Originally Posted by Scottishedo

Well, New Zealand is our choice the offer had been changed to make it with all things considered the better option!

My husbands job is based in north Auckland, we need to decide where we want to live, baring in mind we have two school aged children so there needs to be decent schools, which commutable areas would you recommend?? Our budget is around $650-700 per week

Thanks in advance for any information

Originally Posted by Sparkleydiva

By North Auckland do you mean the north shore? If so, you will be pushed to get good accommodation with good schools close by for your budget. Last year we lived in Silverdale in a 4 bed detached with all usual features and that was $720/week over a year ago.

If you can give us the location we will be able to advise you more accurately

Originally Posted by Scottishedo

The schools I have looked at so far all look great.

Would you say there's any areas to avoid due to the schools???

Originally Posted by Bo-Jangles

I don't think so, apart maybe from the lower decile places such as Birkdale and Beachhaven.

If you have your eye on a particular school, you do need to be mindful of the zoning. e.g. Houses within range of Rangitoto College are pretty sought after and this is often mentioned in the real estate advertising as a selling point and probably is reflected in house prices. Although I understand it's not altogether impossible to get a place in a school out of your zone.

Originally Posted by carcajou

Just to clarify some of the terminology being used - NZ schools have "decile ratings" that correspond to the socio-economic status of the school community:

https://education.govt.nz/school/run...ecile-ratings/

So a school with a decile rating of 10 would have very high socio-economic status, and a 1 would have a very low socio-economic status.

In education school quality is closely linked to socio-economic status. Decile ratings are published.

In the Australian/New Zealand context, especially (but not exclusively) in regional areas, it is also common for families to keep their kids in the government system up until 3-4 years before graduation, and then shift them into a private school for university preparation (rather than move house to a different school's intake area) if they feel the local schools aren't top shelf. So there is that option as well.

But as I said way back when you first started - if your kids are self-starters things should be OK, stay on them about that. If they start to drift it's not generally in the nature of the schools here to crack the whip to force them back on task. They will let them drift.

Originally Posted by MOSO

"In education school quality is closely linked to socio-economic status. Decile ratings are published."

The decile system is currently being disbanded due to this untrue perception. Lower decile schools receive more government funding, and the teachers hold the same qualifications, it's only the socio-economic status of the area that is different, not the school or the teaching. Having worked in low and very high decile schools, it's fair to say that there are issues at both ends of the spectrum. You only have to ask MrsFychan about problems she has had with decile 10 schools.

I would strongly recommend visiting schools and asking them 'why should I send my child to your school', and seeing if the response matches your expectations. Schools in NZ have a degree of flexibility about the curriculum that is not possible in the UK, so make sure the school is right for you.

Originally Posted by sr71

We moved to Melbourne 8 years ago, have just relocated to Auckland at the beginning of the year. So hopefully have a good handle on both.


Depends where you live and more importantly your kids activities. We live in Epsom and can walk to all schools - primary, middle and secondary. Walking distance to shops, train station and buses too. But our eldest plays football and needs to be at practice 2-3 nights a week - just not possible without a car. But you can get reasonable cars for $5k - maybe a Honda Edix or Honda Stream/Toyota Wish - all 6/7 seaters.

The best commutable areas are the ones closest to the city, they also have the advantage of some of the best schools. Mt Eden, Epsom, Remuera, Newmarket, Parnell, Ponsonby etc. (literally walkable to the CBD). But need to check the school zones of any house you look at. Next would be suburbs like Greenlane, One Tree Hill, Royal Oak, Meadowbank, St Johns, Ellerslie - still all very commutable as they are only 10-20 mins from the city. There are very good schools way out east (Macleans) or on the North Shore, but the commutes are worse. The North Shore would give good access to beaches. Depends how far to beaches your daughter wants.

Melbourne has better public transport ,but it's a nightmare to drive around - as bad as London. Aucklanders complain about traffic but it's nothing compared to Sydney/Melbourne. And even the better public transport there doesn't negate the need for second cars if the kids have activities that need them ferrying around to.

Melbourne - state schools are a lot worse than NZ, if you want good education for your kids you will need to go private or move into very expensive zones (rent same or more as the top suburbs in Auckland) But even the top schools in Melbourne have poor facilities from what I've seen. (MacKinnon college for example has a single dry and dusty field) Many Auckland public schools are nicer than Melbourne's private schools.


Yes, you won't be buying new BMW's or holidaying in the US every year, but it's a very comfortable salary, as always push for more. Rent will by far be the biggest chunk, you should get $8500 after tax, $3000 for rent would leave you with $5500 a month to live on. Internet is about $70 a month, Electricity/Gas about $250 a month. Internet far better than Australia and utilities cheaper.


Yes, I can't recommend the schools here enough. My kids have blossomed. As above, I think the education system is poor in Australia. In NZ the schools are very nice, very family focused. Large range of extracurricular activities also encouraged and provided by many schools. The primary school we were at in Melbourne had no playing fields, no music or drama programs yet was ranked very high. Really quite a shock when we moved to Auckland to see how good the schools are.



Not sure, our youngest was 6 when we moved so straight to school, but would be very surprised if there aren't any.


I think Auckland is wet, but the weather is definitely nicer than most of the UK, and definitely Scotland. It's an island climate so gets rain, but not really any extremes. I don't think it's cold at all really. 15 degrees in winter is the average, 25 in summer.

I also didn't mind Melbourne's climate, apart from summers which I found hot, uncomfortably so on some days. Dry, dusty and with hot winds with 42 degrees for 2-3 days are just awful. Also nobody mentions the flies, just terrible, one of the worst things about Melbourne, they stick to your face, constantly wafting them away. Cannot enjoy the outdoors like that.


Definitely more expensive than the UK, but I think similar to Australia. Need to look out for the specials and take advantage of those, even stocking up on goods to save money. We spend maybe $200 per week on a family of 4 but that is without any budgeting or planning whatsoever.


The problem is generally the only expat stories you read will tend towards being negative. The majority of people are happy and getting on with their lives and don't tell their story. Every expat I've met in NZ loves it and would never go back. There are pros and cons of each country and if you understand that and get the balance right for your family then that makes it easy.


On balance my view is that for a young family NZ is fantastic, much better than Melbourne. It is also much more British in culture and sense of humour. Also a more open and less conservative society.

Where Melbourne excels is in it's entertainment - it has good bars, great festivals, plenty of sports events (F1/Australian Open). Awesome Italian and Greek food, good markets. Also good shopping.

But everything else Auckland takes the win.

-Outdoor activities and thing to do
-Beaches
-Natural Beauty
-Ease of getting away for weekends
-No snakes or spiders - kids can enjoy the outdoors
-Better supermarkets (more selection and better produce)
-TV and Internet (Australian TV is dire, Internet badly managed and congested
-Better wines
-More positive outlook on life

What they do have in common is that both have sustained unsustainable population growth (immigration) and governments have failed to manage that or keep infrastructure up to date (same as the UK I guess)