Lenny the Lion

As I am just about to move south to near Dunedin because of a promotion, it would be interesting to hear opinions on the pros and cons of each island.
One rule........dont mention the weather!

kwprwn

WIMP

Hopefully you understand Scottish then ( this is not meant in an offensive way to any scots people, as I actually like the accent)

Batty

I haven't been to the South Island yet. We live in Auckland and my husband (Kiwi) says that one day we'll go to live in New Zealand

Rascal

My own personal view of the SI is "I dont like it at all".
Too remote, miles and miles and miles of - nothing! IMO.
But you might like it, so go for it. and Shhhhh I will NOT mention the weather.
Edited coz I missed the 'S" of SI.

kiwi_child

I've lived in both islands and I guess it comes down to personal preferences, like most things.

If you want a cosmopolitan feel then auckland or wellington are the go. sth island is probably more picturesque is comparison to nth island, but NI still has some very scenic spots.

Can't mention weather? Ok but nth is warmer. Tho nelson very pleasant. In the end what line of work you are in may dictate things a bit. More opportunities in the major cities.

Dunedin is lovely but very hilly, but then so is welly. Chch is quite flat, with hills at the outskirt. It also suffers from bad smog (trying to avoid weather here ) due to its flatness, the hills and being built over swampland.

Auckland is very expensive, comparable to sydney on accomodation costs. further sth or rural you go, cheaper the rents etc usually.

Sth island and provincial areas have a slower pace of life. auckland is the hussle n bussle city.

Don't know if any of this helps but hope so. have a nice xmas

Littletoe

The SI is the best! The best beer comes from there (Speights, Monteiths) and the people are much more friendly. Its more laid back, the scenery is just beautiful, yep, I've had some great times there. My husband comes from Auckland and I wouldn't like to live there. The people are generally a-holes and crappy drivers. We're moving back to NZ in the new year and we've shortlisted some of our ideal places to live, Auckland doesn't rate, we've still opted for some places in the NI because we want to earn moooooooney, but we've got Nelson and C'Christhurch as possibles as well, because we love the lifestyle.

In Dunedin is where Speights is from, I IMPLORE you, do the tour and have dinner there. That ALONE is worth living in Dunedin for!

happynz

No weather, eh? Oh, alright. Here's the unvarnished truth. The South Island blokes are tall and handsome, like me. Unfortunately for us handsome blokes most of the local women look like they chase parked cars. Therefore we handsome blokes need to import gorgeous women.

Seriously.

nzyorkshireman

Would that be a little south of Dunedin? (milton)A recently completed Government accommodation center.
I would live that way ...wife likes the the Hutt valley to much great place for hunting, fishing....I wont mention the weather...but it gets very very cold
sadly the is yuck

Littletoe

Good on ya, mate

Wiz'n'Ton

Well Toni and I spent 5 weeks campervanning around the whole of NZ, and we found the North Island to be great, and the South Island to be great too! So, we finally decided to go where we liked the best, and that was ChC on the South Island. Busy enough, but not manic. No massive traffic problems. Relatively easy going, but enough going on to earn a decent living. Great places nearby - Dunedin, (as someone has said, GO to the Speights brewery - it's flippin brill if you like all that sort of thing) - Hamner Springs etc etc. Easy enough to drive anywhere if you don't mind a few hours on the road. Easy links to Auckland for external flights. Loads of great biking roads, great outdoor opportunities like cycling, walking etc, and also near decent beaches.

That'll do us for a start!

Regards,

Wiz

sky

Some of the blokes are pretty uggish too, NZ desperately needs our nice healthy british gene pools or it can only get worse :scared:

happynz

British genes? Yikes! There are more than enough boilers here already!

Rascal

I'd send you some good looking blokes from the NI if there was any But there aint.

Rascal

We could drag some Aussies over?
Now some of them are tasty.

Rascal

PS Its pretty cold down there at the moment I hear.