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weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Old May 16th 2007, 9:39 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Hi North Easterner here who has lived in Spain and currently living in NZ !

The amount of daylight is about the same in both countries as they are on the same latitude. NZ seems to put the clocks forward in autumn too early, but this is only a small thing. I know in the middle of winter, it starts getting dark in the North East at 3:30, none of that here !

I once remember arriving in Cadiz by ferry in December, it was so bl**dy cold ! The north of NZ is on the same latitude as Costa Del Sol more or less, the sun is as intense, but air is cooler and fresher and it rains heaps more than most of Spain. Galicia in NW Spain is as wet as wet gets !

It hardly ever snows or is frosty here on the NZ coast, but there is always snow on the surrounding mountains in winter. 2 years ago when i lived in Spain there was snow even on the Southern Spain coast, Madrid airport was blocked off for 2 days ! The NZ winters are cold, but in the sun, even in winter, you can sunbathe outside ! 40 degrees summer in Seville is not unusual, if you put your hand out of the window, it has a hair drier effect ! The only place in Spain that is never cold is the Canary Islands, of course where it is in the twenties all year at sea level, but even there snow falls on the volcano tops !

In conclusion Spain is much much hotter and drier especially in the South but you get cold cold days in winter too. The sun is the same intensity in both countries. Don't you fancy Australia, Perth, maybe ?

NZ is not really a place to go for better weather (from England) or to make your fortune, it is a place to go for a general better lifestyle particularly for your children or to retire to for people who don't mind some cold days !

Best of luck with your move !

Last edited by brussels_sprout; May 16th 2007 at 9:51 pm.
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Old May 16th 2007, 10:22 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Originally Posted by brussels_sprout
NZ is not really a place to go for better weather (from England) ...
Actually I disagree - if you move to BOP, Hawkes Bay, Waiarapa, Northland, Nelson or Marlborough you will almost certainly have better overall weather than anywhere in England. And there are arguments that other parts of NZ also have better weather (depending on how you judge weather, which is a bit of a personal choice really)

But I would warn that those areas in NZ I have listed above, tend to operate on sunshine dollars, so you need to make sure that financially you can make things work for you.
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Old May 16th 2007, 10:27 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Just to add that NZ weather while not being as obviously good as Australia's, tends to get an unduly bad rep on these immigration forums.

In truth, I think this is because of poor housing (which you can choose to avoid), but also that many peeps go to Auckland which tends to have a surprising amount of rain and humidity (which when you think about a sub-tropical maritime area, is not such a surprising thing).

Last edited by southerner; May 16th 2007 at 10:34 pm.
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Old May 16th 2007, 10:30 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Originally Posted by southerner
Actually I disagree - if you move to BOP, Hawkes Bay, Waiarapa, Northland, Nelson or Marlborough you will almost certainly have better overall weather than anywhere in England. And there are arguments that other parts of NZ also have better weather (depending on how you judge weather, which is a bit of a personal choice really)

But I would warn that those areas in NZ I have listed above, tend to operate on sunshine dollars, so you need to make sure that financially you can make things work for you.
Agree-it's noticably better that we've noticed-good point with the houses.
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Old May 16th 2007, 10:32 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Hi there,

I've had to laugh a bit at some of the ideas of NZ weather ;0)

For me the more North you go in NZ the less likely you are to get really cold weather and the more sun you get in Winter. Even though people say that places like Rotorua can be cold - compared to London forget it. I lived in Rotorua for 3 years and only put my leather Jacket on 3 times in 3 years. In Christchurch or Dunedin though you will need warmer clothes for sure. London is Waaaaaaaaaay colder than anything in the NI of NZ and the NE of England is colder than London

In the South Is you get longer Summer Days which can often be hotter and drier than the North Is but will also get longer winter nights (Not as bad as th UK though). In Winter in the South from about Ch-ch down you will usually get some snow but less than the South Coast of England to draw a comparison. Some years nothing at all in Ch-ch.

The rain in NZ is different to English rain. It is often warmer especially in Auckland so it's not so much a problem - people don't always go running inside when it rains in NZ. Also you don't get so many of the grey days as you do in England when it rains in NZ it usually gets it over and done with and you will some sun with it (in the Summer and Sping anyway) but it can rain for a few hours each day for every day of a wet month!

What I don't like about Spain is that after a while you just wish it would rain to clean the place up and reduce the dust.

When you enter NZ - even at the Airport you know you are entering a wetter country than Spain - you can smell it but it smells greeeeeat fresh and green like warm earth and fresh cut grass... IMHO
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Old May 16th 2007, 11:08 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

I too have lived in both places...Spain for 4 years and NZ for 4 years. IMHO Spain in a MUCH better place to live. I found that 10 out of 12 months in Spain really lovely weather and 10 out of 12 months in NZ are wetter and colder. I lived about 10 mins from Gib. and worked in Gib. In those days the border was a real problem but I believe that its heaps better now. Hubbie and I were really thinking of staying in NZ but when we thought about it Spain is a much nicer option. The people are much nicer in Spain the weather better, its easier to get back to the UK and more people would visit (If thats your thing), the down side is YES the work opportunities are less in Spain unless you either speak good Spanish (I do) or you work in a financial institution in Gib. (then you can earn some good money). Personally we have made the decision to move back to Spain to a place called Ayamento to set up a business there....The sooner the better to be quite honest. The more time I spend here in NZ the more and more I can't stand the place.

Cheers.
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Old May 16th 2007, 11:27 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Originally Posted by Bogor
Hi there,

I've had to laugh a bit at some of the ideas of NZ weather ;0)



When you enter NZ - even at the Airport you know you are entering a wetter country than Spain - you can smell it but it smells greeeeeat fresh and green like warm earth and fresh cut grass... IMHO
It is the equivalent of the middle of November now and a few work colleagues are still wearing shorts, my kids went to school today in Tshirts (17 degrees C in Wellington today). The autumn seems significantly milder than in England. It is the warm sun that is the difference, not the temperature in the shade !

There again, I am sure that the Costas are even warmer than here and that you will hardly ever get frozen polar air masses passing over , like in NZ !

I just meant that you wouldn't move here for the weather if you were emigrating from England, but maybe you would if you emigrated from , say, Finland.

Personally, if i was you , i would go to Spain as you value the warm weather, but me, i have been there and got the TShirt, got sick of the mad driving, smoking, and stress. It depends what you want from life, i am just happy to drive to work not worrrying if i will arrive in one piece every day.

I agree about the dust in Spain, i was in Canary Islands for 6 months before it rained in the South of the island, i almost did a jig when it happened completely out of the blue, a jig reminiscent of the farmer in "Babe" (kids sheep-pig film). The volcanic hillsides of Lanzarote suddenly sprouted bright yellow flowers for the first time in 20 years apparently , where the flower seeds came from , god only knows !

Last edited by brussels_sprout; May 16th 2007 at 11:41 pm.
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Old May 17th 2007, 9:06 am
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Don't forget that Spain like Oz and NZ are quite long from a North South point of view... lat . long ... I can never remember which !

The Weather in the North of the North Island is warmer for example than the South of Oz... Tassie for example, likewise there is a big difference between Northern and Southern Spain.

Equally all heat / warmth is not equal in the UK it's the Winters that are opressive whereas in Oz up North (eg Cairns) the winter is great but Summer is the oppressive season. Likewise with some parts of Spain. In NZ like the prev post noted though the really high sunshine hours and weather places like the Bay and Nelson are much more expensive now due to the Retired population and jobs are harder to come by it all depends how you'd live when you get there.
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Old May 17th 2007, 10:48 am
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Originally Posted by wiffle?
Hi,
my family wish to emigrate from the UK to either New Zealand or Spain (costa del sol/Gibraltar). The climate is very important to us and we can't wait to leave behind the cold weather in the UK, (we live in the North-East of England). I really feel the cold and I think what bothers me as much as this is the amount of darkness we get in the winter - it is dark at 4 p.m. here :-(

Through our research we have read that the Bay of Plenty has one of the best climates in New Zealand with its 'subtropical climate'. It also seems like the place we would be happy to move to.

However we've also read it gets a lot of rain. The uncertainty of the climate in NZ is the only thing that's holding us back from making our decision!

We were wondering if anyone had experience of the climates in both the Bay of plenty and possibly Auckland (what are the winters like, dark, cold?), and also the winters of the Costa del Sol in Spain.

We are a bit ' stuck' with making a decision for any information would be greatly appreciated :-)

Thanks!
Hi wiffle

Having spent a winter in the Bay of Plenty I cna tell you that it probably colder than Costa Del Sol but a lot warmer than Wales where I am from. In the winter in Tauranga you will generally get days where the sky is blue and the sun is warm and the temp is around 17 to 18 degrees. At night the temp goes down to 5 or 6 degrees a the coldest but the BOP is sheltered from the worst of the winter weather from the South West by the Kaimai Ranges.
As an example we are now heading towards winter (the equivalent of November in UK). It hasn't rained in Tauranga for about 4 weeks and the temperature today in the middle of the day was 19 degrees. Tonight the temperatur is down to about 11 degrees.
In Spring and early Summer it does rain but it tends to be huge torrential downpours then back to sunshine rather than endless days of drizzle like in the UK. January, February and March are the best months and the temp gets up to 29 or even 30 degrees. By then the sea is really warm and the surf is up!
Tauranga and Whakatane have amongst the highest numbers of hours of sunshine in the country through the year. The BOP certainly isnt the Costa Del Sol with summer temps in the mid 30s but it certainly wamr enough for these 2 wimpy Taffs!
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Old May 17th 2007, 12:34 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Its never that cold in southern spain......its just relative to the 40 degrees that you get in Summer!

You acclimatise ..... therefore winters will feel a little chilly to spanish residents
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Old May 17th 2007, 1:33 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Thanks for all the comments so far. I was wondering if NZgirl could tell me of the area where she lived (" 10 minutes from Gibraltar") and if she would recommend it. My husband and I are going on a short trip to Gib and the surrounding areas soon to see if we could see ourselves potentially living there (Gib would be to work in not live there, too expensive we've heard).

Can anyone recommend some nice towns/villages/areas that are within a reasonable travel time to Gib so we can check them out. Our research has so far come up with Sotogrande, San Roque, Los Barrios, Estepona and Alcaidesa and of course La Linea. Some of these may be unsuitable I'm sure - could anyone tell us any more info about them or other areas?

Thanks so much!
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Old May 17th 2007, 3:55 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Originally Posted by wiffle?
Thanks for all the comments so far. I was wondering if NZgirl could tell me of the area where she lived (" 10 minutes from Gibraltar") and if she would recommend it. My husband and I are going on a short trip to Gib and the surrounding areas soon to see if we could see ourselves potentially living there (Gib would be to work in not live there, too expensive we've heard).

Can anyone recommend some nice towns/villages/areas that are within a reasonable travel time to Gib so we can check them out. Our research has so far come up with Sotogrande, San Roque, Los Barrios, Estepona and Alcaidesa and of course La Linea. Some of these may be unsuitable I'm sure - could anyone tell us any more info about them or other areas?

Thanks so much!
Estepona is a dump. And I'm speaking as a person who has visited the area often due to various friends living there. Ah, but I haven't been for about three years now - and three years is a long time in dump development. But seriously, it's always been one of those places with a dodgy feel to it - probably due to the high number of ex criminals from the Uk who tend to hide out there. It's a bit seedy - everyone knows someone who's a porn 'star' or drug dealer or old soak or ex (and current!) crim or someone with far too much of an interest in knives after their porn/drugs/alcohol.

Sotogrande is on the 'posher' side with prices to match and tourists who once frequented [insert any downmarket British resort] but who have won a bit on the lottery.

Not sure about the others. Alhaurin el Grande is quite nice but I'm only saying that for sentimental and friends-in-the-area reasons; I think it would be too far for you anyway.

Thank goodness you're not thinking of actually living in Gib - waste of a good rock, that place is.

How far is your husband willing to travel to Gib? I'm asking because I can't help but think you're looking at one of the least desirable areas of Spain to live. I adore Spain with a passion, (I'd be living there now but Boyfriend won and we're in Italy, it's not a bad compromise) but that whole 'England in the Sun' area is definitely not what Spain is all about.
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Old May 17th 2007, 9:52 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Having lived in Belgium for 7-8 years and driving down to the Med, I liked Gib for all the British shops, Boots, Tesco, Morrisons, the duty free shopping, the Barbary apes, the English pubs and tasting english food again ! I loved all the military history of the place, "Nelson sat here before he embarked on the Battle of Trafalgar" sort of thing. Some of the housing is a bit scruffy however, all those appartment blocks designed for military personnel to live in ! Also those nice Spanish deliberately built a massive chemical works on the frontier at La Linea, upwind of Gib. The Spanish hate the idea of Gibraltar, but of course, Ceuta and Melilla are OK. At certain times there is low-level harrasment by the Spanish authorities, deliberately slowing people entering Gib at the frontier.

It depends what you want, if you like to live with other Brits, East of Gib is the place, West is more Spanish, the Costa de la Luz, from the main road, you can see farms of Black bulls roaming menacingly .

Having been in Madrid in 1982 when there was an attempted coup d'etat (General Tejero) and suddenly all the streets were full of tanks was a bit scary , to say the least, nearly all of Spanish history is very very violent indeed (Gib was major haven during the Spainsh civil war). Contrast how the Incas were treated with the Maoris. Nowadays, Spain is now a very strong democracy, but who knows what the future holds ........ ? Where's all Spain's gold reserves may just be the start.

Again in Wellington, it is another beautiful day, sunny and bright. Maybe NZ has the winter weather of somewhere on the Med coast of Spain , say Barcelona, there are some cold days, but when the sun shines, boy, it is real toasty

Last edited by brussels_sprout; May 17th 2007 at 10:15 pm.
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Old May 17th 2007, 10:29 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Originally Posted by brussels_sprout
Having lived in Belgium for 7-8 years and driving down to the Med, I liked Gib for all the British shops, Boots, Tesco, Morrisons, the duty free shopping, the Barbary apes, the English pubs and tasting english food again ! I loved all the military history of the place, "Nelson sat here before he embarked on the Battle of Trafalgar" sort of thing. Some of the housing is a bit scruffy however, all those appartment blocks designed for military personnel to live in ! Also those nice Spanish deliberately built a massive chemical works on the frontier at La Linea, upwind of Gib. The Spanish hate the idea of Gibraltar, but of course, Ceuta and Melilla are OK. At certain times there is low-level harrasment by the Spanish authorities, deliberately slowing people entering Gib at the frontier.

It depends what you want, if you like to live with other Brits, East of Gib is the place, West is more Spanish, the Costa de la Luz, from the main road, you can see farms of Black bulls roaming menacingly .

Having been in Madrid in 1982 when there was an attempted coup d'etat (General Tejero) and suddenly all the streets were full of tanks was a bit scary , to say the least, nearly all of Spanish history is very very violent indeed (Gib was major haven during the Spainsh civil war). Contrast how the Incas were treated with the Maoris. Nowadays, Spain is now a very strong democracy, but who knows what the future holds ........ ? Where's all Spain's gold reserves may just be the start.

Again in Wellington, it is another beautiful day, sunny and bright. Maybe NZ has the winter weather of somewhere on the Med coast of Spain , say Barcelona, there are some cold days, but when the sun shines, boy, it is real toasty
True, Gib is good for the British shops. Do you know I have been to Gib more times than I could possibly count and I have only ever seen one of those monkey/ape/missing link things.

I would never describe NZ as having the winter weather of somewhere on the med coast of Spain! But, I wasn't in Wellington.
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Old May 17th 2007, 11:27 pm
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Default Re: weather - NZ v. Costa del Sol

Originally Posted by mazi
True, Gib is good for the British shops. Do you know I have been to Gib more times than I could possibly count and I have only ever seen one of those monkey/ape/missing link things.

I would never describe NZ as having the winter weather of somewhere on the med coast of Spain! But, I wasn't in Wellington.
I will never forget the Ape, because it nicked my "Genuine Cornish Pasty Shoppe" Pasty, which was going to be my first precious English snack in years ! The Apes are all on the top of the rock, you read stories of 6 year olds having their arms ripped off by monkeys in zoos, and there they are running around in packs skipping past your head. I liked the mosque at the far tip of the rock facing Morroco with views to Africa.

My experiences of NZ winters are limited, yes, but that is my experience so far, cool not cold but warm in the sun. Anyway the weather in both NZ or Spain will be far far better than the North East, (the wind is the same though in Wellington, lol).
The most interesting thing about the weather in NZ is how rapidly it changes.
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