hank

Goodmorning/afternoon etc.

This is a little offbeat as questions to this forum go,but I am curious to see wether there are any British Expats out there that are living in NZ having come via Australia,myself and my wife and several children have lived on the Sunshine Coast QLD for 5 years and are contenplating our next adventure, as we are now Oz citizens the legal bit is relatively straight forward.

What I am most interested in is anyones relevant observations on the different countries,don't get me wrong we enjoy QLD although it is incredibly hot sometimes and a little bit more culture would't go amis!!but there seams to be such an exodus from NZ to Oz I feel a little bit nervous about going against the grain.

Any info would be splendid,we seem to be focusing on Christchurch.

mazi

I'm not known for my love of NZ but seriously, if it's a bit more culture you want, NZ may not be the best choice.

Good reggae though.

Birdey

Hello

We are also ex uk ex Au and now in NZ been here only 2 weeks though, so not much help. We live/lived in Perth, although have done a few years on the Goldy as well back in the days b4 kid.

I like it, only here for a year and yet to see what a winter is like, struggling a little with the summer, which has been beautiful so far, but have to have the heater on in the bathroom already.... Worrisome for winter!

Its nice to be able to put your hands in a dark place and not worry about red backs and stuff, culturally I think its a bit nicer than AU. However am in a tourist town on the North Island and not working yet, so may be a bit misguided.

Ask again in a few weeks/months and I will try and be realsitic. Do know it was more of an upheaval for our 2.5 yr old than we had anticipated though.

Cheers
Bird

Jude J

Wow, really?!! Is that because you are used to very high temperatures or is it really cold enough there for a heater?

Nerine

If you're looking for culture Mazi's right.

As for the cold you have to experience it to really appreciate it, I wouldn't describe it as being a welcome relief from the heat of Oz.

If you're really serious about making the move come over and try the place out first. Suss out the price of houses in areas where you feel like living and see what sort of pay you could get. NZ has a bad rap for being a low wage economy and there aren't as many jobs to choose from as there are in Oz.

Lastly, when Oz has a problem it just throws money at it ($10 billion to sort out water shortages) until it's sorted. When NZ has a problem it navel gazes and looks up now and then to see if it's disappeared yet .

kiwi_child

Mazi and Nerine are well known for their dislike of NZ, so bear that in mind. You will find NZ and NZers far more relaxed, friendly and a more moderate climate than OZ. NZ does indeed have culture, which infact is far more noticeable and less pretentious than OZ.

NZ isn't Italy (where Mazi now lives) or Greece etc. You can't possibly have the kind of culture that places that have been empires thousands of years ago have, if the country you are in has only been occupied for a few hundred years.

Chch is ok but parts can be a bit depressing (mainly eastside and parts of the sth of the city).

mazi

.

Nerine

Mazi I yearn for European culture but if I can't have it Oz will have to do. I spent a week in Sydney, fitted in two concerts and only scratched the surface whilst Auckland can be done in a long weekend and North Island in a week.

A dreary wet day in Auckland v. a dreary wet day in Sydney - I know which I'd chose .

mazi

Yes, I'd also choose the wet day in Sydney, having visited - there is more to do there (for me anyway).

I also missed European culture when in NZ but I wanted to point out to kiwi child that I know NZ cannot have the same history to it due to it being a young country. I just felt that in NZ the people (a lot of them, not all) were almost anti cultural pursuits and there is actually a kind of inverted snobbery about them. I was often laughed at for wanting to visit a gallery or do something other than run about on the beach, or I got the response "ooooh, you're posh, aren't you?" (in a sarcastic tone).

happynz

I like to go to art galleries, but just to be safe I will rip a loud fart just to let the other gallery attendees know that I'm like a real bloke and all.

mazi

Can you do it on demand, then?

Funny, and no offence intended at all, but I thought from your previous posts that you were a girl! No idea why.

hazeandsteve

Sorry, but your yearnings for Euro culture really surprise me.
Why anyone longs for countries which have been governmentally enforced to embrace each other when half the historical relationships are of violence and belittling each other is a mystery.
I'd far rather have sea views or greenery than some gothic, baroque or art deco construction, however visually pleasing.
I've travelled the world with my job, and had a far better experience in a shanty town on Mauritius south coast than the Euro capitals.
No help I know, but remember why most Brits head to NZ.......it ain't for the firkin art galleries.

happynz

Oooh...er...does my prose look big in this?


Well, standing at 189cm and weighing 92kg iffin' I was a girlie I'd be a big one!

mazi

And no, I don't spend all my time in galleries and the like - but I like it that I could if I wanted and I like it that no-one, not even educationally-challenged people, take the P. I do know people who don't enjoy my type of cultural pursuit but none of them would laugh at me for it, and nor do I them for their choice of free-time activity.

Apple12

We do have Classicals Sparks here in ChCh this weekend - orchestra + fireworks, and we had the Buskers Festival running last week.
Just two examples of free "cultural" activities in Christchurch... there are heaps more.
Sometimes you just need to think outside the square and *do* stuff that does exist, rather than missing the stuff that isn't here.

PS the Art Gallery here is just excellent - awesome building and ever changing exhibitions.