thelondonmacs

Hi All

I have been reading through a number of the posts and get the feeling that while some of you are loving Auckland others don't have very much good to say about it.

My husband has been offered a job in Auckland that will pay around £120k. We have 2 small children (3 year old and a 2 month old) and we like the idea of raising our children somewhere with a better work life balance and more outdoors lifestyle. I will get a job once we are all settled.
My 2 reservations so far have been the weather (I see a lot of posts about bad weather) and cost of living.
I have done my research and feel we will be able to afford Auckland and can take whatever the weather throws at us.

My question to you all is simple... are you glad you made the move? warts and all do you feel upping the family and moving half way around the world was the right thing to do?

I would especially like to hear from any of you with small children.

Thanks!

Sherlock Holmes

As you have already noticed, there are some disparate views about all this.

Having been a member of B.E. for some time now, I have read the love it / hate it threads in every different country forum and then within each forum comparing city to city.

It is very difficult to see into the future. I've had set-backs that I never saw coming and also some benefits that I couldn't predict either.

I don't know New Zealand but the salary seems quite good but then I think Auckland is one of the more expensive areas.

Personally I like living in very rural Australia. Some people would hate it here.

It is also difficult to quantify properly until you are 2 years into your move and also possible that it will take longer than that to feel properly at home.

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Can I ask peeps who respond to this to give reasoned answers, positive or negative and to respect the OP and avoid this turning into a slanging match. Please also note that answers from people with young children will be appreciated.

Thank you.

londonbee

NZ is expensive and the weather isn't good except for the summer right now, which I believe is one of the warmest on record.

Have you been to Auckland before? I strongly advise you to visit if you haven't. We made that mistake: we loved Australia, couldn't get in so settled on NZ. Spent 1 year on application, £20k on visas + flights and left after 2 months. Although many do like it, we didn't. Thought it was going to be UK but warmer, or a bit like Australia. We are now in a much happier place.

So, go visit first and make your own mind up about $ & weather - save time & money.

simonsi

We've been here nearly 3yrs, compared to Leicester the weather is great, warmer by approx 8deg all year around, no frosted windscreens even in winter. It is wetter but the rain seems to fall 4 x as fast as the UK as there is much less drizzle so it seems to spend a lot less time actually raining so you can still get out and about.

Weather systems move through all the time, its not like being snowed in for 6mths or anything, we find you can get out and about all year round, rained out days arent very common but like anywhere it is possible to have runs of weather - of course if you wait long enough the run of wet will be balanced by a run of dry (like now)....

Auckland is a capital so it has some of the living costs that go with that but on 120k you should be fine but it will depend on what you lifestyle choices are, just as in the UK.

NZ is the only place I have found where you can have two people on the same beach at the same time, one in shorts and jandals, the other in a duvet jacket and boots - and both are happy!

Just remember to be flexible, some things look very similar to the UK, some things dont, it isnt Australia, it isnt the UK, its NZ and it is different to both of those countries.

We love it. The kids love it too (14,12 and 6). Oh and we just came, no recce, saved the money and just committed ourselves, turned out great. NZ is a big country with a lot of variety of lifestyle and associated costs (even within commute of the same Auckland job), if you cant find something that works for you I would be amazed. We came over with no great funds reserve either, just a job paying 62k for my wife, as I say if you want to make it work then you will.

Assanah

I think the Aucklanders have managed to create one of the most boring cultures there is among Western countries. However, I am glad that I moved to Auckland because now I am able to appreciate Europe much more. Also taught me how much I love my family. I never want to be so far apart from them ever again. Happy to leave Auckland soon.

Assanah

Yep, Kiwis are always 'happy'. You asked them how they are and the answer is always 'life is good'. That is culturally expected, no other answer allowed.

simonsi

It was a comment on the weather. Who said they were Kiwi's????

whitesand

Hi, I shall try and answer your question as honestly as I can. Don't have small children, so can't comment about that. Firstly, your salary is good for NZ, even Auckland, and that should insulate you from many of the financial and other irritating problems most of us face here in Auckland.

Shopping for flood and other essentials shouldn't be a problem, although choice might be. There are many pleasant places to live, especially around the North Shore (where we live) and you will have accesss to them on your salary.

However, speaking for myself, I've found Auckand and NZ, although pleasant, not enough to keep me here for good. For me it lack many things, including a buzz, a sense of excitement and a stimulating culture that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I agree with Assanah, that being here makes you appreciatre what other places have that Auckland and NZ doesn't have and that you long for.

The beach culture doesn't interest me here as I have lived in places with better beaches and warmer climates. In fact, I find the climate here not good in winter as it rains a lot - just like the UK. To a large extent your attitude to NZ depends on your experiences before yo came here. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we had lived in several countries around the world and tend to compare our experiences with here, and that's perhaps why we find NZ wanting in many ways.

As for your question, Am I glad? Well, it was an experience, but not one we're ultimately going to settle for.

AndyEvs

Excellent answer, don't live anywhere near as 'exciting' as Auckland so can fully appreciate the sentiments. Being a city boy at heart, I find trips to both Auckland and Wellington increasingly unfulfilling, sadly. But each to their own as the other comments demonstrate, world would be a boring place if we were all the same.

Snap Shot

Did you mean pounds ? If so, that's nearly a quarter of a million nz dollars. Jesus - H - Christ ! Good luck you will be able to afford a great standard of living in Auckland as it just eats money.

Catchafire

First in regards to if moving your family half way around the world, if it is the right thing to do. Well that is totally up to you. Immigration is not an equal opportunity for anyone and peoples experiences will differ greatly, even if they had relatively similar circumstances.

We lived in Auckland for two years when we first arrived. So here my two cents.

Its beautiful, I remember when we first arrived and I went to go for my first interview and I had to take a bus from the CBD to Albany, it was a foggy morning, but as the bus went over the harbour bridge (my first time) the bus emerged into brilliant sunshine as the sun rose over Rangitoto. It was glorious and one of the enduring memories of Auckland. We lived in Devonport, which was a short ferry ride to the CBD, but we had plenty of choice of safe swimming beaches (perfect for kids), we also loved to spend time exploring and taking in the views from North Head.

Commuting was a pain, I worked in Albany and the short distance from Devonport could take around 45mins. Auckland is very spread out, so getting from one side to another by car can be frustrating.

You mention a better work/life balance. I am not sure what that means to you, but if your husband is earning 120K, then I would expect he would have a role that has responsibilities that would require more than the usual 9-5. But saying that, if I had a crappy day at work, its nice to have the option of going to the beach and having a couple beers with my wife.

Now, some people might call me a philistine, but I would rather stick red hot needles into my eyes then go to the ballet, opera, museums etc. What my wife and I do like to do, is go dancing, have a few drinks, eat out and generally have a good time. We had plenty of opportunities to do that in Auckland.

Auckland is expensive for sure (try living in Stockholm), but your husbands salary is better than average and would afford you to have a decent lifestyle in a reasonable house.

Regards the weather, having lived in a few different places around the world, I thought the weather was pretty good. I dont mind a bit of rain, it was warm enough to go swimming in summer and where we lived I always got a kick of seeing rainbows over the harbour.

Good luck!

nero

I would definately visit the country if I could before making the commitment to transplanting my family from the UK to NZ. We visited in 1995 and 2007 before making the decision. As another poster said it is not Australia and it is not the UK, it is very definately NZ. We are glad we moved here but we had checked the place out before moving.

We have a number of friends who have come to Auckland with small children or have had children since arriving and they love it here. They love all of the outside activities, parks, playgrounds and safe beaches. But everyone is different and it really depends what you are looking for in a city and a life.

We moved from London to Auckland and they are certainly not the same. Auckland is a geographically large city with a relatively small population. It is made up a large number of different villages (suburbs) that offer very different things. The city does offer art, music and festivals but not to the same degree as cities in Europe, but this does not mean that there is nothing to do and you are going to die of boredom. It really depends on the family / person and what makes them tick. Everyone is different and for some Auckland will be perfect and for others a let down, but then I can say the same for many cities I have explored throughout the world.

Do your research and as I say if you can - visit and check it out for yourself. Good luck

Emmaandchris2012

Hello,
Well My hubby and I have been in Auckland for 14 months now and we can say we like it here. we live on the Whangaparaoa penciller 30mins north of Auckland centre.
The weather has been great although a little humid for my liking, but its far better than the uk.
we have both got average jobs but we manage to live quite happily in our 3 bed rental

Put it this way its far better than uk is right now.

that said, my hubby and I do not want to settle in Auckland purely because of the price of things, and the lack of space you get. we came here for a better life style and that for me is to relax with sunning views and somewhere where we can enjoy out outdoors activities.
so we plan to move away from the big smoke.
but hey thats us.
Auckland has served us good since we have been here, so really i dont have much bad to say about it.

Good Luck. x

TommyLuck

A few people mentioning how wet Auckland is;

This shouldn't come as a surprise, a bit of quick research will prove that the driest month in Auckland is still wetter than the wettest month in any UK town or city.

londonbee

This will help
http://www.worldclimateguide.co.uk/c...d/auckland.php