4 ms·
My wife is an expat kiwi and we visit NZ every year since most of her family lives there still. We have also been contemplating a move back from the US, but ho
by jly 9y ago
My wife is an expat kiwi and we visit NZ every year since most of her family lives there still. We have also been contemplating a move back from the US, but housing prices (especially Auckland, but everywhere that isn't rural farmland is an issue) and lower salaries are the only thing preventing us, still. Auckland is an amazing city but it's so incredibly congested and expensive that unless you are wealthy or in the housing market already, it's very difficult to make a go there.
> Have you looked at Christchurch? Apparently the government is incentivizing companies to build there with the goal of making it the high tech capital of the South Island. I believe Vodafone has some pretty impressive plans for the city.
I was last in Chch a couples years ago, so it may be changing, but my impression was not great. My wife lived there during the earthquake and their recovery has been slow. I think it will improve, especially with increased investment, but it's probably years away from being anywhere like Auckland or Wellington again. Even 2-3 years ago the downtown area was essentially a ghost town from what I remember, and that's still several years post-earthquake.
- EdwardDiego 9y agoYeah, the rebuild is very slow, which frustrates the locals no end, but it's happening. CBD (aka "downtown") area aside, we've never stopped being like Auckland or Wellington - we have overpriced houses and congested motorways too!
- dvtv75 9y agoMy understanding was also that Christchurch is the most dangerous city in the country, but I've no figures to back that up. My ex lives up there, and when I stayed with her family they had me lock the car door when we were driving through the central city, something that I found very odd, and not at all reassuring.
- mkl 9y agoI live in Christchurch and that's news to me. The central city is best avoided for other reasons: the 2010-2011 earthquakes disproportionately affected the old buildings there and the rebuild means it's a constantly shifting maze of closed roads and detours. This is now hardly noticeable in most of the rest of the city. I found an article [1] about it which contradicts your understanding of the crime here. Auckland is much worse as a city overall, but Cathedral Square in Christchurch is dangerous compared to the rest of the country. I can't find a good comparison of actual crime rates between countries, but did find articles saying the perception of crime risk is way off here compared to reality. 1. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79704084/New-Zealand-rates-for-assaults-sexual-assaults-and-robberies-in-2015-mapped http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79704084/New-Zealand-rates-f...
- EdwardDiego 9y agoThat's not at all correct. South Auckland would be far more dangerous and as for locking your door to drive through the CBD? That's very weird. Were they South African migrants at all? They tend to be a tad more paranoid.