Dezza

We are considering moving to either Wellington or Christchurch as we need to be living in or near a city for my husband's job but do not like the sound of Auckland much - prefer a smaller city I think.
We need to eventually concentrate on looking for work in just one place and this is where we will be going to look around when we go for our reccie in March/April as we need to concentrate our resources (i.e. time and money!) on one place.
Wondered if anyone could give us their thoughts on these 2 places - pros and cons - weather etc.
Thanks a mill

happynz

What is your husband's line of work?

Dezza

He is a middle level manager with 20 years experience in shipping and elec & gas industries. He specialises in pricing (analysis) and trade/product management. Hopefully his skills are transferable to another sector if necessary - possibly public sector. So the more big corporate type companies in the location we choose to focus on the better chance he has of getting a job hopefully!

kamburu pat

Dezza,
My son and his partner live in Wellington, we visited them in 2005, Stuart took me into town to his office and I was impressed with the city. Wellington is very compact and easy to get around in for a capital city. There are good places to eat etc. Of course I was just a visitor but most people know that Wellington is often windy but right now it`s 22 degrees C and pleasant. I haven`t yet been to the South Island but following the temps. they do get wintry weather whereas Stuart tells me that there is rarely any frost in Wellington, a lot of rain though. The Christchurch and Wellington dwellers will give you the true picture I`m sure. I hope all goes well for you.
Pat.

TeamEmbo

Considering the small job market that maybe available to your husband's line of work and the fact that just by numbers there aren't the same volume of companies and opportunities in NZ, IMHO its best to find the job first and then decide on an area that ticks your boxes near to where that will be.

But in answer to your question I can tell you that Christchurch is lovely. Yes, you can get all 4 seasons in one day here but it is nowhere near as cold or lousy weather as some might tell you. We live about 25mins north of Christchurch. OH works in the city and finds the commute easy and enjoys the drive home with the view of wide open space, snow-capped mountains in background, big blue sky, not much traffic and certainly no traffic jams.

We came last May at the start of winter and it was lovely, even though the locals said it was cold, coming from the West Mids we didn't think so. One or two days of ground frost which quickly cleared, but very many days of warm, blue sky - was even sunbathing and ironing in the back garden and no need for hats, scarves, gloves! But then there are lots of microclimates round here and we live on the Canterbury plains so weather here can be totally different to the city. And summer so far has been wonderful.

The weather's a bonus but shouldn't really be the overriding factor; there are plenty of suburbs around Christchurch which offer differing styles, cultures and have different 'feels', some offering more affordable housing, others on the blow your mind kinda budget for those more affluent. The city itself is beautiful and has so much to offer in the way of culture, education, shopping and eating out. It is fairly flat and the roads are good. It is easy to get to the ski fields, port hills, sea, beaches, Southern Alps, lakes and rivers and of course has an international airport.

Hope this helps, good luck with it all

Wiz'n'Ton

Erm... what she said!

But I don't reckon you'll go wrong in either - so toss a coin and then book a flight

simonmarkellis

Daft question really!


WELLINGTON

irnbru14

You can't beat Wellington on a good day, and by god is it a good day today

Dustybin

indeed .. christchurch is already very, very full.. honest..

irnbru14

What, has that annoying American woman with her website not put people off the place yet

Maz

It's been beaut hasn't it? (once the fog cleared...)

Who?... Got a link please?

CAN2NZ

Hi, we vacilated between the two cities. We started thinking we would rather live in Chch, but than decided that Wellington might be safer, ie better for jobs, however we selected Chch. Why, it really seemed to us in advance of arrival to be a nicer city and met our needs with slightly lower house prices and perhaps more choice in living. Geography plays a big role in being able to get around.

Now, let me tell you about this. We landed on 2 September 2006. We thought the drive from the airport to the holiday home on the park was nice and felt, Ok, no mistake so far. Vicki and I left the kids with our oldest son and walked to the mall to get some groceries. As we wallked up Riccarton Road in chch I started to feel sorry for Vicki as we come from a more modern and perhaps somewhat more appealing sort of place. Anyway, about six months after arrivng I flew to Wellington. The drive from the airport left me feeling so relieved that we had chosen Christchurch. I think we would have been devestated by that first impression. However, I have since been able to experience a little more of Wellington and find that the city is nice. However, I have to say, that I am skeptical of many areas in the surrounding area, and I wouldn't recommend Wellington over Christchurch for those on a more restricted budget.

I think that it is easier to find a nice reasonable living situation in or out of the city in Chch than it is in Wellington, a little more for everyone really, but there is the job selection trade off. Not sure how significantly different it is, but you are not going to starve in either location.

Yotty

I always felt comfortable and safe in Chch. Might not be the best idea to walk down Manchester Street in the small hours though! a link about the weather http://www.stuff.co.nz/4348058a6530.html

irnbru14

She was discussed on here a while back, the one who started a website about the "real" NZ for immigrants and moaned about it being a 3rd world country and every one was racist etc etc etc...

Yotty

Did her name begin with "Nerine" perchance?