New Zealand or Australia

[TobyTR]

Hello fellow ex-pats! I've posted something similar in the Australia forum, so to try and get a fair balance I thought I'd ask for your input too

The company I work for has offices in Brisbane and Christchurch, and due to growth over the last 18 months both locations are open to transfers. The dilemma is which one to go for?

I've been to Christchurch several times for just a couple of weeks a time, so I know it fairly well, but obviously living in a new country/city is a whole different ball game. Not been to Brisbane yet...

From research and experiences, I gather the following (please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong):

Christchurch pros:
- Mild weather that's still generally better and warmer than UK, winter lasts approximately 3 months
- Beautiful landscape/country/roads
- Outdoor lifestyle
- Fuel prices

Cons
- Lower wages than UK and Aus?
- Higher cost of living?
- Earthquakes
- Overpriced housing and built to a lower quality (no central heating, poor insulation etc)

Brisbane pros:
- Warmer weather for longer periods throughout the year
- Fuel prices
- The crumpet
- Winter? What winter?
- Cheaper housing than NZ
- Higher wages?

Cons
- Humidity?
- Spiders/snakes (I loathe spiders and the thought of having to check everything)
- Stamp duty/higher taxes?
- Housing bubble/economy heading for recession?
- Nanny state speed enforcement
- Car prices

FYI I'm a Business Analyst, so will need to consider long-term prospects too. Your thoughts/input is much appreciated

[dobly]

I'm not sure about the price of housing, as that will depend on exactly what you want, and if you can get it for your budget in either city.

I'd go for Brisbane, as Christchurch just isn't in the same league.

[Fulvisti]

In the cons for Brisbane you forgot to add Australians, they're a lot harder to live with than Kiwis.

I certainly wouldn't call Christchurch feral dobly. It's really just a big country town.

Edited by Fulvisti on Saturday 4th June 01:48

[android]

I would also consider how you intend to spend your weekends/free time and what floats your boat. If it's the beach life but pretty much zip else Brisbane might be ok but there isn't a whole lot else within a weekends commute. Christchurch can offer a lot more to outdoorsy types scopewise within a do-able weekend trip but is a bit parochial in itself.The roads are epic in SI though for us pistonheads.
Don't underestimate the creepy crawly aspect in Brizzy,it was a nightmare for my Ex (red backs in bus shelters,brown snakes on our 10 acre plot in Samford) also the heat and humidity is all very well when you are on hols,but for us pasty pommies living and working from day to day a different matter. We had 46 degrees one Xmas day !!

Edited by android on Sunday 5th June 03:02

[RobDickinson]

Love living in chc. you can buy a decent house with good build quality if you look for it.

We have real seasons but this winter has just not turned up, winter days can be glorious and you can be snowboarding in an hours drive. Climate here is really nice, not as hot or humid as Brisy which I prefer.

Been over to brisy once and up to Noosa, imo a decent house there would likely cost you more than chc, lots of fun stuff to do if not quite the same scenery. I far preferred the whole area to that of Melbourne/ great ocean road ( Melb city is nice).

Both are good choices just depends if you want a city of 300-400,000 or 7 zillion.

[TheGuru]

One thing in NZ is the more intangible aspects - I find the people to be far nicer and to genuinely be more happier and helpful. The motorsport scene is pretty good too.

So much of Aussie life is endless BBQ's in suburbia, with the highlights of life being trips to the footy. Doesn't do it for me.

Good things about Australia are cheaper and better housing (but if you want good areas you'll still have to pay very high prices) A good house in a good area, or school zone and it'll will be way beyond the average income earner. Generally most other things are cheaper, but still more expensive than the US or UK. Cheap travel to Asia is another benefit of Australia.

Edited by TheGuru on Saturday 20th August 15:00

[cheddar]

5 years on from the quakes Christchurch city is still a mess of roadworks, endless construction, snarling traffic and smelly air
I avoid it like the plague
I used to live at the beach but, post quakes, the sea always seems dirty and looks more like the English Channel
The surrounding countryside is still beautiful, the air is clean and, if you're active, there's lots to do

Rob's right about the weather, we had mid 20's+ degrees through until late May and bar a few frosts this winter never happened, we seem to have had wall to wall sunshine for months and months and, where I now live in the foothills of the alps, it was 20 degrees at 9am this morning

Great countryside, miserable city but no snakes : )