[able]

Christchurch is meant to be 'the most English city' in New Zealand. What I've learned so far tells me that Christchurch gets less rainy days and more sunshine than cities in the UK.

Does that mean that living in Christchurch feels just like living in dryer, sunnier version of a British city. Or is living in New Zealand's 'most English city' different in other ways too in terms of both practical things and in terms of 'feel'? If so, could Christchurchers (if that's the right word) spell some of them out for this newbie please? Thnks.

p.s. I'm sorry to be picky but I'd really like replies only from people who have lived in Christchurch for at least a few months and who've had time to get to know the city better than visitors would. I'm requesting this because I'm sure every city in New Zealand is different and there'd be little point asking someone from Hull about what it was like really living in Plymouth.

[veronica]

well we have lived here for 2 and a half years now and like it. But which English city is it supposed to be like, Birmingham Bristol etc. they are all different and so is Christchurch. Because of the punting on the river it could be said to resemble one of the University cities, and because, like the rest of the cities in NZ it has an english/european background then yes it seems more european than, say asian or south american.

the climate here is very similar to the south east of england, drier than the rest of the country, colder in the winter than the others but hotter in the summer.

[ellenmelon]

hi there..im currently living in ireland but lived in christchurch for six years and new plymouth for 12 previous.
christchurch has pretty dry winters. a lot of crisp clear days that start foggy sometimes but end up being lovely and clear. of course it does rain on occasion but not enough for me to be like "oh my god, will it ever stop" like winters in ireland!!! it can get fairly cold in christchurch in winter, i remember standing at the bus stop in the morning to get the bus to school and my toes were freezing!!! :)

the summers are very dry and thats when you get the hot winds called nor'westers (great for drying washing but make sure its pegged on well!!). occasionally the next day or later on in the evening if theres been a norwester the weather will break and there will be a bit of rain but it stays warm and it passes fairly quickly.

i think maybe the reason its considered quite an english city is because of the landscaped gardens and the lay-out of the city. and just the general influence of the first four ships that brought english settlers.

[zardell]

hi there..im currently living in ireland but lived in christchurch for six years and new plymouth for 12 previous.
.




Loved your run down on Christchurch.........


So what did you think of New Plymouth ? Was it entirely different ?


Julie

xx

[SharpBlade]

[QUOTE=ellenmelon]. of course it does rain on occasion but not enough for me to be like "oh my god, will it ever stop" like winters in ireland!!!

Yeah, I know.. We spent 8 years in Ireland before moving to Chch. Although I love Ireland and I missed the accent, the small town community spirit and all that (we lived in Mayo), I certainly don`t miss the weather.. You know, those long neverending rainy days, grey sky, etc.. Living under the sun is so much easier. In Ireland, I used to hate watching the weather forecast, and here I don`t watch it because I know it will be ok.
I can`t comment on Chch being the "most English city" or not, as I have never been much to the Uk, but it is a green, well planned city,and there is a nice relax general feeling here. We love it.
Laura

[ruthyroo]

Christchurch is meant to be 'the most English city' in New Zealand. What I've learned so far tells me that Christchurch gets less rainy days and more sunshine than cities in the UK.

Does that mean that living in Christchurch feels just like living in dryer, sunnier version of a British city. Or is living in New Zealand's 'most English city' different in other ways too in terms of both practical things and in terms of 'feel'? If so, could Christchurchers (if that's the right word) spell some of them out for this newbie please? Thnks.

p.s. I'm sorry to be picky but I'd really like replies only from people who have lived in Christchurch for at least a few months and who've had time to get to know the city better than visitors would.

Also with respect, although I have only been a visitor to Christchurch I've been in NZ for a couple of years and frankly nowhere in NZ 'feels' anything like anywhere in the UK. The landscape is different, the buildings are different, the people are different, the light is brighter and the sun is stronger. There is far less development but far more farming. I recognise a lot of the plants from the UK - but largely beacuse they are growing all over the place as weeds. The native bush is nothing like anything that grows in the UK (and it is beautiful). The buildings are very different - both in the cities and out in the burbs, which makes the cities and towns look like nowhere in the UK that I have ever seen. The people are hugely different. Auckland is the biggest Polynesian city in the world. Chch has a many immigrants from Asia, both students and others. Add the resident Maori and PI populations along with the European decent kiwis, take into account the almost complete absence of anyone of African descent and a very minimal population of people from the Indian subcontinent, and you have a cultural mix that I don't think exists anywhere in the UK.

I'm requesting this because I'm sure every city in New Zealand is different and there'd be little point asking someone from Hull about what it was like really living in Plymouth.

Not IMHO - they are all pretty much alike, relative to the different sizes. As some one else once pointed on the boards, NZ is so small that the same history has basically happened every where - unlike the UK which has had loads of different people and races influencing different parts of it for over thousands of years. Same big chains / shops, same ugly buildings, same wee corners of old / colonial architecture clinging on. TBH I have come to expect very very little from any NZ cities / towns. Coming from the UK urban centres in NZ tend to be a big disappointment.

So why am I waffling on about this? Probably because coming here expecting to find England-on-Pacific will result in a disappointment. When we came to Dunedin, becuase we are from Scotland / Edinburgh, lots of people went on about how 'Scottish' Dunedin is. What a crock. The only similar things to Edinburgh are the street names and the Presbyterian attitudes of the inhabitants!! It looks / feels / sounds / smells nothing like Edinburgh! Which wasn't such a surprise after having been in NZ for a while, but I think it could mislead potential immigrants coming straight from the UK and not knowing what to expect.

NZ is a South Pacific island (called Aotearoa) that happens to have been colonised by Europeans in recent history. Remember that and you won't be disappointed by what you find.

[KerryS]

Excellent post Ruthyroo. I love Auckland for the very reasons you stated in your first paragraph - the cultural mix is unlike anywhere in the UK. I lived in London for many years, and although that too is incredibly culturally diverse, there was a bitter feel about it. The blend wasn't right, leading to pockets of racism, bigotry and hatred. I don't feel that here in Auckland - everyone seems to gel much better and live side by side quite peacefully.

I agree that Christchurch isn't really like any English city I've ever been to. I've only visited Chch for a 2 week course, so can't comment on long-term living there. I find all urban centres here are very small, but to be fair, I think most places would feel this way after London. Of course, that is primarily due to population density - there are twice as many people in the Greater London area than in the whole of NZ, so obviously the infrastructure is required to support that.

I think anyone who comes to NZ needs to realise that it is a different country, with its own traditions and culture. Just because the country was settled 200 years ago by English and Europeans, the language is the same, doesn't mean they have kept in-synch with the motherland. They adapted and developed to suit their new location. Something which I think many new migrants fail to do...

Anyway, able, to answer your post. I don't think Christchurch is any more English than Wellington, Hamilton or anywhere else in NZ. I wouldn't say the weather is more favourable - I certainly wouldn't want to experience a Christchurch winter without a decent heating system, for instance.

[Moorf]

I too don't think Chch looks like an English city - if you frame a picture right in Hagley and get a family being punted down the Avon with the willows weeping overhead then yep, you can make a convincing English scene - but pan around and you find it's more like a small town American town than an English one - I think Chch looks, on the whole, more like some of the towns I passed through when touring California - and I've never seen a weatherboard house in the UK!

I have been told that there are noticeably less Maoris / Islanders in Chch - whether that's true or not I don't know, but locals tell me it's a lot "whiter" down here. Be interested in N.Islanders views on that one.

[able]

well we have lived here for 2 and a half years now and like it. But which English city is it supposed to be like, Birmingham Bristol etc. they are all different and so is Christchurch.

Thanks veronica, which city in the UK would you say Christchurch resembled most? If any.


i think maybe the reason its considered quite an english city is because of the landscaped gardens

Thanks ellen. I've seen Christhchurch being called "the garden city". Sorry if this seems silly, but is this because the city is full of keen gardeners or is there some other reason?

[QUOTE=ellenmelon] it is a green, well planned city,and there is a nice relax general feeling here. We love it.
Laura

Thanks Laura. What aspects of the city do you think give it the relaxed feel?



I have been told that there are noticeably less Maoris / Islanders in Chch - whether that's true or not I don't know, but locals tell me it's a lot "whiter" down here. Be interested in N.Islanders views on that one.[/color]


I read somewhere that until the 1970s there were virtually no Maori people in Christchurch but they moved in from the North Island more recently for jobs. I don't know how true this is though.

Thanks for your help everyone. :clap

[ellenmelon]

Loved your run down on Christchurch.........


So what did you think of New Plymouth ? Was it entirely different ?


Julie

xx

hi julie..sorry for the delay in replying. i keep forgetting to check the forum!!

well, i was born and raised in new plymouth so i have a fondness for it even though i spent my "formative teenage years" in chch (look at me, nearly 22 and acting like im in my golden years or something! sheesh!). i think new plymouth, weather wise, is very similar to the west coast of ireland and a lot like limerick where ive been for a while. the winters in NP are fairly mild with a good bit of rain and the summers could get really hot but more in a humid kind of way and it does rain and can be fairly unpredictable (especially over xmas/NYs when you want it to be nice weather!). I havent been back since i was about 15 and ive heard that its changed a lot since then but i always saw it as a regular provincial north island town. geographically speaking its a lot more hill-y (thanks to mount taranaki and its lahar's) whereas chch is pretty much flat! (which i loved especially biking to school)

[ellenmelon]

[QUOTE=ellenmelon]. of course it does rain on occasion but not enough for me to be like "oh my god, will it ever stop" like winters in ireland!!!

Yeah, I know.. We spent 8 years in Ireland before moving to Chch. Although I love Ireland and I missed the accent, the small town community spirit and all that (we lived in Mayo), I certainly don`t miss the weather.. You know, those long neverending rainy days, grey sky, etc.. Living under the sun is so much easier. In Ireland, I used to hate watching the weather forecast, and here I don`t watch it because I know it will be ok.
I can`t comment on Chch being the "most English city" or not, as I have never been much to the Uk, but it is a green, well planned city,and there is a nice relax general feeling here. We love it.
Laura

at the end of the winter just gone i was like "WHEW! thats the last one of those for a while!". i find irish winters quite depressing because of the lack of sunlight at times and just the fact that you would have to plan ahead all the time..no spontaneous anythings really! i dont know will i miss limerick but ill miss ireland i think (dont tell anyone i said that!!).. :D

[ellenmelon]

Thanks ellen. I've seen Christhchurch being called "the garden city". Sorry if this seems silly, but is this because the city is full of keen gardeners or is there some other reason?

no bother :)

im pretty sure christchurch is called the garden city because of the amount of public gardens and parks.even my school had really nice grounds (our admin block was the old home on the grounds). we have hagley park and the botanic gardens and nearly all suburbs would have a park in them or near enough to walk to.

[SharpBlade]

[

[QUOTE=SharpBlade]

Thanks Laura. What aspects of the city do you think give it the relaxed feel?



Well, maybe it is just me, but I feel very relaxed here in Chch, althought I don`t feel on holiday. The reasons ? Well, the nice weather of course, but also the low speed limit around town (50 kms/H), all the cyclists and joggers than I see every day, the very casual dresscode (I love to spot people walking barefeet, it makes me feel "very light" and free (as opposed to feeling oppressed by heavy tacit society rules...you will have to excuse my English, it is not my mother language.). There are no huge buildings in the city centre, apart from a few tall ones but again nothing dramatic, the city feels spacious, and like I said, it is very green. The hills are beautifull with their new shades of green, and you know the sea isn`t far when you hear the seagulls (another thing that I like..Although I know it doesn`t look very poetic when they try to snatch some rubbish through the bins on the car park at Pak and Sav). Children walking/cycling to school, adults flying on their rollerblades on the side of the road,people of all looks and cultures, funny weird old vintage cars,plenty to do for free etc etc.. There is a lot we like here.
Cheers, Laura

[Trigirl]

you will have to excuse my English, it is not my mother language

I would never ever have guessed. There are so many native English speakers who do not write anything like as well as you do.

Lovely post too.