New Zealand

[nickridiculous]

I'm thinking of an extended holiday in NZ and I'm looking for some info on Auckland. I'll probably be going there for about a year and I want info on Auckland neighbourhoods. Where are the nasty bits of Auckland, where is the fancy part etc. I want to do a preliminary search for accommodation here and from personal experience apartment hunting in Vancouver you need a bit of local knowledge to separate the wheat from the chaff when reading craigslist.

Ideally I'd like to talk/email/PM with someone who has been there and spent time in Auckland sometime in the last 2-5 years.

I've heard some less than flattering things about Auckland too so if you can think of a better place (hopefully where I can find an mechanical/manufacturing engineering related job) then do tell.

DeeperBlue don't fail me now!

 

[mishu1984]

good luck. moving to NZ has been a dream of mine for a while

 

[ReefTroll]

New Zealand is lovely, it truly is. But regular life is more expensive.
It's like anywhere I guess. I remember loving Wellington when I stayed there for a while, but walked through the wrong side of town once in a neighbouring suburb and it was like a scene from the bill. Screams and bangs coming from the apartments, what fun.
But overall it's a great place, but from what I've heard there is no great job market to go with the raised price of living.

 

[NZRegan]

Hey nickd,

I'm based in Dublin, having moved from Auckland (AKL-born) in July 2010. I've only been on DB for a couple of months now.

Give me a PM, and I can set you in the right direction work-wise, house-wise and diving/fishing-wise. The more specifics you can give me on your expectations on salary, type of work, rent/mortgage, leisure/pleasure; the better my answer will be.

Cheers, Regan

 

[chrismar]

Try Phil C, a fellow engineer living in Auckland.

Wellington is better

 

[Unclejake]

Wellington is better

QFT.

If looking for nice places to live in Auckland consider Remuera or Parnell. It depends on your expectations and the kind of character you are looking for. If you want classical 70 year old homes made of timber then look at an older suburbs (like Remuera) but just about all of the established suburbs have modern in-fill housing too. Budget and work will dictate where you live I guess

The north shore gets you a bit closer to good diving.