robc1985

I have narrowed my prefered destination down to two places. The first being Wellington and the second being Christchurch. I am really drawn to Christchurch because my work mates friends live there in a place called Scarborough I think? He said the love it there.

I'm just looking for a bit of help. I know in the end it's my decision but peoples views would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

Browner_

I believe Scarborough is in Timaru not Christchurch.
Personally, I wouldnt live in Christchurch if you paid me. And Timaru is less appealing than that.

sparkie down under

Having friends around you when you get here would be a good thing but they'd have to be bloody good friends to get me to go to Christchurch

robc1985

I always thought of Christchurch to be a nice area. Suppose that's why i'm here though eh. It would be nice to get people's views on nice areas to live. Doing Civil Engineering means there are a lot of opportunities in Aukland and Wellington

ExKiwilass

Wellington over Christchurch ANY day.

crap coffee

hey,

Vancouver over Wellington ANy day (IMO)

ExKiwilass

Yeah. I love Van. Sadly, it is not in NZ.

zummerzet_lou

Why all the anti-CHCH comments?

We have been here 7 months, and love it. Probably helped that from the minute we made the decision to emigrate to NZ, we were drawn to CHCH, and only considered Wellington and Auckland due to the increased job opportunities.

We have everything we need on our doorstep, and more. Beach, forest, mountain, rivers. Last weekend, a 90 min drive took us to Hamner to the Thermal Hot pools, set in Alpine mountain area. The day after and 5mins in the car, we went surfing in the sea, sharing the beach with only 1 other family.

The weekend before, a 90 min drive in the opposite direction and we were in akaroa, and took a 2hr wildlife cruise and were surrounded by Hector Dolphins.

Why is that so undesirable?

Browner_

Sounds like you dont spend anytime in Christchurch

Browner_

Apparently Scarborough is also a residential area near Sumner in Christchurch!

Genesis

Ditto.

Genesis

There are probably many happy people in Chch. BUT it does have an unenvious reputation..just like Palmy where I live. Most would choose to live anywhere but here. We are very content however. Its just a question about Chch V Wellington. For me its the latter. Chch has too many folk there, too many boy racers and has poor crime figs. I admit happy as I am here if I was to chose again (or has zero time invested here) I would go elsewhere..mainly to be that much closer to the beach.

zummerzet_lou

Actually, there was a report published only this week that concluded that Chch has the lowest crime rate, and is actually the safest city (in NZ that is) to live in.

But if you wanna live somewhere that is not only on a fault line, but is notoriously windy that's up to you

ExKiwilass

ha! dude, the whole of NZ is on a fault line. That's why we have all those mountain ranges.

Chch to me is:

flat.

white supremicists

snobby

banal

conservative

lacking in beauty

etc. etc.

I would NEVER live there, nor would anyone I know. I'd rather live in Dunedin, if I had to live in the South Island.

kiwinow

Christchurch is fine as far as I'm concerned, but then I live in Timaru, which other posters have also deemed undesirable.
Scarborough in Christchurch is lovely. We had breakfast at a cafe by the seafront boardwalk last Saturday. There is no beach at this point - it's all surf beach and rocks, but there is a long walkway where people jog, walk babies and dogs, and meet at cafes. However, there is beach at Sumner and an estuary great for kayaking or fishing. There are beachfront walks over the hills and easy access to Lyttleton, and it's not that far to Christchurch.

Wellington is also lovely, although possibly a bit more expensive - mind you Sumner is expensive. There will be more work opportunities in Wellington, but less open spaces.