[john & becky]

Just a quick line to introduce ourselves, we are John and Becky from West Sussex. We have a very excited mood at the moment due to the discussions about New Zealand we had while on holiday recently. Pretty fed up with slogging our guts out and getting nowhere fast, the idea of NZ seems more appealing by the day.
I have been looking at the forum for a few days now and i have been so impressed with the friendly attitude and helpful banter that bounces back and forth.
So here goes............
We have looked all over the forums for already posted info about where to look for a house but have not got many clues so far. We would like somewhere with a little bit of land, enough for perhaps 1 or 2 horses and a dog! Where there are a reasonable number of ex-pats in a niceish neighbourhood, with decent schooling for our 10 and 7 year olds.

Are there any suggestions please, your input will be much appreciated, we really don't know what we are likely to need to spend.

[Smiler]

Hi John and Becky

We were from West Suusex too.

Are you looking for help on estate agents sites/names or areas? Do you want to rent 1st and then buy?

Do you have job locations to factor in or are you coming and then job hunting?

Loadsa questions I know, but I'm just trying to narrow it down a bit before throwing links at you!:D

Deborah

[john & becky]

Hi Smiler

I wrote an essay there but probably didnt put anything useful in it at all!

We have looked at the agents links on this site and have seen some stuff that looks good. Unfortunately have no idea where we want to be, other than the previous "hopes". After looking at other posts on here we looked at Wairarapa as potential. I am a plumber and Becky is a qualified Nursery Nurse, although she has done some admin stuff in the past, also worked as a groom in stables. That said, i will not let my work dictate where we live, if we move it is so we have more quality time so i may just do something unskilled, or perhaps do a bit of housebuilding myself.
With any luck we could be mortgage free but i'm not banking on it.
Thanks for the reply :nice1

[Paul]

Hi John and Becky - welcome to forum, there is loads of useful info on here and lots of friendly knowledgable people to assist

Can't provide too much assistance with your query but like you we are looking (on paper) at Wairapara and Canterbury (north of Christchurch) to provide a similar lifestyle to you by the sounds of it. We'll know more once we have visited later this year

Will look forward to seeing you at the South East meet up on 5th March :nice1

Paul

[kiwidollie]

Just want to add my welcome too.

Best of luck with your research - it is very exciting isn't it. We're heading to Auckland initially but have dreams of a lifestyle block and room for a few animals somewhere in the future.

Aint life grand?

[Smiler]

Hi John and Becky

Lovely place to start your planning with. :nice1 I probably can't give good advice on buying as we rent and don't want to buy for a year or so, but I do keep an eye on prices on trademe, open2view etc.

However the rule of nose is 'wait til you get to the front door' !! Nothing on paper gives you the smell of the damp etc. However, pics do not do justice to some of the houses either. Our rental looked a bit boring on paper, but wow when we walked in. It will only be your legwork that can help you with that when you are here.

Having recently spent some time rental hunting with a friend has just reinforced that. The pics did not do the house many favours and we both thought it had been underpriced! She took it.

You sound flexible and I'm sure you will not have any probs. Good luck on your journey and keep us posted.

Deborah

[john & becky]

Thanks to all for the kind responses. I haven't stopped looking at the forums for days! The general consensus seems to be that the south of North island is the place to focus on, whats the weather like? We enjoy beaches, pubs, walking the dog, horseriding and skiing/boarding. Are we looking in the right area?

[john & becky]

Oh.........and golf!

[Carol]

whats the weather like?


It has been fantastic for the last couple of days - toohot to do my walk at 10am!!
But today it is crap.



Sound familiar?

Golf:

My two sons (16 and 14) are both playing in the Michael Campbell Junior Open today. They paly at Manor Park in the Hutt - golf fees for the year around $120 each which includes 1 hour of coaching WEEKLY!
Fantastic golf here.


They are hoping to actually see the great man himself today - our has it he has just arrived back in the country..... will let you know!

[Moorf]

Welcome,

We came via West Sussex too - if you like the outdoor life with skiing/boarding/horseriding/beaches/ etc then definitely check out Christchurch/Canterbury :D - we're 45 mins from beach, 25 mins to Mount Hutt and 6 other ski areas (or 5 hours from Queenstown!), 2 hours from West Coast and 40 mins from Chch city centre. We live in a house that didn't cost the earth, on just under 2 acres, have the Waimak Gorge 5 mins one away and Rakaia Gorge 30 mins the other, dog walks in every direction, a 180 degree mountain view from the house and 2 lovely townships to choose from when wanting a bakery ;) - I could go on...

Well... we like it... :nice1 - to enjoy the same but perhaps with more consideration to childrens needs you could consider Rangiora/Kaiapoi or Oxford - good ex-pat scene (if you like that sort of thing!) in all those places.

Moorf

[mossum]

moorf ???

when we get to ch ch i think we're gonna live with you :laugh

[mossum]

John & becky

Hi & welcome - we're pretty new too - but have been lurking for about 6 weeks - gettin the dirt on all these guys lol . This is a great site very informative & has really helped us to get lots of things into perspective - it great to know that if you've got a burning question chances are so will someone else here or one of the hallowed all knowing sages will be along shortly to sort your dilema .

nice to meet you both

vic x

[john & becky]

Thanks Moorf
Getting completely confused now! :confused:
Is the south island warm enough for us used to south east england? I have to admit, i am from Durham originally but i'm now acclimatised to the same conditions as becky!

[john & becky]

Hi vic and paul..........
thanks for the welcome. was saying earlier, i can't believe all these people have the time and patience for babysitting us!
We are new to the idea and have never been to NZ but we are planning a recce in Sept/oct this year. Also going to a meet with those in the south east chapter(?) on March 5th.
Are you choosing south island for any particular reason?

[GeorgeM]

Is the south island warm enough for us used to south east england?
The SI (at least as far down as Canterbury) is warmer in all respects than the south of England - the highs go higher and the lows don't get so low.

This said it does get cold in the winter, and the extent of the coldness varies greatly over a small distance. In Sumner it rarely gets below freezing (I've scraped slush off my windscreen about once a year since I've been here - in Salisbury I would have had thick ice on the car for days on end many times each winter), but a short distance inland, even within the city boundary, you get many more frosts. And Chch smogs are in truth a thing of the past although NZers from elsewhere will refer to them. A bit like London having a reputation for 'pea soupers' it's now out of date.

You may feel the cold more, because of the nature of the houses here (there are many posts dealing with this) but the outside temperature will almost certainly be better overall than you're used to in the UK.

Of the 3 big cities in NZ Auckland is the warmest (rarely if ever gets below zero) but it is also the wettest. Christchurch is the dryest but the coldest (although still warmer than the UK) and Wellington is the windiest (although Chch has its moments in this respect too).

[mossum]

Hi

I grew up in Ch Ch as we emigrated in 1973 eeeeekkk ! silly me never bothered with citizenship & my old PR ran out - so starting again from scratch (expensive error in judgement ) Christchurch IMO is a fantastic place to live - close to the sea , estuary for windsurfing , close to the alps , & has a great city vibe with the added bonus of being able to be out in the wop wops in 30 minutes - it used to take me longer than that to travel from Leyland to chorley in the morning 4 miles !!

Like you our aim is to have a small holding , but ours will be more in the 10 year plan me thinks ;) I have yearned for chooks for years now & I've always hankered after a donkey (dont ask me why i just love them ) DH wo'nt let me dig the garden up & grow vegies here in UK either - & I rather fancy that too .

I'm also looking forewards to being able to "live " a little more - you know simple thing like seeing a band - different meals out - nights away . All our money here seems to be eaten up very quickly - leaving us very little for any little extras . I'll see if I can dig some web address' out about Christchurch & Canterbury . If not www.google.co.nz is great .

keep the questions comming - we don't mind . a problem shared is a problem halved - right ?

vic

[Moorf]

I just wrote a huge reply, then it disappeared! :wah

In a nutshell - it's been 32 degs already here this spring (in our region of Canterbury) and it gets hot here in summer. In winter it's colder, sure, but after living in Scotland for years it's not that much colder (although I'd say it had more of a bite to it!). Canterbury is dry (in my experience) which is a bonus for us as I hate the damp. Much of your comfort during the winter (and summer) will depend on the location/position and heating system in your home. You can live in the sunniest area of NZ but if your home has limited heating, faces the wrong direction, is shaded by hills/tree/etc or isn't properly insulated then no matter how sunny it can still be really chilly - a strange phenomena that I've encountered here is how the houses can be freezing inside when it's 20+ degs outside! :uhoh

So, don't think that the South Island is the cold cousin... but then don't tell ALL your friends, or everyone will want to come here :D


when we get to ch ch i think we're gonna live with you

Join the queue ..... :laugh

[JCM]

To me chch feels warmer than anywhere in the UK all year round. The 'compare climate' tables agree ;)

http://www.emigratenz.org/NewZealandClimate.html#christchurch

[gil]

Hi John and Becky,
A belated welcome to you! I see lots of people have given very knowledgeable replies, so I won't add my ignorance! We have four children (8-17) and have plumped for Auckland as a starting point for the following reasons: jobs/work, climate, we're bit more urban than rural, though prefer the edge of cities (literally, the physical edge as opposed to any "thrill" sort of edge!) hence going for Howick area as detailed above, need a balance of primary and secondary schools and college. As I've said many times before, we just need to sell the house and we're off!
Good luck and keep us posted on what you're thinking,
All the best,
Gil