mandy s

I AM INTRIGUED!
I have just joined in and have to say this all looks quite exciting as you all seem quite aware it can be daunting at times living around a load of people who are in a club you are not in - ie they have lived here forever and you havent!
I posted a response to 'Helen' wondering about moving to NZ and really it was the main reason I wanted to join this site as I know me and my husband (who is kiwi but lived in uk for past 12 years) made a lot of mistakes when we turned up - as in lost a fair amount of money on property and also felt we moved to the wrong island because we were chasing the sunshine!

Just for a quick rundown......
We sold a house and our own business in uk (east sussex) and moved ourselves and two kids (2 & 5) to whakatane. We bought a business (lunchbar) and our dream home and found after two years that we werent too keen on the north island - i dont mean the weather or the scenery - I mean the people!
Anyway we have shifted and now we live where my husband is from and -having travelled the world and lived in quite a few different places - I can honestly say we LOVE it here its friendly and has everything we need! It is also full of all the real reasons we shifted to nz!
All the best! Mandy

hellen

Hi Mandy,
Thanks for your reply in my introduction. Andy and I were unsure as to the north or south island. I guess we had kind of thought the north island would be better for Andys buisness,as he currently has a busy car repair and engineering garage in leeds, and probably wrongly, didnt think it would be viable to find a simlar business in the south island. Are we totally wrong in thinking this as we are wanting a better quality of life for our kids, without the rat race and some of the not so great people you can come across in the uk's society at times.
cheers

mandy s

Hi helen - have you been to both islands? And if so where? just wondering why you thought the north island would be better for you?

hellen

Hi, been to neither, we were hoping to visit both islands later this year to see which appealled. Not sure why the north island really , i guess with andys profession we presumed that it would be easier to buy a car repair/engineer buisness in the north island. Im a nurse so i can i guess work anywhere. I have to say the life style of the south island appeals more but Andy would be the main earner .

poppets

hi guys
we moved to the kapiti coast about 1hr north of wellington & we love it , we hadn't been to nz before & have yet to visit south island, but will soon hopefully

ps my FIL is form leeds & has his office there nr elland rd , so he can pay homage on way to work (sad ole bugger!!!!)

Andrew Cross

Yeah there is life on the South Island, we do drive cars and we all use garages.... Good luck with your choice.

groucho

Hi, just come across your comment made a while ago now, new to this site. We've been in Auckland for 3 months having emigrated from the UK. We really weren't sure about Auckland before we came out but because the job was there [OH - nurse] thought we'd give it a go and if we didn't like it - we'd be prepared to move on.
Well, we're at that stage now and we are hoping to move down onto south island if OH gets a job, [looking at Dunedin]
Is that where you are now? If so could you tell us more about it, please?
We may not be able to have a rekkie before hand, but south island was where we wanted to be in the first place, but no jobs at the time.
Appreciate any help!

Frenchy

Hi there
We live on the South Island (Blenheim) having visited only the North Island on a reccie last year we came to Blenheim! (I was offered a senior nurse position here) in January. My husband is a motor/aircraft engineer with 20 years experience as a development engineer for Land Rover BMW and Ricardo. He feels that to set up on his own here would be very lucrative (we see daily queues outside the WOF stations!!) but it really depends on the lifestyle that you want. To set up business with no contacts and networks would be hard so he is going to work in the field and suck it and see. He worked as a mechanic here for a while and has just got a position of a service manager in a local main dealership. pm me if you want any more info. I feel that either Island has as much to offer for both your careers, perhaps the North may have more competition.My husband has found it hard, pay for mechanics in NZ is not anywhere near what he was getting as a Development engineer in UK. We knew that would be the case and he hopes to build up a reputation for himself. He misses the Land Rover main agent access down here (he off road races for a hobby) and the ability to get parts for his racer easily.However personally speaking we are so glad we chose Blenheim. The weather in Marlborough is fantastic, we presumed that the South Island was cold but this area is the sunniest region in NZ!!! Good luck!!!!

BEVS

Nelson aint bad either. Lovely sunny days and you only see snow on the mountains , not outside yur door.

brussels_sprout

If i could live anywhere in NZ, i would choose the top of South island, Nelson/Blenheim for the sunny weather, cheaper houses and more laidback lifestyle, but i would have to be a health worker/teacher to have such a choice away from the big 3 cities ! Now it is winter, i am glad that i did not settle in Christchurch despite the cheaper houses.

BEVS

Not at all sure about the cheaper houses bit Bruss Sprout . We have a very sizeable mortage here. Me blokes a plumber. We do get the weather though. It helps rub the beans together.

brussels_sprout

Yes all houses in NZ outside Southland are expensive , i agree, although i think in Wellington and Auckland they are more than Cch , I cannot afford one that's for sure ! In the Wlgtn region, the further you go away from Wlgtn city, the cheaper the houses are, so i would settle in a rural small town in oder to get the best house.

mandy s

Hi, it was funny to see a response to that thread! I'venot been on this website recently as I have just bought a house,we rented for 6months as we made the mistake of buying in Whakatane! I LOVE it here!! We have moved to the small township of Waikouaiti,which is 25mins north of Dunedin and this is where my husband is from, so we do have some family contacts here. However that aside we way prefer the south island!! I feel a lot more comfortable here, I find the people friendlier (sorry!!!) and it just suits!
Dunedin is great, good manageable size, funky and studenty! Its easy to get to lakes, skiing, ETC. The downside is obviously the weather...its the same as the UK, cold winters- however way more sunshine. There are less people here but it doesnt feel like that. Do you have kids? The weather at the top of the south island(Nelson/Blenheim is better!), and I hear Christchurchhas a bit of a crime rate..although I doubt it compares to UK!
Anyway, work seems in the bundles here I am a non-working Mum at the mo' as my husband has just started working at the local goldmine,which pays amazingly well but is pretty weird shift hours! Get in touch if you have any more questions! happy to help! Mandy

groucho

Hi mandy
Thank you so much for your reply. I didn't think it would be picked up so soon if at all.
OH going for post in Dunedin, what areas would you recommend for living? We have 3 kids, 10, 14 and 17 the eldest is in yr 12 so may be looking at tech or school for her. Do you have kids? Do you know what the schools are like?
I have been looking on a web site which tells you all about schools, ie deciles,etc, but its hard to judge what they are like really.
We quite fancy an area that is commutable for OH work [if he gets the job]
to and from city, but a bit rural/small townish, if that makes sense. Enough to keep kids happy!
We have heard that south islanders are different, friendlier - that sounds good.
What are houses like? Are you more likely to get a house with better heating and some double glazing, or am I just dreaming!
As you have lived on both islands would you be able to recommend a removal firm thats good. We used Anglo Pacific for all our gear here and they were good and the company that they use here seemed ok but I've no idea of prices or anything yet, haven't got round to that yet.
Thanks again
Jules

mandy s

Hi Jules,
I have 2 kids but they are only 5 and 8,but I do know that Otago Girls is supposed to be good and my husband went to Otago Boys, which I know has a great reputation! But I am not quite at that stage yet,sodont quote me I suppose you would have to look. As far asareas goI think Brighton is lovely and someof the suburbs around Dunedin. I live in a township with an amazing community spirit but it is 25mins north. But it is on the beach, it has a wee library thats amazing, it has an in door swimming pool good pub,and good little schoolbut it is a drive to town, depends what you are after, we only really ended up here because its where my husband stems from. I dont think youcan go too wrong down here!
The houses are not the best, mine doesnt have double glazing but we have had to come down a peg or two after losing loads of our money! But $250-300 will buy you a good family home, ours was only $235 but we bought a piece of a land on a seperate title next door for another $40 as a bit of an investment. Have you bought up there?
Where in the UK are you from?
Mandy