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I am a long time reader and occasional poster on this forum. I have found it to be VERY useful in the past. We are currently giving serious consideration to immigrating from the USA to New Zealand in the fall of 2012. We have a young family with kids ranging in ages from 8 to 2. We'd appreciate a local perspective from anyone in the "know" about the best areas in New Zealand to raise a family. A nice safe family friendly environment and good schools are our primary concerns. It's been about a decade since I visit visited New Zealand, and even then it was only for short layovers. We are trying to research as much as we can about life there, and the benefits of such a dramatic move. We are also trying not to get caught up in the "grass is always greener" trap mentality, so we are open to hearing about the cons as well as the pros. Any thoughts, opinions, and facts that you are willing to share with us on this subject would be greatly appreciated!
I am a Kiwi who lived in Australia for 4 years prior to coming to the US.
It depends on how much money you have, what you do and what you want from this move to another country.
In my opinion Australia has more to offer. The wages are higher and there are more opportunities.
If you could provide a bit more information about your family it would be helpful. I assume you have looked at both Immigration sites as well?
I love NZ, it will always be my home in my heart but I will never go back there to work due to the poor wages and in general, the poor economy. Everything is expensive. The beaches are beautiful as is the countryside, but those things don't pay the bills.
Not to steer this too far off track with our particular details, I will say that we are highly educated, yet not overly wealthy. Our work expertise is in education and aviation. One of us has a Ph. D in English with a lot of teaching experience on many levels (to include university level), and the other is a airline transport pilot (yet qualified to work in almost any aviation related field). Ultimately our goals are to become self employed in some capacity, and semi-retire that way…but, if we immigrate we expect to start in our respective fields of employment.
What we'd want with such a move is a better quality of life (than what we have in the USA), and a more ideal place for raising our family. Good schools, strong communities, and a family friendly environment are a necessity…so, we'd be interested in knowing more about what areas of both countries are the best for that.
On paper we like what we see in New Zealand the best, yet have not ruled out Australia. We are not looking to become wealthy as much as we are to live a more SIMPLE life than what we have here in the USA. Assuming that we could subside in either country just as we can here in the states…paying the bills (as you put it), then we'd be inclined to move provided that we can find that "ideal" place. We are still unsure if such a place exists…and again are guarded against the whole "grass is always greener" mentality.
This fast paced and hard charging lifestyle in the USA is something we'd like to get away from (if we can). We were all born and raised here, yet are well traveled enough to know that life does not have to lived in such a rushed fashion. ALL work and no play can make Johnny a dull boy. To slow it down and simplify it would enable us to enjoy the finer things more (such as raising our kids). If we can do that, while maintaining what we have in terms of income relative to expenses(generally speaking)…we'd like to do that!
I hope this makes sense, and helps you better with your understanding. I also hope it generates a few suggestions.
New Zealand is very isolated. It is a very long way from the US, so if you have a deep attachment to family then be prepared to spend a lot of money on airfares back and forth.
The lifestyle in NZ is pretty relaxed and laid back, much more so than here in New England that's for sure.
I work with people who lived in NZ and loved it.
Have you been to NZ to check it out? That would be my first suggestion. Go there for a month to get a feel for the lay of the land. Then you will know whether it will be a good fit for you and your family.
Not to steer this too far off track with our particular details, I will say that we are highly educated, yet not overly wealthy. Our work expertise is in education and aviation. One of us has a Ph. D in English with a lot of teaching experience on many levels (to include university level), and the other is a airline transport pilot (yet qualified to work in almost any aviation related field). Ultimately our goals are to become self employed in some capacity, and semi-retire that way…but, if we immigrate we expect to start in our respective fields of employment.
What we'd want with such a move is a better quality of life (than what we have in the USA), and a more ideal place for raising our family. Good schools, strong communities, and a family friendly environment are a necessity…so, we'd be interested in knowing more about what areas of both countries are the best for that.
On paper we like what we see in New Zealand the best, yet have not ruled out Australia. We are not looking to become wealthy as much as we are to live a more SIMPLE life than what we have here in the USA. Assuming that we could subside in either country just as we can here in the states…paying the bills (as you put it), then we'd be inclined to move provided that we can find that "ideal" place. We are still unsure if such a place exists…and again are guarded against the whole "grass is always greener" mentality.
This fast paced and hard charging lifestyle in the USA is something we'd like to get away from (if we can). We were all born and raised here, yet are well traveled enough to know that life does not have to lived in such a rushed fashion. ALL work and no play can make Johnny a dull boy. To slow it down and simplify it would enable us to enjoy the finer things more (such as raising our kids). If we can do that, while maintaining what we have in terms of income relative to expenses(generally speaking)…we'd like to do that!
I hope this makes sense, and helps you better with your understanding. I also hope it generates a few suggestions.
Thanks!
Wanting to have a slower pace of life - sounds like you might like NZ.
But decent housing plus well paying jobs will make all the difference.
There are no bargains here and a lot of US immigrants struggle here if they don't have sufficient income and enough cash to buy good housing.
Finding a strong community might mean you may have to look at smaller places outside of Auckland.
I have a feeling you might like Nelson but that will depend on finding stable, well paying employment.
To tuberose - Thanks for the insider info and your reply! We will look closer at Nelson…
To Djuna -
Yes, as mentioned…I have been to New Zealand as well as Australia. We also intend to visit both in early 2012 before we make any decisions.
With all due respect…our intention with starting this thread was NOT to solicit advice for "how" we should go about this…rather to simply and ONLY solicit advise on good family friendly raising areas for us to consider. We have only begun to seriously research this idea, and that is where we'd like to start. It's important to us to get that right above anything else, as we'd like this move to be our last. Right now, they are all equal from what we know of them…therefore we hope to hear more from locals who can speak to it better.
So not to get too far off that specific topic, do you have any suggestions for areas or cities in either country for us to consider that are more well known than others for being a good place to raise a family?
I'm from Auckland. I would never move anywhere else in NZ, too provincial for me. Wellington is a nice city and so is Christchurch.
The nice thing about Auckland is everything is close by, museums, cafes, beaches, parks, choice of schools, shopping.
If you ask any kiwi where they would recommend for a nice lifestyle they will all come up with a different answer. Some like the city, others like the country.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this subject. Auckland seems to continually come up as a top option. It sounds like it's quite different in a few key aspects to Christchurch (such as friendliness of it's people, climate, etc etc). We realize that all opinions are subjective, yet value them all…as they ALL help us in some way to piece this puzzle together.
I'd suggest Brisbane/Gold Coast. It probably fits both of your requirements. It's large enough that it will have good job opportunities for both of you, Virgin Australia for example is headquartered in Brisbane and there are also a lot of educational institutions in SE Qld. It's also small enough that you won't have to deal with the cost of living pressures that the Southern capitals (Sydney/Melbourne) have, for example a $500k home on the Gold Coast will be substantially bigger and more centrally located than the same in Sydney or Melbourne. Brisbane will obviously be more pricey than the GC but still not like Sydney or Melbourne.
Personally, I wouldn't go with NZ. While it's a beautiful part of the world, wages are lower and there will be far, far fewer job opportunities. By way of example the average weekly earnings in NZ were $NZ975 ($AU765), in Australia average weekly earnings were $1010.
Thanks for your input. That's a good idea that we had not thought of yet. I will look into the Brisbane Gold Coast area of Australia.
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