where's best to live in nz,and what do we need to know?

[AngryBeaver]

My dh has been on at me for a year to move from the uk.He wanted Quebec,which looked gorgeous and romantic,but i wasn't sold on the winters and coudn't leave my mum.
He recentley said he wanted to move to NZ and i thought ,yeah if it's warm and a better life than here,let's do it.
So we've got fuck all money and 3 kids under 4.5 ...but we want to do it.
I don't know what's changed in me for me to agree ,but I hear th schools and hospitals are fab,and just want the best life for my lovely children.
I'm worrying though because I've read the houses are crap and cold.
We want sun,space and not too expensive (don't we all!)
We thought Tauranga,but that seems quite busy and we've read about boy racers.
We don't want Wellington as we've heard it's windy and weather not great.
Does anyone know about Nelson?Heard it's nice weather,but what's the reality?
We are going to put the house on the market this week,I am shitting myself,but I feel it's now or never.
Any help or advice,gratefully recieved

Febes I'd forgotton you are in Christchurch!

Is there much damage to your house? Sounds like you have power at least.

We got power back at 10pm last night. I lost most of the stuff in my pantry as it was all in glass jars. I lost lots of stuff that I sent back from the UK and stuff I have collected from around the world . But we are all ok and my friends are all ok. There are lots of people who are in a far worse position than us

Glad you are ok febes,but sorry you've lost your stuff.Thank goodness all your relatives are well...xxx

Hope you're OK for clean water etc Febes. Are you staying in Christchurch or getting out for a while till things are sorted out a bit?

Hope everyone in ChCh OK. Thinking of you tonight.

We have water but are boiling it to drink and cook with. We will be staying as all my family are here and there's no where that will take us all. We are fine. We are the lucky ones. The rest is such a tragedy

I hear Ann Voss has been rescued and is recovering in hospital.Thank God.But,the pain that so many families are experiencing after they were told that there was no hope of finding anyone alive in the other building..unimaginable.Thinking of everyone effected by this tragedy xx

So glad you and your family are all okay febes...so, so scary!!

I hope everyone is ok.
I hope it isn't in bad taste to continue asking about nz on this thread?
It's just that things have moved on a bit and dh is going over to nz in april to do some shifts to show 'em what he can do and also to have a bit of a recce.
He would be working in Aulkand should they offer him the job (we had hoped for work in Tauranga) so we would now be looking at living about 50 mins south of Aukland.
Can anyone fill me in on Browns Bay or Torbay?
Any knowledge gratefully gleaned!(also please tell me the weather is as nice as the Bay Of Plenty??!

Hi Angry, quick post before I get the dcs breakfast.

Browns Bay and Torbay are both in teh north of Auckland, not the south. Did you mean to type north or are you actually looking to live south? B Bay and Torbay are both lovely as far as I know - nice beaches, good schools. About 15-20 mins north of city centre off-peak, can be a lot longer in peak traffic. Where would he be working - city centre? Traffic from the North Shore to the city can be bad at peak times but there is a new express bus lane on most of the motorway, I knwo people who catch that and read a book on bus, rather than having to drive in traffic for an hour or whatever.

Browns Bay in particular has loads of expats, mostly English and South African, there is even an "English" pub there and a English food shop selling all the Jaffa Cakes, Quavers etc that you can't get over here. Have to go, kids need food, wil be back later!

hi whatshesaid,thanks for taking the time out to reply..i know what feeding time at the zoo can be like!
I since heard that b.bay is full of expats.It's not something I would have wanted,ideally.I kind of wanted to immerse myself in nz life..not just move next door to another brit!
I think it will have to be somewhere around there initially,though.I'm not that attached to any one kind of uk food either,so the shop wouldn't be a big draw for me.i can understand the appeal though.i bet the tube of jaffa cakes is abpout $10 anyway?!!

Oh and I'm off on holiday for a week with no internet but hopefully the other NZers will be along to answer your qu's.

Ohh, cross-posted.

I can't remember how much the Jaffa Cakes are! Ages since I've bought them. So looks like it will be the North Shore for you.

yep,I think so.At least in the beginning.I still think omokoroa looks beautiful and kinda had my heart set on there with him working in tauranga{had even picked the school}.Have a lovely holiday.Off anywhere nice?

Not bad at all to keep asking. Most of NZ is pretty normal. Apart from the TV coverage.

South of Auckland places to consider would be Beachlands, Maraetai, Whitford. Or even Howick and Bucklands Beach.

All of NZ has a high immigrant population. I'd say 1/4 of the people I meet are from the UK. I like Auckland as it is quite cosmopolitan (by NZ standards :-) ). Also lots to do around here.

There is a lot of talk here about people leaving Christchurch with lots heading to Auckland. This may put a bit of pressure on rentals in the next few months.

Oh,really? I suppose you would be worried to stay there but I supposed people just would.
thanks for the suggestions of locations,I will check them out when I get a minute!!
Have to ask,hows the weather in that region? I was drawn to The Bay Of Plenty because of the weather..have hears=d it rains a lot more in Aukland?

I would also suggest looking at West Auckland- Titirangi, Langholm etc which has a rainforest feel and is near the sea.

It does rain a lot more in Auckland. Not as much as somewhere like Glasgow though. Last winter was quite bad. But it doesn't get too cold. Outside anyway ;-) I suspect we are in for another bad winter as people say we follow the Northern hemisphere. But we've had a good 4 months of summer which helps. 24C here today. I don't think it has dropped below 23 all week and we are now in the equivalent of September.

Hi angrybeaver, where about in Auckland will he be working. Don't underestimate the Auckland traffic and lack of public transport. I'm in South Auckland and love it, you can catch the ferry from Beachlands or Half Moon Bay if you are close enough. Likewise I have friends who use the ferry from the North Shore to commute into town and even to connect to the train to work rather than sit on the motorway. Not so much of an issue if you work off peak. My dh can/does most of the time. It took me however an hour and half nearly to get to a 9am meeting in town on Friday. If we have an idea of where he will be working we could help with areas.

Thanks guys,it's really helpful and kind of you to reply.I look forward to reading your posts over my branflakes
He will probably be working in the central business district.He says he heard about commuter buses that run straight into the city centre?Sounds lovely beeing able to get the ferry to work. We will be on The Mersey today,not quite the same though!

thelittlestkiwi doesn't sound too shabby weatherwise,i had the electric blanket on last night!

I obviously jinxed us. It was 19C when I went out today! And I had to wear socks for the first time in months.

Haha!hope it gets warmer later ..I've had a shitty morning.Another ruck with mum over moving.She said that she hopes dh hates nz when he comes over,and that she can't beleive we're taking her grandchildren to somewhere that isn't safe.Now my 4 year old is beginning to pick up on it and getting anxious.
She thinks I'm blocking it out til I get to the airport and then it'll hit me,.That i'll be incredibly lonely,that i'll never make anything but superficial friendships,that they would not be moving there too...on and on..feel sick now

ps it was 9 c here and I wore pumps sans socks,felt positively tropical!

Oooof that's a bit harsh of your mum, it's never easy immigrating even when you don't have the language issues to worry about and you really don't need such negativity (hugs)

I've just come back to Reading after a 3 month holiday back home, the cost of living really did surprise me but the lifestyle was fantastic! Commuter traffic in Auckland really is a shocker and the public transport systems are basic at best, if you can live close to a city bus route or get a ferry or train then at least you can relax for the journey :-)

If your DH is going to be working in the city then you have lots of options with where to live, the traffic will be rubbish everywhere!! If we were to move back tomorrow I really enjoyed staying with the Inlaws in Beachlands, it's a fair distance from the city but awesome small community feel, glorious beaches and a ferry to city from Pine Harbour is under an hour. It's about 20 mins drive from decent shopping at Botany Town Centre or 30 mins to Sylvia Park which have everything you could ever need. Beachlands has the basic needs, Drs/take sways/mini supermarket/pharmacy etc plus a very good school and several pre schools, bus avail to high school.

TBH it will take a while to settle in, maybe 6 to 12 mths even before you can make a decision as to how the family are getting on, you will have good and bad days but being realistic that it's not going to be all toffee pops and pineapple lumps will help.

I think it is hard moving, particularly if you are not used to living away from your family. Most people have hard times, some really struggle. A fair number don't anticipate the culture shock and decide to go back very quickly (within 6 months). Some of these then realise it was culture shock and emigrate for a second time. This is a very expensive way of doing things!

I think it's important to anticipate the difficult times and make a commitment to stay at least a year, even if you hate it to start with.

There are also loads of people who have similar family issues. Some parents come round and end up doing 6 months a year in each country.

Sorry I didn't have time to reply yesterday,both the 2 and 4 year old seem to be have regression ishooes with the toilet,which is fun...and the baby is teething,so not much free time!
kiwidreamer thanks for the hugs ,much needed and gratefully accepted. I googled botany town shopping centre,it looks really nice (did you spot my priorities there??!).Where you honestly shocked at prices,this does worry me.Is it comparable to the wage and just expensive to you with the £ in your pocket ,iyswim?
I fully intend to make it a move for life btw.Im ready for the cultural differences,and the lonliness.How I'll cope with it,I don't know.
littlestkiwiThat would be a good outcome for me,initially they said 3 months in each country,I don't know how doable it is though.I just want her to say she'll come for good and make it a big family adventure! (not gonna happen)