Honest opinion of life in NZ plz...
Discussion
I think Jamie summed it up pretty well early on in the thread.... NZ is wonderful from many points of view given its scenery, its general climate, its lower poulation density etc but there are other matters ya wanna look out for.... crime over here is very high (considering our small population), it's a small country with no large industry apart from forestry, meat and dairy really so opportunities in big business are limited, and NZ has the highest(?) teenage pregnancy and highest teenage suicide rates in the western world so obviously something's not quite right in some areas..... but on the whole it's a really PLEASENT place to live (that's probably the best way to describe it)
My pick of places to live (based on personal experience and what I've seen)
Auckland: given that about 1/3 of the population of the country live in this one city it's likely that you'll end up here at some stage... avoid it... please. Auckland's lovely really, harbour city, sub-tropical climate (fair bit of rain but temperate.... muggy in summer)... if you have to live here for work then do, it's nice enough, but there are better places in NZ.
Napier/Hastings: Two cities of approx 60,000 people each, about 10 miles from eachother (so basically it's like one city with two major suburbs) on East-coast of North Island. Probably the nicest overall weather in the country (mild in winter apart form frosty mornings, generally drought-free most years and summers where you won't see a cloud for weeks on-end). Main industries are fruit growing, wine (rapidly growing, 2nd biggest wine province in NZ, will be biggest in about 5 years). If you like a quiet lifestyle in really lovely environment then this is the place for you (look out for a little town called Havelock North... lovely place to grow up
)
Marlborough/Blenheim/Nelson: Another wine region, similar virtues to Napier/Hastings, at the top of the south Island. Smaller population and less industry so often harder to find comparable work here.
Christchurch: 2nd biggest city in NZ, east coast of South island with about 300,000-400,000 people. Lovely climate in summer, typical east-coast with weeks of hot, cloudless sunshine. Winters typically freezing cold, clear days where the frost can last well into the afternoon... still... the rainfall is very low and winters "feel" short. Big enough that there always is osmething going on, not too big that you'll ever feel lost. IMHO the nicest city in NZ, described as "The most british city outside of britain" and that's probably true. Predominantly white population (general rule, further south you go, the more "european" things get). People tend to be really nice in Chch (generally) and is a great all-round city to live in.
That's not to say there aren't other great places to live in NZ, just that these are the ones that have stood out to me..... happy hunting.
PS..... SI roads are FANTASTIC..... empty B-Roads that stretch for miles and miles.... North island has them, but generally too crowded on a sunday to go for a REAL blat.
My pick of places to live (based on personal experience and what I've seen)
Auckland: given that about 1/3 of the population of the country live in this one city it's likely that you'll end up here at some stage... avoid it... please. Auckland's lovely really, harbour city, sub-tropical climate (fair bit of rain but temperate.... muggy in summer)... if you have to live here for work then do, it's nice enough, but there are better places in NZ.
Napier/Hastings: Two cities of approx 60,000 people each, about 10 miles from eachother (so basically it's like one city with two major suburbs) on East-coast of North Island. Probably the nicest overall weather in the country (mild in winter apart form frosty mornings, generally drought-free most years and summers where you won't see a cloud for weeks on-end). Main industries are fruit growing, wine (rapidly growing, 2nd biggest wine province in NZ, will be biggest in about 5 years). If you like a quiet lifestyle in really lovely environment then this is the place for you (look out for a little town called Havelock North... lovely place to grow up
) Marlborough/Blenheim/Nelson: Another wine region, similar virtues to Napier/Hastings, at the top of the south Island. Smaller population and less industry so often harder to find comparable work here.
Christchurch: 2nd biggest city in NZ, east coast of South island with about 300,000-400,000 people. Lovely climate in summer, typical east-coast with weeks of hot, cloudless sunshine. Winters typically freezing cold, clear days where the frost can last well into the afternoon... still... the rainfall is very low and winters "feel" short. Big enough that there always is osmething going on, not too big that you'll ever feel lost. IMHO the nicest city in NZ, described as "The most british city outside of britain" and that's probably true. Predominantly white population (general rule, further south you go, the more "european" things get). People tend to be really nice in Chch (generally) and is a great all-round city to live in.
That's not to say there aren't other great places to live in NZ, just that these are the ones that have stood out to me..... happy hunting.
PS..... SI roads are FANTASTIC..... empty B-Roads that stretch for miles and miles.... North island has them, but generally too crowded on a sunday to go for a REAL blat.
ok, here's my take. i grew up in NZ, then spent a year living in Europe.
NZ:
crime is on the up here, the police are hopeless and seem interested only in the revenue they can gather from speeding tickets.
we have a drug problem, particularly with 'P'.
we have gang problems as well, jsut like most other countries.
our schooling system has gone to the dogs and god probably doesn't even know how it's going to be of any real use to the poor kids at school getting the damn 'qualifications' they're being given.
tertiary students seem to be continuosly penalised for wanting to study further and get ahead in life.
people aren't as friendly as you might think, at least not in the big towns, particularly auckland. they're more suspicious than anything. a pregnant mother collapsed on a train in wellington and no one did a thing to help...
i could go on all day really, but basically, make sure they choose careful where they go to live in NZ, if they come here. Auckland is not the best choice for a nice lifestyle, i find it highly stressful living here since returning for Europe.
our public health system sucks. i have to wait 9 months just to have a simple procedure to check something, and have to live with hell for those 9 months i'm waiting. the government are no better than any other country and are slowly turning NZ to cr@p basically. there are some areas that are nice, and not so sh!tty as Auckland, just don't let them come to Auckland. find out all you can first.
good luck and i hope whatever decision they make is one that makes them happy. personally, i'd probably choose somewhere else in Europe, but i have the bonus of a second language that not all people have.
NZ:
crime is on the up here, the police are hopeless and seem interested only in the revenue they can gather from speeding tickets.
we have a drug problem, particularly with 'P'.
we have gang problems as well, jsut like most other countries.
our schooling system has gone to the dogs and god probably doesn't even know how it's going to be of any real use to the poor kids at school getting the damn 'qualifications' they're being given.
tertiary students seem to be continuosly penalised for wanting to study further and get ahead in life.
people aren't as friendly as you might think, at least not in the big towns, particularly auckland. they're more suspicious than anything. a pregnant mother collapsed on a train in wellington and no one did a thing to help...
i could go on all day really, but basically, make sure they choose careful where they go to live in NZ, if they come here. Auckland is not the best choice for a nice lifestyle, i find it highly stressful living here since returning for Europe.
our public health system sucks. i have to wait 9 months just to have a simple procedure to check something, and have to live with hell for those 9 months i'm waiting. the government are no better than any other country and are slowly turning NZ to cr@p basically. there are some areas that are nice, and not so sh!tty as Auckland, just don't let them come to Auckland. find out all you can first.
good luck and i hope whatever decision they make is one that makes them happy. personally, i'd probably choose somewhere else in Europe, but i have the bonus of a second language that not all people have.
Thanks for those last two replies Esprit and Mayflower.
Vicki's brother is still keen to go and is doing a lot of homework about finance requirements and investment/property over there. I found it a bit odd that although the cost price of housing is about half of comparable UK houses, rental costs are about the same, making buying some houses to rent out a viable option. Please let me know if tis is a load of rubbish.
On the car front... I may soon no longer have a problem about importing the Griff... what are they like on Ferraris?!
Vicki's brother is still keen to go and is doing a lot of homework about finance requirements and investment/property over there. I found it a bit odd that although the cost price of housing is about half of comparable UK houses, rental costs are about the same, making buying some houses to rent out a viable option. Please let me know if tis is a load of rubbish.
On the car front... I may soon no longer have a problem about importing the Griff... what are they like on Ferraris?!
No probs Al 
You're right.... properties are about half what you pay in the UK, but remember, salaries are accordingly geared.... mind you, that makes no difference if you're coming over with a fat wad of folding QEIIs
As for property INVESTMENT, it's probably VERY wise to stay well clear of it at the moment.... we're at the peak of a housing boom and if you'd taken the plunge on it 2-3 years ago you'd have made a killing but the baloon is already beginning to burst.... the rents may be comparatively high but this is also on the down as the boom has created a massive oversupply in the rental accommodation market and there are a lot of people slashing their asking price for renting just to get some cashflow from their investment. I've heard a statistic that in Auckland alone there is twice the number of apartments going on the market as the past EIGHT years COMBINED!..... just goes to show ya how crazy things have become.... however, might still be a good time to come over, make some savvy investments, buy or rent a little place for a year or two to test the waters, leave a chunk of cash over in europe as our economy comes back from its current over-valuation and THEN start investing in about 4 or 5 years once things have bottomed out..... that's where the smart money is at the moment...... although I'm only an enigneer so it's hardly my field of expertise...... check out ww.nzherald.co.nz and www.stuff.co.nz (both NZ newspaper sites) and keep an eye on the "financial" sections...... much better at offering savvy advice than my humble self.
Happy hunting.
You're right.... properties are about half what you pay in the UK, but remember, salaries are accordingly geared.... mind you, that makes no difference if you're coming over with a fat wad of folding QEIIs
As for property INVESTMENT, it's probably VERY wise to stay well clear of it at the moment.... we're at the peak of a housing boom and if you'd taken the plunge on it 2-3 years ago you'd have made a killing but the baloon is already beginning to burst.... the rents may be comparatively high but this is also on the down as the boom has created a massive oversupply in the rental accommodation market and there are a lot of people slashing their asking price for renting just to get some cashflow from their investment. I've heard a statistic that in Auckland alone there is twice the number of apartments going on the market as the past EIGHT years COMBINED!..... just goes to show ya how crazy things have become.... however, might still be a good time to come over, make some savvy investments, buy or rent a little place for a year or two to test the waters, leave a chunk of cash over in europe as our economy comes back from its current over-valuation and THEN start investing in about 4 or 5 years once things have bottomed out..... that's where the smart money is at the moment...... although I'm only an enigneer so it's hardly my field of expertise...... check out ww.nzherald.co.nz and www.stuff.co.nz (both NZ newspaper sites) and keep an eye on the "financial" sections...... much better at offering savvy advice than my humble self.
Happy hunting.
Not a problem Al...... as I've said before, it's a lovely place to live, but it's not quite the idyllic paradise many UK holidaymakers paint it out to be.... just had a new colleague start from Denmark and he's already had his house broken into and his car stolen and burned out (no insurance on the car 
, although it wasn't an expensive car or anything, but still) so it's got similar problems to the UK in places.
Thanks for the compliments on the car... she's alright, and a pretty rare sight on NZ roads (never were many TR7s in NZ and most of them have rusted away like the ones in the UK).. mine's not perfect but the rebuild starts soon...... including worked up 5L Rover V8..... so she's going to have the heart of a Griffith .... will certainly be a fun machine when all is said and done... best get back to saving more cash
, although it wasn't an expensive car or anything, but still) so it's got similar problems to the UK in places. Thanks for the compliments on the car... she's alright, and a pretty rare sight on NZ roads (never were many TR7s in NZ and most of them have rusted away like the ones in the UK).. mine's not perfect but the rebuild starts soon...... including worked up 5L Rover V8..... so she's going to have the heart of a Griffith
.... will certainly be a fun machine when all is said and done... best get back to saving more cash Gassing Station | New Zealand | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff