Munchkjn

Agree with this. Someone above mentioned Wellington is not the place to come for scenery. I would massively disagree with this. Wellington is one of the most visually stunning places I've ever visited and I have trouble understanding why anyone would think otherwise. BTW for reference I have traveled extensively in NZ, Canada, South Africa and Europe.

In my opinion and short-experience, climate-wise Wellington and surrounds (excluding last summer) is much better than the UK. Really enjoying the warm and sunny spring and winter was pretty mild but wet, autumn was also pretty nice. Just thought I'd try and balance some of the more negatively toned comments.

escapedtonz

We didn't sell up. We rented our house out for 3 and a half years before selling to the tenant.
To ensure we could afford the UK house, renting in NZ and had sufficient set up funds we remortgaged a couple months before flying out to NZ, went for an interest only mortgage which more than halved the monthly mortgage payment, we got a little bit of cashback and we also increased our borrowing so we had the £40 000 (equivalent $80 000) as a set up fund.
Luckily, we rented the house within a week and even after paying full management fees, landlords insurance and any other fees we earned around £250 a month profit. We even applied and were approved by HMRC to receive rental income free of UK income tax.

Bo-Jangles

Nobody said that

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the points were all simply giving pause for thought as to whether scenery is enough of reason to move to the other side of the world to scrimp and scrape along.

It's nice to know that there are 'world-class' views of stunning beaches and scenery down the road but really when do we get the time to appreciate them? Usually when we're on holiday and then we're all up for the scenery and it matters such a lot, eh!!

We can all find some beauty in our day, even if it is only as sneaky peak of admiration for someone else's garden, or a local park or walkway on the way to work. Wherever we are in the world I'm sure we all have access to views, glimpses of big blue skies / clouds and sunshine intermittently, some water, a bit of grass, trees, pot plants, flowers in vase.

Does having different / better scenery impact on our daily lives?? I don't think so unless we travel on the upstairs of a bus or a passenger in a car.

I spend more time time at work facing a magnolia wall, staring at a screen, or at the road and the backs of cars and brake lights on the way there and back. I get to park my car in a grey car park that looks like every other stinky dark / damp car park in the world.

When I get home of an evening it's dark for at least six months of the year.

At home I'm not hankering after some more scenery; I can sit outdoors, read a book, watch TV, cook in a kitchen and do my ironing from where can see my lovely garden and a few sparrows and blackbirds. We can't see beyond the fences and walls and since I don't have money for magnificent vistas of mountains and the ocean, it wouldn't be vastly different if I lived elsewhere in the world.

Knowing that there is 'world-class' stunning scenery and beaches just down the road really do not impact on my day; whether at the shops, the office, the dentist, the doctors or the queue at the post office; the scenery matters not a jot, I'm simply focussed on what I want and getting the job done and getting the hell out of there and back home as soon as I can.

Munchkjn

Wasting my time on here

garethwm

To be fair, there are no doubt people of all sorts of origin walking or jogging along Oriental Parade after work every night from now until May enjoying the views. Although this may be more trouble than its worth with small children I guess.

Snap Shot

This ^

Sure I sometimes drove to work from Whanganui to Feilding or Palmerston North dependant on whether I was working, with Ruapehu in my left hand field of vision. On an exceptionally clear day I could also see Mount Taranaki/Egmont in my rear view mirror. Undoubtedly beautiful but it would take an exceptionally clear day to see both. Maybe once or twice a year for all the conditions to be right and me to be there at the right time to see it.

My foot was on the accelerator as I drove towards just another day at work.

In the winter when Ruapehu and Taranaki were thick with snow and easier to see they both looked magnificent with the backdrop of a clear blue sky. Again, on a clear day. I just kept driving as I had somewhere to get to.

People go on and on about the light in New Zealand and how clear it is. Sure there are clear days but generally not much more than Britain. Other than that the light is the same as Britain.

Driving home to Whanganui with the sun setting and Mt Taranaki being thick with snow creating the optical illusion of it looking bigger/closer did make me think, 'wow' this is what they come to NZ for. However, all I was doing was driving home.

I could see Mt Ruapehu from Whanganui from several vantage points around town. (Behind New World Supermarket was one of them !) In winter when Ruapehu was thick with snow and the sky was blue it looked bigger/closer. Which was an optical illusion I presume. I never forgot that both Taranaki and Ruapehu are live volcanoes !

simonsi

Well Wikipedia quotes Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch as all having circa 2000 sunshine hours per year, whereas London is quoted as approx 1600 and Edinburgh 1400 so a BIG difference in the raw sunshine quantity, like 20-30% depending on UK latitude you compare with.

I'm a keen photographer, in no way is the light the same as Britain.

We all see what we see, I notice <not> having to see dirty roadsides in winter in the UK due melted slush etc...would I move <just> for that, of course not but I appreciate the difference none the less.

Woodlea

^

I appreciate the extra sunshine too, but the best thing in Canty is it hardly ever rains compared to the UK (and other parts of NZ)