[Canadian]

Living in Canada all my life (except for a year in Oz) I would very much like to move to a warmer climate. NZ is an improvement over Canada for sure, and a beautiful place, but my preference would be a climate similar to Hawaii. Basically no strong difference between the seasons (always warm, without being stifling hot much of the time).

I have seen some posters to this board that complain about being cold in NZ winters, thus my questions.

Are there any other S. Pacific Islands with a warm climate that also meet the non-climate related criteria that NZ does?

That is:

-English speaking
-Affordable quality health care
-A degree of safety (low crime)
-Acceptance of newcomers
-Reasonable affordable real estate

[tigerlily]

Why not the far northern part of NZ? It's fairly tropical. Real estate is cheaper there. If you are planning on buying a house, you can always add insulation and central heating wherever you are if you feel the house is not up to the weather.

Have you lived in Vancouver, BC? I think their winter is very mild!

[Tia Maria]

Nowhere to suggest I'm afraid but I wouldn't look at Fiji with the things being the way they are, certainly not if you want to buy a place. :(

Will you have any job requirements?

Also, just out of interest, whay not Hawaii?

Cheers

Tia

[phatsharpie]

Probably not Hawaii due to the lack of affordable health care?

-Brian

[Lupin]

Far north Queensland- Cairns, Townsville etc would be my ideal climate. I'm just soooo cold below 20 degrees!

[Canadian]

I live in Victoria, Canada, so the winter is slightly milder than Vancouver. It still can't compare to NZ which is a fair amount warmer. This is partly due to latitude. Victoria is 48.5°N and Auckland is about 38°S. The latter is about 10° closer to the equator so is obvioulsy going to be milder. It is likely worth the move to NZ, for the better climate, along with the list I initially mentioned. Certainly NZ has the benefit of a fairly large land mass to explore and lots of beauty. Still, I would prefer a slightly warmer climate than NZ can offer. The Northern tip of NZ is fairly mild but is rainier than the east coast further south. I am likely asking for too much, but I thought I would inquire anyway.

[Nick88]

I'm with Lupin, Cairns is the place I would go if I weren't here. I live north of Akl and it is mild, but not enough for me.

[tigerlily]

Hawaii's healthcare is actually more affordable than much of the USA due to the universal healthcare the state requires. Jobs there are more difficult to come by. But look at the weather for Kailua/Kona on the big island.

[Tia Maria]

Lupin 77 wrote:

Far north Queensland- Cairns, Townsville etc would be my ideal climate. I'm just soooo cold below 20 degrees!

I'm always cold too but would have a problem with the humidity in these places. They seem to have their fair share of hurricanes also.

Consulting my World Weather book (yes I know - I'm sad! :D ) which has a 'discomfort from heat and humidity section'. Auckland has none most of the year with mild in Jan & Feb. Townsville, however, never drops below moderate - with high 4 months of the year.

(the scale goes none, mild, moderate, medium, high)

Personally I prefer it from Brisbane down to Sydney in terms of climate.

NZ climate is definitely an improvement on UK climate but if weather really is your top priority you may be disappointed.

She whispers ...... How about Australia? ;)

Cheers

Tia

[Lupin]

Consulting my World Weather book (yes I know - I'm sad! :D ) which has a 'discomfort from heat and humidity section'. Auckland has none most of the year with mild in Jan & Feb. Townsville, however, never drops below moderate - with high 4 months of the year.

(the scale goes none, mild, moderate, medium, high)

Ah, but one would adjust to moderate discomfort from humidity, which leaves potentially four months of the year more humid than one would like. I'd rather shelter from the heat and sun for four months a year than from the wind and cold.

I have friends in Brisbane who say they swapped five months of scurrying from centrally heated building to centrally heated building to 2 months of being more comfortable with the air con on and avoiding the sunshine. Total no-brainer for me :)

[toesonthenose]

Are there any other S. Pacific Islands with a warm climate that also meet the non-climate related criteria that NZ does?

That is:

-English speaking
-Affordable quality health care
-A degree of safety (low crime)
-Acceptance of newcomers
-Reasonable affordable real estate

I live in Hawaii, and reading about cold houses in NZ has given me cold feet. I have no heating (never below 16 C), no Air con (rarely above 32 C), no screens, and only wear shoes to work. I was in NZ in march one year and was cold every night. Regarding your question of Pacific Islands. Speaking english will get you around most of the Pacific, somewhat....but not really interact with the local population. Don't forget that the populations of these many of these countries are small (less than 100K), and opportunites are very limited. When you step off the plane your college education makes you one of the most educated in some of these countries. Not that it will do you much good. Health care throught most of the pacific is poor, with limited health professionals and resources (like no Xray for months at a time while waiting for parts and someone who knows how to repair), and high rates of TB, frequent dengue fever outbreaks, and leprosy. I am a physician and have worked throught Micronesia and have physician friends around the Pacific, and the care would not be anywhere near comparable to US, Canada, Western Europe quality. I can guaruntee that from personal experience. Health care in Hawaii is fine, with standard US for profit B.S. Crime is not a huge problem, little violent crime, but lots of petty theft, especially from well healed visitors. Acceptance of newcomers? I've been treated like a king when visiting small islands, but I don't imagine that it would really be that easy to integrate without learning the language and culture. Real estate in Hawaii is outrageous, as every trustfund brat in the world buys a home here and uses it 2 weeks a year and then goes back to their home. Many Pacific island nations do not allow non citizens to buy land. Also travel costs in the pacific are huge, Honolulu to Guam is $900 and never drops, and salaries on the islands are poor. Having said that check out Palau (my favorite) for an adventure. Lots of low pay teaching jobs if you just want to go. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about the Aloha state. Here a pic in my town.

[migratory birds]

What about Singapore?

Have not yet been myself but a friend who grew up there says it's very vibrant and cosmopolitan, many languages (including English), tropical.

Air quality may (or may not) be an issue as all large Asian cities I've been in have dreadful air quality.

Can't speak to real estate and crime but was looking at a chart just last night on infant mortality rates in various countries around the world and Singapore topped the list with the lowest infant mortality rate (2003 stats Singapore at 2.28/1000 live births, Canada 4.82/1000, UK 5.22/1000, NZ 5.96/1000, US 6.3/1000)

Any country that has a low infant mortality rate is doing something quite all right with their healthcare system...

[Nick88]

The Pacific Islands are achingly beautiful, but sadly are socioeconomic basket cases. Healthcare is patchy at best, as toesonthenose says things are not always working. Combine this with low wages and job prospects, and you can see why Auckland is the largest Polynesian city.

Many of the islands are run along traditional tribal lines and this discourages innovation, and encourages nepotism and inefficiency. They are third world countries.

It's sad, but hopefully the next generation will take back some of the lessons they have learnt in places like NZ and Aus and make the changes needed to take the islands forward.

[suebeenz]

Perhaps I'm imagining it, but NZ feels colder to me than Victoria. Probably the cold damp houses. Summers are shorter here too, I'm afraid. :-(

Still love it though. I hear ya on the warm tropical thing. Thinking about working on the french and trying to establish winter home in New Caledonia ...

[Moorf]

Am I the only one who prefers cold and fresh to humid and stuffy? I'd rather rug up than melt.... only takes a few mins of me in humidity for my hair to frizz and I start leaking! I learned that when I worked in Malaysia (KL) and Singapore... and I had constant sore throats from going from air-con - heat - air-con all the time....

Gimme a crisp, fresh frosty morning anyday.... with a nice roaring fire to come home to :nice1

Adelaide appeals if we had to go to Oz....

[Caroline and Dave]

Am I the only one who prefers cold and fresh to humid and stuffy? I'd rather rug up than melt.... only takes a few mins of me in humidity for my hair to frizz and I start leaking! I learned that when I worked in Malaysia (KL) and Singapore... and I had constant sore throats from going from air-con - heat - air-con all the time....

Gimme a crisp, fresh frosty morning anyday.... with a nice roaring fire to come home to :nice1

Adelaide appeals if we had to go to Oz....

No you are not the only one.I agree entirely with what you are saying. Having just come back from a week in Roratonga,it was so humid and sweaty and we both had sore throats from the air conditioning which we had to have on all night which was very noisy but it was better than being hot and sticky all night.I suppose you would get used to these conditions.
Although these humid places are beautiful, we certainly would not want to live there.

Caroline and Dave

[KelvinAng]

Am I the only one who prefers cold and fresh to humid and stuffy? I'd rather rug up than melt.... only takes a few mins of me in humidity for my hair to frizz and I start leaking! I learned that when I worked in Malaysia (KL) and Singapore... and I had constant sore throats from going from air-con - heat - air-con all the time....

Gimme a crisp, fresh frosty morning anyday.... with a nice roaring fire to come home to :nice1

Adelaide appeals if we had to go to Oz....

I'm with Moorf on this one... I'm Singaporean, looking to move to NZ partly because I find the heat and humidity in Singapore is unbearable. Singapore is also a very noisy country (densely populated) and the trains and buses seems to be packed to the max no matter what time of the day it is.