[Tee&Dee]

Hi Folks

Well I return in a flurry of posts (Now we have our ITA Pack!)
One of the next questions I have is with regard to location.

We are somewhat torn, we all love the idea of living somewhere quiet and rural, close to the sea, etc, etc, etc.

However my job is IT based - I am a Microsoft certified engineer and Trainer, and on top of that we have 2 kids (5 and 3) to consider.

So here comes the question, If I want the best of both worlds which areas should I consider - or even disregard.

As ever all advice gladly received.

Cheers
Tony

[Moorf]

Gosh, I'd have to say CHRISTCHURCH :clap but then I'm biased! Plus, I've never been to Auckland, Welly or Dunedin so I can't really compare.. BUT, I'd have to say that Christchurch does seem to have it all, and I hear the schools here are v. good.

I.T. jobs are available here too - although not in the numbers they are in Welly and Auckland. And you may be paid less, but property costs less. There are nice areas that are out of town too if you don't mind a little drive (Rangiora, Sumner, Governors Bay, Oxford etc). I believe the "commute" from somewhere like Rangiora is approx 30-40 mins. To be honest, I reckon that Rangiora would probably give you the mix of country living and facilities that you might be considering :nice1 without the immediate culture shock of living in the "boonies"!!

Most NZ'ers (according to the TV ad) live less than 40km from the sea (I think they quoted 98%!!) and Christchurch is great for access to all other parts of the South Island and the alps, Tasman Abel, Marlborough, West Coast etc.

Christchurch, the garden city, lives up to its name. Great suburbs too - although if schooling is a top priority and you want to live in town, you will need to get swatting up on school zone areas etc.

I hope that helps a little - I can't expand on the "schools" area I'm afraid as we don't have kids, but if you need dog advice I can do that! :D

Moorf
PS - Oh, and congrats on the ITA!! :cheers

[nessie]

You make it sound magical, can't wait till we get there :D



if you need dog advice I can do that!

I've found the CCC links to the dog parks, great. Are there any restrictions on taking your dog on the any tramping trails? Common sense says no when there's livestock about. The DOC walkways policy states:

The primary purpose of establishing walkways is to facilitate public access across land for walking. Where conditions permit, other activities such as riding horses, carrying firearms (to hunting areas) and taking dogs and riding bicycles may be allowed.

In practice are there many restrictions?



F

[Moorf]

Nessie - any restrictions are clearly marked at the entrance to the walk / park etc. And *looks around to make sure no DOC personnel are looking* if the sign says "on lead" as long as the dog is controllable via voice control you'll be fine.

As you say, it's common sense - plus, if you are off to visit an area you are unfamiliar with, you can check on the DOC site (or local council site) to see if there are any restrictions in place. Many forest walks do not allow dogs (due to the flightless birds) but Hanmer is one exception that I know of - dogs may be taken into the forest there. However, just down the road from Hanmer in the Lewis Pass area dogs are strictly forbidden and the DOC are very active in that area.

Closer to home, Bottle Lake Forest on the north shore of New Brighton is great for walking dogs/cycling with dogs - there are extensive tracks there :nice1

Most beaches allow dogs - but in Summer (from when daylight saving time starts) you will find that dogs are restricted to certain areas of the beach (usually 100m from a busy area etc). I think that's a great idea - keeps dogs away from where small kids and families are enjoying the beach. :yes And it's not like there isn't plenty more beach for the dogs :nice1

So, all in all, there's a good selection of places to walk the dog both in Christchurch and the surrounds.

[adamsat]

From your whish list (very close to ours) Chch and its surrounds definately meets them. We ended up in Rangiora, although will soon be moving to Oxford. Rangiora is a good place to head to if you don't fancy living in Chch itself. It's big enough to have enough shops that you don't need to go into Chch itself if you don't want to and it has plenty of parks and it's own cinema. There are a 4 primary schools all with pretty good reputations and a high school. There are some fantastic beaches only 10 mins away at Woodend and Waikuku, and it's 30 minutes closer to the mountains than central Chch. There's also access to the Ashley, and Waimakiri rivers.

[Tee&Dee]

The big deciding factors fall into the following categories...

* Will there be enough IT work in the area?
* How far will I need to commute?
* What is the Salary / Cost of living ratio like ?
* What are the schools like?
* What is the weather like?

We are planning a visit - probably sometime next year prior to the big push to help us decide.

Cheers
Tony

[nessie]

Thanks Moorf :nice1

Tee&Dee, there's a weather comparison here (http://www.emigratenz.org/NewZealandClimate.html)