Move to new zealand but where?

Question

Me and my family (me,my bloke, 7 year old boy 3 year old girl) are thinking of emigrating to new zealand. We have our house for sale at the moment and are thinking of emigrating rather than buying more property here. Can anyone suggest the best place to live with a young family.

p.s we don't drive at the moment so would have to rely on public transport.

Answer 1

simple short question, if you want city life, auckland or wellington, or if you want quiet city life, napier/hastings, the big cities i mentioned have plenty of public transport, and the smaller cities have public transport but are small enough to not use it all the time

Answer 2

places get more expensive if you live further north. You could live in christchurch, dunedin or invercargill if you wanted somewhere cheap. It also depends on the weather you would like. It can be cold in dunedin and invercargill in winter. Nelson and Blenheim are pretty hot. But Nelson is pretty expensive housing wise. Not sure about Blenheim. Christchurch has a pretty good bus service.

Here are some websites you can look at to help you make up your mind:

http://www.movingtonz.com/Pick_An_Island...

http://www.localeye.info/pages/?catId=12...

http://www.cityofdunedin.com/city/?page=...

Answer 3

North Island is a bit more expensive but the more densely populated cities are there so you may end up getting a higher paid job. I live in Wellington and can highly recommend it. It is a very pretty city with a very cultural vibe - we have a lot of art and film festivals and there is a ridiculous amount of cafes and restaurants per capita! The weather in winter can get cold but we have just had a fantastic summer. It also has one of the best public transport systems in NZ - which isn't saying much but you definitely don't need to drive if you live in Wellington.

I can also recommend Napier in the North Island - it is a smaller city but is very pretty - it was all rebuilt in the 1930s after an earthquake in the art deco style. The weather there is fantastic.

Auckland is the biggest city but lacks personality in my opinion. Christchurch (the biggest city on the south island) is beautiful - they call it the garden city as it has many gorgeous gardens and old trees - but it is very flat and spread out boring. Dunedin is a good city but there is a big university there so it is full of rowdy students, and it also gets very cold.

Hope that helps - good luck!

Answer 4

New plymouth is an amazing place to live with children

Good transport and has a mountain just half an hour from the beach.

it is a very beautiful city aswell.

It has many new houses being built and are fairly cheap!

Alot of schools and kindergartens

New Plymouth is just simply amazing. I would really look into it!

Answer 5

Get a drivers licence before you leave otherwise you will struggle. Wellington has a good public transport system, but their houses and sections can be quite small. We live out in the country (20 minute drive from the nearest city, 10 to the nearest town) and have a 9 year-old and 11 year-old, two dogs, two cats and other assorted farm animals. We moved here from the UK and wouldn't have it any other way. The kids can play outside until after dark, they ride the farm bike. Swim in the river down the road. Personal safety is not an issue. Bliss!!

Answer 6

Dunedin is a  great place to live. its got a leading Uni and the city is quite small but definatly has a good public transport system for its size. the housing is of a medum quallity but its cheap to live and no Crime. except for a few speeders on the motorway. anyway hope that helps

Answer 7

I live in Taupo, and I meet a lot of people who really love it here, because you can walk EVERYWHERE, but it's still a large town (25000 people) and the climate is awesome, the schools and education systems are great and it's not a dangerous town or anything.

Answer 8

Not having a vehicle is a problem in NZ; public transport is pathetic here, especially in the country.  The further south you go, the cheaper it is to live, especially housing.  Unemployment is low in NZ right now.  In your position I'd consider Christchurch or Dunedin.  I've lived in both places and they're OK.  Forget the North Island.  It's ridiculously expensive.