we are considering it at the moment and wondered what advice anyone could give. Although we have travelled alot neither me or my wife have lived abroad. We don't have children and can let our house easily
Choices are Auckland or Christchurch
What is the cost of living like? What is the economic climate like?
An unusual question is would we be able to take our dog?
Probably loads of other questions so ant advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Info here, and there are a couple of more threads
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/tell-me-about-new-zealand
NZ Col will be along shortly
Met a guy from Queenstown on Sunday who said that a lot of people want to quit Christchurch, that would be a real shame as it is a great city. Auckland gets a lot of bad press but it is fine really.
Hello.
> Choices are Auckland or Christchurch - Akl quite large, ChCh somewhat unstable right now. Are you sure ?
What is the cost of living like? What is the economic climate like? High, not as bad as elsewhere.
An unusual question is would we be able to take our dog? Yes normally you can although expect it to be expensive, have friends who brought dogs over.
Probably loads of other questions so ant advice would be appreciated.
Feel free to email me (email in profile). I'm in wellington.
My ex emigrated there 5 years ago. After spending a few months researching jobs and homes etc, she booked a flight/accomm and then basically toured around for a few weeks. Managed to fit in pretty much everything she wanted before coming home buzzing. Within 9 months she had a new life; moved to Aukland, bought a house, started a new job, shipped over all her stuff + our dog and that was it.
She never discussed the details of how she 'qualified', but put it this way, she had pots of cash, skills and experience in her field (sales) and was very diligent in her pre-qual.
Taking the dog wasn't an issue. Nor was shipping the car (by container ship!). I think she spent £20k on costs overall.
Was very happy in the beginning, but the job turned to shit and the 'romance' was over. But she met s new bloke and everything picked up again.
HTH
Some friends of my wife did, but came back again.
She was an accountant and didn't like that a lot of jobs seemed to be placed based on contacts rather than competence so she was working with under-qualified people, and he was in IT support and found a lot of the technology was quite old so his skills were too new.
Plus they found the sense of humour difference appreciable.
And they had visited a few times before as well!
If i can offer one piece of advice - if you do decide to come over do so with an open mind and clear expectations that life is life no matter where you are. Aspects of it will be different (better/worse) but if you need to work for a living and have general life pressures now then they will still be there just different.
I've met quite a few disgruntled ex-pats that seem to think moving halfway round the world will be a) easy, b) the end of all life pressures just because the sun shines a bit and there are less people and finally c) complete nirvana.
The most successful moves have been from people who are not 'running away' and embrace the lifestyle with all its up and downs.
Unless your line of work is construction-related, Christchurch may not be the best choice.
I have friends who moved out there about 6 years ago in their mid-20s, both working for PWC and got transfers to Auckland. They love it out there but they have young kids and enjoy the lifestyle. They've not seen that much of the country though, and for all the "we can go skiing, and mountain biking, and..." stuff, mostly it's about the same time to get anywhere to do those things as many places in the UK. Great if you like boats though.
Conversely, my gf is from Auckland. Has been in London 10 years now, left NZ as soon as she'd finished her degree. Not that she doesn't like NZ but she loves living here, has gone through various visas and the UK citizenship process and is in the process of getting her passport. The sheer choice of stuff to do and see is amazing in comparison - and there are dozens of other fantastic cities that you can see for a weekend via a cheap flight or train.
I've visited Auckland a few times and I'm not sure I'd want to live there. It's as big and sprawling as Greater London but with way fewer people and about as much to do as a provincial town.
The key thing is, as NZCol alludes, what are you looking to get out of the move? What do you think will be better about life over there?
I came over about 11 months ago, moved to the real center of NZ...Hamilton!!
I don't like auckland, i've only been to christchurch with work but i'd not want to live there at the minute. it still has substantial earthquakes and until they stop the rebuild of the city can't really start.
Wellington is a good city, Hamilton's main selling point is it's close to lots of good places, tauranga has a good coast and a few mtb spots on it's door step.
Sorry some of this seems quite negative. To put a +ve spin on it:
1) I live here because of the lifestyle. I can bike to work in 20 minutes via a beautiful coastline, paddle my kayak and run in the bush in central city.
2) I can hold down a very good job with a fantastic income.
3) I can live in a house i could never afford (equivalent) in the UK looking out over the harbour with a spa on the deck.
4) People are generally more relaxed in business and in pleasure.
5) The craft beer situation has improved remarkably which has removed my last remaining complaint 
We'd like to bring our kids up here, much rather here than in the UK purely for selfish reasons.
The old grass is always greener, most kiwis want to go to the UK (london specifically) as they see it as a path paved with gold. It used to be. The general migration back is on the increase from late 20's to mid 30's basically swapping hard cash for lifestyle in many cases. But like everything their are pros and cons.
1) people forget that it's a different country and then get surprised by culture shock
2) people forget that it's a different (and much smaller) market and things work differently
3) people forget that if you move from a large UK city to more or less anywhere in NZ, it's going to be a downshift and a bit weird, the same as moving to some small town in Gwent would be.
All good advice. I would add:
Get yourselves through the application/acceptance process before you start getting too attached to the idea, packing etc.
It is quite strict, I know quite a few people ex work colleagues etc that I would have thought were a shoe-in who got knocked back.
Lots of good info on NZ Dept of Immigration site.
mate recently went and tried to get a job in auckland (HR) and said there wasn much about and ended up geting a job in brisbane, going o give i a few years then try again. as above do your homework first and maybe go out for a few weeks first?
oh konabunny can you clarify what you mean by this?
it's going to be a downshift and a bit weird, the same as moving to some small town in Gwent would be.
Maybe I put that badly. I mean just that there are some people that go to NZ/anywhere overseas and bitch about it, but really it's because they tried to move country AND lifestyle (urban for rural, single for married, employee to self-employed etc), and the same thing could have happened if they made the same change within the UK.
I think I'm just saying the same thing as NZCol, except more confusingly. So ignore me!
emigratenz excellent forum with all the info you could need.
Would you not be better taking an extended holiday there first?
One of my mates went over, planning a two year trip with the view and full intentions of living there from then on. He was back within 6 months saying he liked the fresh air and open space but was bored pretty quickly. Think that was with more than a month in Oz too.
Have a look to Move2nz.com
Toyed with the idea years ago, only been there on holiday though.
Its a lovely country though wages are quite a bit lower and interest rates quite a bit higher so if you have no cash house loan will be a big budget burden. Though If you have cash say 150K £ you can just buy a house outright and it ai'nt an issue anymore.
Their point system is quite strict if you aren't on a special jobs list you basically often need a job offer to make it.
Loved the place my first choice would be CHC though not at the moment let them first rebuild and have their job market settle down.
Maybe I put that badly. I mean just that there are some people that go to NZ/anywhere overseas and bitch about it, but really it's because they tried to move country AND lifestyle (urban for rural, single for married, employee to self-employed etc), and the same thing could have happened if they made the same change within the UK.
Funny to read this, as we ended up doing exactly that. We were looking to move to either NZ or Canada, to get our kids into some countryside and out of living slap bang in the middle of a big city. In the end, we just weren't sure and it was too big a move for us. Came to the HIghlands instead, and never looked back.
Spent a year there a few years ago. Lived in Auckland (Mt Eden) for 6 months and spent 6 months cycling round the country. Lovely place, and I'd happily emigrate, but my missus is too close to her family, and its a helluva long way away. Shortly after we came back, 3 of her grandparents and her godson died, which kind of emphasised the point.
ir_bandito or NZCol - I'd appreciate any advice you have on cycling round the country as me and the missus are heading there in Sept to spend about 5 months cycling round. The plan is to buy bikes when we land (somewhere North) and then basically head right down to the South Island.
Cheers
I got talking to an English ex-pat when I was in NZ last year. He loved it there (Te Anau, Sout Island) but pointed out that wages are a fair bit lower than the UK (and Australia). It wasn't a problem for him , apart from the fact that it made getting back to the UK to see his family all but unafforadable.
Of course, if you're emigrating to escape your family, this may be a bonus...
2o4c - NZ drivers are the worst in the world! They're so used to having nio-one on the road, that if they see a cyclist, they either ignore you and pass with no space, or veer way over, regardless of what is coming. Which makes for interetsing expreiences on the single lane bridges down south...
But the scenery is awesome. I'd show you pics, buyt they were posted on fotopic.
We used the Lonely Planet NZ cycling guide, the Kennet Bros MTB guide book and the Peddlars Paradise for assistance. All useful stuff, except for one of the recomended hostels near Tarras (Mackenzie country) where the owner was arrested a few years later for having a one-way mirror into the bathroom and videoing women in the shower...
top tip - if its sh!t, get the bus, they all take bikes 
Thanks ir_bandito - useful advice. It's amazing how many people talk about the terrible driving in NZ around cyclists!
The PP books look great though, so will get those.
Oh, and anyone know how to check for one-way mirrors!?
Write I CAN SEE YOU backwards on a piece of paper and hold it up ?
news article about dodgy hostel bloke
Tarras really is the middle of nowhere, and he was a very odd bloke.
hey
i came to nz in december travelled around the north island and the south island people are awesome made me feel really welcome i am in wellington prefered wellington to auckland i would avoid christchurch as they are having alot of issues with earthquakes food is slightly more expensive than the uk i have found but all else is great love it.
yeah nz drivers are crap lol
In defence of NZ drivers - a lot of the bad press is the arrogant tourists assuming british road rules and conditions apply - they don't - the right hand turn rule for a start must cause a lot of near misses if you don't understand how it works.
And as for the camper van hire drivers pootling along at 80k and NEVER pulling over even though there are only 4 (yes I counted) passing lanes on State Highway 1 between Picton and Christchurch, and thats a busy road on the scale of things. No wonder some dodgy overtakes go on !!
hels, I mean drivers are crap from a cyclists persperctive.
Of course, the best solution is to stay off the roads - Otago Rail Trail, Awatere valley road and Mavora Lakes road were my favourite bits when touring. Especially Mavora, finishing with getting the steamer across to Queenstown from Walter Peak
2orangey4crows, I did a two month cycling tour of NZ a couple of years back - it was fantastic! The scenery is very varied - from palm fringed beaches to fiords and glaciers, distances manageable, people very friendly, and roads pretty empty. My favourite was the south island and I spent most time there, but made sure it was during the summer (Jan-Feb) as it can get a bit chilly otherwise! Punctuated the cycling with some tramping (Milford Track), a paragliding course in Christchurch, and kyaking tour in the Abel Tasman. You'll enjoy it!
To OP, echo others advice to at least take a holiday down there before you commit yourselves to a complete lifestyle change...
ir_bandito - staying off the roads is high on the agenda! Thanks for the trail names. I need to sit down over the next week or so and work out a rough route.
perthmtb - "palm fringed beaches to fiords and glaciers, distances manageable, people very friendly, and roads pretty empty" sounds rubbish doesn't it! We're starting on N Island, but I imagine the majority of our time will be on the S Island as everybody raves about it. A bit of kayaking is definitely on the cards, though not so sure about paragliding!
We are moving there in august, moving to chch, I am in construction so its an obvious move, taking the dog and its likely to cost £3k...
Never lived in ChCh so it will be interesting, in fact only been to the south island a handful of times, will miss Wales though, it has become a home away from home.....
Good luck with your decision making fella...
To OP, echo others advice to at least take a holiday down there before you commit yourselves to a complete lifestyle change...
Unless you really hated the place from the start I'm not sure how much use a holiday there would be - the excitement of somewhere new would pretty much cloud your judgement. As an ex-pat (albeit in Spain) I can assure you there's a world of difference between the fun of a long weekend in Madrid and living here!
Not saying don't do it - I would - but I'd make sure I'd read up fully about the place before going, get a whole load of other opinions etc. so you've got something to really look into when you get there.
I lived in Christchurch...but sometimes I wish I lived in Auckland. I always had a good time up there.
In all my trips up to Auckland ( there's only been two ), I have always encountered MEGA friendly people...and NEVER any non friendly people. Same goes for Christchurch....and Wellington for that matter.
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