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

sibble , holy shit...that's a lot!

That is a lot Sibble. Eek. I can see how that would be though if you aren't on mains water and have a pool to heat.

My bill arrived today - admittedly the weather is not too cold yet but I do have a 5 bedroomed house with 2 bathrooms etc. For the month, gas and electricity came to $165 for the house, plus $36 for electricity for the cable car (I live half way down a cliff). We're careful with power, we are on mains for gas and electricity, but I don't scrimp - if the heater needs to go on, it goes on - so my bill doesn't seem too horrific. Although I do use the electric heaters now, not the gas central heating!

How are the job interviews going AngryBeaver? I saw a reporting job advertised in the paper the other day and thought of you (only a junior post though IIRC).

A cable car? How cool does that sound?! ok,when I move to NZ i want a cable car < adds to list >...that bill sounds much more do-able scrooboius,I will show dh later. The job iv's are going quite well thanks,but I fear he may be running out of options. He had one the other night but he had to admit he didn't have enough experience. Under usual circumstances he may have been tempted to blag it (as you do) but, it's a different story when you drag your family to the other side of the world and then they find out you can't do the job and sack you! Then what would we do! He had another one that was really promising, good money/opportunities,could do the job no probs,and they really liked him. But I know that they have to prove a Kiwi couldn't be appointed to the position before they hire in from abroad.Also,he had to tell them he didn't have a visa yet,so they might not be willing to wait.
They're still interviewing people too,but it would be great for us if he got that one.
It's strange, at first I was kind of hoping he didn't get a job so we would have to stay. Now I'm thinking "I really hope he gets that job so we can start the ball rollng"...funny how you adjust to things without even realising.

aargh note to self ,preview messages! I want ...am not sure what happened there !

Yeah, I love it almost as much as my 2 yo DS. . Not sure I'd buy a house with a cable car (the maintenance costs can be horrific) but it's great fun while I'm renting!

Sorry to hear about progress on the job front. I agree it will be easier if you can get visas first - is that still a possibility if you get picked from the pool?

Btw, employment law here changed under National so that new employees can be put on a 90 day probationary period - and their employment terminated without all the usual grievance processes if they don't come up to scratch. I'm sure your DH wouldn't have a problem but if he does get a job offer you might want to get a clause in the employment agreement to contract out of the probationary period.

We've lived in 4 houses in NZ and have had wildly varying bills. Our first was a drafty villa on stilts and we had plug in radiators. It was an impossible house to heat cos every time the wind blew you could feel the heat vanish. We had bills of $400/500 over winter and were miserably uncomfortable.

So I insisted we move before DD was born. We shifted into a modern plaster home which had a remote control gas fire in the living space and used our heaters again in bedrooms. Our bills weren't to bad there - I think $3/400 over winter but we were very comfortable and I was up breastfeeding through the night a lot. Summer was $120ish. But the house did develop some cracks while we were living there so I'm glad we din't own it. Then our landlord threw us out.

Our third house was a Cedar/plaster home about 10 years old. It was the most poorly designed and built house on 6 levels. The toilets didn't flush properly, the electricity went off three times, hot water 4 times. We had a flood and the balconies and gutters leaked. We did manage to stay quite warm in winter, at about $500 but our summers bills were still huge ($300ish). Summer was very uncomfortable with temps of 30C inside. All in a house which the owner paid $850 for.

Our new home is a 1950's weatherboard. We've just had our first power bill which was $120. Our hot water and heating (!) is bottle gas. They cost $100 each and should last 4 months in summer and a month in winter. The house has some insulation and I'm just trying to arrange some more through a scheme where the government pay 1/3rd.

So my advice is, be very careful about the home you rent! I'm loving owning my own home again at last. It's been a long, hard road to get here.

scroobious thanks for the tip. I've told dh.
He comes to NZ in 2 weeks and so many people have offered to show him round/meet him for a drink. Really nice of them. I think he's going to do a bungee jump whilst he's there,which I'm not so keen on. Also white water rafting etc and he's staying in sky tower hotel,which looks fabulous. Alright for some eh? whilst I'm stuck on my todd with 3 kids under 5 for 2 weeks!! (I'm not bitter)
kiwi, I was really interested to read about the variety of rentals you've stayed in! Sounds fun !
Again,thanks for the tips, believe me,we are noting them all.We will look VERY carefully before we sigh a rental agreement.
Re Torbay, does anyone know if the sa community live there harmoniously?
I know it sounds terrible,but it's something he read on another uk expat forum where some were complaining of rascism and dischord between the two communities. It's hard to know (withoiut being there) if this is an isolated incident between neighbours that has got out of hand,or if it is a well known problem? dh is concerned as he is not Brittish. Well,and also because that wouldn't be great in general,would it!

was that an offensive thing to ask?

I don't think it was offensive at all, I think probably none of us had a clue so didn't know what to answer! I've certainly never heard of any problems with the SA community.

I've not heard of any problems either and there are alot of SAs in the Howick area near where I am. My only observation from meeting some at playgroup, school etc.. is that they keep very much to themselves (a generalisation of course!). However, I don't think that's any different to British or other ex-pat groups 'sticking' together as you have a common/shared background.

What Whatshesaid said! Not offensive, I just don't know the area - should have said though, sorry.

I know you want to get settled as quickly as possible in the right area but I think you should be prepared for the possibility that you may want to move again in 6 or 12 months once you've explored the area a bit more and got into the NZ way of life. It's so hard when you're looking from a distance.

What Whatshesaid said! Not offensive, I just don't know the area - should have said though, sorry.

I know you want to get settled as quickly as possible in the right area but I think you should be prepared for the possibility that you may want to move again in 6 or 12 months once you've explored the area a bit more and got into the NZ way of life. It's so hard when you're looking from a distance.

phew!I was sweating there for a while,thinking I'd upset you all! Good to hear you've not heard of any problems. I understand about groups sticking together due to common ground.I hope I don't just cling to other brits though.I like to think I will immerse myself in any community I happen to land in (poor them!)But who knows. My gran has lived (since she married my Papa) near Liverpool for 60 years,but she can hone in on a Scottish accent from 50 foot away,desperate for any news or tales of her home country,with tears in her eyes. She's never really stopped missing home. And things in GB still puzzle her! plus,she calls her grandchildren (including me)half-breeds!
scroobois I think you're right to say that we'll probably move. It's highly unlikely that we'll settle forever in the first place we stay. I said as much to dh the other night. It's so hard for me to even picture nz..I haven't even been there on hols,and I have agreed to live there? I must be nuts!
Dh was reading out bits on his forum (obv mn is mine ) to me whilst I was cooking...they were all complaining about how it is FREEZING there at the mo? One said they were so cold they slept in their dressing gown under the duvet?!! It can't be that cold.....can it?

Ha, you have discovered the holy grail of British complaining in NZ - the lack of heating. It's not that cold in Auckland yet - it's 16 degrees outside at the moment and it's 7.30 am - but Auckland is one of the warmer areas of NZ. Basically, the winters are not as cold but houses do not have good heating, so they feel colder. You adjust to it - it doesn't really bother me anymore but I'm used to having two duvets on the bed in winter and putting on socks, slippers and big dressign gown when I get up in winter. Most houses have little/no insulation, single glazing and no heating apart from plug-in electric heaters. Some have heat pumps or wood burning stoves.

Freezing in NZ?? No way .... I haven't worn proper shoes since we arrived in january. i live in Northland so it is one of the warmer parts of NZ. Still plodding around in my sandals. although the kids as the school where DS works are moaning about being cold and wearing wooly jumpers. A bit of a chill in the morning, but it soon warms up. Haven't needed to use the heaters yet and DS is still going off to school in shorts and sandals.

We have bought electric blankets for when it gets a bit colder and plan to get another 2 electric heaters this weekend.

Although part of moving abroad to any new country is to get to know the locals, I really suggest you do make contact with an expat group when you arrive. They will have been through it all before and will know all the bits that are really useful to know and they won't look at you like you are a mad woman for asking your 75th stupid question of the day.... like where you can buy decent cheese and proper sausages, how to sort your NZ driving licence etc. The settlement support service are really useful people too

sorry ... should read "school where DH works" ......obviously need more coffee

Ah, you haven't been here for a winter yet shelscrape.

Though. to be fair, Northland stays pretty mild all year round - "the winterless north" and all that...

Oh i meant to add to my original, it's really jsut the nights and mornings that will get chilly in winter - you don't get days here like in the UK where it stays at 1 degree all day or whatever - the temperature always rises to double figures during the day (in Auckland at least - but it can get cooler at nights.

We just have a heater on for a couple of hours in the morning and same again in the evening..looking into getting a heat pump at the moment, wondering if it's worth the inital cost to put in.

Its bloody cold in Canterbury today but we have had a lovely long summer so I can't complain. The houses are much colder than in the uk. I close all the curtains at 4.30/5 and turn up the heat pump and pellet burner for a few hours and its lovely and warm. Merino clothing becomes your best friend and sheepskin slippers. I am buying flannette sheets soon to cosy up the bed and we will use hot water bottles soon. The kids have been in singlets (vests) and flanette jammies for a few weeks but I still wear a thin nightie to bed so its not too bad yet. I have got long johns for the kids to wear in winter. You have to layer clothes as it normally gets warmer as the day goes on.

Brrr, yes, it's just turned colder here in Wellie too. Not -20 middle-of-crazy-British-winter cold but chilly inside because of the poor insulation and absence of central heating. If you can get your head around the fact that in most houses you can't just turn the dial up to 18 degrees and flick a switch when you want the house to heat up you'll be fine.

Yesterday I bought boot slippers, fluffy P.J, wellies for DD and changed to the winter duvet. And we put our new heating on for the first time. The seasons have defo changed in Auckland as the day before I was in sandals.

I find NZ hard in the winter- although we have longer days and normally a lot of sunshine. I found it easier in Edinburgh- even in flats with no central heating - cost the buildings are more suitable. In our last rental DD's room would drop from 20C to 16C within an hour of the heater going off.

Has anyone tried these econopanels that are advertised?

A friend of mine has the econopanels, he doesn't rate them that much, says they are ok to take the chill off a room but don't really heat it up that much iyswim. There may be different sizes though - he has the ones that attach to the wall that are small. I use oil fin heaters for the dcs rooms (haven't put them on yet or even dug them out of the garage where they are beign stored). I either put them on for a bit just before bedtime and set them to come on with a timer in the early morning or if it's very cold I leave them on very low all night.

I find my dcs are pretty hardy though - last winter dd1 refused to wear her dressing gown or slippers in the morning and would just run around barefoot, whatever the temperature. These temperatures inside are normal to her. She has never known central heating so she doesn't miss it.

Thanks WhatSheSaid. I'm looking for something to keep DD's room at a reasonable temp- above 18C. As we're in a new house we're not sure how it will behave in the cold. But I was attracted by the 5c an hour to run bit as the oil finds are 50c. Maybe I'll wait a while and see how we go.

I think they're so cheap to run because they produce so little heat

Oil fins are that cost (I thought it was 40c an hour but maybe it's 50) if they're on full but if you have them on low they are obviously much less. I sometimes have the oil fin on high for an hour to get the room up to a decent temp, then turn it right down - seems to work.

Consumer Magazine and other reports/surveys consistently say that heat pumps are the most efficient way to heat your house. It's just the inital 2-3K outlay that I'm umming and aahing about...