barnsleymat

We're thinking about moving from Auckland to Dunedin, have any of you lot had your belongings moved between islands and if so is it expensive?

I know it depends on the amount of stuff we have but I'd love to know a rough amount or even any recommended companies. If I get a job offer I'm going to ask them to contribute to the move so if I have a rough idea it'll be easier to ask.

Snap Shot

We moved from Christchurch to Wanganui last June. Details to follow...

Snap Shot

OK, I've had my tea now.

Last June we moved from Christchurch to Wanganui. We used Allied Movers to move us. It cost about $2,500 to move a two bedroom house worth of furniture. No pets. No car.

It was wrapped and boxed up by our movers. Said boxes were put inside a sea container as it would be travelling across the Cook Straight as cargo. We co-ordinated with a local moving company to bring the sea container to our rented home.

They unloaded and unpacked us and re-assembled the t.v. stand etc.

So, all in all, a very successful move. Nothing broken. In fact, more got broken in the Christchurch earthquakes. Oh, actually some plastic storage boxes of ours got cracked but I couldn't be bothered claiming.

Good luck to you move to Dunners.

Catchafire

When I moved from Auckland to Marlborough. My new employer paid for the moving truck and the first month accommodation, so it's worth asking.

luvwelly

My move across Wellington was NZ$3000, with insurance to cover our stuff in event of accident in transit it was NZ$6000. I was told that the insurance premium was the same whether you went across Wellington as I did or whether you moved from Wellington to Auckland.
I think they maybe saw us coming ...this was The Moving Company btw who were otherwise ok.
I could have paid slightly less for the insurance by listing everything I wanted covered....I really did not have the time or inclination to do that.

Imagine what they could try to charge to cover you if the ferry sinks ha ha!

luvwelly

Can I take it you weren't insured in transit?

Persephone

I don't think there are many of us on here that have changed islands. We went from north to south but Mr S's employer paid for everything and I have no idea how much it was. So I'm not much help

scottishstacey

which island do you like better??

Persephone

Hmm difficult one as there are so many different places on both islands and I have only lived in two places. I lived in Palmerston North before moving to Chch so many would say that it's a no brainer that I would prefer Chch [even with earthquakes!]. However Palmy is not that bad and is certainly not that different from other NZ towns. I did used to love driving to work and seeing Mount Ruapehu in the distance, that always made me feel happy.
Chch= bigger city but still not that big , I can see the Southern Alps if I look one way down my road and the Port Hills if I look the other.

I prefer the scenery of the South Island, I find it more dramatic though the N Island does have its moments

I would probably say that when I think about which island I would prefer to live on I have no preference. I would have more preference for certain towns and cities on either island over certain others. I'm not someone who wants to live too rural!

scottishstacey

Everyone i've spoken to about us moving to NZ has mentioned the gorgeous scenery of South island! some people said to us its a bit like scotland but hopefully with better weather lol.

When we were at a job expo we spoke to a company called Oceana gold and the guy was saying to us that Dunedin was very scottish and that we'd probably like it there.

I liked the fact that the kiwi's knew we were scottish, the australians at the expo thought we were irish lol

Persephone

Not visited a lot of Scotland so can't really tell how similar they are. But yes the South Island definitely has the better scenery overall.
The weather varies. We've not had much of a summer here in Chch and we're moving into autumn now. It rains less here compared to Palmy [where it seemed to be always raining!]

Snap Shot

Yeah, we were insured hence my remark, 'I couldn't be bothered claiming'. By that I meant I couldn't be bothered claiming from the insurers for two or three plastic storage boxes that got cracked during the move. Everything else was perfect.

Snap Shot

South Island undoubtedly has the scenery i.e. fiordland, Milford Sound, Mitre Peak, The Southern Alps, the lakes, coast, golden sand beaches.

In turn, the North Island has Lake Taupo, Mount Ruapehu, Mount Egmont/Ngarahoe and the skiing (yes there's skiing on S.I.), plenty of scenery, lakes, rivers and beaches. The beaches on the west of the North Island are all black sand beaches because of the volcanic activity centuries ago (same as Lanzarote if you've ever been.)

Yes the scenery of the S.I. could be considered quite Scottish i.e. hills, pine forrests, lots of open country. Watch out for the sand flies/black flies (midges) or wee beasties as they are known in Scotland !

It's really a question of where you can live and be happy rather than the either of NZ's north or south islands being perceived to be better.