Where shall I live in New Zealand?

Question

I'm coming for a Job Interview in September from the UK. If I'm offered the job, I'll be a service engineer, and can almost certainly choose where I live.

Should be not too close to a city but not too remote - good schooling and colleges - nice scenery if possible.

Looking at some google images, Bay Of plenty looks nice ~

Any ideas?

Answer 1

Christchurch is beeautiful! Its the adventure capital of the world so you could have alot of fun, the sceanary is gorgous but it gets very cold cos its very north and you could get snowed in.

Auckland is prob the best place for work, its the largest city in NZ nearer the top of the islands, the North Islands are gorgous too and are sunny with beaches..I envy you.NZ is very small really population wise and even the large cities are huge at all, you'll find space wherever you look for it.

Answer 2

To all those that ask questions about emigrating/immigrating to/from the UK – I always write the following message:

Please ensure your reason for moving to another country is not because you believe that your own country is bad. Each country has up sides and down sides.

Yes, the UK is expensive, but other countries that are taxed lower don’t have the quality infrastructure that the UK has.

Yes, the climate is changeable, but that is why everything is green.

Yes, there are loads of foreigners, but if you move to another country, you’re doing just the same.

Think really, really carefully. I see loads of comments about a “honeymoon” period, whereby moving abroad has a novelty factor for a couple of months. But that can easily wear off, and it may be that you’re going to incur lots of expense instead of just thinking it through carefully first.

Just a thought! Good luck in whatever you do.

Answer 3

we lived in bay of plenty, for eight months last year in tauranga

lovely place plenty of sunshine, very layed back great beachs drive to the country is not far , but it is more expensie than uk

but i would go back

Answer 4

You could not go wrong by coming to the Marlborough district, Top of the South Island, PICTON is the most scenic, great weather (it's raining now but first lot for  over a week) the temperature is normally 2-5 degrees Celsius above Blenheim which has the most sunshine in NZ. Great schools here 2 primary, 1 college, at least 3 pre-schools, great fishing, tramping, paragliding, sky-diving, scenic air flights, boat cruises - you name it & we've got it!

Picton is the terminal for the North/South ferries is only 20 minutes from Blenheim, 1 1/2 hours from Nelson 5 from Christchurch - all these by road. The Trans Coastal express train runs daily each way to & from Christchurch. Picton has a permanent population of about 4000 & a floating population of about 10-15000 in summer. Over 1 million people pass through/visit annually. Housing is reasonable perhaps a bit dear but this is coming down now.

All told a great place & I have been here over 2 yrs & love it.

Answer 5

If I was living in New Zealand, I would choose somewhere near Hawke's Bay.

Answer 6

If I were you, I'd start of living on the outskirts of a larger city like Auckland or Wellington at first.  You will find the slow down from the UK a huge shock once the initial 'holiday' feel as passed, even with living near the larger cities.

Answer 7

KatiKati and Waihi are beautiful places to be. they're in the north island and are a couple of hours from Auckland by car. they have high schools and colleges and are also close to many nearby cities like Tauranga. Beautiful beaches and views. i'd definetly move there.

good luck  x

Answer 8

north shore for sure!!

Answer 9

Definately the Bay Of islands, somewhere like kerikeri or paihia. Beautiful scenery, one of nz's best high schools in New Zealand, and Whangarei is only 40 minutes away.

Awesome Area!

Answer 10

Hi there!

I use to live in New Zealand and visit it at least once a year.

The Bay of Plenty is nice!

My Aunty, Uncle and cousins live in a town called Whakatane which is about one hour east of Tauranga. Whakatane is a lovely little town. It has beaches and plenty of sun! It also isn't far from Tauranga which is quite a large city.

http://www.whakatane.com/

That's the link for Whakatane

Another option is down near Wellington. The Kapiti Coast sounds perfect for you. It's only about 45 minutes drive to Wellington but it is still rather quiet.

The Kapiti Coast has beaches, and is very close to hills with good bush walks and lovely clear rivers.

Yet another option is the city of Palmerston North. Some people I know who live there hate it (because the weather is windy at times and it's a bit boring) but others I know love it. It's my hometown and I personally love it but I can understand why other people would hate it. It has fantastic schools and colleges! It has Massey University which is one of the best in New Zealand.

http://www.pncc.govt.nz/

That's the Palmerston North link.

Another option is Hawke's Bay. My Aunty lives there and it is really really nice.

She lives in a town called Havelock North which is ideal for raising kids! It's a peaceful little town which is only 20 minutes drive from Napier (a large seaside town). If you move to Hawke's Bay, I would avoid Hastings. Although it is a pretty little town, it's also, in some parts, a bit rough.

Napier or Havelock North would be your best options in Hawkes Bay.

This is the Napier website

http://www.pncc.govt.nz/

And this is the Havelock North one.

http://www.villageinfo.co.nz/

Thanks for the question and I hope you enjoy your move!

New Zealand is a great country :) You're lucky.