BEVS

My thought also.

cyndi2

We live in a smallish town (Ashburton) just about an hour south of Christchurch. Been here a couple of months shy of 18 years. We've always liked it here, have made some great friend of all nationalities. One of our kids was 14 when we got here and we used to worry about how he'd cope, it didn't take him long to settle into school life and make new friends. There are quite a few little places around here which you would class as rural, Methven, Mt. Somers being a couple of them. They really are lovely places to be. Seems to be plenty of trucking companies around as we are an agricultural area. Our daughter and her partner are dairy farm managers about 20 minutes from us in between Mt. Somers and Methven, and our just turned 5 yr old granddaughter will be starting school at Mt. Somers in February. It's a great little school and has a good reputation.. It's easy to get to Christchurch if you need to but Ashburton has everything we need. Yes house prices are high but probably still considered somewhat affordable around here compared to bigger places in NZ. Cost of living is high too but from what I hear from my brothers in the UK and my husbands family in the US it is there too. Weather has been bloody strange this past couple of years but isn't it everywhere right now.

I'd honestly say give it a go, you won't know if you don't try, but do expect to have pangs of homesickness now and again you're human after all. Take a look at the Canterbury area it's home to us and may have just what you're looking for.

Justcol

Haast !! You gotta be joking. He said rural, not remote. From Haast it's 150km, if the road is open, to the nearest supermarket. Haast is the place where people from remote hideaways go to hide. There are hundreds and hundreds of small rural communities all over NZ. I could name 10 within a 30km radius of my place and all are affordable. Rural NZ isn't just a bunch of trendy suburbs on the fringes, where cashed up city folk can commute from, and it doesn't have to be the most remote place on the island. Rural NZ is a great place to live

Moses2013

Well, he said 50 houses were too much and rural can also mean no pavements for children to walk to school, otherwise it's a village or town with a similar amount of houses. For those living in a busy part of the UK, maybe everywhere rural is great when they want fewer people. As said, the urban population in NZ is actually quite high and housing and jobs dictate where you end up.
And of course it's always hard to escape people as tourists exist everywhere. Cyndi2 mentioned Methven, that to me would be a town unless you move out further.

Moses2013

We also have a 2nd home abroad, but just saying that most nicer places have been discovered already and that makes it less affordable these days (unless there's a crash:-).
If I was the OP and desperate to get out of the UK, I wouldn't rule out the US because of shootings. As you say, there were more fatalities in Christchurch with shooting and also earthquakes.
Plenty of areas in the US where you can have a lake home with nature surrounding you and cheaper than the UK, NZ and other parts of Europe.

SanDiegogirl

..... but he still have to obtain a visa - and it sounds like he is a self employed trucker......

LittleGreyCat

Noting, of course, that his partner has a Psychology degree and currently works remotely, so that is another possible route to a work visa.

Moses2013

Totally agree, without it everything else is probably irrelevant. And even people born in a country can't just pick and choose on a limited budget. Someone can say Hanalei Bay (Hawaii) is a nice place to live, but pointless if you can't afford it and don't have a job offer😉.

tht

Looks amazing, I had been looking more at Maui before, the schools don’t seem to be that well rated though, the middle school is a 3/10… and wow, the prices make NYC look cheap…

cyndi2

He said he was looking for a small town and asking about safety for his kids. I gave two examples of small towns close to where I live. Methven is a small town, granted at the base of Mt. Hutt and they do have tourists staying over the short ski season here. They are usually up at the crack of dawn to go up the mountain. Most of the time it is a quiet little place and it's classed as rural area surrounded by farms. Daughter takes her two kids to preshool there and even during ski season says it's hardly any busier in the town than any other time. He's also asking about New Zealand not Hawaii or the States. Maybe he hasn't got a visa yet but he can surely ask can't he? It's called doing some research to see if it would suit. No wonder this forum has gone dull, get's taken over by people who don't even live here. I'm from Newcastle upon Tyne originally but wouldn't dream of giving people advice on living there as I haven't lived there in years

SanDiegogirl

Quite correct.....

Free.Jock

👌

I was biting my tongue as to not be rude. I come on an expat forum asking a bit of advice to be told stay in the UK.

Then above that my wealth has been presumed, the value of the house I want to buy has been presumed. Only a few people (thank you to them) have actually given decent answers to my question and not concentrated on the questions I haven't asked.

BEVS

The work visa will not be an issue with an accredted employer. He is looking at WTR. His occupation is on the green list I believe. Plenty of logging /tanker/haulage here. Just needs to be mindful of the quality of the job offer.

Moses2013

Isn't that the whole point, those who hate the UK will hate the UK and those who live in NZ will love NZ. None of us can really compare anymore and it seems a general discussion is now seen as negative. The same people constantly talk down the UK based on knowledge from 20 years ago and probably never explored the UK. People who are desperate never want to know the truth and only pick the positive, that's why so many actually feel offended these days and are then upset when you question things. Fact is that there are enough locals in NZ who want well paid jobs and it's either work for less, or you have skills that locals don't have. Fact is also that he said a village with 50 houses was too busy. Then the option is rural where houses are spread out, have a septic tank and it isn't urban. It's pointless anyway and getting too old for this, so won't be back. Good luck anyway

BEVS

IMO the couple will have more choice of his preferred type of location(s) under his occupation.