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Original poster

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

999 replies

AngryBeaver · 16/01/2011 20:57

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

OP posts:
Highlander · 21/05/2011 17:16

LOL, at my interview when I asked about suburbs they described Remeura as the doctors enclave Wink

Littlekiwi - thanks for the tips about school.

thelittlestkiwi · 22/05/2011 04:39

My impression is of lots of ladies who lunch driving black 4x4's. There is a bit of that where we live too but I'll put up with a lot to be by the beach :-)

It is a very big area though and rents are more reasonable there I hear. It does depend what you like though. I want something I can walk to - preferably a coffee shop, kids playground, beach and dairy. But that is probably a bigger deal when you are at home a lot. A lot of people here have to get in their car for everything. If you are used to that it would be easier. I've always lived in places I didn't need to drive so it's been an adjustment for me.

Highlander · 23/05/2011 14:21

I walk everywhere; I hate driving.

DH has been told however, that there is definitely a job coming up in Wellington. 75% of residents walk to work down there. My kind of place Wink

nineyearoldsarerude · 23/05/2011 14:59

Wellington is great. I walked to work when I lived there (got the bus when lazy/weather bad).

Highlander · 23/05/2011 20:27

ooh, honestly - how windy do you find it in Windy Welly?

The coffee has sold it to me Grin

nineyearoldsarerude · 23/05/2011 21:22

it is definitely really windy. windy like it has been here today but more often
(i think i have blocked the wind out of my memories though)!

and i didn't use to drink coffee back then so i have got a lot to look forward to if i get the chance to go back

thelittlestkiwi · 23/05/2011 21:23

When we visited Wellington it was very windy. In fact there were windows blowing out of buildings. We asked a taxi driver, 'is it often this windy?' He said ' Is it windy today?'.

I like Welly, the coffee, the vibe etc but I do find the weather awful. I'd have a good look at the weather stats.

shellybr · 23/05/2011 21:36

We lived in Welly for 4 years and loved it, we would go back in the morning if we could, unfortuntaly not to be though :( I had both my boys in Wellington and the care was amazing no2 was a prem and we had the best care. Wellington is unbelievably windy but u get used to it and it does depend were abouts you live. I seriously doubt though that 75% of the population walk to work. Its a small city but not that small. It is also incredibly hilly so your walk to work might be down hill but it will be a long walk back up the hill afterwards. It is a seriously family friendly city and most of the cafes (oh i miss the coffee!) are child friendly with toys and some have little fenced in areas for the little ones to play safely. THe kiwis are unbelievably friendly and welcoming new comers. There is lots of classes and things to do quite cheaply. Because it is the government capital there are quite a lot of hight earners so the schools in general in the city are good.

thelittlestkiwi · 24/05/2011 01:27

Pretty much everyone I know who has lived in Welly has loved it.

Driving wise- I hadn't driven for a decade when we moved and managed a year without a car using the link bus. Bit after DD was born I would have felt too isolated if I hadn't been able to meet people for coffee and we had moved to an area with poorer buses. I got an automatic car and a Tom Tom and haven't looked back. It took a while but now I'm happy tootling around town. Just been to the Zoo with DD who is finally old enough to enjoy it!

buzzybee · 24/05/2011 01:54

Well there are a few of us MNers here in Wellington so it can't be all bad! However I'm biased as I was born here :) I have lived overseas twice and always returned. It is very windy for about 3 months of the year (basically Spring) but for the rest of the year is no more windy than the rest of NZ. NZ in general is quite a windy country, being an island essentially in the middle of the south pacific. It is very unusual for much damage to be done here on windier days as the trees have grown with wind so seem to be stronger and I can only ever recall one window blowing out in the business district, altho I think it does happen in the odd warehouse or something like that. The main thing I hate about the wind is landing at Wellington airport can be a bit of a freaky experience!

As for walking to work, I suspect that stat may have referred only to the inner city suburbs. Although it is a small city (less than 200k people), it is rather bigger than a small town and to walk to many suburbs would take over an hour so 75% seems a bit unlikely! It does have the highest public transport usage in the country though, mostly because there is a commuter train network - the people who use the train though mostly live in the "commuter cities" outside of Wellington - Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua and the Kapiti Coast.

If you worked at the hospital you would likely live in the southern suburbs and you could probably walk - it would take maybe 30 mins from a number of those suburbs to the hospital. Near to the sea/beaches too which is nice for kids. And because of the hospital there are good bus connections (not train though - wrong side of city). Some good schools in the area too. And a great farmers market at the weekends. Newtown (where the hospital is) is the most ethnically diverse suburb in Wellington. It does have quite a bit of public housing - but then so does Pimlico!

There was a survey released recently about staff impressions of working for the different district health boards around the country and Capital and Coast DHB (the Wellington one) had gone from near the bottom to close to the top in the last 5 years so something good seems to be happening there. It might pay for you to see if you can dig it out, or ask for it.

buzzybee · 24/05/2011 01:58

Here's a link to the article I read about that survey Highlander

www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4976822/A-capital-hospital-its-top-doctors-say

ScroobiousPip · 24/05/2011 09:46

Oooh, come to Wellington Highlander, it's awesome! We've just had a brand new hospital too. V swish.

Highlander · 24/05/2011 12:37

wind. After the last few days, I hate wind.

The Auckland guys have emailed Dh, and it's NELSON the angioplasty job is in Grin Grin Grin

That's right ladies, the sunniest place in NZ!!!!!!!!!!!!

applications close Friday.......

Cousinit · 24/05/2011 13:20

That's an interesting article buzzybee. We are heading to Rotorua in July as DH has accepted a Consultant job at the hospital there. I''m starting to have last minute jitters about leaving the UK mainly because I feel so guilty about leaving family who are not at all happy about our decision (Angrybeaver, I can really relate to your posts regarding your mum). Still, it's good to see that Lakes District HB rates highly among senior docs. Envy at job opportunity in Nelson, Highlander! Good luck with it.

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 24/05/2011 13:40

I loved the look of Welly too,but I also hate wind! Hair in lip gloss issues aplenty!
So highlander, how would it work if you're dh gets the post in Nelson,but you're in Aukland?

OP posts:
Highlander · 24/05/2011 14:30

I'd have to give up the post in Auckland.

There's bugger all for me to do in Nelson, but I'm sure I'll find something vaguely interesting!
.

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 24/05/2011 16:34

I see. So you'd accept the job,to get in to nz and then when you were there turn it down?
Dh was thinking of doing something similar to get our foot in the door,but I need him to have something solid before I'd go

OP posts:
IntotheNittyGritty · 25/05/2011 02:35

You would have problems if you did this. Your employer has to prove your are still employed by that company after a certain time period. If they are offering you a job they are effectively sponsoring you to come into the country.

You need to check out the rules a bit more before gambling about coming over for a job and then not taking it, or leaving straight after.

shelscrape · 25/05/2011 03:39

Yes, if you are getting in on the skilled migrant category, the primary applicant - in our case my husband who is a teacher - has to remain in the same or similar post for two years. So, you can change jobs, but it has to be in the same skilled category. I had a friend who is an accountant and she changed jobs after 6 months to another firm, so no problem for her.

thelittlestkiwi · 25/05/2011 04:39

I would guess Highlanders OH would be the skilled migrant in that case?

Highlander · 25/05/2011 13:05

no, no, no!!
If DH were offered a job in Nelson, I wouldn't put down my job offer on the EOI. DH is the principal applicant anyway and we have enough points without job offers.

WhatSheSaid · 26/05/2011 02:49

Those moving to NZ may be interested in this - article about NZ being near the top of OECD study about happiness and well-being. There is a link to the OECD study from the article.

lollystix · 26/05/2011 09:05

What's your view on the working long hours? Any worse than uk? Dh works 8.30-6pm (contracted hours) but often does a bit more either side and I do 9-5 and then log on for an hour or so after kids in bed. Also what's the thinking on flexible working in Nz? I'm doing 4 days just now and employer has said to work 9.10am-5.10pm would be fine to accommodate school drop offs which start for me in august. Is this sort of thing normal in Nz?

ScroobiousPip · 26/05/2011 09:14

Well, in Wellington at least, I'd say flex-working is the norm, lollystix. We do work reasonably hard but not as hard as I used to work in the UK (weekend working is now reasonably rare, I do work late, eg 9pm, some evenings but all-nighters are pretty much unheard of). What you describe as an average working day is probably about the same as here. An 8am start is more common here but, again, IME employers are very flexible.

I can't speak for out of Wellington though.

lollystix · 26/05/2011 09:20

And holidays? If working full time I would get 30 days plus bank holidays which I know is very good. Dh gets 28 after having done 10 years service where he is. To me about 28 is good. What's reasonable in Nz as I know America and Canada can be really tight in this respect