[stojsa]

Dear friends,
we are new to this forum :clap and we would be very grateful if someone can give us an advice.
We are thinking of moving to N.Z. and we have a good chance to go, but like most of you still haven't decided which city to choose!
Wellington or Christchurch?
What are the pluses and minuses, weather wise, property wise, and most important thing is safety!
We still have long way to go, but it is nice to know as much as we can about those issues!
Thank you everyone and speak to you soon! :cheers

[foolsgold99]

Wellington or Christchurch ??

Why not Auckland ?? largest city, more job opertunities, best weather

[Smiler]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

I'm in Wellington and we love it here. We have just got back from C'church though and liked it there too. It was colder there but is much windier and changeable here. Christchurch is more spread out than Welly.

What job do you do, or can you find work anywhere (ish)

We rent so I'm deffo not qualified to talk property prices yet but I'm always looking on http://www.open2view.com (http://www.open2view.com/) and www.stuff.co.nz (http://www.stuff.co.nz/) may give you some idea too.

You can also look on http://www.geonet.co.nz (http://www.geonet.co.nz/) and look at the shakes, there was one here this morning but I didn't feel it. We have had two in 6 months that we have felt but they were really only wobbles.

[Avalon]

Said it before - ill say it again - only Wellington has the Chocolate Fish cafe :D

Seriously though:

Wellington is a very nice city imho (and im not known for liking cities at the best of times). Its quite small and compact, but to be honest you could probaly say that about Christchurch too - it really depend on what you are comparing it with.

The atmosphere is really nice is Welly, and its quite good to chill out on the harbour front, or on oriental beach in teh summer. great for lunchtime picnics. Theres quite a hectic calender of social events in the city during the summer, from free outdoor concerts to arts festivals. With the newly finished Waitangi Park, walking from Te Papa to Oriental bay is now quite lovely. And dont forget the infamous Cafe Culture - for which Welly is well known!

One area that I think Christchurch beats welly hands down is that Cch has a pedestrian shopping area, whereas Lambton Quay in Welly is quite a busy road, and to my mind it someone spoils a day out shopping (if such things matter to you).

Also - if its important - it salaries particularly are actually highest in Welly, even higher than in Auckland which really surprised me, often by upto 10%. On saying that - i did notice that grocery shopping seemed cheaper in Auckland than in Welly.

Hmm - none of that probably helps - but thers some stuff to think about. Are you in a position to spend a bit of time in each place before making a decision? That would be my best advise if you havent got a job to go to straight away.

Good luck

[stojsa]

Thank you ever so much for your help!
It was very helpful.
We have to think about everything.
Speak to you all very soon!!!

[Moorf]

Hi Stojsa,

We have lived in Chch and now live about 50km outside the city.

We haven't lived in, or visited, Wellington so I can't compare the two but I get the feeling that Welly is a lot more compact, is more vibrant and probably far more cosmopolitan than Chch.

From my point of view Chch is a great place to live - it has all the trappings of a big city, but feels more like a big rural town. It's very spread out with masses of residential areas from coastal to hills, but the centre is fairly compact and, along with the malls scattered around the city, there's some great shopping areas in town. It also has its fair share of great bars and restaurants along with the usual botanical gardens (excellent), a huge central park (Hagley), museums, galleries, theatre etc.

During the summer months there is a massive variety of outdoor entertainment and arts, it's really quite amazing what they put on for free here - not just in Chch either.

Being a large place it also has its fair share of hoons and crime. You'll soon recognise the places that are desirable and those that are not - I think that's pretty much the same in all major NZ places.

House prices are still on the up here and vary wildly from suburb to suburb.

There are plenty of jobs to be had here if the size of the careers sections in the newspaper are anything to go by, but you'll find they pay better in Welly or Auckland (but then you have to factor in the higher house prices etc).

As for safety, I'm one of those that wouldn't be walking ANY street at night on my own but in general Chch does feel very safe. I'd treat it as any other city/town - it's certainly not crime free!

I believe, from fellow immigrants with kids, that the schools in chch are very good too but I think this also causes a problem when finding somewhere to live as there are "catchment" areas - you'll need someone with kids to answer that if education is a concern.

But, for us, the main attraction of Chch is its location on the South Island with so many fantastic places within easy reach - including around 8 ski resorts in this area alone (I can drive to 6 from where we now live, in under an hour!), the water sports on the fantastic coastline, the whale watching just 2 hrs north in Kaikoura, the dramatic West Coast just 2.5 hrs drive from Chch city centre, beautiful Banks Peninsula with the French colony of Akaroa, the vineyards of the Waipara just a short drive north of Chch en route to Hanmer hot springs, Mount Cook is half a days drive, Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki will leave you gobsmacked, Queenstown can be driven easily in a day, the jet boating on the rivers, the kayaking on the lakes and rivers, the tramping in the Malvern Hills, the salmon and trout fishing, the fab rural cafes and so on and so on!

The airport in Chch is international so you have almost the same choice of destinations as would be offered by Welly or Auckland.

It really depends on what you want out of life... I think Welly would have been the ideal place for us about 7 yrs ago but, for where we are in life right now, Chch and it's environs are perfect :nice1

We intend to visit Welly in a month or so, we'll be better able to compare by then!

[xanctus]

Never been to ChCh, but soon sometimes this year for sure.
However, have been in Auck and Welli. From both cities, personally I like Welli because of the city layout and scenery compare to Auck. However, I must admit that Auck is big city and there are many stuffs to be found easier...so I'd live wherever there's a job for me..that's all it matters to me now hehehe.
My distance relative live in ChCh since 1980s, and they love ChCh more than any other cities in NZ, and it would be interesting to know...but again, many of the member of this forums live in ChCh just like Moorf, and they can give you a much better feedback. Good luck!

[Singel]

...so I'd live wherever there's a job for me..that's all it matters to me now hehehe.

This is a very practical approach, good on ya :nice1
Once you have established yourself in NZ financially, you could always move to your "ideal" place later.

[stojsa]

:nice1 Thank you, thank you to you all !!!
We really appreciate it.
If we have some more questions hope you wont mind answering to us.
Thank you once again.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL !!!