.

I am happy to leave London, I have also said publicly on BE that I have not problem with London or the UK. You have evidently told of your dislike of New Zealand and in particular Auckland, which is fine my me, by the way. I have told you before that, in fact, I have found some of your posts very useful. I even recall thanking you.

Your posts don't lead me to believe you are simply happy to leave New Zealand. My understanding of "happy to leave" and your apparent understanding of the same phrase doesn't bear comparison.

PuginAKL

Hi there OP.

I'm making the jump to Auckland from the UK as well, if you're over there and fancy a couple of pints drop me a pm!