[Daisyspop]

The Auckland area is great. If like us you don't want the snow and the cold on your doorstep this is the place to be. It is midwinter and I am sunning myself on the rear sundeck/patio. It is consistently warmer and drier than South Island.
We live in Pukekohe, a semi-rural town which produces much of the county's vegetables. Here you will also find Pukekohe Park home of V8 racing for the next two years at least. Life is wonderful and my wife who works in the Sth suburb of Papatoetoe just loves to drive home at the end of each day. We have all that we came for, a nice house that we could never have afforded in the UK (Hants), and a very laid back lifestyle. Here, in easy commuting distance from Auckland and all the entertainment it offers like concerts in the park, museums, shops and nightlife, we can spend our days 'away from it all'. We have locally, and in walking distance: schools, library, 2 swimming pools, several parks and all the shops and restaurants that make up a thriving community. We fell in love with the place at first sight 7 months ago and have no thoughts of moving on.
We came for the lifestyle, we do not struggle and to be perfectly honest we only miss a couple of people in the uk and absolutely nothing of the lifestyle. I suppose we are a bit unusual I am retired but have a wife half my age and four children from 4 up to 15. They all love it too and have no thoughts of the uk beyond e mail contact with close friends.
Don't be afraid to live your dream - I'd rather be broke here than broke in the uk that's for sure.