Auckland vs Wellington

[froggy]

Hi,

My partner and I are thinking of moving to New Zealand in a year's time. My partner is a diesel mechanic and might be able to get a WP. We went to New Zealand last year on holidays to check it out and even though was a quick visit, we went to Christchurch (which was originally the place we wanted to go and live) then after a visit to the south island, we had a look at Auckland. We were really surprised as most people told us before we went that we wouldn't like Auckland. In fact, we were more impressed by Auckland than Christchurch, even though I must admit, the scenery is fantastic around Christchurch. However, I think we found Christchurch not lively enough to our likings. yes we want a quieter lifestyle, but we can't ignore the fact that after living near London for nearly 15 years, the transition to a really quiet place can be a chock to the system. Now, we were more set on Auckland because of all this, and there are still beautiful places to go around there, but we are thinking that Wellington could be a nice compromise. Especially I think because we think Auckland is quite more expensive, and for my partner's profession, wages don't seem that different. I work myself in the travel industry, so hopefully I could find something decent there. Could anybody tell us their thoughts on this ? Thanks a lot.

[MotherBear]

I guess the main deciding point would be where you could get jobs and the type of salary you want. No point hankering after Wellie if better jobs are available in Auckland and vice versa. Lil Amy would have been the one to give you some pointers as she's worked in several places in NI, but, unfortunately (for us) she's off having a great time sampling the delights of Oz for a few months.

If you found jobs in either Wellie or Aucks, there would be nothing to stop you looking for work in the other place later on if your first experience wasn't quite right for you. These cities both have their good and bad points and sorting through which is which is a personal thing and only you can do this.

[Pulsarblu]

Yes, that is correct. It all depends where you get your jobs.

Also note that AKL is larger and more wide spread than Welly and certain jobs are more available, like IT jobs are more in Welly and Finance jobs are more in AKL.

There are also more overseas investment in AKL and more government presence in Welly.

That is my take.