where is the best place to live in new zealand and why?

Question

we have decided to emigrate there from the uk but spoilt for choice as it all looks fab!

my husband is an aircraft engineer and we have a 11 month old baby who will prob be about 2/3 years when we go. We want a quiet life with good olaces to eat and good schools. basically somewhere that is a good place to bring up a child.

Answer 1

City life either wellington or Auckland decent jobs and still pretty affordable to live.

If you're not dependant on working in a city try looking at Great Barrier Island, Waiheke or Paihia.

All nice warm places,

If you want dramatic (Lord of the Rings Style) landscape and a more British feel then Christchurch is pretty good.

Answer 2

I moved from NZ to the UK 1 year ago as I have family here - I really miss it, the lifestyle and scenery there are just great, you won't regret it!

I lived in Napier in Hawkes Bay, N.Island for a while which I totally recommend - it's a really nice town by the sea in the lovely N.Island wine region (50 local wineries most of which also have gorgeous restaurants with terraces overlooking the vines and the sea...), hilly countryside, good surfing and only 2 hours from the volcanoes and ski fields. Napier has an airport and very easy base to travel all over NZ easily for your hols. Good schools too, Napier High has a good reputation.

My second choice place to live would be Nelson, north S.Island. Again a really nice town, in between the Abel Tasman national park with azure blue seas and guaranteed sun sun sun (do I sound like a tour guide??) and the beautiful Marlborough Sounds -ffjordland.

If you want to live in a city (and why would you, you can live in a city anywhere in the world - you may as well stay in the UK) then Wellington or Christchurch are much nicer than Auckland. Also, Auckland isn't really near anywhere to visit, and nice though the Bay of Islands are, there really are much better places in NZ to visit. Wellington is hilly, by the water and more interesting than Christchurch, but don't live there if you don't like windy weather - it is ALWAYS windy there. Christchurch is pleasant enough and lots of opportunity to travel and see the beautiful S.Island.

Ahh, I feel nostalgic now... Hope that helps, good luck to you!

Answer 3

If you can afford to, go there for at least a months holiday, and travel from Auckland down to Queenstown. (Public transport is good, backpacker hostels are cheap, so that won't be a problem.) This will give you an overall view of the place.

I did this in 2005, during their Autumn (I went April to May), got lucky with the weather, which was like a hot UK summer! My fave place? Definately the west coast of South Island... it is stunning! But remember... when the wind blows from the nw, you get the heat coming from Australia... when it blows from the south, you get cold air from Antarctica! Winters are colder on South Island... something I could live with, if I could move there!

My daughter lives and works in Franz Josef, South Island, and has been there for the past 2 years. She seems quite happy! It really depends what you want to do, and whether you can find a place where you can indulge all: work, hobby, and leisure interests.

Answer 4

What kind of lifestyle do you want? I know of a couple of people from the UK who live in isolated or places out of my town just because they can and love it. Other people want the cities, others want a rural town etc. If you want a decent city, the main ones are all ok I guess, but I prefer Christchurch as its the second largest in the country so it has lots of things to offer and is not too far from some amazing scenery eg west coast is only 3 or so hours away or to ski fields eg Mt hutt, there are the port Hills/Banks penisular which has mountain biking, walks etc. THe weather is better than the UK having more nicer days ( and hot ones in the summer) but getting a few southrly storms in the winter, a dump of snow per year and frosts ( with a touch of smog)...but its still good for the most part compared to the UK and places further south. I live in the South Island and have for most of my life ( living in Marlborough, Christchurch, Oamaru, near Franz Josef Glacier) as well as a couple of years in the UK ( and 6months in south auckland which we will not discuss). If you want a smaller town with decent weather then Nelson is nice as its on the water compared to the smaller Blenheim ( where I live). It has a couple of national parks ( able tasman and kahurangi), walks, beachs ( eg kaiteriteri is wonderful!), the Marlbrough Sounds are pretty amazing too! As I said it depends on what you are looking for as smaller places will not specialised jobs and different areas have different industires eg , viticulture, agriculture, horticulture, indusrty etc. More details would be great.

Answer 5

If you want quiet & laid back, definitely South Island. Dunedin is my favorite, small but still many city amenities. I've also lived in both London & Edinburgh, and I would say Dunedin has more of a Scottish feel with Christchurch more an English feel. Christchurch is also a nice place but bigger and more a city feel than town feel. However, if your husband is an aircraft engineer, Christchurch is likely the best place for him to find work. That is where a large Air New Zealand maintenance facility is located and also the facility that assists with the Antarctic program.

Answer 6

There are factors to be taken into account of which you may not know yet. We found out the hard way. Here's my recommendation:
Keep in mind that heating in NZ is commonly done by coal! If you live in Christchurch, where smogs are sitting heavily on the plains for months during the cold season, you'll be breathing some pretty bad air for a large part of the year. If you especially dislike crime, consider forgetting about the North Island. The Auckland area is no better than the UK, and there are weird and hair-raising things happening on the North Island in connection with gang violence and drug stuff.
If you want sun and can't stand winds, count out Wellington.
If you like it warm, don't go to a higher altitude, but stay around ocean level. Places like Queenstown and wanaka are fab, but cold as hell in winter, with snow.
My recommendation to you would be Nelson and Marlborough Sound (Blenheim) number one, and Dunedin (cooler, but super-safe, sunny, economically good, arty, and quaintly Scottish if you like that).

Answer 7

Hi!

I wouldnt choose Auckland personally. Good tourist spot, handy for the Bay of Islands up north, but not to live. Friends there have to deal with high rent/mortgage, and some of the worst traffic congestion in the country in exchange for their fast paced careers in the city.

Hamilton is cool. It has the V8 supercars race, plenty of performing arts, great university/schools, crime rate is low, good cafe/restaurant cosmopolitan thing going on, 1hr drive to Tauranga/Rotorua/Auckland, 30mins to Raglan best left break surf beach in the world, beautiful river and bridges, less traffic problems than other major cities. Unemployment is low.

The south does get cold, but so does the UK so it wouldnt be a problem. Christchurch is very pretty and similar in many respects to Hamilton. Friends of our have recently moved their from Auckland and they love it.

What sort of things interest you and do you have children moving with you? Are you into a relaxed lifestyle or fast paced career lifestyle?

**Just to add on, if your husband is an aircraft engineer, Hamilton is good as it has PAC (im sure your husband will know what that is) and it is always hiring people to work there, they employ a few hundred people at any one time and are looking for skilled workers. I know quite a few people who work for them and my father is also an aircraft engineer.

Answer 8

Anywhere in the South Island is beautiful. You would need to have a look round first before you decide where to settle. Oamaru, Dunedin and Invercargill are all good places if you have a young family.

Answer 9

If you want a city, I wouldn't pick Auckland - NZ has much more to offer. Wellington would be my top choice in the city category, but it may be that you want to live in a smaller town or village... difficult to say without knowing you really, but my heart would certainly say somewhere in South Island.

Answer 10

For me, Christchurch would definitely be my choice. It doesn't get any colder than it does in Southern England, and it is absolutley beautiful. Also for very attractive property prices, consider Timaru and Blenheim. On the North Island, property prices can be steeper but the weather is warmer. Windy Wellington is named so for exactly that reason.