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

The other thing you hear a lot about is NZ is the high ratio of crime. But you are not comparing apples with apples. The ratios between NZ and UK are vastly different.

In NZ every single crime gets reported publicly, whereas in the UK only the very serious ones, usually involving death get reported.

You might get statistics that seem high, but when you are talking ratios of 4 million people vs 60 million people there is no comparison.
Crime is extremely low compared to what I saw in the UK. It does happen, and some areas are more prone to others, but most parts of NZ are fine.

Yeah,I get that...you can't really make the comparison can you?

Well.Just when you think you're building a picture. I read on the enz website that a couple who moved to waiheke 2 years ago,moved off after 8 months.They reckoned that the Island seduces you and then spits you out!
They had a list of complaints, the summer was lovely but winter was v.cold/windy/wet and they used tons of wood to heat the house.
They couldn't cope with the lack of shops. That loads of people were on benefits.
That they had to keep all their food it sealed containers due to the ants...they also said they had resident mice and rats
And worryingly,they noted that although some of the teachers were great,lots of the kids had socia/behavioural problems and were very disruptive in class (and most people send their kids to school off the Island)

I'm glad I've heard some of the negatives though.It wouldn't do to be looking through rose tinted specs now would it?

You might like this.

www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10723376

Well,now it's official

Dh was reading a thread called "thins you would have brought to nz had you known...." and one guy put, shoes shoes,boots and shoes...you cannot get a pair of shoes for less than $150 dollars,and thats just for a pair of basic brown leather ones"

That seems steep! Is it accuarate?
I was thinking about it yesterday,when we got a hat for ds from h&m for£2.99,a sundress for dd for £6.00 and a top and trrousers for the baby for £6.00!
I'm guessing that won't be happening in nz ?

Errr. I wouldn't spend more than $20 on a pair of shoes for the boys. I'd go to $50 on a pair for me (£25) but I'd expect them to last!

You can spend what you are willing to - shop in the Warehouse and spend a few dollars (cheap, cheerful, seems to last a year or so) or shop in the designer / boutique stores and spend $$$ but get good quality things.

You would definitely be able to get a sundress for $12 unless you want pumpkin patch (and then it would probably be $25).

You can get cheap and cheerful clothes here, you just dont have the same range as the UK. Quality from Warehouse is similar to Asda/Tesco and as good as any stores. Clothes from Farmers (major chain store) are crap and expensive.

Shoes, people dont spend much on shoes here, they rely on cheap and replace regularly. You dont get any parents spending £30 on shoes for their kids and most kids wear trainers all day every day.

Quality of shoes is poor, but you can pay more for expensive shoes. Walking shoes are expensive.

Raincoats are extremely expensive - I would definitely buy these in the UK.

ALl the stores constantly have sales on, so there are bargains to be had - everywhere, but the main constraint is lack of choice. Quality on the whole is poor

oh right...well that's the first i've heard about being able to buy cheap clothes.good enough.
I do buy quite a bit from pumppkin patch,but they deliber to nz don't they?don't you have a version of ebay over there where peopl;e sell clothes?
apologies for typing,squirming baby

There is Trade Me that everyone buys from.. Uk clothes do really well.

Pumpkin patch is considered the best of kids clothing.

I think the other brand is TK Kids or something similar.
Then Farmers (which are over priced for poor quality)
Then Warehouse.
Plus sports shops.
There are the odd expensive boutiques around.
Kids were basic clothes, most schools dont wear uniforms and the kids are allowed to get dirty at school so many parents dont want to spend the money on expensive clothes anyway.
No one dresses up - unless you socialise in Wellington and Auckland. The whole place is very casual.
You might get more clothing ranges in the city, the above are the bog standard shops that are everywhere.

There is also Hallensteins for older boys - but you see lots of boys in the same clothes.

Things to bring are electrical white goods - they are horrendously expensive here, the only downside if you do and they break down is you cant get the parts to fix them.

Vacuum cleaners are seriously expensive.

Toys - expensive - or similar to UK prices - but very limited choice.

Pumpkin Patch is a NZ brand (not made in NZ anymore however) and there is a fantastic factory shop in East Tamaki in Auckland where you can get great bargains, I refuse to buy the latest season styles for my LO's, last season for kids is just fine IMO!!!

When I was home at Xmas time I stocked up at the boxing day / new yrs sales and got great bargains for DS and DD to grow into. I prefer to shop that way, I rarely buy off the rack in season here in the UK as I think Mothercare etc is seriously overpriced.

My friends in NZ would wet themselves laughing if they knew how much we pay for Clarks shoes for kids, the standard chain shoe shops charge in dollars what we pay in pounds - you cannot tell me that Clarks shoes are that much better, especially for the short time kids wear / grow out of them!!!

Toys are v expensive in NZ, I guess not having the buying power (nz population vs uk population) and most everything has to be imported, makes the difference - same applies to electrical goods / Whiteware / vacuum cleaners etc

But there is Trade Me for pre-loved, Toy Libraries for short term toy loans and you can always try and convince the kids that the great out doors is the best gift of all ;-)

Agree about buying in outlet shops, there are heaps here in South Auckland. There is also Dressmart, I use the Onehunga one but think there are more for sportswear and staples. Mind you I very rarely pay full price for anything. There seems to be a constant stream of 'sales'.

I must admit I rarely buy kids clothes here, I wait until I holiday in the UK and stock up. Family also send the boys a constant stream from the sales.

Having said that I need to know where you buy your shoes. I have yet to pay under $100 for a pair (Overland or Kumpfs). DS1s school shoes just cost me $100 in the sale. DS2 is in a pair of trainers from Dressmart but they still cost me $50..... I have bought jandals for them in the Warehouse - but leather winter shoes - where are you buying from?

The Warehouse and SHoe Warehouse sell the cheap "nasty" shoes and most families (where I live) buy their shoes from there. I say nasty because every time I have bought them they have fallen apart after 2 or 3 weeks.

We have one shop where we can buy the expensive shoes and price wise are similar or more expensive than UK prices

If they fall apart after a few weeks,surely buying cheap shoes is false economy?

Yes

Agree, decent children's shoes are v expensive, even in the cities. And coats too - worth the cost of getting them sent over from the UK.

Books are ridiculously expensive too - approx 3x the UK cost - but thankfully Amazon.co.uk will deliver free to NZ if you spend over 25 quid.

I didn't find whiteware particularly expensive because there are brands made here in NZ. Furniture OTOH is either cheap and naff (think pre-Ikea) or lovely but v expensive. The nearest Ikea is in Sydney so worth bringing out whatever furniture you can afford to ship from the UK. You will always be able to sell on TradeMe.

DS2's shoes got too small for him on our last trip to NZ so we got a pair from Hannahs for about $30 (only shoe shop we could find in the short time we had available and it seemed to be the pair that fit him best) - cheap but they were pretty nasty, he never seemed to walk quite right in them, his feet didn't seem supported properly and they wore out fairly quickly. I was very happy to pay 35 euros back in Europe for a decent pair that actually look like they support his feet and are wearing really well. So I do think in NZ you have to pay if you want good shoes, but I don't think it matters nearly so much for clothes as they're not shaping a child's feet.

Although to be fair most of us who grew up in NZ wearing cheap shoes don't have deformed feet. Apart from the hobbits.

nineyearoldsarerude - lol that was good!

Hmmm interesting to hear Hannahs are considered crappy for kids shoes, I would have considered them to be a fairly decent middle road option but I've had my children since being in the UK and not needed to find shoes for them in NZ. When I ws growing up they would have been considered a good option... however I do have one slightly deformed toe so who knows!!!!

I stocked up at the Bobux factory shop for DD, (also in East Tamaki, a stones throw from the PP outlet shop, what a fun afternoon that was!!!!) but of course they only are useful up to around 2yrs of age, great shoes tho.

Oh gosh books are HORRENDOUSLY expensive, always have been, it was such a precious birthday present to get a lovely hardback book when I was young. I hear The Book People do free international shipping as well as Amazon but then again maybe save your $$ and use the library??

So funny that the UK expats are getting UK clothes sent to NZ and this NZ expat is getting PP / Merino clothes sent to the UK :-) Seems to me that the postal system is the one who is really laughing!!!!!!

Am reading about the clothes/shoes thing with interest.Maybe I'll get them measured in nz (when we get there!) and my mum can send a pair from clarks!

Do they have Sats in nz...just reading on another thread about a 10 year old in tears due to Sats tomorrow.Am hoping that it's a uk thing...so frigging stupid and uneccessary.

Also,has anyone had any positive experiences with the company that you can hire to help you get your visa?(the name of them escapes me for the moment...it's late&it's been a loooong day!)They rang and said they could get us in to nz no probs even though we are about 15 points shy of automatic acceptance.I just don't know if you'd pay them,and then they'd go,yeah,we tried but you're 15 points shy!!

Re the shoes, one thing Ive noticed is a lot more people visit podiotrists on a regular basis then I ever experienced in the UK. It seems to be more the norm to do it.

Also, of course, many people just dont wear shoes at all!