[angelofamily]

Dear all . We arrived on the 7th of July and then had 3 to 4 lovely sunny days . However , it then started raining and has not stopped once since then . We lived in the UK for 6 years before returning to SA for a period of 6 months and then decided to move to NZ since we thought it is the perfect halfway house . ( asuming it is somewhere inbetween UK and SA weatherwise , lifestyle wise and cost of living ) . Today it feels as if we have had more rain in the 3 weeks that we have been here than in 6 years living in UK (Kent-Tunbridge Wells) . Is this how it is , or is there hope for improvement ?

Annelize

[benandclare]

This thread contains a link to a cool place to compare climates

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?p=193019#post193019.

[James 1077]

Auckland has more than double the rainfall of London (1249mm vs 593mm).

This link (http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT003100)shows your average conditions in Auckland by month and this one (http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT003790)gives London's.

Before you get too upset about coming all this way though sunshine hours come out at an average of 5.6 hours per day compared to London's 4.

I wouldn't be too disheartened about the weather as it will get better! And when it does it is far nicer for far longer than it is in the UK. I've also been told that the last

The last few weeks have been pretty exceptional and it isn't normally like this (I've been over in August and its been t-shirt and short weather for the whole of a 2 week stay before).

[Sam B]

This is the worst the weather has been since I moved here 19 months ago. It's rubbish!

[incredible hulse]

Just hope it doesn't turn out like the Winter/Spring of 2006. Seemed to rain constantly for 4-5 months from about Aug - mid Jan.

[Alive&Kicking]

Or you move down here - mostly sunny all year round!

But, please don't start arriving in bus loads straight away :wah

Cheers

[Familyofmonkeys]

It's the rainy season at the moment......weather is gorgeous for 9 months of the year here :)

[Tia Maria]

We had a really naff winter when we first arrived, then a good one, and now a really naff one. So I haven't sussed out what is normal yet!

Truth is you've arrived in the middle of winter and you will see an improvement in September, although you may see hailstones in August. And, yes, Auckland does have a winter!

I think the thing that people often don't get about NZ weather is it can be extreme. The sun is hotter, the rain is wetter and the wind is stronger. It has so many micro climates that establishing a 'norm' is very tricky and reading stats just doesn't compare to everyday experience.

My OH, for instance, doesn't remember it being this bad when we first arrived, but he is currently off work and spent the first winter cosied up in his office. Also if you drive a lot, you can avoid weather. I, on the other hand, get soaked on a regular basis.

Also if you live inland, you may not be affected by the wind so much, or, be on the right side of the hill and you will see sunshine all day.

Hang in there, you will soon put the winter behind you and have a nice long summer to look forward too!

Cheers

Tia

[Moorf]

Hang in there - it's been awful the last few weeks... even us of a rosy disposition can't find anything nice to say about the weather :D


... actually, I can... have you SEEN the snow dumps!! :raebanana

[CJ22]

If it's any consolation, the summer in the UK has been absolutely flipping miserable...

[shakyle2906]

Worst weather since we got here just over 15mths ago.....

Rain is bouncing off the roof!

Sharon
x

[Mrs Pony]

Here in Florida you can time the rain in the summer... If not earlier... it will rain by 3pm.

[jubjub]

We tend to get cycles during autumn/winter spring of 2 days rain, 5 days sun, then it progresses to 5 days rain 2 days sun! At the worst you get 7 days rain all at once... but then you hit summer and its possible to go for weeks without a drop of rain, or if it does rain it rains overnight.... (how considerate!) It does get better, honest!

[The Hodges]

This is the worst the weather has been since I moved here 19 months ago. It's rubbish!

It definately wasn't this bad last year! :(

[Rabbit]

Just hope it doesn't turn out like the Winter/Spring of 2006. Seemed to rain constantly for 4-5 months from about Aug - mid Jan.

I know what you mean (2006), the worst winter in 30 years, that was our introduction to NZ at the time, but we got through it. The leaky rental/home with constant 80% humidity did not help.

If it helps, it is raining big time here in the UK and it is supposed to be summer!

NZ weather tends to have a bad three months and then for 9 months it is pretty good.

The UK weather tends to have a bad 9 months with not even 3 months pretty good!

Rabbit

[skibumwa]

Last Winter it wasn't this rainy here... I like the idea of getting our summer drinking water supply + extra for hydro power now so that in the summer we are not stressed out about lack of water.

Perhaps the ski areas are getting good snow with all of this?

[benandclare]

Perhaps the ski areas are getting good snow with all of this?


Yup sure are. Report in yesterdays paper suggests best skiing season for 10 years :clap:clap

[Tomsk]

We arrived late June...boy am I now regretting getting rid of the old and falling to pieces but still working tumble dryer that I owned in the UK. And how come the shippers packed everything beautiful, no damage whatsoever, even to some quite delicate glassware.....but somehow they packed the umbrellas in a place never to be discovered again. I'm tearing my hair out, and am finally planning a shopping expedition, I can't survive one more minute without an umbrella, and as for all that wet washing with not even a radiator to dry it on!

I always knew that winter wasn't the best time to arrive.......really should have hung on to october! Only joking, I'm loving it, don't want to be anywhere else right now, even with the rain, and I'm hanging on for the summer.

[djchicane]

Hang in there - it's been awful the last few weeks... even us of a rosy disposition can't find anything nice to say about the weather :D


... actually, I can... have you SEEN the snow dumps!! :raebanana

Ohhh yep! and another metre of snow being dumped on Mt Hutt and surrounding club fields right now... gonna be a busy weekend ;):nice1

[Moorf]

Hmmm, call me a pessimist, but I'm thinking Hutt won't be open this weekend if this weather keeps up! Maybe a sickie is needed :D

[benandclare]

Work and other commitments mean I cant get there till Tuesday at earliest ...............:wah

[DMcG]

The last few weeks have been particularly bad for rain. And to think that at the start of winter they were worried about running out of reservoir water for the hydro power !

But it is the middle of winter - and 14C outside :D

Dougie

[djchicane]

Work and other commitments mean I cant get there till Tuesday at earliest ...............:wah

Tuesday should still be great, with the amount of snow down. I was up at Hutt on Sunday and the snow was fab, (visibility was poor!), and the falls happened on the Thursday.

I may have another 'cold' on Friday... :exit ;)

[Alive&Kicking]

It's the rainy season at the moment......weather is gorgeous for 9 months of the year here :)

I have to change this a bit for today - nearly flooded now!!!!!
Scary stuff,
Cheers

[Tia Maria]

Here in Florida you can time the rain in the summer... If not earlier... it will rain by 3pm.

This use to amaze me when I lived in Florida, how the rain seemed to come at the same time - also how large the cockroaches were!

I have it on good authority that its gonna improve next week and we are going to see the sun, with the odd shower, rather than black skies, torrential rain and gale force winds!

Hope they are right!

Cheers

Tia

[mic'n'sj]

Mic is kinda hoping for more due to the fact schools were closed and he got a day at work with no kids. As for our first winter here, well it is the damp that has got to me and the lack of drying clothes and crappy house, but saying that this old shed stood up to the worst weather better than a lot of others so maybe I shouldn't complain too much, at least we have a roof and ceiling.

[Joolzr]

I hope so. I'm getting really fed up- still waiting for our shipping so have very limited clothes supply. My shoes now have holes in them and I'm getting soaked everyday so am going through a set of clothes a day too.

I'm fact I've decided I'm not going to leave the house tomorrow.

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket. Then if I win we can go to Tahiti for a while. That'd be cool. We'll have to start saving our pennies too. Something to look forward to.

Julie

[kzn2nz]

Don't sweat it - the Kiwis are starting to maon about the rain, so it can't be normal, can it????

At least I hope not!

I think we are in for better weather within the next 2 - 3 weeks, so hang in there!!!

[thewoodies]

If its any consolation I live in a tourist resort in the UK. Gone out today in waterproofs, umberellas and wellies!!!! Weather is tipping it down and its summer!!!:wah

[nifta]

my family back in NZ have certainly complained about the weather, so that does suggest it's been unusually bad (i'm a kiwi, but have lived overseas for some years).

as others have said, the weather here in the UK this summer has been dreadful (i thought after last year's summer we were due for a good'un but i guess not!)... at least you aren't missing much :)

this probably doesn't mean much, but... i spent 2/3s of my life in wellington before moving overseas and, to be honest, while of course i do remember periods of bad weather it never really got me down in the long run... and that's coming from someone who, as a kid, spent years delivering newspapers around hilly wellington in the gale force winds! :) i'm sure it was character building, or something...

i know it can be frustrating and even somewhat disturbing to experience a bad winter when you've only just arrived and probably still harbouring doubts about the move, but once you get a bit more settled it should get easier.

[Mrs Pony]

This use to amaze me when I lived in Florida, how the rain seemed to come at the same time - also how large the cockroaches were!

I have it on good authority that its gonna improve next week and we are going to see the sun, with the odd shower, rather than black skies, torrential rain and gale force winds!

Hope they are right!

Cheers

Tia

Ahh... yes the lovely American Cockroach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cockroach)...most call them Palmetto bugs here... yea... I think those are the ones that are bigger and they fly too... (not sure if they all fly...) ugh! Creepy!



We had a really bad rain storm last week... like a mini hurricane...tree branches fell into the roads, power went out all over the place and it was so dark out it felt really late (it happened around noon)

Then an hour later the sun was shining like nothing happened...