I can only speak from personal opinion, but I would never consider living in Auckland due to it's sheer population, crime levels and high house prices. What it's like to actually live there though, I couldn't really comment on.
Hamilton, however, is my forte
No one really considers Hamilton as an option as it's not near a beach (40kms is the nearest one), no one speaks about it and there aren't thousands of organisations trying to sell it to you as a 'lifestyle' choice. Apparently this is intentional, so as not to over populate the city and to keep house prices sensible. We love Hamilton though, and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Aucklanders slate the place as a hell hole (they are jealous of our lower house prices, thinking that anyone who pays less than $1m for a 2 bed apartment is poverty stricken
). We've also got the V8 Supercars coming to town, if you like motorsport!
So, thumbs up for Hamilton and
Go the Cheifs!