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