alscott76

Can anyone tell me anything about Queenstown apart from its expensive. We are a young couple with a child relocating to Queenstown and are eager to hear from poeple who have relocated or live in Queenstown. Any advices would be great.

Kiwiprincess

I have never lived there but am speaking from the perspective of someone who visited family there quite regularly and their perspectives. Actually, my mother remembers being able to camp in tents along the front of Lake Wakatipu...but she is old

The people who have enjoyed it (other than snowboarders like my brother who could basically live in a cave as long as he can board duuuuude) are those on relatively stable incomes. Not necessarily high incomes (surprisingly) but stable incomes. Apparently it is quite common for families and people who live their long term to actually drive to Invercargill or Dunedin for their shopping. I can understand that. I havent been there for about 3 years now but unless it has changed significantly, the Louis Vuitton shop was a bit expensive to be buying the nippers school bags at! Actually, it used to be the only place in the country with a BabyGap. Not sure it still is there though

I mentioned stable income as important - the reason i say this is because a lot of the work in Queenstown focuses on the summer and winter season (summer is actually busier...go figure). Therefore in the shoulder season it was harder to find work. I know of a receptionist there, however, who never had a problem with money. She lived out near the airport but because she had constant work she wasn't short of money so didn't have to budget for low income months like the snowboarders!

Oh, and the Salvation Army store there apparently is one of the best supplied stores in the country! Lots of people drop their stuff there rather than selling it so when they have sales you can pick up some great bargains

My cousins who grew up there loved it. One went to boarding school in his high school years in Dunedin but the rest went to school locally (Wakatipu College i think??).

Sorry, brain dump over.

alscott76

so what areas in queentown/octoga is more suitable for a family of 3 me the missus and the little one... shops, nurserys, transport coz the wife does nt drive...

lapsed kiwi

I strongly suggest your wife learns to drive - same for anyone else migrating here. Relying on public transport will severely limit your enjoyment of living in NZ

alscott76

well theres too much to do now so she will have to learn there, she started courses.. how much do they cost there?

lapsed kiwi

No clue I'm afraid - probably less than UK since petrol, insurance and labour are cheaper (and the required standard is lower!)
The serious point is that if you constrain your choice of where to live in NZ, or your enjoyment of NZ, by not being able to drive you will almost certainly not like it here.

lardyl

amen to that one!
But getting behind a wheel here is relatively painless - just look at the 15 yr olds doing it!

kiwinow

Are you moving there because you like it, or because you have a job? If you have a permanent job, go for it. It is a beautiful place. If you like skiiing and adventure sports you'll love it and there's plenty of lovely places to visit, lots of wineries, cosmopolitan etc. It is a bit isolated though, and usually snows in winter. I think they may have a decent supermarket now, but people used to make a monthly rip to Dunedin to shop for groceries and well priced kids stuff. Not a cheap place to live, but very beautiful.

alscott76

Yes I have a full time job there for a construction company. When we decided 2 years ago to move we where looking to locate to the north islands, but there was a position going in the Queenstown so we decided to go for it, these opportunities do come along too often. So the more I find out about the area the better we can try to adapt. Thanks for your comments.

lardyl

I like it - been there on business and holidays, bit racy (and there are some problems with drinking, etc) as far as NZ goes but an interesting mix of people there most of the time.
Lots to do and see, skiing on the doorstep as are water sports and some great country.
Expensive to live there mind, although there are supermarkets around now and the golf is pretty good too!

Kiwiprincess

Oooh one thing i thought of - when are you going? Check to see whether you can get the earlybird ski pass!

I need to visit queenstown again i think. Last time i was there the dramas about building a warehouse were still going on!

btw Queenstown is an awesome airport to land at. Flying along and then you drop slightly out of the clouds and have the remarks (wot the locals call the Remarkables) on one side of you.

Ok, that is scary as h*ll. But still pretty cool.

alscott76

It all sounds good to me, what about areas to live?

alscott76

We are due to get there sometime in July fingers crossed?

southerner

Hi - Queenstown itself is on the northern shore of the lake, with mountains behind it, so you will need to check carefully how much sun you get. I imagine some places, particularly those along Frankton Road area (the main road in - SH6) won't get any sun in the winter.

The best possies for sun are Lake Hayes and Kelvin Heights but they are mega exclusive.

Cromwell (about 40min drive away) is a bit cheaper property-wise. I have a cousin who is a builder living at Kingston at the a southern end of the lake - I think it is about 40min drive from there (he works in Queenstown). Kingston is very nice, but more a village than a town.

Otherwise Fernhill and Sunshine Bay (I think) are supposed to be quite good areas, maybe Frankton itself (where the one of the big supermarkets is now, with another coming soon). Frankton is also close to the big construction sites are: Five Mile Village, Jacks Point, and Kawarau Falls.

Hope the move goes well - all the best.

ps I love Queenstown, and wish my profession had more jobs in that area.

alscott76

thats great advice thanks for your comments...