[Island Jon]

Ok, I know it's my first post, but still, straight to the big questions. I'm a college student, engineering, thinking of ditching the States for greener pastures once I'm done. Europe is not my thing. Asia is nice, but too much work. And Oz is just scary. :uhoh So what's left? Japan is cool. Pretty girls. Lovely culture. And all the ramen you can eat! Of course, as a gaijin, nothing is easy, and the language doesn't help, so the land of Frodo it is. :p New Zealand. Paradise on earth. Indeed, I've been waiting so long. :roll But apparently, paradise has a nasty side. Crime is on the rise. The ozone layer is gone. And I hear some rather large spiders have made their way from Oz. Now here are the questions. I like Dunedin. I like Auckland. Wellington seems nice, but rumors are it's boring. And Christchurch, lovely, but the crime, whoa. So, set me straight, ENZ. For these four wonderful cities:

1. How is the level of crime? For real.

2. Will big, poisonous spiders be a problem?

3. My field is IT, is NZ as "stone age" as people say? How is the IT field in these 4 cities?

4. Can you get around without a car? In the city? Around the country? Is it safe? Hate driving.

5. How's cable? I hear TV sucks down there. What about broadband? Getting up to speed?

6. Shopping malls. I know, these isn't Singapore, Dubai or even Tokyo, but are they nice? Can you get what you need? My thing is movies, electronics, and video games. Will Amazon be my best friend, or will NZ deliver?

7. What about entertainment? I'm not talking about museums, theater, gardens, or any of that, mind you. Real entertainment. Movies. Sports. Concerts. The works. Even a little martial arts and some fun in the waterfront. Love the sea. Is New Zealand down wit it? ;)

Finally, for those of you that made the jump (specially those who live in these cities), what can you tell me about your experience in New Zealand? Dissapointing? So-so? Or the best decision you ever made? I know, too many questions, but hey, it's a big step, so I hope you guys can help me decide if it's the right one. People look to New Zealand for different reasons. Mine? Just peace of mind, a change of pace, and a better life. Will I find it, as the glossy brochures promise, or in today's New Zealand, is that just a pipedream? Looking forward to your answers.

[veronica]

hmm dont know where to start with that lot, Think the best plan for you would be to come over here and suck it and see.

Feel that by doing a few searches, you are in IT, then you should be able to come up with the answer to some of that lot by yourself.

As with anything like this so much depends on yourself, personally I am really enjoying Chch and although there is a bit of crime it is no worse than any city in NZ, would actually say it might be better than some. Its hard to compare it with where you come from as there is no indication in your profile to say what part of the states you are from.

Spiders, theres one poisonous one the white tail and its not big.

yep there are movies, yep there is loads of sports, public transport in Chch is pretty good and cycling is an option here in the city too. There is a big network of intercity buses for longer travel options.

IT, will leave that one to those that know but what gave you the idea it was stoneage!!!

TV sucks pretty much everywhere, get out and do something. they do have cable, sky and such like.

Malls, well its personal choice but I hate shopping and the thought of being mall dependant is something that is my idea of a nightmare. We seem to get most anything that we want here.

so you see really the only way you will know what suits you is to give it a try, explore the different cities and see which one offers you the best options.

By the way, why is Oz scary!!

[StevieD]

Can't help you on any of the questions, sure the people who live there already will - but welcome to the forum !!!! It is a really great resource.

Steve

[sarahw]

Phew! That's a whole heap of questions!! First welcome to the forum!!

OK I'll answer from my perspective - others will have other opinions so you should get a balanced view from all over the country...

1) Well it depends where in the US you're moving from - if you're coming from NY then you're going to laugh at the level of crime! If you're coming from a quiet small settlement then maybe the crime will shock you. All I can say is that I haven't experienced any crime here myself, but I know friends who have been broken into - same thing world over really & the crime level isn't something that would worry me moving here (unless I lived in an unsavoury neighbourhood) - I personally found the UK far worse for crime but I think its all relative because of the population size - only about 4 million of us so the overall incidence of crime is less - which means that most crimes get reported on - for example our local newspaper gives how many car thefts, thefts from cars and house break-ins there have been by street of our local area... now - if they'd done that in our village in the UK (and don't get me wrong - we lived in what was considered a posh village!) it would have taken up most of the local newspaper!!! Same safety sense should be employed anywhere in the world - so long as you lock things up, don't leave anything on view you'll be right - to be honest I'm far more lax here about locking doors in the house because where we live break-ins aren't as much as where we lived in UK.

2) Big poisonous spiders??? There aren't any!! About the worst spider you'll find is a white tail - I've been bitten by one - the bite went to the size of a golfball but that was as bad as it got!! You'd be very unlucky to come across an Australian spider here - they are sometimes found by MAF but really rare.

3) IT - well it depends what you're involved with really - they pilot a lot of things in NZ like EFTPOS, internet banking etc. because we're such a small nation so in some cases we're ahead of things, but for things like 'broadband' and every company having fantastic websites where you can buy stuff online yep we're behind!! Welly is pretty good for the IT industry - there's also central govt. here & quite a lot of IT jobs in Govt., after that I'd reckon Auckland because there are many more offices there & a higher population, then I'd say Christchurch & then Dunedin - just from a population perspective & where most businesses are based. Sure those in the IT industry can give you a whole heap more info.

4) Auckland you'd be able to get round the city but really you do need a car there, Welly if you live around the city its easy to commute - lots of busses, trains & you can live in CBD if you like apartment living or somewhere like Mt Vic. if you want to walk in. I have several friends who live in the city without a car - trains run late & so do busses - I think 3am is the last for both on the late run. Can't give any experience for Chch or Dunedin. There are trains & busses between islands and an interisland ferry - don't expect decent motorways here - a journey may take double the time you estimate from the distance because you're on some windy mountain road, or stuck behind a tractor or aggregate lorry for a few km's!! (It does give you time to take in the lovely scenery though!) Then of course, you've got the planes - air NZ covers nearly all cities (a city here is about 20,000 people so tiny places get called cities) - take a look at their website for flight prices etc.

5) We have Sky TV here - if you're used to having the choice of US television & love TV you're probably going to be shocked - but hey the population is so small. You can get all the big shows from US & UK, if you sign up to sports channels I think you can get US sports too - although you might find you have to convert to rugby & cricket!!! Basically most people find they watch a lot less TV here & spend more time out doing stuff.

6) Shopping Mall's - he hee!! My favourite subject. OK be prepared to have a heck of a lot less choice. My husband, for example is 6'5" and can only get jeans from one shop at our local mall. Mall's are very small in comparison to US & Europe... again not the population to support larger ones. Although you will find there are shops like K-Mart & the Warehouse where you can buy nearly everything you need from. There are usually cinema complexes attached to shopping malls - anywhere from 5-10 screens - cinemas is something NZ does well - they have boutique cinemas where you have a sofa instead of seats & can take a coffee in a proper cup in, or a beer, or a glass of wine - they also don't rip you off like I used to find in the UK if you want popcorn or a cake or drinks. There are electronics & video games places too.

7) Entertainment is excellent - I can speak only for Welly (Welly - Boring?!! NEVER!!), international bands come here (we probably don't get as many as Auckland but I wouldn't want to live there anyway so would rather just go up there for a concert anyway), this year we've had the Rolling Stones, Black Eyed Peas, UB40 and various other famous acts here. The month of Jan/Feb are when the round the world yacht race is on, so they put on loads of stuff, the botanic gardens have funky lighting & free concerts every night for about a month - all sorts of different music from NZ artists - everyone brings a picnic rug, a load of booze & people of all ages dance the night away. At the waterfront they have big parties & free concerts all of Jan/Feb on weekends - they have the Vodafone X-Air games - skateboarding, BMX'ing, breakdancing etc. really good fun night out. There's a comedy festival once a year & a film festival, they have street theatre - basically a wonderful place to be in summer!! Also Guy Fawkes night & another night during the year (sometime in July) the Pelourus trust do the most fantastic fireworks displays on the water that you can see from all over Wellington. Whenever there's a big film release such as King Kong or Lord of the Rings there's a big parade to the red carpet at the Embassy theatre where they hold premieres. Fantastic cafe culture (evidently more cafe's per capita than New York!) Surfing at Lyall Bay, loads of watersports, plenty of fishing etc, oh and diving as well. I could go on all day but I'll stop here!!

We moved from the UK because we wanted to bring up a family the way we'd been brought up 30 odd years ago, i.e. being able to play out in the street safely, sporting opportunities - especially water-sports & a beach lifestyle. We also wanted to retire at 50 which would have been impossible with the crazy house prices in UK, and to take a step back & have an easier life. Also for me to change career.

Our decision has been the most fantastic decision ever of our whole lives - we LOVE it here!! We have such a great life now!! I can thoroughly recommend it. We live out in the Suburbs, but if we were younger (heck - making myself sound sooooo old!! I'm not really!!) we'd live in the city - such a fantastic happening place to be.

[The Hodges]

Hi ya Island Jon

Welcome to the forum. :raebanana :raebanana :raebanana

And my sarahw, what a thorough answer. You must be a fast typist! ;)

I can’t answer some of your questions, as we haven’t lived there yet, but we visited in 2003 and we liked it so much that we’re taking the plunge, mainly for the reasons sarahw has given.

However, if you want crime statistics try www.stats.govt.nz, but it is low due to the small population.

Also, you say IT, but you don’t say where you specialise. NZ isn’t as stone age as people make out and is ahead of the game in some respects.

However, it may be worth a visit to sound out prospects and to see if you’d get on with the country as it is each to their own.

Good luck.

[wiki]

Hi Jon

I'm new to this place myself, but the quality of SarahW's answer impresses me, so I think you're going to find this forum as friendly and helpful as I have.

I lived in NZ until I was 22 and I've been in the UK for 9 years. In terms of "excitement" NZ certainly holds it own - but a country is what you make of it.

With a population of 4m you have much less choice in a lot of things - but that's offset by the fact you can go for a 100k drive and only pass six cars. You can find yourself on a stretch of beach that you have completely to yourself. You don't have to be constantly breathing everyone else's exhaust fumes and/or BO stuck on the subway on the way to work.

(some of the above might be false for Auckland, but I'm a South Island girl ;) )

If you're moving to a country just for TV then... um I'd probably stay in the States since they have their most extreme selection of TV I know lol.

Come on a recce trip with an open mind and see if you feel comfortable in such a big, vast beautiful piece of paradise.

[willsken]

Hi Island Jon welcome to the forum :cheers

Lovely post Sarah! :D Enjoyed reading it.... should be packing though. :exit

[sarahw]

With a population of 4m you have much less choice in a lot of things - but that's offset by the fact you can go for a 100k drive and only pass six cars. You can find yourself on a stretch of beach that you have completely to yourself. You don't have to be constantly breathing everyone else's exhaust fumes and/or BO stuck on the subway on the way to work.

How right you are!!!

[jess]

Sarah's was an excellent answer. (sorry Sarah I can't give you any rep for it until I spread more around... but great job). I'll second that Welly is not at all boring. It's not NYC and up all night, but a very quirky vibe and cafes everywhere and funky Cuba St. and all the many events Sarah mentioned. Since it's a compact city it's easy to walk from one end to the other if you live in the city centre. I live an hour outside Welly but can still take the train in pretty easily for events so public transport extends pretty far out.

I feel much safer here than I did in Virginia. That said, anything can happen anywhere I guess. Violent crime is certainly a lot less here than where I was from.

They have EB Games here. We still use eBay or relatives, because we didn't shell out for an NZ Playstation - just brought the one from the US along with a transformer. The EB Games here just sells games that won't work on a US console - but if you buy a system here you'll be set. They are like any EB Games stores in the states, but the prices seem higher. Amazon won't ship video games here as far as I can tell, but they do ship cds and dvds.

You can catch an NBA game on ESPN international on Friday nights if you have SKY. They also show NFL games.

[jo-and-jeff]

Greetings, Jon!

What I really love about this Forum is the fact that members are willing to post quite openly and honestly about all aspects of living in New Zealand. We found this Forum to be a great source for the information that was critical to making an informed decision. As with any country, the NZ tourism brochures cover only the wonderful things that the country has to offer. And if you're just planning to visit, that's fine, because those wonderful things are the things that you're going to want to see.

But if you're actually considering the sizeable investment of time, effort, and money required to move here, then it's important to know everything -- the good, and the not-so-good. If we moved here, we didn't want there to be any surprises. If there was going to be something we didn't like about living in New Zealand, we wanted at least to be able to say that we knew about it ahead of time, and that we had chosen to come anyway. With that in mind, I'm going to address your questions with a fair bit of candor.


· IT here is not in the Stone Age, but in many areas, it's far from the "cutting edge". Salaries tend to be lower than in the U.S..

· To be truthful, TV does suck here, at least in comparison to the U.S..

They have a fraction of the channels available in the US, and it's still more expensive than in the U.S. They don't have cable, just satellite, and when the weather gets really bad, you can lose your satellite signal for an hour or two due to "rain fade". Widescreen or letterbox format movies shown on TV often have the sides cut off because the height of the picture has been expanded to take up the height of the screen. They don't have HDTV here yet, or satellite radio (like Sirius or XM).

They do show some US shows and British shows here, but I've noticed that many of the U.S. shows they get are the whole 7- or 13- or 22- episode run of failed shows which never lasted more than one season in the U.S. -- and they're shown here a year after they were shown in the U.S.. They don't have Comedy Central (although they get an abbreviated version of the Daily Show once a week and an occasional South Park).

MTV is, uh, "different" down here. A huge percentage (but definitely not all) of the music videos you see on TV are from NZ and Aussie bands. Ditto for FM radio.

"Broadband" is not generally available. However, ADSL through the telephone line is becoming pretty widely available. The connection is actually fairly speedy, at least in Auckland (I can't speak to other areas of the country). But it's not cheap, and unlike what we were used to in the U.S., there are price plans based on usage limits. So if you use a lot of bandwidth, it can get expensive.


· CDs, DVDs, video games, and electronics all tend to be considerably more expensive here than in the US, and there is less selection. And if you order something from another country worth more than $150NZD ($100USD), you'll have to pay an additional 12.5% GST (tax) on top of the item price. Shipping from other countries tends to be quite expensive -- I looked into ordering slightly less than $100USD of something I can't get here, and the shipping from the U.S. would have been $45USD.


· Shopping malls - there are some here, yes. But whereas in the States you can take your pick of a dozen different brands of a particular thing, here you might get a choice of two or three (or only one). The cost of things is roughly the same as the U.S. in many cases, but in many other cases, it's much higher. (I replaced my partner's Casio watchband the other day for $26.79USD; the last watchband he bought in the States cost $6.79USD.) There are very few big box stores here. There are lots of "niche" stores which sell only one small range of something, i.e., I saw a Car Seat Cover store the other day. So when you go shopping for many different things, you may have to go to many different stores to get them. I've found food considerably more expensive here than in the U.S..


· There's very little American football, basketball, or baseball on TV here, though if you get a VHS or DVD recorder, you can tape the occasional NFL or NBA game or the World Series at noon whilst you're at work. There is a lot of Rugby Union and Rugby League, some Cricket, some Netball, a little European soccer or "footy". But by and large, the real sports here are those that people go out and do themselves. Apart from rugby, Kiwis don't seem to be a big nation of TV sports watchers.

They do get some decent concerts here, a lot of NZ and Aussie bands, and some U.S. and British bands. But it's nothing like the concert schedule in a major American metropolitan area.

You can see most of the same movies here as in the U.S. Some of them arrive at about the same time as in the U.S. Some arrive months later.


When I read your post, there were a number of things that to me seemed to indicate that New Zealand might not be the right choice for you.

"My thing is movies, electronics, and video games."

"I'm not talking about museums, theater, gardens, or any of that, mind you. Real entertainment. Movies. Sports. Concerts."

The fact that you refer to it as "Real entertainment" suggests to me that you already know that the level of such things here is nothing like it is in the U.S.. New Zealand is a lot less about "watching" and a lot more about "doing".


"My field is IT, is NZ as "stone age" as people say?" The fact that you ask this, and the way that you ask it, suggest to me that your workplace "sensibilities" are quite a bit different than those of NZ IT employees. This (and the fact that you have no industry experience) might make it very difficult for you to get a job. You will probably want to have a job offer in hand before moving here.


· Mass transit is not well-developed here. If you're going to live in New Zealand, you're going to want a car. That is the only way you're really going to be able to get out and enjoy all the different scenery, unique attractions, and outdoor activities that NZ offers. And if you're not very interested in that part of New Zealand, I honestly have to suggest that NZ may not be the right choice for you, because almost all of the things on which you're keen are rarer, harder to get, less of a selection, and more expensive here.

Plane trips back to the U.S. -- or to anywhere other than Australia and nearby Oceanic islands -- are very expensive.


You don't even ask about housing. It's more difficult to buy your own house here, unless you come here with a great deal of money in the bank. Mortgage interest rates are much higher (and auto loan interest rates are 3 times higher!). The quality of existing housing is generally much lower, although that's changing with new construction. Central air conditioning and heating are very rare, and most homes and apartments are poorly insulated -- or not insulated at all. Because it tends to be humid here and central HVAC is rare, houses feel damp a lot of the time, and colder than the actual temperature would suggest.

And the cost of heating and cooling utilities is higher than in the U.S..


I'm not trying to quash your dream of moving to New Zealand. However, I do think it's important for people who move here to have very realistic expectations of the lifestyle, and to have all of the information up front; otherwise, reality, when it sets in, can be quite a shock.

New Zealand has some lovely scenery, but it is not always the idyllic place it was made out to be by the publicity for The Lord of the Rings. There is crime, there is corruption in government, there is prejudice against migrants (especially Americans), and living here is more expensive, generally, than it is in the U.S..

You don't say where you're from, but you may be able to find your area in this survey comparing the Cost-of-Living in cities around the world:

69 - Auckland, New Zealand
76 - Wellington, New Zealand

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/popups/costofliving/popup05.html

So, with all of those negatives, why in the world would anyone choose to move to New Zealand???

Now, for the great things about New Zealand:

The scenery is fabulous: mountains, rivers, oceans, beaches, lush foliage (but the price for all that lush foliage is a lot of rain!!!).

There are lots of wonderful things to do here, some requiring expensive equipment, and some not: biking, tramping (hiking), camping, surfing, boating, kayaking, spelunking, rock-climbing, gardening, bungy-jumping, parasailing, and tourist attractions like museums, botanic gardens, festivals for food, music, and arts & crafts, geothermal areas (similar to Yellowstone), vinyards and wineries, National Parks. There is skiing and snowboarding, too (but they're not as good as at the prime areas in the U.S.). Again, I can't emphasize it enough, New Zealand is primarily about doing, rather than sitting and being entertained.

The people in general are quite friendly and welcoming. (However, the attitude of a migrant is critical to their successful adjustment in making friends and in the workplace. Remarks about how things are better or cheaper in the U.S., or even just comparing Kiwi ways to U.S. ways, will not be well-received.)

Although this is starting to change now because of rising crime, Kiwis are generally more trusting than Americans. A verbal agreement still means something down here (and actually has some legal teeth here, too).

There is a lot less of the "I'm highly religious, and I'm going to do everything in my power to impose my religious beliefs on everyone around me" thing going on here than in the U.S.. -- in fact, it's almost negligible.

[jo-and-jeff]

(continued, due to 10,000-character post limit)

There is some crime and drug use here, but it's significantly less than in U.S. major metropolitan areas. Children here generally enjoy a less-frenzied, less anxious upbringing than in the U.S..


I hope that the information I've provided will give you a good basis for evaluating whether New Zealand is the right choice. As others have said, there's really no substitute for making a visit down here and finding out for yourself whether New Zealand is right for you, so you may want to arrange a visit/job search trip before or right after graduation.

Another possibility to consider is working in the U.S. for some years and saving money to make the move to New Zealand at some later time.

Best Wishes!

Jo

[Jenny & Mark]

Welcome to the forum Island Jon. :)


The fact that you refer to it as "Real entertainment" suggests to me that you already know that the level of such things here is nothing like it is in the U.S.. New Zealand is a lot less about "watching" and a lot more about "doing".


NICE!

Mark.

[Island Jon]

Hiya, guys, first of all, thanks for all the answers and the warm welcome. Truly appreciated. Special thanks to Jo and Sarah for their answers. I know the time it takes to type all that, so really, thanks for your effort and your candor. :) Answering some of your questions, I'm currently living in Florida, an area of so-so crime when compared to "back home". How does 900 murders sound? One of my reasons to "choose" New Zealand. Safety is indeed a big consideration, so I guess that explains my first question. Moving to IT, I actually got the idea of a "stone age" infrastructure from reading some of the posts here. You see, I've been kind of a lurker for a while, and that's the impression you get from some of the posts. Answering The Hodges, I don't really have a specialty yet, although I would like to work in academia, dealing with some of the nicer aspects of computing, such as cryptography, information architecture, modelling, signal processing, telecommunications, and computational linguistics. I also like E-S translation, web development, technical writing, and long walks on the beach. You can run and hide now. :uhoh As far as me and driving goes, let's just say I developed a phobia, probably the result of thousands of maniacs in four wheels all around me, cursing, honking, yelling, cutting in front of you at speeds that would make fighter pilots jealous. So yeah, while I love the freedom a car offers, until my shrink deems the rest of the world sane enough to drive, I'm sticking to public transportation, thank you very much. :p Now, the idea of Wellington as the "most boring place on Earth" comes from this article:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10362105

Of course, after reading Sarahw's description, I would be willing to give it a try. Certainly sounds like my kind of place and not boring at all. Now, I do know that no matter how much I read, how many questions I ask, or how many pictures I see, only finally standing there, smelling the air, seeing the sights, will truly tell me if New Zealand is the kind of place I would like to call home. However, thank you, guys, once again, for sharing your experiences, answering my questions, and making this newbie feel welcomed. :cool:

[jo-and-jeff]

I would like to work in academia, dealing with some of the nicer aspects of computing, such as cryptography, information architecture, modelling, signal processing, telecommunications, and computational linguistics. I also like E-S translation, web development, technical writing, and long walks on the beach.
Dude. I hope that wasn't cut-and-pasted from your Personal Dating ad.

:roll

[sarahw]

Ha that article made me laugh! He must have had a really bad trip here! Never seen beetroot in any burger place I've eaten at!! Where the heck dodgy place did they visit? By the way Wisconsin burger (all over NZ) do some awesome burgers!

Not sure how much of the work you're interested in would be available in NZ, being such a small infrastructure - don't know how much stuff like cryptology would be required here - have a look on http://www.trademe.co.nz & go to jobs or http://www.jobstuff.co.nz to see.

Good luck! & you're right you'll only find out by coming over & seeing for yourself.

[Island Jon]

Dude. I hope that wasn't cut-and-pasted from your Personal Dating ad.

LOL! Dr. Phil approved! :D

Thanks for the links, Sarah, didn't know about "Trade Me", so it's a nice find. :cheers

[Ana&Steve]

Never seen beetroot in any burger place I've eaten at!!
Funny how people get such different experiences of the same place...there was beetroot on EVERY burger we had in NZ. (Either raw and shredded, or sliced and pickled) I kinda liked it, Steve picked em off. Loved Wellington, though; can't see how someone could be bored in such a hip city. :confused:
Ana

[Moorf]

heheh that beetroot really does find itself in just about every burger that's not a MacD's or Burger King - and sarnies wouldn't be sarnies here without that pink tinge to the bread!! :D Just get used to saying "hold the beetroot" (and "hold the spermy mayo" too!! yukkk)

[wiki]

I think the thing I miss most about NZ (apart from my family) is decent burgers with fried onion and beetroot in!

Jo that was a mighty answer! I'm going to point it out to my other half since I sometimes wonder if she knows exactly what she's signed up for ;)

You're totally right though - NZ is about doing, not watching. But the best thing about that is that there's always a place for you to find your niche - be it lakes, mountains, bush or beach

[Jenny & Mark]

Funny how people get such different experiences of the same place...there was beetroot on EVERY burger we had in NZ. (Either raw and shredded, or sliced and pickled) I kinda liked it, Steve picked em off. Loved Wellington, though; can't see how someone could be bored in such a hip city. :confused:
Ana

My absolute favourite addition to the burger has to be the fried egg. Simply fantastic. :)

Mark.

[Ana&Steve]

My absolute favourite addition to the burger has to be the fried egg. Simply fantastic. :)

Mark.
I think Steve (my OH) would heartily agree!
Ana

[sarahw]

I mustn't be eating enough burgers - sounds like I'm missing out!! :)

[jess]

The veggie burger at the (very good) Otaki Seafood comes with pineapple on it in addion to beet. The veggie delux at Burger Wisconsin comes with satay peanut sauce. :roll Actually it's all pretty good once I request 'no pineapple please.'

[Bruckner]

My absolute favourite addition to the burger has to be the fried egg. Simply fantastic. :)

Mark.

Has to be a big hunk of melting blue cheese with slices of tomato!

Emily

[Moorf]

Yay blue cheeeeeese - and mushrooms fried in butter ;)

[Island Jon]

Man, you guys have it good, the best thing I get over here is extra ketchup. :( I already have my eye on that Chicken Avocado Bacon with some Kumera fries. Yum! :nice1

[jamie7121]

Phew! That's a whole heap of questions!! First welcome to the forum!!

OK I'll answer from my perspective - others will have other opinions so you should get a balanced view from all over the country...

1) Well it depends where in the US you're moving from - if you're coming from NY then you're going to laugh at the level of crime! If you're coming from a quiet small settlement then maybe the crime will shock you. All I can say is that I haven't experienced any crime here myself, but I know friends who have been broken into - same thing world over really & the crime level isn't something that would worry me moving here (unless I lived in an unsavoury neighbourhood) - I personally found the UK far worse for crime but I think its all relative because of the population size - only about 4 million of us so the overall incidence of crime is less - which means that most crimes get reported on - for example our local newspaper gives how many car thefts, thefts from cars and house break-ins there have been by street of our local area... now - if they'd done that in our village in the UK (and don't get me wrong - we lived in what was considered a posh village!) it would have taken up most of the local newspaper!!! Same safety sense should be employed anywhere in the world - so long as you lock things up, don't leave anything on view you'll be right - to be honest I'm far more lax here about locking doors in the house because where we live break-ins aren't as much as where we lived in UK.

2) Big poisonous spiders??? There aren't any!! About the worst spider you'll find is a white tail - I've been bitten by one - the bite went to the size of a golfball but that was as bad as it got!! You'd be very unlucky to come across an Australian spider here - they are sometimes found by MAF but really rare.

3) IT - well it depends what you're involved with really - they pilot a lot of things in NZ like EFTPOS, internet banking etc. because we're such a small nation so in some cases we're ahead of things, but for things like 'broadband' and every company having fantastic websites where you can buy stuff online yep we're behind!! Welly is pretty good for the IT industry - there's also central govt. here & quite a lot of IT jobs in Govt., after that I'd reckon Auckland because there are many more offices there & a higher population, then I'd say Christchurch & then Dunedin - just from a population perspective & where most businesses are based. Sure those in the IT industry can give you a whole heap more info.

4) Auckland you'd be able to get round the city but really you do need a car there, Welly if you live around the city its easy to commute - lots of busses, trains & you can live in CBD if you like apartment living or somewhere like Mt Vic. if you want to walk in. I have several friends who live in the city without a car - trains run late & so do busses - I think 3am is the last for both on the late run. Can't give any experience for Chch or Dunedin. There are trains & busses between islands and an interisland ferry - don't expect decent motorways here - a journey may take double the time you estimate from the distance because you're on some windy mountain road, or stuck behind a tractor or aggregate lorry for a few km's!! (It does give you time to take in the lovely scenery though!) Then of course, you've got the planes - air NZ covers nearly all cities (a city here is about 20,000 people so tiny places get called cities) - take a look at their website for flight prices etc.

5) We have Sky TV here - if you're used to having the choice of US television & love TV you're probably going to be shocked - but hey the population is so small. You can get all the big shows from US & UK, if you sign up to sports channels I think you can get US sports too - although you might find you have to convert to rugby & cricket!!! Basically most people find they watch a lot less TV here & spend more time out doing stuff.

6) Shopping Mall's - he hee!! My favourite subject. OK be prepared to have a heck of a lot less choice. My husband, for example is 6'5" and can only get jeans from one shop at our local mall. Mall's are very small in comparison to US & Europe... again not the population to support larger ones. Although you will find there are shops like K-Mart & the Warehouse where you can buy nearly everything you need from. There are usually cinema complexes attached to shopping malls - anywhere from 5-10 screens - cinemas is something NZ does well - they have boutique cinemas where you have a sofa instead of seats & can take a coffee in a proper cup in, or a beer, or a glass of wine - they also don't rip you off like I used to find in the UK if you want popcorn or a cake or drinks. There are electronics & video games places too.

7) Entertainment is excellent - I can speak only for Welly (Welly - Boring?!! NEVER!!), international bands come here (we probably don't get as many as Auckland but I wouldn't want to live there anyway so would rather just go up there for a concert anyway), this year we've had the Rolling Stones, Black Eyed Peas, UB40 and various other famous acts here. The month of Jan/Feb are when the round the world yacht race is on, so they put on loads of stuff, the botanic gardens have funky lighting & free concerts every night for about a month - all sorts of different music from NZ artists - everyone brings a picnic rug, a load of booze & people of all ages dance the night away. At the waterfront they have big parties & free concerts all of Jan/Feb on weekends - they have the Vodafone X-Air games - skateboarding, BMX'ing, breakdancing etc. really good fun night out. There's a comedy festival once a year & a film festival, they have street theatre - basically a wonderful place to be in summer!! Also Guy Fawkes night & another night during the year (sometime in July) the Pelourus trust do the most fantastic fireworks displays on the water that you can see from all over Wellington. Whenever there's a big film release such as King Kong or Lord of the Rings there's a big parade to the red carpet at the Embassy theatre where they hold premieres. Fantastic cafe culture (evidently more cafe's per capita than New York!) Surfing at Lyall Bay, loads of watersports, plenty of fishing etc, oh and diving as well. I could go on all day but I'll stop here!!

We moved from the UK because we wanted to bring up a family the way we'd been brought up 30 odd years ago, i.e. being able to play out in the street safely, sporting opportunities - especially water-sports & a beach lifestyle. We also wanted to retire at 50 which would have been impossible with the crazy house prices in UK, and to take a step back & have an easier life. Also for me to change career.

Our decision has been the most fantastic decision ever of our whole lives - we LOVE it here!! We have such a great life now!! I can thoroughly recommend it. We live out in the Suburbs, but if we were younger (heck - making myself sound sooooo old!! I'm not really!!) we'd live in the city - such a fantastic happening place to be.
What a great positive post. Although i was only there for 7 weeks last Christmas i loved it and can endorse much of what you say. I remeber being out in the town till 4 am at New Year and the streets were absolutely thronging with people all night long, and we never saw 1 bit of trouble. It was a great atmosphere, no aggro, just everyone having a good time. I thought to myself could i do this in Glasgow at New Year. My second thought was dont be silly. We are emigrating late 2007 and should be in Welly by this time next year and we are looking forward to that very much. My wife is a kiwi and its time to get her home. :)

[tigerlily]

Sounds like New Years celebrations are better than on Guy Fawkes day. They are banning fireworks and alcohol because of all the problems, and many problems in Wellington too.

[*Paul]

Island Jon,
From what you have said so far and the impression I'm getting about you, I'm not convinced NZ is your best choice. You should really visit for a month or two before making a commitment.

As for crime, Google for NZ 2005 stats and do the comparison yourself with your local area. I found residential burglaries and serious assaults higher than in San Diego, but other crimes are about the same or lower. Aggravated robbery however was higher in SD - which as a city fares slightly better than average for the US.

IT-wise, you will be confined to Auckland and Wellington to get an interesting job. Perhaps the general populace is a bit behind the times as you noted, but the business IT infrastructure is not too bad.
As for bad drivers and noisy traffic - what can I say? Stick to the public transport and bring ear plugs.