[kimandgareth]

Hi all :D

We're coming over for our trip soon (SO excited!!) and we know its a fairly decent time to come over, weather wise, but we have read so many different books etc that give mixed opinions about the weather in general so we wanted to ask the wonderful forum members what you all think.

In general, is the weather better than the UK? We don't so much mind if its a bit chilly, but we love the sunshine (even on cold days) so if it tends to be more sunny and clear then thats great. We're planning on living in Welly, so anyone from there we'd particularly be interested to know what you guys think.

Thanks so much everyone :nice1

[jess]

Probably the wrong time to ask since we just had the coldest December in Wellington in 70 years (according to Scoop) and don't get me started on June! :uhoh This is our first year here, so it's all I have to go by.

You can get suprisingly warm days in winter and suprisingly cold days in summer, and the weather can be one thing in the morning and something else entirely by midday. I like that myself. I'm sure you've heard about the wind, which bothers some more than others. It doesn't blow all the time.

If you're coming soon it'll be well into summer and should be very nice. But I'd still pack a sweater and a raincoat.

You might be interested in the weather report thread (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7253), if you don't mind looking through for Welly posts.

I'm from the states so can't compare to the UK.

[Trigirl]

it seems to be really very changeable. when its sunny it can be gorgeous with blue skies and really warm. but equally it can be pretty miserable, grey and rainy. the wind is definitely a factor but doesn't really bother me.

also just wanted to say good luck for your trip - i worked in milton keynes for a long time and my husband and i lived just 20 or so miles from there before making the move over here in december. send me a PM before you head over and if you like we could meet for a coffee when you are in wellington and we'll tell you a bit about it?

also if you want to see some of the photos we've taken of wellington in our few weeks here so far then they are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mandysimpson/sets/72157594414003259/ - a bit of a mixed bunch but it might give you a bit of a feel for the city?

[jamie7121]

I was in Welly for 7 weeks just over a year ago. We went for the whole of December and most of January. Coming from Scotland i thought anything better would do me fine. It rained for the first 4 days with strong gales ripping across the cook strait LOL! What a welcome i thought, but the next week was the most glorious sunshine with skies that seem bluer to me than in Scotland, the air was fresh and clear. The rest of the time was mixed but predominately good, and certainly a bit better than home. It has its moods, it can be windy anytime whether its sunny or grey. My wife who is from Welly reckons on average its warmer than Scotland by a few degrees at least and the depressing weeks and months of gray dreech skies we get here dont happen like that there. Sure, yu get grey skies and rain but not for weeks on end normally. Even in winter they get bright blue skies to give us all a break. You never quite know what the day will bring till you stumble out into the garden in your grunds and the first coffee of the morning. Its certainly bracing! I loved it.

[gpbenton]

I have only been here since Sunday, but most days the sun has shone all day and in the city its lovely. However, if you find some open space you do start to notice the wind and you need a sweater.

I was watching some cricket last night and only had my t-shirt and shorts and really regretted it. The locals take something warm to put on, so you get the odd result of people walking around with sweaters, shorts and flip-flops :roll

The one day it was cloudy was quite cool.

[StevieD]

Aaaah the dreech - you don't mind if you get to see sun, even if it is cold and blowy.
But Welly is in quite a bad position on the Cook Strait, especially with the prevailing winds coming off the Tasman. And those hills will roil the winds too.