[GreenKiwi]

Hi all.

I have just been approached by my company's Dunedin office asking whether I am interested in relocating there. We are from Cape Town, so can anyone please tell me a bit more about Dunedin, and how it compares to Cape Town? Any replies will be appreciated.

Thanks

Wesley

[JandM]

Hello.:) I don't know any answers to give you, but welcome to the forum.

[Alan+Mignon]

Hi Greenkiwi,
Welcome to the forum. Can't help as I am still in SA! But, good luck in your decision. if you are serious about immigrating and have an offer of a job transfer- how wonderful. We have found it very difficult to get job offers on line. My OH has just come back from recce trip to NZ, and had meetings with employment agencies- but so far nothing has come up.
I can give you this web address- www.CityofDunedin.com
Good luck:)

[Simon B]

Hi Wesley

Somewhere on this forum someone compared Dunedin to the South of England, so,as a calculated guess I'd say it's a LOT colder than CT.

Anyway, good luck for whatever you choose to do.

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Hello and welcome...I can't help with your question about Dunedin...I am a Kiwi but have never visited Dunedin.

[GreenKiwi]

Thank you all. I've checked the site. Looks beautiful, but sure enough it will be a big change for us when you look at the weather. We are also a bit concerned that there are less SA expats to make contact with.
I'm not going to make any big decisions until I am happy with what is being offered. Apparently they have to prove to immigration they cannot fill the position locally, so now we wait!

Best regards

Wesley

[Pebbles]

Hi and welkom!
Such luxury, being asked to please relocate to NZ .. :raebanana

We are also a bit concerned that there are less SA expats to make contact with.
Would that really be a deciding factor for you?

[GreenKiwi]

Would that really be a deciding factor for you?[/QUOTE]

Not really, but it would be nice to know that there is some people to speak to if we struggle to adapt. I hate going into something blindly, as would be the case here. I guess the move(should it happen) will be a calculated risk, and compared to whats going on locally, it's one I'm gladly willing to take.

31 March is D-Day, so please keep me in your thoughts and I will post as soon as I hear something.

[Pebbles]

Yes, please do let us know how things work out!

I agree that it is quite scary to let go of the things you know. But as they say: if you keep doing what you've always done, you will always have what you've always had (or something similar ..). And besides that, I am not altogether sure if keeping things the way they are is actually the easiest.

[wiki]

I've not been to SA, so not much good in comparisons but as a city Dunedin has a lot going for it.

The climate is very wet and can be cold. A big issue when buying a house is not buying on the "cold" side of the valleys as some of those homes hardly see sun at all in winter.

Dunedin is built on the side of a pretty steep hill that undulates until it reaches the coastal plain. Most areas are within a 10/15 minute drive of the sea at most, and there are really nice beaches - surfing is popular.

Dunedin is a university city with a big difference in its population during term time. It has a law and medical school which is very popular with students across the country and internationally. The university, teachers' college and polytechnic offer a lot of evening classes and there is a big music and social scene, if you're into that.

Dunedin's other advantage is that it's only about 3-3.5 hours' drive from the resort towns of Wanaka (lake + ski-ing) Queenstown (lake + ski-ing) Te Anau (lake + access to fiords) and only 2 hours' drive to Christchurch which is the largest city in the South Island.

You should do a thread search for Dunedin to see some of the opinions of those who live there - or if you have certain further questions, start a thread with Dunedin in the title which is more likely to attract the interest of forum members who live, or have lived, in Dunedin.

One of my sisters has lived in Dunedin for eight years and loved it, another recently returned after 14 years in Sydney and is also enjoying herself, and doesn't find the climate change too onerous ... although she's not had to live through a Dunedin winter yet.

Any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[macs gold]

Hi - we moved to Dunedin 4 years ago from London. The weather compares favourably to the South of England, but Wiki's words on buying the right home is good advice. It will be colder than you are used to in Cape Town - however (from what I know of CT) the scenery is on a par with mountains and seascapes dominating the city, and some absolutely fabulous beaches.

We have met a few SAers in our time here - but it is fair to say that most of your country folk seem to cluster themselves on the North Shore in Auckland for some reason.

[britzy]

Hi
Welcome to the forum.We have job offers in Dunedin,but I can't shed any light on the area as we've never been,they are a few people on the forum that live in Dunedin and have posted first hand information,just search Dunedin and it will answer some of your questions.
Good Luck
Helen

[GreenKiwi]

Well then . Offer is now in hand!! It seems like a nice deal with relocation costs and one months accomodation covered. The question I now would like to ask my fellow learned and well informed members...
Which is better, using a consultant, or doing it myself? I need to get this done fairly quickly, so if using agents speeds up the process I would think it will be better to use them and have peace of mind. Any thoughts.

Many thanks

Wesley

[dusk]

at this stage I cannot see why you would not be able to do it yourself, you're going to have to find all the documentation that you have to provide yourself anyway, i can't see what service a consultant would provide that would speed things up? perhaps someone who has used a consultant could advise if this is the case or not.

anyway. best of luck, sounds like a sweet deal :)