[Georgebulldog]

Just a quickie
Looking to get to Wellington for early Jan 08
Can you tell me what sort of weather to expect, should we pack all summer stuff or a bit of everything?
Are all clothes more expensive ?

Also on a longer term note if I expect the weather to be the same as the UK (south) will I be maybe a bit nicely surprised? I'm trying to think it will be about the same then anything better & I'll be happy :)
Sorry not such a quickie as I first thought ;)

[Lara Croft]

Great question Lindsey... I shall be looking out for the answer too!

My OH doesn't understand that I have summer clothes and winter clothes. He wears the same things all year round!

Jane

[Georgebulldog]

Great question Lindsey... I shall be looking out for the answer too!

My OH doesn't understand that I have summer clothes and winter clothes. He wears the same things all year round!

Jane

I know, he wears t-shirts in November & walks the dog without a coat, what's al that about?:D I can see me being a bit chilly in Wellington but it's worth it.

[CjChris]

Clothes are very expensive here in my opinion. Daughter and I have found a few cheapie stores, but overall, in Welly it is hard to find T-shirts for less than 50.00...and we're talkin' plane, regular ole' T-shirts!! :no

OH and I walked in an outdoor store after first getting here (realizing we'd brought too many warm weather things in our suitcases, wishing we had fleece) and average "jackets" start at 250.00 and most active-wear shirts and pants were 100-300. I nearly fainted! :yes OH spent 30.00 on a pair of wool socks...which was sickening as there are tons of this stuff on the container!

Since I have never been in here in January, it's hard for me to offer any advice there. From what I've seen so far, though, the best advice I've been given holds true: layers are required!! Have a variety of things in your suitcase that you can layer--sweaters, light jackets, t-shirts, dress shirts and then have bottoms that you can switch out and wear with any of the above (shorts as well as pants).

There are many days that I think it is chilly out then I head out to walk to the bus stop, and before you know it, I'm hot and pulling off my jacket! The sun can be intense here. There are some days, though, when I'm huddled in my coat and scarf and every other gal on the street has on a sleeveless top and sandals! (Maybe I'm just not as tough as the kiwis yet, and here I thought being a mountain girl had already made me tough!)

One thing I noticed about Welly is that in the CBD, folks dress a lot sharper than I invisioned. So, even a trip to the organic store makes me feel like a slob if I'm in sneakers and jeans :( But that's just me; I'm sure others here will chime in and offer thier own experience and thoughts on the matter.

I am hoping that by January it will be warm enough that I can wear what I consider "summery" clothes--seems like I totally missed out on predicting what spring is like here, so we'll see.

[hammadkkhan]

CjChris,

Informative response....

One question:
"in the CBD, folks dress a lot sharper than I invisioned"

Can you explain?

e.g. What is a good official dress in Welly for a Manager.

I have heard that NZ'ers do not dress as formally in the office as ppl do in some other countries. I mean a suit (tie) etc are less common and ppl normally are used to wearing Dockers (Khakis) and a collar. No Ties. Is this true?

I am eager to ask more but this is it for now...

Thanks

[hammadkkhan]

with regards to my query above, please note the following from another post on this forum:

"On the whole,New Zealanders are casual and relaxed and dress informally on most occasions. It is quite the norm to see people in supermarkets etc bare footed."

:clap

[hammadkkhan]

I mean who needs shoes :raebanana

[Anita & Marco]

Hi

Wellington definitely is smarter and more formal than other areas/cities in NZ. If you would be working at a more senior position most offices would expect a suit, but it depends on the branch you are working in as well (as you can imagine).

Saying this, I have also had colleagues who came in the office in short and jandals, but those were the exception and they were at their desks all day, so nobody would see them and interact with them anyhow.

Getting back to the question in this thread:
In January the weather will be mainly fine, but the advise of Chris to pack some layers, is the best advise you will get. The layers in summer will be thinner than in winter, but still are very useful.

Good luck
Anita

[CjChris]

CjChris,

One question:
"in the CBD, folks dress a lot sharper than I invisioned"

Can you explain?

e.g. What is a good official dress in Welly for a Manager.

I have heard that NZ'ers do not dress as formally in the office as ppl do in some other countries. I mean a suit (tie) etc are less common and ppl normally are used to wearing Dockers (Khakis) and a collar. No Ties. Is this true?

I am eager to ask more but this is it for now...

Thanks

I, too, thought that NZ'ers were, on the whole, more informal dressers...I mean, how many bare feet comments have we read on this forum alone :laugh

By "sharper," I mean that on average, 90% of the people I see on Welly streets are dressed in what I call the "office smart" look--dressy shoes, nice trousers, sleek lines (and for women, lots of knee boots or sleek high-heels, black skirts, fancy tights, fitted jackets or nice blouse). They must spend all their money on clothes! :roll Up until the past few (warmer) days, I've seen mostly dark colors. Thankfully, some of the ladies have started wearing white, pinks, and lavenders (whew, it is spring, after all).

As Anita said, Welly seems to be different from some other NZ cities/towns, and I had never picked up on comments here regarding it being so formal (maybe I just wasn't paying that much attention before we arrived).
I'm not complaining, mind you, but I wish I'd realized this before I packed my 100lbs of luggage that must do me until the container comes!!

Unfortunatley, OH has all kinds of suits on the container, mostly colors other than black (he likes earthy colors better); at his previous job in the US, when he had to wear a suit, it was perfectly acceptable to wear a nice suit jacket with khakis and a shirt and tie (sometimes tie even optional).
Here, I have never seen that combo on the streets of Wellington. That doesn't mean men don't wear them, it just means that for the 7 weeks we've been here, I have not once seen a man wearing THAT kind of causal clothing on the streets in CBD. Granted, when dropping by Caffe L'affare for lunch, I have seen men in nice dark jeans with a black suit coat and no tie, sometimes even turtle neck or nice long-sleeve button-down collar type with jeans--not sure what job they have, etc., so more causal dress is out there.

OH has decided he needs to buy both a black and a charcoal suit (as these seem to be most popular here) with nice pastel shirts and ties (we don't see many white shirts worn with suits here).

Do keep in mind that my point of reference is from mid-Sept to mid-Nov. By January they might bring out their gold disco suits :uhoh

[Smiler]

Lindsey

Pack some layers, it's easier to take something off when it warms up than to waste vital luggage on bulky coats. So you won't need a thick winter coat in January :uhoh but maybe a light waterproof.

I found it much sunnier than the south of UK. If your eyes suffer in strong sunlight, bring a decent pair of sunnies (sunglasses)

I guess it depends where you shop and what you call expensive. On the whole if I'm looking for something smart (and I am the bargain hunter if the year!) I think the prices are around what I would have paid in UK. Casual stuff I feel is more expensive and I wait until the sales, I don't buy sportswear or trackkie stuff though.

T shirts I buy in Jean Jones when their sale is on, good quality and made in NZ too. Usually around $20 a shirt, although you can get cheapies from the Warehouse in the sale for $10.00 or less and from Postie Plus for $25.00 for 2.

OH was a senior manager in Welly and wore a suit for the first week. It sat in the wardrobe after that as he found that not many people wore suits and he said his employer hired him for his brains not his dress sense. (Thank goodness for that!) :laugh

Layers, layers, layers - did I mention layers? :laugh

[Lara Croft]

Oh I am shallow.... I'm quite relieved that Welly people dress smartly! I have amassed a good wardrobe of business clothes, and was saddened that I might not need them again. I just need to stock up on M&S tights before I start packing :)

And all my lovely shoes will come with me too! Has anyone a recommendation for sturdy shoe boxes (for the ones that will go in the container)? I keep them in their cardboard boxes at home, but think that maybe the plastic ones would be better for surviving the rough & tumble on board ship!

Thanks,
Jane

[tigerlily]

I think you'll be ok with cardboard. There is some concern about condensation with plastic, so I'm using it sparingly.

[incredible hulse]

Out of memory last Jan was rain for the first 2 weeks (it seemed to rain non-stop from Nov to be honest), and then we went on a sunny spell when it didn't rain for about 5 weeks and was very sunny most days for almost 3 months. This year Spring has been on the whole very good and way, way better than last. The temp even on a bad day won't be below about 16 degrees and if good upto about 26