How Did You Decide on Where to Live?

Hi there everyone,

A question: How did you decide on where to settle in NZ? Did you just get there and said 'Let's wait and see?' or did you visit your chosen destination beforehand? Or did your job decide for you?
I'm lost in confusion as to where might be the best place for us! We've read lots of books and asked many questions about certain areas but none the wiser.
My husband's job in Auckland CBD does dictate that specific area but we'd like to be no more than 20-30 mins peak commute from there which still leaves a thousand places!!
It would be interesting to hear your decisions! Thankyou
Debra

Hi Deb,

For us we're just going out and seeing where we can get jobs and what places we like really and hoping we land a job in a place we want to stay.

We're starting out in the BOP area as we liked it up there when we holiday'd last year but things will all depend on where we can get jobs ultimately.

There are lots of nice places in NZ and I'm ssure where ever yoou decide to stay you'll love it.

An idea might be to get short term rentals (6months or so) and decide which area's near the CBD you prefer before buying, if thats what you intend to do? We're going for short term rentals to start with.

Good luck on your hunt!

We visited NZ and chose the area we wanted to live.

We were going to start up a business and we whittled the choices down to the Bay of Islands or Nelson. Now on my own with the kids, I would personally prefer to be in a larger town or city where there is more opportunity for work/childcare. Work and income has to be the important factor in choosing where to live at first, you can always move to a preferable area later with that NZ work experience under your belt.

:icon_biggrin:

Work and income has to be the important factor in choosing where to live at first, you can always move to a preferable area later with that NZ work experience under your belt.

I would most certainly agree with this. The place where you would have more success at getting a job may not be the place you would ideally like to settle. Once you have some NZ experience under your belt you'll be in a better position to move on and will be better advised on the various areas.

There have been some on here that have had to relocate in order to find work and they've found that the place that they've moved to has unexpectedly suited them better than their original choice. Better to be financially settled and happy in an OK sort of place than miserable and worried in a fantastic location.

Thankyou Amy (how are things going for you?), Glenda and MotherBear! That all makes sense! I'm actually quite glad that we'll be starting off in Auckland because it does sound a good place for me to earn a living aswell as Eddie!

Thankyou Glenda for pointing out how you'd personally prefer to live near to a bigger town or city because 'ideal dreams' can run away with you when thinking of where to live, when really, practicality must prevail!

I hope that one day soon I can post lots of positve feedback from the NZ end about all of these issues of mine!! ;)

It feels strange not really knowing what's there until you get there! My friends who used to live near Auckland many many years ago have told me to wait until we get there and it will all fall into place as there is only so much you can do or research before you go.

Thanks again everyone!
Debra

I agree so entirely that you need to be coming here with an open mind, and to be prepared to end up somewhere completely different from where you thought you would end up - just like us [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif] When we were researching locations before we came over here, we were determined that Wellington was going to be our new home, but when we arrived there, we both felt it wasn't where we could see ourselves living - As you can see we are now up in Tauranga, a town we had only 'popped into' on our trip down from Auckland to Wellington (and to be honest we only came here then so we could feedback to 'Fingers Crossed' from this forum who is coming here at end of the month!! [smiley=icon_lol.gif] )We just felt it was somewhere we felt really comfortable with - we liked the people, the scenery, the layout of the town etc and fortunately there were appropraite job opps too.

Guess what I'm trying to say is that if, like us, you have never been to NZ before, keep an open mind about where you want to live - get out and about and explore the areas of Auckland that are going to be within commuting range, and see what's best for you and yours - what appeals to one person will not be exactly the same for you. I really liked Auckland and we had that as a fall back option if Tauranga didn't feel right when we came back up here - guess we'll just have to settle for weekends up there to get away from the hordes here in the Summer! ;)

Maggie x

I am in for the thought of having an open mind when looking for the places to stay. It is very true that some places which may not be ideal on first consideration but then turn out to be nice in the end.

I think the other important factor is we must have some level of expectations in the lifestyle we want. With that in mind, it is easier to match the place to our expectations. Well, sometimes we may never know what comes round the corner. Be flexible and I am sure we can find the ideal location.

Cheers.
Pulsarblu

Thanks Maggie, I didn't get to read your 'journey' but noticed recently that you'd just found a new place to live! Congratulations! You sound so happy and 'chilled', I hope it will be the same for us...
Thankyou also pulsarblu, we all know we have one main thing in common and that's the expectation to lead a better quality life with family/loved ones at the forefront!
All very interesting, thanks guys!
Debra

For us Nelson was a for-gone conclusion.

A) We fell in love with the area in 2004.
B) My brother & his family are there
C) Its within cork-popping distance of the Marlborough vinyards
D) My employer offered me a job in Nelson

Straight forward enough, but I am a little worried if we end up liking somewhere else as we travel down in September. I think we will be able to brush any of thoses off with a "nice as a holiday destination" attitude


Nick

Hi Nick, hey you're well sorted then! 'Cork-popping' distance!!! Ha [smiley=icon_lol.gif]
I hear all good things about Nelson, beautiful beaches too. It must be nice moving near to family too.
Thanks, nice to hear the reasons why!!
Debra