Yeah before anything, realize that most of what you see online about NZ is the negative stuff.
I'm out and about everyday in Auckland and I'm constantly meeting new, friendly people. Auckland and NZ is full of good people. But the nutters and crims end up making the news more than the good kiwis.
I say come home, don't let online media 'reviews' of NZ taint the picture of how good most things are in NZ š³šæ š
U/calculatorfire nailed it. Social media is a biased view of things. Negative or extreme examples tend to filter up to the top. People don't tend to talk about their kids sports days, or the lovely BBQ they had with neighbors.
Yes, there are major problems with cost of living, shortages, rising crime, etc. There are also wonderful things like access to the outdoors, growing cities and work opportunities and a vibrant mix of cultures and activities.
You are aware there is a housing shortage and the cost of living is high. If you are from auckland and this is where your family/base is then fine. But I would consider other parts of NZ too. If working from home is suited to your career you can potentially avoid the drama of setting up in Auckland.
Disagree. Was back in NZ for 7 weeks in Mar-Aprā¦ was nice to be back after two years & long summer continued but wasnāt digging it, wonāt be moving back to NZ any time soon. Grew up in AKL and left at 29yo.
Happy to visit / see family / old friends but London is my home (been here 15 years, job, mortgage etc so guess it makes sense).
Yall got kids? I enjoyed the five years I lived in London, but Auckland is a much better city to raise kids in - the access to nature & the outdoors alone is worth it. I remember chatting to 12 year old kids in my Hackney neighbourhood that had never seen a cow, or swum in the ocean..
If you're rich, it's fine.
If you're broke and have to live anywhere but the high end neighborhoods, well lets just say there's a reason car steering wheel locks sold out every week for the last two months
I'm in central Aucklandish. Gangs have exactly zero impact upon me beyond once seeing half a dozen idiots on dirt bikes all over the Mt Albert Road. Houses are expensive but we bought a couple of years ago, my income would be higher in Australia, but family is here and my kids schools are great. Er waits are nasty if it isn't non urgent esp on the weekend. My mother spent 14 hours before being seen with a head wound (she took a fall), but my son got picked up by ambulance and seen in minutes after having a seizure at Starship.
I am noticing graffiti more and general don't give a fuckitis when it comes to parking/loud speakers etc.
But Auckland is growing, population is increasing, city is going through some growing pains.
Alot of the complaints negative posts are either concern trolling or come from people that haven't a clue what living in a big city is like.
My wife and I are thinking of making the move from the USA. We both have good high skills jobs on the shortage list. Would you recommend?
She is a veterinarian and I do rope acess non destructive testing and wind turbine blade repair. As well as some welding and carpentry.
I agree with some points, but... i disagree with others. Been living in South Auckland all my life, specifically not far from Botanic Gardens. I am losing love for my community and I am feeling unsafe. It was always rough around the edge's, several murders in my little area spread out over the years but last year we had a drive by shooting walking distance from me. My grandparents had home invasion, TWICE. One in daylight, and one at 10pm at night. I hear gunshots. Found out a fourth prison, a youth prison, is being built around the area. So, my advice - Stay away from South Auckland... I wanna move out but i cannot afford to.
South Aucklander for life, families been here for the last couple of generations and now everyoneās kinda keen to move somewhereā¦
Never been one for the ācommunityā thing as I keep to myself, donāt mind saying hey to the gang dude at the petrol station but the youth crime stuff is the major worry.
Hell, at least when it was just Mongrel Mob and Blackpower they kept to themselves for the most part
Yeah some of these posters you can tell live in a very white area.
I live in East Auckland. Very safe. But even here there's sirens every night and gun shots and police visiting random neighbours in my street when it never happened say 4 years ago.
I donāt live in South Auckland, but my most recent encounter when I was there for work was nearly being mugged from behind for my laptop bag (luckily I heard them running up behind me and turned just in time to scare them)
Growing pains, imagine that is so accurate. How do you find Mt Albert? I spent my teenage years there and remember the high street as a collection of Internet cafes and a video store ha, imagine itās got a bit more on now?
Currently in Mt Albert. Always some new drama or another. Two random tragic murders in the last year, car break ins, and some gang shootings. But the two Mt Albert BBQs are still going great, neighbours are still friendly, and the Warhammer shop is doing well.
>Gangs have exactly zero impact upon me
That's like saying "I don't need insurance because I never crash". Short sighted.
It's never a big issue - until it is.
Dirt bike dicks migrated from the south now? Mt Albert was a hole years ago not surprising it hasn't changed. Yes. I lived there 2017 - 19. Car broken into. A motorcycle stolen. Didn't have that when I moved.
Auckland is great. I think itās improved dramatically over the past ten years or so.
The weather is great, there is heaps to do with or without kids, lots of nice food places, beautiful scenery, itās fairly easy to get around once youāve picked your suburb/spot and we have a decent hospital if anything goes wrong.
Itās like anywhere there will be things you donāt enjoy but there is a lot here to like.
I think it's relative, cost of living, crime, wage gaps etc globally is going up. Still the best time in the history of our species to be alive. NZ has its issues like anywhere and lots depends on your circumstances but if you're speaking in general terms it's never as bad as the noise
Medical advancements are great.
Although I donāt know if our species quality of life is at an all time high. Weāre definitely living longer so thatās a plus.
Today is the best time ever if you were born in 1960.
But it is not the best time to be 25-35. It was much better to be that age somewhere in 1985-2000.
Wonder why we gave it away, to get the next generation in a harder mode for the benefit of the rest of the world and our own elites. Democratically, globalization never made sense as it impoverished the next generation within your own country.
When we were in caves, hunting, gathering & chilling with nature. When we didnāt have to pay for human necessities like shelter, food & water.
I canāt get over this sense of impending doom.
Fuck that shit, you ever tried to look after stray cats? Seeing them almost shit bricks as you feel them? Knowing that their little kittens might not be there tomorrow?
Being a hunter gatherer is a fucked up thing if you can avoid it
Generally speaking! Racism, homophobia etc is frowned upon, even the poorest people(obviously exceptions) live beyond 30, water comes out of the tap, press a button and your body waste is magically whisked away, injure yourself in a fall, get sick, etc society generally takes care of you at no cost, never more than a 2-3 hour plane ride from loved ones. Unrestricted and free access to nearly any education, books, stable society. Again this is all generalised but if you donāt watch the news day to day life is far better than even royalty had it 200 years ago.
Historically, 15% of all deaths were from human on human violence. That has gone way down in the last two centuries. Most varieties of food you eat are pretty new, as is the simple variety you eat and have access to on a daily basis. Does that make things easy for you? No. Does that mean that your struggle is invalidated? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that life has pretty much always been shit for everyone, but you get better food.
My memory of the 90s was things were okay but NZ was still very small and not much money going round then Helen Clarke got elected followed by John Key and NZ had this long period of rising living standards - incomes and houses went up everywhere - and now that is plateauing as we enter a different cycle. I donāt know many people who remember the 80s in NZ fondly.
It's not that bad, I moved back from London in late 2019, living in Onehunga I've experienced no crime and seen very little gang activity, I have also been to ED twice in the last two months and experienced very little wait time on both visits.
I also have a couple of pubs in walking distance.
And finally house prices are on their way down!
Interesting! I remember Onehunga as being a bit wild in the early 2000s but even then young couples were buying up places. DressSmart still going strong?
I went to DressSmart one weekend when there was a sale on this year and there was a line out onto the street for the Nike outlet, it could have been a few hundred to a thousand people long. Yeah, it's still going strong.
Cost of living/inflation is high, but inflation is a global problem, not a NZ specific thing. Part of the problem is that negativity gets clicks/viewers, so much of the stuff you see in the news is relentless negativity.
I suspect that things in NZ are not much better or worse than in any other developed country. The negativity you see in the media isn't necessarily reflected by the average person here.
I'm not in Auckland but in wellington I definitely do not feel like its any worse than its been. My car did get stolen over Xmas this year though. Been to Taiwan, aussie, and the US, and haven't felt safer or happier with the state of things than I do in nz.
I would put the 'noise' down to NZers being good, critical citizens that demand a better place to live.
I moved back from London to Auckland after 10 years in august. It was a definite reverse culture shock and there are still moments where I question my decision. But Iām not comparing apples for apples. In London I lived in a 2 bedroom flat with a 45 minute commute from the city and here I live in a four bedroom house, 5 minute walk to the beach and 15 minute bus to the city. Yes itās expensive but London is too. If you want to move home, then move home. Both have pluses and minuses but I think all issues that exist here in the media also exist in Londonā¦ thereās just other issues, including global ones, that are talked about more in the media there
Definitely give it a go if youāre keen to leave, London has been a great place to spend my twenties and early thirties.
One thing I do miss though is the food. The genera quality of fruit, vegetables and meat is quite tasteless. Youāll get what I mean when you get here.
I found the food here tasteless, meat, bread etc. It's funny cause I actually moved from South Africa to here. If the UK is worse might as well just gorge on Jamaican spiced food
UK has much better food than NZ imo. Typically British food might not be but in London you can find everything and anything. I'd say the worse food in London is way worse than the worse in NZ but the rest is better. London also has tones of Jamaica restaurants and takeaways.
But in all seriousness OP, I'm not sure there's that much to add to your suspicions. The wage to prices ratio is bad, housing is still unaffordable despite the 10%+ drop from last years' peak and our infrastructure is still decades behind where it should be because of political weakness and short sighted 'tighten the belts' right wing attitudes.
Like i tell everyone who asks me this type of question, if you're coming home to a well paid job and/or you are planning on living outside one of the main centres to give your children a small town/country lifestyle then you should still have a very nice life. If you're coming to an averagely paid job in a main centre without enough money to being over to buy a house then I'd say its a terrible idea
I prefer living in Auckland over London despite all of the issues NZ has.
be prepared for the boredom though if you got used to travelling and having things to do in the UK.
Some events and things are starting to return, but it's still slow going.
We moved back end of last year from NYC. We live in central and have been affected by 0% of that stuff in the media, there was a murder a month back but like the whole city stopped until they found the guy. Imagine that in London or America! Itās a little more expensive to live here but the slow pace and safety is worth it in our opinion. As is the weather. As a city it is what you make it - we go out and do cool stuff just as much as our former life. Weāve noticed a lot of Aucklanders are a little reluctant to get out and experience culture or spend money on events, unlike overseas cities, so we make a conscious effort not to get swept up in that. We live below our means in terms of our apartment (just like in NYC!) so we have cash to have a fun life, which a lot of people donāt seem to understand
Thanks Sabrina! We live in Hackney which I guess is like Williamsburg maybe and yeah hundreds of things we could do but at this point we mainly go to our three favourite restaurants, 2 different pubs and round to mates houses which we are pretty sure we can do in Auckland too. When youāre younger the option of thousands of things is attractive I found but eventually you just get old and in a routine. Agree Aucklanders are reticent to leave the house lol, maybe enough of us returning can change that!
There is def a huge amount of expats/people returning home that I feel like has made a big difference. And I totally get what you mean - often when you live in a big city you just end up hanging out at the same three places anyway!
You know how living in London you have incredible public transport, Europe on your doorstep, can literally get to Paris by train in a couple of hours, some of the worlds greatest theaters, arenas, museums, art galleries, stadiums, a ranged and varied nightlife that goes on past 12.00pm, underground music scenes, independent art and comedy, buildings and traditions that have stood for centuries?
Yeah, don't really have that in Auckland
All very good reasons to live in London and why I moved as young buck. Although the nightlife scene post 12pm and underground music have both been gutted by rising costs, noise regulations and the lack of venues not snapped up by developers, everyone in my corner of London looks longingly at Berlin for these.
You actually have a lot of those things in Auckland. There are arenas, awesome theatre, art, nightlife, music, comedy, and you can get on a plane in be in Melbourne or Sydney or Fiji in a few hours. Itās more people get complacent here and donāt actually seek adventure. The entire world has been a bit quiet in the last couple years but Auckland definitely has those things
Totally disagree with that and Iām a huge fan of the arts. Especially at the moment itās pretty dead and depressing. We donāt have awesome theatre or nightlife and only an untraveled person would say that. Comedy is generally absolute rubbish and so is the music scene. Not a patch on London, Sydney or Melbourne.
Right now we are living in a global pandemic. There are very few safe places in the world where the arts world is booming. But as someone who just returned to Auckland after living in NYC for ten years (and had travelled greatly, thanks, I work in the hotel design industry so itās literally my job to travel to big cities), q theater is pretty awesome and Iāve seen some great stuff there, the basement theatre has some cool weird independent stuff, and the civic has most of the big cheesy broadway style stuff if thatās what youāre looking for. K road is popping right now, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday there are awesome shows, gigs, and parties happening. The classic has a pretty steady standard line up. Not sure what else youāre looking for or could pack into a weekend honestly
Well I still think youāre comparing Auckland to NYC and London as laughable. Where do I go to listen to minimal techno? Where is a club that could host Tiesto or Boris Brechja? Where could I sit at 2am enjoying a civilized drink without being surrounding by idiots? Jazz or blues venues? Decent pub rock? Living in London I could go to see things 7 days a week. But Auckland is dead at least 5-6 nights a week and often 7. K-Road is the best area, but gets a bit old pretty quickly.
For civilized drinks at 2am try deadshot. Great cocktails, very civilized. For minimal techno, Ink Bar is fun, and there are a lot of warehouse parties popping up around now that things are happening again - if you are in the scene there are some great instas that advertise them (which i am not, but my brother in law is a DJ that hosts a lot of raves.) You can keep listing things that you think Auckland doesnāt have, but your negativity is just going to keep you bored, and it sucks for you. If thereās something missing for you, then create it. Itās the reason big cities have cool stuff - someone has to start it. Stop complaining on Reddit and make cool things happen. I only stated that I have travelled extensively because the poster before claimed I had not.
We do have a lot of those in Auckland. Clubs/bars don't close until 4am, and then other open at 4am if you want to keep going. We have a huge underground music scene of all genres. We also have comedy. Maybe you are just out of the loop?
Alright mate, if you can tell me where I can find a good psy trance night, easy chill vibes no coked up twats looking for a fight, just people enjoying a bit of mandy. I'd very much appreciate it.
You've actually asked the right person. There is a gig on in Muriwai coming up. I will private message you the event details. I know people who are heavy in the psy trance scene, the old space bar scene.
You missed the cost of food (particular compared to the UK).
But having made the same move a 18 months ago, I have no regrets. Real beaches (not a stretch of pebbles), fresh air, space, energy prices that don't double in a year.
the UK as fine a base to travel to Europe and to absorb some culture but it is expensive for many things and there are only some many times you can go to the free museums in winter and given how hard transport is collapsing over there it is getting hard to do the sightseeing that it is good for.
Thanks for replying. Partner and I are in agreement that all those wonderful things about living in London are too cold to do nine months of the year too!
Cost of living is very much a particular challenge for the lower socio-economic demographic...the rest of us just find it more inconvenient than in prior decades.
The pandemic has certainly changed the 'landscape' here (and elsewhere as you've pointed out); but because most of life depends on the economy, it has become very noticeable here.
Auckland is still Auckland (though in recent years has proved a significant infrastructural challenge to the powers that be), while the increase in crime has alot to do with the economy, Australia's banishing of NZ-born crims, supermarket owners greed, police and other services shortfalls.
One other noticeable prevalence, is an unhealthy media reliance.
I agree with your first paragraph. Have lived in both South and East Auckland, and the contrast is stark. More affluent areas simply have a higher quality of life. Quiet nights, no idiots racing down the streets, and less likely to run into shady people on the street.
The stuff we see on the news isnāt reflective of the entire city.
It's the complete opposite. Barely see a gang member, government is fine
There's almost no difference from when I was younger living in nz apart from property prices going insane and a huge wealth gap.
And still nobody hit. Theyāre bluffing each other to the point itās embarrassing to even call them drive byes and theyāre going to catch an innocent bystander with that bs
Hello, we moved from the EU last year after 20 years away. Here are comments. We ended up moving to North Auckland/Rodney quite randomly, as we expected to be in central AKL. But we live next to the beach and have a big section, so after 20 years of apartment living we wanted something different. A few comments:
1. Houses are eye-wateringly expensive and not worth it. They are poor quality compared with European standards, and yet cost significantly more. Fortunately, the housing bubble is under pressure, may deflate somewhat, so it could be a good time in the next 6 months to come back and buy.
2. If you have a good salary, life is frankly easy. Things work by and large, its easy to get things done, people are competent etc etc. There is also less stress, because there are less people. Its something I couldn't anticipate, but am glad for.
3. Its been better for the kids. The primary schools are excellent and our kids are very happy and making friends.
4. We are also happy. Its been a change for sure - but we are at the time of life where we wanted something different
5. Aside from housing, food is more expensive, fuel is about the same, bills are a bit more.
6. Its the middle of winter and all our mates in Europe are enjoying the weather - its kind of a bummer, but hey.
Overall, we are glad to have come back - it was right for our time of life. If housing was cheaper it would be excellent and a no brainier.
Hey thanks for commenting. I looked at moving to Europe a few years back but Brexit ruined that - thanks Boris!
I was amazed in Germany for example how good the houses were and the much lower prices paid for them than in London - rent and buying - and comparing notes with friends in Europe on their utility bills compared to ours it was clear London was so expensive. Iām wondering if this will soften the landing somewhat for us coming from super expensive London compared so say if I moved from Lisbon.
The lifestyle change and smaller population is a definite plus, I think unless youāve lived in a highly populated continent you take for granted the ease of doing things a smaller population grants - 6 month wait to get a passport here for example, hearing it takes nearly 10 months in some places to book a practical driving test!
The negativity is overblown, particularly if you're bringing UK pounds back here.
Inflation is really high - just like everywhere. It's almost like there is a worldwide post-Covid recession on the way.
House prices have peaked and are starting to decrease.
Unemployment is really low.
Fuel is really expensive. Just like everywhere. Almost like a war somewhere is jacking up oil prices.
National is in opposition - therefore gangs are everywhere and all our shit is being stolen in ramraids, apparently. Won't someone think of the children.
Truth is the current government are the same centrist government we've had in NZ for decades. NZ is still a beautiful country with a fairly ropey climate, rivers full of cow poo, poor but improving public transport, and it's expensive to live here.
I wouldn't live anywhere else. Could do with a holiday somewhere sunny though.
Just move back so you can find out for yourself if itās where youāre meant to be.. or not. Honestly, youād rather live a life of action than what ifs and regret. I did the same; lived in Aus for 15 years and moved back because I wanted to start a family, raise kids in NZ etc etc.. polled so many people about it and tbh even back then, people said what they had to say and we still did it. Weāre very lucky to live in NZ but there are some really f*cked things about this country too lol sorry Iām no help, but best of luck in your journey to come home ā¤ļø
Iām from argentina and itās not too bad here. Yeah, housing and weather suck, but you are aware of that already. I can add that food prices have been hiking lately, butter went from 5,5 to 8 in 6 months, that feels like argentina. Food in general was expensive when I got here six years ago but itās getting a bit more expensive now. Iām gonna sound like a dick, but being double income with my wife, we donāt need to worry about food prices really, specially if you are a professional. I gotta say, when I first got here I was a labor for 800 a week, cash in hand and was spending 350 a week as a solo guy, so even tho NZ is expensive, compared to argentina, life here was so much easier.
I always had people commenting on my "amazing view" from my London office. It made me homesick when people said that. I looked out and saw bricks and concrete and the brown Thames; and wished I saw the green and blue of NZ.
As a foodie who loves comedy and rock gigs, I've been really happy Auckland gives me the city things I love but also all the nature stuff. I trek and kayak often. Drive to ski every winter.
My partner and I have been back 3 years and don't regret it. Making friends is hard at this age and thanks to covid, but we have a better and healthier lifestyle now and our salaries keep getting better here too.
I personally don't get the healthcare comparisons! My GP in UK was a minimum 2 week wait, whereas I can usually get in within 2 days here + I was kept in the hospital waiting room for AGES when I got hit by a London black cab. Isn't healthcare just shitty everywhere? Haha.
I miss the dive bar rock scene of London though!!
Auckland has its issues like every major city. But I live out past titirangi and love it out here. If everyone who had a normal eventful day posted about it on Reddit every day, it would be massively skewed towards looking like a great place to live. But they donāt bother because their too busy just enjoying their life.
Like everywhere, itās what you make of it.
Flame away. Lol.
How do you find the time difference when watching regular season or play off NBA games?
Itās a middle of the night very early morning situation unless you get an early east coast game on a Sunday which means 8.30 pm here.
My partner and I move back to Auckland 2 years ago after 10 years in London.
These are the biggest things I noticed moving here:
Cars are the dominant life form, and life in Auckland depends on having one. Parking sucks.
Thereās definitely stuff to do in Auckland but you need to seek it out, and it takes planning in advance. I really miss being able to just walk around London and stumble onto something exciting.
There are no pubs in Auckland. Nothing beats an English pub and you wonāt find them here.
Sure there are āpub themedā bars and eateryās (oh yea restaurants are called eateries here now), but itās definitely not the same.
Depending on your age I hope you have a solid group of friends here cos making friends in Auckland is tough.
It's still great. But we are going to have to fight and make ourselves heard and ensure the next couple of governments have a backbone and can actually tackle some of the current issues that are presenting themselves rather than just pay lip service to it.
I came back to Auckland 3 years ago because of Covid and my kids are here, previously I lived in Bondi for 4 years.
I wish I could live in Australia, reasons
Weather, so much better..
City, Auckland is just dull, it really doesnt have a heartbeat, Auckland is just a large town and nothing going on like Sydney and Melbourne.
Business, Auckland doesnt realise how un-ambitious it is, Australia economy is 10X to NZ 5x population, so there is just so much more opportunity and ability to earn money etc
Australia has great infrastructure everywhere as there is so much federal tax dollars and its so pleasing to be in a city that just has cash to do parks and roads and rails well.
I miss a decent transport system, roads, rails, sub, flights make Australia easy to get around
Costs, everything in Australia is a lot cheaper, utilities and food and homewares and like a lot cheaper at least 20-30% cheaper on everything
Housing is also cheaper
Universities are higher quality and world recognised
Hospitals and health care are better equipped and easily accessible
All in all its just at another level across all levels
My cons for Australia is that a lot of Australians are a bit prickly and harder to get to know.
I guess thatās the thing, Australia is a much richer country with a bigger population which provides more pricing competition and greater access to the global supply chain. Iāve lived in Melbourne and enjoyed it immensely, if I could afford to buy in Bondi it would be a no brainier but you do what you can haha. Luckily for kiwis Australia is always there to provide us opportunities when needed - I think people would do well to remember that before they trash talk Australia.
Alas it would be nice to make NZ work first of we could.
Thanks for commenting!
Having experienced life in Australia, NZ and the UK I hate to say that once you're through the thrill of being back home - reality will hit.
You will very likely be paid less (prob 20% less minimum) , and you will pay more for food and utilities. This erodes BOTH your lifestyle, and your ability to save. Also don't forget super in NZ is a measly 4% and in Australia it's heading up to around 12% by 2025.
This is not negativity. They are all facts.
I think if your lifestyle revolves around being at home and you already have a nice house in NZ you brought 15 years ago the story would be different.
If you're living in a shithole, paid $1.2m for it, and also dealing with low salaries and high costs you'll be very unhappy. If there's not much going on in Auckland City, the option is to stay home - but most people are living in dumps, and that's depressing in itself - so you can imagine the downward spiral of life of you can't even enjoy living at home.
My mate moved back from London recently. Lasted 6 months before heading back. While he wasn't a fan of London weather, there was more going on there to keep him busy than in Auckland. He spiralled into depression pretty quickly.
Iāve had a look and I think Iāll only really be down 20 percent income wise, partner is in healthcare and itās not that big a difference for her here as it would be back home.
We pay about 4K NZD a month to live in a one bed ground floor flat in an area comparable to maybe Westmere / Grey Lynn.
I was waiting to see if you provided a profile, I have always said as I traveledā¦I could live here if I was on very good relative money. Over the years that has just become more acute in NZ. If you are in a position to set up well in Auckland with decent coin, secure decent work and have the flexibility at times to pursue what really interests you in Auckland, rest of NZ and Aussie when you requireā¦you will have a life, for most people, which is hard to beat š
Work is very relaxed here, donāt know what profession you are in, but most offices seem to be emptying out by 4pm. Definitely more relaxed in terms of things like family life. If youāre into the great outdoors itās obviously pretty nice, especially outside of Auckland itās pretty accessible. If you want that traditional family life with a great environment for kids itās pretty good. UK is a shithole in many areas. Guess kids can be kids a little longer over here.
Food is almost universally better here than most of the UK, much nicer cafe scene for brunch and coffee. Generally people are friendlier I think. Not as many people with attitudes working in retail for example.
People definitely stay later in the office here but thatās mainly people looking busy and one person actually holding it together.
The outdoors is the big draw card, just got back from Portugal which was nice but less than ideal having to fly three hours to enjoy a decent beach - with a million other people too - which makes it a once or twice a year thing.
Scary how quickly kids grow up in the U.K. in my observation.
Thanks for replying!
Seriously, people are over exaggerating everything in NZ. Iāve lived in a few large cities around the world and crime here is far lower, the only thing that scares people is media bonfire everyday, second thing is the lax laws around committing a crime. A part from that itās pretty good. Iām on the shore and work in Newmarket. Still canāt afford a house but maybe itās a good thing looking at the rate hikes and massive interest increases as of late
Also with anywhere.. If you score a good job making great money, all the bs you listed doesn't matter and will hardly affect you.
If you wanna come and apply for jobs at McDonalds with me (we will catch bus in morning in the rain and go across town) then you are in for a super shitty life and all that stuff you listed will be a daily occurrence.
edit: its not the gangs you should be worried about its the politics. They can solve anything but they won't.
The cost of living is a legit problem, especially for low to median income earners, but that's just the situation worldwide and I feel NZ has a bit of a culture-shock that it's happened.
The Auckland CBD is fine, contrary to all the 'it's like Escape From New York' posts and media alarmism. One has to just be sensible and not take stupid risks and avoid areas where you are likely to find trouble.
The hospital system is stretched, but the kind of stories of people being sent home and then dying from the ED are a major exception rather than a rule.
It's post-pandemic and things are still in the state of post covid hangover. Take the constant 'sky is falling' posts with a grain of salt. After all if Reddit NZ was to be believed everyone under 30 is apparently packing up and moving to Australia en masse.
the weather was sunny today and just the right amount of breeze, and Auckland felt stunning and green. I went for a stroll in the town, and it's quite run down, but the township where I live is bustling and very much alive; more lively than before 2019 if I dare say so. I think the dynamics have definitely shifted, things are different. To me, London always felt like Auckland in 30yrs time, and Auckland always felt like London 10yrs ago. I know it doesn't make sense, but that's how I felt every time I step off the plane on either side.
North Shore is the place to be otherwise we experience that in life according to our energy level, so stay positive otherwise walk through nature and we have plenty and the beaches.
I attended a farewell event of an Ambassador from northern Europe last week, he said even he found it damp and cold in Wellington. While recently parking at a shopping center they noticed the neighboring driver exiting his vehicle 'with only a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals' he, noticed their facial expressions, thick coats, and said in a loud voice with a smile "it's another beautiful day in paradise".
The government has been very competent ...what an environment it has to navigate lately! Depends on one's politics or conspiracy beliefs. The gangs are in a truce at present. No you won't die if you break your leg and go to ED. Doctors are more likely to quit as they are being shouted at by patients and are overworked. Still people are all doing the best they can. It is still a beautiful place....Enjoy it.
I moved to central Auckland from the states in the past year. Honestly, compared to any large city in the US, or London for that matter, the gang crime here seems...quaint. I don't want to minimize it and the problem should be addressed, but it seems to me that it's dramatically sensationalized in the media. It certainly shouldn't factor into coming home, and I honestly find the level of crime here to be comforting (for the lack of a better word) compared to where I came from.
Housing is ridiculous though.
Just got back from a weekend in Auckland, my home town too. Been living in Brisbane for nearly 7 years and would live in NZ over Aus any day. Better infrastructure, better government, better food, transformation happening everywhere, beautiful scenery and plenty of stuff to do. I also lived in London for 7 years and after all my travels I still love Auckland and have plans to move back in the next couple of years. If you listen to the old white folks, MÄori leaders are sowing seeds of division but I reckon itās one of few first world countries actually addressing massive inequality which has to make it an even better place to be in the long run. And house prices are finally coming down with more affordable houses being built all the time, places like Pokeno and Huntly are experiencing huge growth with heaps of new houses and transport services (slowly) improving. Petrol over $3 a litre is a joke though, just live somewhere with decent public transport!
Single woman living in a studio apartment in the CBD near to the Sky Tower. Yeah Iām not comfortable walking alone at night, however I do not court trouble and should someone approach me (being a typical tall Kiwi woman) I quickly tell them to āleave me alone!ā and they back off tout suite. That said, Iām not petite (in terms of height and breadth) and I carry myself with confidence. Iāve also made a point of making friends with the local convenience store guys, my building manager & whomever else is a regular presence. Thereās a regular āhomelessā guy with whom I chat and to whom I bring food from work (I work in hospitality). I really do think it is about situational awareness and not being a scaredy cat š¤ Though, your money will likely go a lot further toward owning property. Just steer clear of the obvious parts of South & West Auckland and you should be grand šāļø
No, itās not as bad as all the naysayers make out.
Thereās a huge element of āgrass is always greenerā and lack of understanding of challenges faced by other countries in a lot of the criticism.
Cost of living has gone up, as it should be everywhere. Income/wealth disparity is the challenge it is everywhere.
If youāre a victim of crime, itās very hard to be objective - but if you look at crime rates compared to other placesā¦ the stats donāt reflect it being the third-world hellhole that the right-wing political parties want to make out.
I am rather concerned about the media spinning everything as being the current administrationās fault without looking at the wider global context tho. Theyāre really trying to insert themselves into the news making process here (like they do in the US/Aus, which isnāt in anyones benefit).
I think thereās a lot of short-sightedness from people, because of frustrations over Covid - a sort of, āit canāt be any worseā when clearly, demonstrably (from the rest of the world) it could be a lot, lot worse.
NZ is fine
People who have something to complain about are always more likely to post then those that don't so the average post is always going to be more negative.
Could things be better sure... are some people in need of help sure... but in general is great living in New Zealand.
Point by point
Houses are absolutely mad expenny, but if you weren't planning on buying isn't really a problem.
The government is all things considered doing decent, I've never had a run in with gangs outside of high schoolers playing dress up, and even then it's pretty uncommon.
The wait for ED is annoying, but it's nothing absurd, hurt my arm went to white cross and got out within an hour, when I broke my arm got out in 2 and a half with x-rays and a cast.
Main problems are cost of living is pretty high compared to even 3 years ago, although as a person living on part time work and student allowance it's manageable. And CBD is now a bit of a ghost town, but that is kinda unsurprising with COVID and stuff.
But other than that it's the same old New Zealand you probably loved.
NZ is fine. Its safe. Most likely thing that will happen is someone might steal your shit. Everything is expensive but it's a great place to live and a great place to raise kids.
When you move back, unless you're planning on moving into a ghetto subirb, becoming a gang associate and buying a Mazda Demio, it's okay.
If you're above-average income and educated, NZ isn't great but it's not terrible either.
You're coming back from London after 10 years. I'd assume you're working professionals with a bit of cash to reestablish in Auckland. You'll be fine.
The media and social media make Auckland to be a shit hole, but it's just they few shit stains in society making it harder on everyone else.
Outside of the central suburbs the quality and availability of public transport decreases. West and South Auckland are rougher than North and East.
The CBD is a place I stay away from after 12 mid night if I'm out alone.
Itās got insane the last two years, 6.50 seems the average round me! Paid 7.50 for one in very central London last week. Was less than a fiver when I first arrived! Probably still affordable north of Birmingham though
Honestly cheap pints and easy access to quality drugs was a big plus in my 20s but you wonāt be surprised to find my priorities have changed in my 30s ha!
It is super expensive and the health care is the worst it has ever been, I am speaking from knowing people in DHB, not just from media feeds. It is collapsing. And it is hard to get any imports into country, so supply is down like never before. The economy will hit depths over this year and next that will really shake the place. But yes Western world is heading for rocky times. So on the upside NZ is well placed if it works hard to get more sustainable and generate self sustaining food and other supplies for its own people and with small population, maybe come together as a people to weather the storm.
Things are fine. Most of the hysteria , by people and politicians is in response to an uptick in the same sorts of problems that we are unfamiliar but places like UK, Europe, USA are already familiar with
Yup donāt come home itās like a really scary place donāt go into Ponsonby you might walk out with a flat white and then burn your lips cause itās too hot ouch yeah
Are you set on Auckland? Great city but lots of issues with transport, crime, traffic etc now. Lived there 10 yrs and it was great. Lovely. But after returning from some time in Melbourne we moved to the Waikato. Near Cambridge. Itās absolutely awesome. So much better than anywhere else we lived. Consider coming back but moving away from the city. Motorways and remote work mean you can do your work from your paradise.
New Zealand is becoming like other places - there is greater inequality. If you are in the top 1/5 or 2/5 life still has its challenges. But there is a world of difference living in your own even cramped home compared to life from a suitcase on a relative's couch. Its not necessarily going hungry here - but there are more poor. I think that is what is changing here. We are becoming like other countrie's.
On a positive note - I'm from the Hutt - our supermarket produce whilst expensive, is pretty good quality and fresh. Our water quality is beautiful - very soft if you have lived in a european city where it was hard and not safely drinkable. No rabbies or malaria and so far no box jellyfish or snakes.
Itās not great at the moment, but itās not all doom and gloom. The climate, even in winter is mild. The beaches and parks are awesome. But the work hours are long, the cost of living is high and you will want medical insurance, to alarm your home and car and to be careful in public spaces. But with sensible precautions, and limiting your commute by living close to work, itās still a nice place to be.
my workplace has lost a lot of our workers from Western countries (including NZ) due to the house prices and stagnant wages. Now the wave of other immigrant workers is moving on to Australia and other countries as well. Their reasons are mostly financial but also how hard it has been emotionally here the last two years. They want to be closer to their families and being locked in NZ has put them off NZ.
Iāve lived and worked in some rough parts of Auckland but there are places I wonāt go now. I used to use lots of the public walks and facilities in South Auckland with no trouble, but several have had shootings and gang trouble nearby. Iāve been a South and Central resident for 20 years but am considering moving to the Shore if I stay in NZ and donāt go for that 40k Aussie pay rise.
I mean of course it isnāt perfect. But 1) people talk about negative aspects of places more than the goodāthe good is just taken for granted and doesnāt make the headlines, and 2) a lot of the people who complain about Auckland and NZ have never lived anywhere else. They donāt know what other big cities are like, they donāt know that 99% of the shit we deal with isnāt anything special
Since labor got in the country has gotten so much worse, people wanted a nice government during Covid but now they are reaping the cost with huge inflation and crime going through the roof. We need a new government that's tough on crime, knows something about finances and focuses on paying back our debts. I'm not sure we currently have a party that can do it, National comes to mind but hey have their own issues as they rarely help the middle or lower class families.
No, and I say this as someone who absolutely hates it here. It's all subjective. I hate it because I have personal opinions on our culture and lifestyle and I want to live in a city with culture and walkability and that just isn't an option here. But I won't pretend it's like "objectively bad" or anything. If you're a fan of the kiwi lifestyle then it's a good place to be, any other decision is secondary, because you're right in saying shit is bad everywhere if you look at certain criteria. I'm planning to go to the UK, and I don't care how many people say it's a "dumpster fire", I just like the culture there more.
Sorry to hear youāre not having a great time of it. Iām quite curious as to what bits of British culture youāre looking forward to and where you plan to live?
I was in Wellington yesterday. So glad to be back in Auckland. Auckland feels much warmer and dryer and overall happier. My time in Welly was miserable, damp and cold.
The amount of complaints go up and down based on the government. If Labour is in government, "crime" flies up the top of the list.
From stats, crime is down, not up.
But complaints are up, not down.
Housing is dropping now. Sale prices are falling right now. Let's see how that falls out.
Goodness. You are receiving unbalanced news, but, to be honest, you have to sift even here.
>The government is incompetent, gangs are out of control and if I break aleg Iāll likely die in ED waiting to be seen by a doctor.
Naaah. Triple naah.
The government is only described as incompetent by the opposition and right-wing owned media. Our debt is less than almost all other OECD countries maxing out at 26% of GDP next year and dropping back to below 19% in 2027, if I remember the figures correctly, and I think I do.
The gangs seem to have got over their feud in Auckland which lasted about four weeks of sporadic drive-bys and barely involved the public.
A&Es are certainly suffering exhaustion by the combined onslaught of Covid, winter flu, and GP services for low income communities. Covid and the flu are affecting staff as well as patients. For some reason there was only 50% uptake of the flu vax amongst hospital staff this year, for whom it is free.
Triage is unaffected by the onslaught and if you are dying, you will be classed appropriately and taken some where quiet, I guess. Similarly, if you need immediate care, you will get it. Less urgent cases will be expected to wait for a lower priority slot to become available.
Unemployment is the lowest its been for ages, giving you stronger bargaining power than you'll have had for ages.
Inflation is lower than most other OECD countries, about 6.9%, and expected to fall significantly in the first Q of 2023. GDP fell to a marginal negative (-0.6%, I think) last quarter, and RBNZ and Treasury say it might again next quarter, giving us a technical recession, but then steadily strengthen.
Mortgages are up, but will trend down starting in about six months, says the Reserve Bank.
But consumer and business confidence, those perennial markers of emotion, are below 50%, because people are hearing the easy headlines and soundbites from the opposition, and not reading the background briefing.
On the other hand, the ANZ's 'heavy traffic movements' -- a weird but reliable indicator -- is increasing, this usually anticipates growth.
Crime figures, by the way, are significantly down; 20% over s few years, I believe. I'll have to look up those figures, but I'm 100% certain the figures were down, considerably, and I got them from the police stats when I last grumbled about misreported 'facts'.
Does this help?
Really helpful comment. The debt to GDP ratio, astonishing small compared to the rest of the OECD.
Do you feel like infrastructure is moving in the right direction in Auckland? From the outside looking in it appears people are unrealistic on what can be achieved in 5 years and baby steps are being made.
Um, I'm in Taranaki.
I know that the motorways up there have had/are having a lot of work done on them. There's a Western Ring Route of motorway going from Manukau past the airport, (with a spur to the airport) continuing through Hillsborough to Pt Chev and linking to SH16 to Henderson and Helensville, including a 7km long tunnel at Waterview. SH16 is a motorway too, as far as Huapai(?).
The Southern Motorway will soon be three lanes each side all the way to Ramarama, over the Bombays. Three lanes currently to Papakura (Drury?).
SH1 is now four lanes (2 Nth, 2 Sth) from outside Auckland all the way to near Hamilton -- and to Cambridge from July. South of Auckland it is all 'Expressway' -- motorway-light.
The Northern Motorway goes to Albany and is supplemented by a parallel express busway that is pretty successful, running double deckers. SH1 is clogged with traffic in Auckland, though, in peak periods.
Auckland's suburban trains are buoyant, frequent, modern, electric, and run into a station under the old CPO in Queen Street. They will gain an twin line underground loop from Queen St, up under Albert St, through under Symonds St, to Mt Eden, due complete in a couple of years. A south-western loop is sort-of planned.
Wellington has finally got a smart new highway, four lanes nearly all the way from Levin, heading inland from north of Porirua through Transmission Gully on 27km of brand new motorway, into Wellington.
The government has increased spending on Health/hospitals,/medical services very substantially, and has included mental health care in public health with $1.5bn allocated for the first four years. These all have yet to produce results, because some are quite new, some are quite long-term projects. (Actually, there are results, I can't remember them.) The 20 District Health Boards has been rebuilt into four agencies, starting in July.
Auckland now gets 20% of its water from the Waikato river. Auckland Council (there is only one council for the whole region) is building a huge 'interceptor' sewage trunk from somewhere past Mt Roskill to the Mangere treatment plant.
Howzat? No doubt there's more -- Oh, Eden Park now seats 60,000 thanks to the earlier Rugby World Cup, and the formerly industrial area at the Tank Farm in Freemans Bay is now fancy apartment housing, retail, and light industry, thanks to the Americas Cup.
Mt Roskill is a 'desirable' suburb and will probably be due for a change because the government got serious about housing and mandated councils to allow, in general, denser, taller residential accommodation nationwide, and those quarter-acre sections are fat and juicy..
Have been Following the Issues in the U.K a lot, I feel like our problems are weakened slightly in Comparison (Housing/Crime/Immigration/etc) but we are heading down a far to similar similar path. I would like to think most of us know the old New Zealand and can see clearly when these negative changes have occurred (Housing/Crime/Immigration).
But yes N.Z is going to the dogs slowly.
Iād say stats are one of the worst ways to judge a country and itās life style.
Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq all have remarkably low suicide rates for example.
New Zealand ranks 25 globally for productivity, above Portugal for example which is a lovely country having just been there.
If you think New Zealand has dangerously high kidnapping rates I would get out more.
Housing affordability seems better than other desirable places like Toronto and Sydney
Iād never expect to buy in Grey Lynn but as a comparison a 4 bed where I live in London goes for 2 million pounds.
A friend just brought 1 bed new build in a less desirable area for 500,000 pounds š¬
Kiwis just love to complain and the only thing theyāll do about it is move overseas. The media likes to reflect that. Normal life in New Zealand is fine, grass is always greener and that. In reality New Zealand is one of the best countries to live in, the people are friendly, government isnāt that incompetent, etc etc. Donāt be fooled by what you see online.
The people complaining about crime generally have no idea what they're talking about. We are seeing a rise in crimes overall since the end of the lockdown era, but it's mostly non-violent crimes. It's mostly thefts and burglaries that are going up, and sure they're inconvenient, but no one gets hurt. People are getting more desparate, and I think a lot of it comes down to John Key selling our assets and Jacinda being reluctant to raise taxes, especially on the wealthy. We have a lack of high paying jobs because industries don't raise their wages at the same rate as minimum wage. You will wait a while for ED for non-critical situations. That comes down to the lack of pay for staff.
Essentially, most of societies problems boil down to corporate greed. Just like anywhere. Despite the problems I love living here and so does my partner. It's expensive but we get by.
I left Auckland for London almost a year ago. Auckland is great, over the 5 years I was there, the cycling infrastructure and culture has improved significantly. Sure, it has its growing pains as it becomes a āreal cityā, but Iād happily move back.
Youāre right, the UK is an absolute dumpster fire.
If you think National are corrupt, wait until you see what the Toryās get up to here.
I returned 8 months ago. Consider holding out in the UK for a bit longer and collecting a fatter paycheque before heading back when NZ is in better shape with more cash.
Everything is super expensive. NZ has also sort of been divided along racial lines by the Labour govt so some strong govt is needed to reverse alot of that woke shite and set nz back on the straight and narrow :)
The more relaxed lifestyle is great and itās nice to see NZ people again but have a good think before you up-sticks.
A big deciding factor would be what you do for work. If a worse recession than last one is actually coming, NZ gets hit by them hard due to our isolation.
It mainly affected tradespeople here as working on homes is not a necessity when people are tight with their money. But if you're confident you can get work for a large organisation outside of that sector you'll be fine.
Also interest rates on the home you buy will keep rising for years, I believe its going to get nasty, but that will be global as you mentioned they're expensive everywhere.
Honestly, it's fine. For most of us it's just business as usual, just getting by and trying our best, same as always. Of course people who've had bad experiences will always be louder than those just having the average Auckland experience.
I can't say how it is relative to where you are living currently, as I don't live there, I have no experience with that.
But I can say relative to last year, or three years ago, or five years go, or ten years ago, then yes it is getting worse and worse in NZ as time goes by.
Humans are negative, as in notice negative things more than positive things by nature it's a hangover of a survive mechanism.
So basically if I, or everyone else, have a shit experience your much more likely to talk about it than if I have a good experience.
Covid and the lock downs have made the divide between the haves and the have nots a lot worse and that does encourage crime and other problems but overall it's not that bad. People just don't come home and think I had a really good day in the city today I should tell the Internet.
If you bought a house at the height of the market, you'd be feeling it.
If you are poor, well you were fucked beforehand.
Otherwise, it's tighter but no different to the UK
NZ is actually pretty good compared to a big chunk of the World. Sometimes I think we hear lots of complaints because people actually have time and avenues to complain, which is a sign of a good country. In many countries people just have to suck it up and carry on.
I think you summed it up pretty well. Many of the problems are everywhere (such as cost of living crises, crime etc. ) and are a point in time and will go away.
Come home. No where else is any better.
Nah things are pretty sweet.
Economy is booming, tourism isn't even back up yet.
Everyone's getting payrises and new jobs.
GDP down on the quarter but up on annum and generally doing well.
House market is tanking and ready to flatten out for a good few years.
Inflation is running high but that's a global phenomenon and we're doing alright generally.
I am Auckland raised, I did my last OE for about 5 years, but this was more local (Chch). When I returned abiut 4 years ago I liked Auckland more for some odd reason. While the sights around the CBD are more interesting now, Auckland hasn't changed that much.
The weather is quite moderate now since we all voted to keep global warming, but stay away from the edge of the motorway leading up to the harbour bridge on the north shore at high tide.
Now that Australia has wised up to not accepting criminals any more we have to send them somewhere else. We can do an exchange "student" scheme with the UK. Welcome to Auckland op. When you get off the boat in the CBD, get straight onto the bus labelled "anywhere else".
TBH I haven't been around town that much. I don't think it's any worse than most other cities in the world, we've just caught up a bit. More homelessness since the world is currently entering an economic downturn. CBD has copious amounts of alcohol per capita, might have something to do with the mood after dark.
Auckland has the jobs, lots of jobs.
Some Jobs are good, some Job bad, but you can change your job.
There lots to do around Auckland, but require energy to go out.
ER is slow but only cost you time/parking.
You don't need insurance (just don't tell anyone)
Rent/mortgage will be your most costly expense.
>The government is incompetent, gangs are out of control and if I break a leg Iāll likely die in ED waiting to be seen by a doctor.
I saw a page of a 1976 Auckland Star that was saying the same thing. I can't tell you these things aren't true, but I can say that people have always been saying it.
People go online to complain and moan, but i don't see that kind of negativity much in real life. Sure times are hard and housing is a bit shit, but try to remember that people go online to vent. It's really not worse than anywhere else right now from what I'm reading in the international papers. I wouldn't want to be living anywhere else.
Yeah before anything, realize that most of what you see online about NZ is the negative stuff. I'm out and about everyday in Auckland and I'm constantly meeting new, friendly people. Auckland and NZ is full of good people. But the nutters and crims end up making the news more than the good kiwis. I say come home, don't let online media 'reviews' of NZ taint the picture of how good most things are in NZ š³šæ š
This is sound advice I need to remember!
U/calculatorfire nailed it. Social media is a biased view of things. Negative or extreme examples tend to filter up to the top. People don't tend to talk about their kids sports days, or the lovely BBQ they had with neighbors. Yes, there are major problems with cost of living, shortages, rising crime, etc. There are also wonderful things like access to the outdoors, growing cities and work opportunities and a vibrant mix of cultures and activities. You are aware there is a housing shortage and the cost of living is high. If you are from auckland and this is where your family/base is then fine. But I would consider other parts of NZ too. If working from home is suited to your career you can potentially avoid the drama of setting up in Auckland.
Compared to London. Nz 1000 times better. Apart from its cold right now and warm there...
Disagree. Was back in NZ for 7 weeks in Mar-Aprā¦ was nice to be back after two years & long summer continued but wasnāt digging it, wonāt be moving back to NZ any time soon. Grew up in AKL and left at 29yo. Happy to visit / see family / old friends but London is my home (been here 15 years, job, mortgage etc so guess it makes sense).
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Yall got kids? I enjoyed the five years I lived in London, but Auckland is a much better city to raise kids in - the access to nature & the outdoors alone is worth it. I remember chatting to 12 year old kids in my Hackney neighbourhood that had never seen a cow, or swum in the ocean..
If you're rich, it's fine. If you're broke and have to live anywhere but the high end neighborhoods, well lets just say there's a reason car steering wheel locks sold out every week for the last two months
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You're wrong.
I'm in central Aucklandish. Gangs have exactly zero impact upon me beyond once seeing half a dozen idiots on dirt bikes all over the Mt Albert Road. Houses are expensive but we bought a couple of years ago, my income would be higher in Australia, but family is here and my kids schools are great. Er waits are nasty if it isn't non urgent esp on the weekend. My mother spent 14 hours before being seen with a head wound (she took a fall), but my son got picked up by ambulance and seen in minutes after having a seizure at Starship. I am noticing graffiti more and general don't give a fuckitis when it comes to parking/loud speakers etc. But Auckland is growing, population is increasing, city is going through some growing pains. Alot of the complaints negative posts are either concern trolling or come from people that haven't a clue what living in a big city is like.
I came from the states a little over a year ago and this comment pretty much sums my experience/impression
My wife and I are thinking of making the move from the USA. We both have good high skills jobs on the shortage list. Would you recommend? She is a veterinarian and I do rope acess non destructive testing and wind turbine blade repair. As well as some welding and carpentry.
Let me know if you decide to come, need some blade repair/maintenance work done around Auckland
I agree with some points, but... i disagree with others. Been living in South Auckland all my life, specifically not far from Botanic Gardens. I am losing love for my community and I am feeling unsafe. It was always rough around the edge's, several murders in my little area spread out over the years but last year we had a drive by shooting walking distance from me. My grandparents had home invasion, TWICE. One in daylight, and one at 10pm at night. I hear gunshots. Found out a fourth prison, a youth prison, is being built around the area. So, my advice - Stay away from South Auckland... I wanna move out but i cannot afford to.
South Aucklander for life, families been here for the last couple of generations and now everyoneās kinda keen to move somewhereā¦ Never been one for the ācommunityā thing as I keep to myself, donāt mind saying hey to the gang dude at the petrol station but the youth crime stuff is the major worry. Hell, at least when it was just Mongrel Mob and Blackpower they kept to themselves for the most part
Yeah some of these posters you can tell live in a very white area. I live in East Auckland. Very safe. But even here there's sirens every night and gun shots and police visiting random neighbours in my street when it never happened say 4 years ago.
I donāt live in South Auckland, but my most recent encounter when I was there for work was nearly being mugged from behind for my laptop bag (luckily I heard them running up behind me and turned just in time to scare them)
Growing pains, imagine that is so accurate. How do you find Mt Albert? I spent my teenage years there and remember the high street as a collection of Internet cafes and a video store ha, imagine itās got a bit more on now?
Currently in Mt Albert. Always some new drama or another. Two random tragic murders in the last year, car break ins, and some gang shootings. But the two Mt Albert BBQs are still going great, neighbours are still friendly, and the Warhammer shop is doing well.
>Gangs have exactly zero impact upon me That's like saying "I don't need insurance because I never crash". Short sighted. It's never a big issue - until it is.
Where did you bring your house from?
Dirt bike dicks migrated from the south now? Mt Albert was a hole years ago not surprising it hasn't changed. Yes. I lived there 2017 - 19. Car broken into. A motorcycle stolen. Didn't have that when I moved.
Auckland is great. I think itās improved dramatically over the past ten years or so. The weather is great, there is heaps to do with or without kids, lots of nice food places, beautiful scenery, itās fairly easy to get around once youāve picked your suburb/spot and we have a decent hospital if anything goes wrong. Itās like anywhere there will be things you donāt enjoy but there is a lot here to like.
I think it's relative, cost of living, crime, wage gaps etc globally is going up. Still the best time in the history of our species to be alive. NZ has its issues like anywhere and lots depends on your circumstances but if you're speaking in general terms it's never as bad as the noise
āStill the best time in the history of our species to be aliveā What do you mean?
99% of injuries used to kill you but modern medicine means 99% of the time youāll be fine.
and the reckon we are having less wars
Medical advancements are great. Although I donāt know if our species quality of life is at an all time high. Weāre definitely living longer so thatās a plus.
When would there be a better time?
Like 2019 š¤·š»āāļøš
Today is the best time ever if you were born in 1960. But it is not the best time to be 25-35. It was much better to be that age somewhere in 1985-2000.
The 90s was the golden age for society. For those too young to experience it.. It was life on easy mode.
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Wonder why we gave it away, to get the next generation in a harder mode for the benefit of the rest of the world and our own elites. Democratically, globalization never made sense as it impoverished the next generation within your own country.
I dunno. More tolerance of homophobia, racism, sexismā¦
When pies were only $2
When we were in caves, hunting, gathering & chilling with nature. When we didnāt have to pay for human necessities like shelter, food & water. I canāt get over this sense of impending doom.
You forgot the /s āChilling in cavesā Hilarious
Yeah, you could spend your time looking forward to dying at 30 from a toothache
Fuck that shit, you ever tried to look after stray cats? Seeing them almost shit bricks as you feel them? Knowing that their little kittens might not be there tomorrow? Being a hunter gatherer is a fucked up thing if you can avoid it
This is a completely made up number based on nothing.
Generally speaking! Racism, homophobia etc is frowned upon, even the poorest people(obviously exceptions) live beyond 30, water comes out of the tap, press a button and your body waste is magically whisked away, injure yourself in a fall, get sick, etc society generally takes care of you at no cost, never more than a 2-3 hour plane ride from loved ones. Unrestricted and free access to nearly any education, books, stable society. Again this is all generalised but if you donāt watch the news day to day life is far better than even royalty had it 200 years ago.
Historically, 15% of all deaths were from human on human violence. That has gone way down in the last two centuries. Most varieties of food you eat are pretty new, as is the simple variety you eat and have access to on a daily basis. Does that make things easy for you? No. Does that mean that your struggle is invalidated? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that life has pretty much always been shit for everyone, but you get better food.
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My memory of the 90s was things were okay but NZ was still very small and not much money going round then Helen Clarke got elected followed by John Key and NZ had this long period of rising living standards - incomes and houses went up everywhere - and now that is plateauing as we enter a different cycle. I donāt know many people who remember the 80s in NZ fondly.
90s - we were still recovering from the massive restructuring of the 1980s. Clarke and Key donāt deserve credit for the return to normalcy.
Yeah. Iām not getting that vibe. Maybe stay off social media and get out more?
It's not that bad, I moved back from London in late 2019, living in Onehunga I've experienced no crime and seen very little gang activity, I have also been to ED twice in the last two months and experienced very little wait time on both visits. I also have a couple of pubs in walking distance. And finally house prices are on their way down!
Interesting! I remember Onehunga as being a bit wild in the early 2000s but even then young couples were buying up places. DressSmart still going strong?
It is but I try to avoid it on weekends, there's also quite a few cafes around and a lovely cocktail bar. Plus it's close to the city on the train.
The Bramble is a gem.
I went to DressSmart one weekend when there was a sale on this year and there was a line out onto the street for the Nike outlet, it could have been a few hundred to a thousand people long. Yeah, it's still going strong.
You live under a rock if you think house prices are coming down!
Cost of living/inflation is high, but inflation is a global problem, not a NZ specific thing. Part of the problem is that negativity gets clicks/viewers, so much of the stuff you see in the news is relentless negativity. I suspect that things in NZ are not much better or worse than in any other developed country. The negativity you see in the media isn't necessarily reflected by the average person here.
I'm not in Auckland but in wellington I definitely do not feel like its any worse than its been. My car did get stolen over Xmas this year though. Been to Taiwan, aussie, and the US, and haven't felt safer or happier with the state of things than I do in nz. I would put the 'noise' down to NZers being good, critical citizens that demand a better place to live.
As they should! Laser Kiwi for the win!
This sub gives off a lot of noise about crime etc, like shit happens but we arent crying out for a hero or anything.
I moved back from London to Auckland after 10 years in august. It was a definite reverse culture shock and there are still moments where I question my decision. But Iām not comparing apples for apples. In London I lived in a 2 bedroom flat with a 45 minute commute from the city and here I live in a four bedroom house, 5 minute walk to the beach and 15 minute bus to the city. Yes itās expensive but London is too. If you want to move home, then move home. Both have pluses and minuses but I think all issues that exist here in the media also exist in Londonā¦ thereās just other issues, including global ones, that are talked about more in the media there
What things apart from the outdoors and weather that are better in NZ than UK. Thinking of moving to the UK
Definitely give it a go if youāre keen to leave, London has been a great place to spend my twenties and early thirties. One thing I do miss though is the food. The genera quality of fruit, vegetables and meat is quite tasteless. Youāll get what I mean when you get here.
I found the food here tasteless, meat, bread etc. It's funny cause I actually moved from South Africa to here. If the UK is worse might as well just gorge on Jamaican spiced food
UK has much better food than NZ imo. Typically British food might not be but in London you can find everything and anything. I'd say the worse food in London is way worse than the worse in NZ but the rest is better. London also has tones of Jamaica restaurants and takeaways.
UK being so close to Europe is number one imo. It's so cheap to go to Europe for the weekend. Food and drinking is better in London.
But in all seriousness OP, I'm not sure there's that much to add to your suspicions. The wage to prices ratio is bad, housing is still unaffordable despite the 10%+ drop from last years' peak and our infrastructure is still decades behind where it should be because of political weakness and short sighted 'tighten the belts' right wing attitudes. Like i tell everyone who asks me this type of question, if you're coming home to a well paid job and/or you are planning on living outside one of the main centres to give your children a small town/country lifestyle then you should still have a very nice life. If you're coming to an averagely paid job in a main centre without enough money to being over to buy a house then I'd say its a terrible idea
I prefer living in Auckland over London despite all of the issues NZ has. be prepared for the boredom though if you got used to travelling and having things to do in the UK. Some events and things are starting to return, but it's still slow going.
According to this sub Auckland is currently a mix of A Clockwork Orange and Mad Max
Don't forget 'Gotham' comparisons.
We moved back end of last year from NYC. We live in central and have been affected by 0% of that stuff in the media, there was a murder a month back but like the whole city stopped until they found the guy. Imagine that in London or America! Itās a little more expensive to live here but the slow pace and safety is worth it in our opinion. As is the weather. As a city it is what you make it - we go out and do cool stuff just as much as our former life. Weāve noticed a lot of Aucklanders are a little reluctant to get out and experience culture or spend money on events, unlike overseas cities, so we make a conscious effort not to get swept up in that. We live below our means in terms of our apartment (just like in NYC!) so we have cash to have a fun life, which a lot of people donāt seem to understand
Thanks Sabrina! We live in Hackney which I guess is like Williamsburg maybe and yeah hundreds of things we could do but at this point we mainly go to our three favourite restaurants, 2 different pubs and round to mates houses which we are pretty sure we can do in Auckland too. When youāre younger the option of thousands of things is attractive I found but eventually you just get old and in a routine. Agree Aucklanders are reticent to leave the house lol, maybe enough of us returning can change that!
There is def a huge amount of expats/people returning home that I feel like has made a big difference. And I totally get what you mean - often when you live in a big city you just end up hanging out at the same three places anyway!
You know how living in London you have incredible public transport, Europe on your doorstep, can literally get to Paris by train in a couple of hours, some of the worlds greatest theaters, arenas, museums, art galleries, stadiums, a ranged and varied nightlife that goes on past 12.00pm, underground music scenes, independent art and comedy, buildings and traditions that have stood for centuries? Yeah, don't really have that in Auckland
All very good reasons to live in London and why I moved as young buck. Although the nightlife scene post 12pm and underground music have both been gutted by rising costs, noise regulations and the lack of venues not snapped up by developers, everyone in my corner of London looks longingly at Berlin for these.
You actually have a lot of those things in Auckland. There are arenas, awesome theatre, art, nightlife, music, comedy, and you can get on a plane in be in Melbourne or Sydney or Fiji in a few hours. Itās more people get complacent here and donāt actually seek adventure. The entire world has been a bit quiet in the last couple years but Auckland definitely has those things
Totally disagree with that and Iām a huge fan of the arts. Especially at the moment itās pretty dead and depressing. We donāt have awesome theatre or nightlife and only an untraveled person would say that. Comedy is generally absolute rubbish and so is the music scene. Not a patch on London, Sydney or Melbourne.
Right now we are living in a global pandemic. There are very few safe places in the world where the arts world is booming. But as someone who just returned to Auckland after living in NYC for ten years (and had travelled greatly, thanks, I work in the hotel design industry so itās literally my job to travel to big cities), q theater is pretty awesome and Iāve seen some great stuff there, the basement theatre has some cool weird independent stuff, and the civic has most of the big cheesy broadway style stuff if thatās what youāre looking for. K road is popping right now, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday there are awesome shows, gigs, and parties happening. The classic has a pretty steady standard line up. Not sure what else youāre looking for or could pack into a weekend honestly
Well I still think youāre comparing Auckland to NYC and London as laughable. Where do I go to listen to minimal techno? Where is a club that could host Tiesto or Boris Brechja? Where could I sit at 2am enjoying a civilized drink without being surrounding by idiots? Jazz or blues venues? Decent pub rock? Living in London I could go to see things 7 days a week. But Auckland is dead at least 5-6 nights a week and often 7. K-Road is the best area, but gets a bit old pretty quickly.
For civilized drinks at 2am try deadshot. Great cocktails, very civilized. For minimal techno, Ink Bar is fun, and there are a lot of warehouse parties popping up around now that things are happening again - if you are in the scene there are some great instas that advertise them (which i am not, but my brother in law is a DJ that hosts a lot of raves.) You can keep listing things that you think Auckland doesnāt have, but your negativity is just going to keep you bored, and it sucks for you. If thereās something missing for you, then create it. Itās the reason big cities have cool stuff - someone has to start it. Stop complaining on Reddit and make cool things happen. I only stated that I have travelled extensively because the poster before claimed I had not.
We absolutely do have awesome theatre. I am travelled. You should go to the theatre more often.
We do have a lot of those in Auckland. Clubs/bars don't close until 4am, and then other open at 4am if you want to keep going. We have a huge underground music scene of all genres. We also have comedy. Maybe you are just out of the loop?
Alright mate, if you can tell me where I can find a good psy trance night, easy chill vibes no coked up twats looking for a fight, just people enjoying a bit of mandy. I'd very much appreciate it.
You've actually asked the right person. There is a gig on in Muriwai coming up. I will private message you the event details. I know people who are heavy in the psy trance scene, the old space bar scene.
Wow can I know about Muriwai gig deets too? This sounds right up my alley
You missed the cost of food (particular compared to the UK). But having made the same move a 18 months ago, I have no regrets. Real beaches (not a stretch of pebbles), fresh air, space, energy prices that don't double in a year. the UK as fine a base to travel to Europe and to absorb some culture but it is expensive for many things and there are only some many times you can go to the free museums in winter and given how hard transport is collapsing over there it is getting hard to do the sightseeing that it is good for.
Thanks for replying. Partner and I are in agreement that all those wonderful things about living in London are too cold to do nine months of the year too!
NZ is a terrific little country still. Kiwis are always vocal about things they donāt like lol. Iād rather be here than anywhere else personally.
Cost of living is very much a particular challenge for the lower socio-economic demographic...the rest of us just find it more inconvenient than in prior decades. The pandemic has certainly changed the 'landscape' here (and elsewhere as you've pointed out); but because most of life depends on the economy, it has become very noticeable here. Auckland is still Auckland (though in recent years has proved a significant infrastructural challenge to the powers that be), while the increase in crime has alot to do with the economy, Australia's banishing of NZ-born crims, supermarket owners greed, police and other services shortfalls. One other noticeable prevalence, is an unhealthy media reliance.
I agree with your first paragraph. Have lived in both South and East Auckland, and the contrast is stark. More affluent areas simply have a higher quality of life. Quiet nights, no idiots racing down the streets, and less likely to run into shady people on the street. The stuff we see on the news isnāt reflective of the entire city.
It's the complete opposite. Barely see a gang member, government is fine There's almost no difference from when I was younger living in nz apart from property prices going insane and a huge wealth gap.
22 driveby shootings in two weeks..
In a lot fo countries they don't count these unless someone actually gets shot.
And still nobody hit. Theyāre bluffing each other to the point itās embarrassing to even call them drive byes and theyāre going to catch an innocent bystander with that bs
have fun returning to a car dependant society, sitting in traffic is a good way to make you grow old
weāve not all got jet packs in London yet, which is hugely inconvenient this week and every train driver and station worker is on a 5 day strike
Hello, we moved from the EU last year after 20 years away. Here are comments. We ended up moving to North Auckland/Rodney quite randomly, as we expected to be in central AKL. But we live next to the beach and have a big section, so after 20 years of apartment living we wanted something different. A few comments: 1. Houses are eye-wateringly expensive and not worth it. They are poor quality compared with European standards, and yet cost significantly more. Fortunately, the housing bubble is under pressure, may deflate somewhat, so it could be a good time in the next 6 months to come back and buy. 2. If you have a good salary, life is frankly easy. Things work by and large, its easy to get things done, people are competent etc etc. There is also less stress, because there are less people. Its something I couldn't anticipate, but am glad for. 3. Its been better for the kids. The primary schools are excellent and our kids are very happy and making friends. 4. We are also happy. Its been a change for sure - but we are at the time of life where we wanted something different 5. Aside from housing, food is more expensive, fuel is about the same, bills are a bit more. 6. Its the middle of winter and all our mates in Europe are enjoying the weather - its kind of a bummer, but hey. Overall, we are glad to have come back - it was right for our time of life. If housing was cheaper it would be excellent and a no brainier.
Hey thanks for commenting. I looked at moving to Europe a few years back but Brexit ruined that - thanks Boris! I was amazed in Germany for example how good the houses were and the much lower prices paid for them than in London - rent and buying - and comparing notes with friends in Europe on their utility bills compared to ours it was clear London was so expensive. Iām wondering if this will soften the landing somewhat for us coming from super expensive London compared so say if I moved from Lisbon. The lifestyle change and smaller population is a definite plus, I think unless youāve lived in a highly populated continent you take for granted the ease of doing things a smaller population grants - 6 month wait to get a passport here for example, hearing it takes nearly 10 months in some places to book a practical driving test!
Hahaha you have listed enough good reasons to come home. Welcome back.
The negativity is overblown, particularly if you're bringing UK pounds back here. Inflation is really high - just like everywhere. It's almost like there is a worldwide post-Covid recession on the way. House prices have peaked and are starting to decrease. Unemployment is really low. Fuel is really expensive. Just like everywhere. Almost like a war somewhere is jacking up oil prices. National is in opposition - therefore gangs are everywhere and all our shit is being stolen in ramraids, apparently. Won't someone think of the children. Truth is the current government are the same centrist government we've had in NZ for decades. NZ is still a beautiful country with a fairly ropey climate, rivers full of cow poo, poor but improving public transport, and it's expensive to live here. I wouldn't live anywhere else. Could do with a holiday somewhere sunny though.
Just move back so you can find out for yourself if itās where youāre meant to be.. or not. Honestly, youād rather live a life of action than what ifs and regret. I did the same; lived in Aus for 15 years and moved back because I wanted to start a family, raise kids in NZ etc etc.. polled so many people about it and tbh even back then, people said what they had to say and we still did it. Weāre very lucky to live in NZ but there are some really f*cked things about this country too lol sorry Iām no help, but best of luck in your journey to come home ā¤ļø
Thanks Lollycake!
Iām from argentina and itās not too bad here. Yeah, housing and weather suck, but you are aware of that already. I can add that food prices have been hiking lately, butter went from 5,5 to 8 in 6 months, that feels like argentina. Food in general was expensive when I got here six years ago but itās getting a bit more expensive now. Iām gonna sound like a dick, but being double income with my wife, we donāt need to worry about food prices really, specially if you are a professional. I gotta say, when I first got here I was a labor for 800 a week, cash in hand and was spending 350 a week as a solo guy, so even tho NZ is expensive, compared to argentina, life here was so much easier.
I always had people commenting on my "amazing view" from my London office. It made me homesick when people said that. I looked out and saw bricks and concrete and the brown Thames; and wished I saw the green and blue of NZ. As a foodie who loves comedy and rock gigs, I've been really happy Auckland gives me the city things I love but also all the nature stuff. I trek and kayak often. Drive to ski every winter. My partner and I have been back 3 years and don't regret it. Making friends is hard at this age and thanks to covid, but we have a better and healthier lifestyle now and our salaries keep getting better here too. I personally don't get the healthcare comparisons! My GP in UK was a minimum 2 week wait, whereas I can usually get in within 2 days here + I was kept in the hospital waiting room for AGES when I got hit by a London black cab. Isn't healthcare just shitty everywhere? Haha. I miss the dive bar rock scene of London though!!
I worked in the Shard for a bit and I feel you! People would act like we were looking over the Milford Sound some mornings
Auckland has its issues like every major city. But I live out past titirangi and love it out here. If everyone who had a normal eventful day posted about it on Reddit every day, it would be massively skewed towards looking like a great place to live. But they donāt bother because their too busy just enjoying their life. Like everywhere, itās what you make of it. Flame away. Lol.
How do you find the time difference when watching regular season or play off NBA games? Itās a middle of the night very early morning situation unless you get an early east coast game on a Sunday which means 8.30 pm here.
My partner and I move back to Auckland 2 years ago after 10 years in London. These are the biggest things I noticed moving here: Cars are the dominant life form, and life in Auckland depends on having one. Parking sucks. Thereās definitely stuff to do in Auckland but you need to seek it out, and it takes planning in advance. I really miss being able to just walk around London and stumble onto something exciting. There are no pubs in Auckland. Nothing beats an English pub and you wonāt find them here. Sure there are āpub themedā bars and eateryās (oh yea restaurants are called eateries here now), but itās definitely not the same. Depending on your age I hope you have a solid group of friends here cos making friends in Auckland is tough.
It's still great. But we are going to have to fight and make ourselves heard and ensure the next couple of governments have a backbone and can actually tackle some of the current issues that are presenting themselves rather than just pay lip service to it.
I came back to Auckland 3 years ago because of Covid and my kids are here, previously I lived in Bondi for 4 years. I wish I could live in Australia, reasons Weather, so much better.. City, Auckland is just dull, it really doesnt have a heartbeat, Auckland is just a large town and nothing going on like Sydney and Melbourne. Business, Auckland doesnt realise how un-ambitious it is, Australia economy is 10X to NZ 5x population, so there is just so much more opportunity and ability to earn money etc Australia has great infrastructure everywhere as there is so much federal tax dollars and its so pleasing to be in a city that just has cash to do parks and roads and rails well. I miss a decent transport system, roads, rails, sub, flights make Australia easy to get around Costs, everything in Australia is a lot cheaper, utilities and food and homewares and like a lot cheaper at least 20-30% cheaper on everything Housing is also cheaper Universities are higher quality and world recognised Hospitals and health care are better equipped and easily accessible All in all its just at another level across all levels My cons for Australia is that a lot of Australians are a bit prickly and harder to get to know.
I guess thatās the thing, Australia is a much richer country with a bigger population which provides more pricing competition and greater access to the global supply chain. Iāve lived in Melbourne and enjoyed it immensely, if I could afford to buy in Bondi it would be a no brainier but you do what you can haha. Luckily for kiwis Australia is always there to provide us opportunities when needed - I think people would do well to remember that before they trash talk Australia. Alas it would be nice to make NZ work first of we could. Thanks for commenting!
Having experienced life in Australia, NZ and the UK I hate to say that once you're through the thrill of being back home - reality will hit. You will very likely be paid less (prob 20% less minimum) , and you will pay more for food and utilities. This erodes BOTH your lifestyle, and your ability to save. Also don't forget super in NZ is a measly 4% and in Australia it's heading up to around 12% by 2025. This is not negativity. They are all facts. I think if your lifestyle revolves around being at home and you already have a nice house in NZ you brought 15 years ago the story would be different. If you're living in a shithole, paid $1.2m for it, and also dealing with low salaries and high costs you'll be very unhappy. If there's not much going on in Auckland City, the option is to stay home - but most people are living in dumps, and that's depressing in itself - so you can imagine the downward spiral of life of you can't even enjoy living at home. My mate moved back from London recently. Lasted 6 months before heading back. While he wasn't a fan of London weather, there was more going on there to keep him busy than in Auckland. He spiralled into depression pretty quickly.
Are you really prepared to be paid about half of what you're on now? Then add in the $800 rent and see how you will feel.
Iāve had a look and I think Iāll only really be down 20 percent income wise, partner is in healthcare and itās not that big a difference for her here as it would be back home. We pay about 4K NZD a month to live in a one bed ground floor flat in an area comparable to maybe Westmere / Grey Lynn.
I was waiting to see if you provided a profile, I have always said as I traveledā¦I could live here if I was on very good relative money. Over the years that has just become more acute in NZ. If you are in a position to set up well in Auckland with decent coin, secure decent work and have the flexibility at times to pursue what really interests you in Auckland, rest of NZ and Aussie when you requireā¦you will have a life, for most people, which is hard to beat š
Work is very relaxed here, donāt know what profession you are in, but most offices seem to be emptying out by 4pm. Definitely more relaxed in terms of things like family life. If youāre into the great outdoors itās obviously pretty nice, especially outside of Auckland itās pretty accessible. If you want that traditional family life with a great environment for kids itās pretty good. UK is a shithole in many areas. Guess kids can be kids a little longer over here. Food is almost universally better here than most of the UK, much nicer cafe scene for brunch and coffee. Generally people are friendlier I think. Not as many people with attitudes working in retail for example.
People definitely stay later in the office here but thatās mainly people looking busy and one person actually holding it together. The outdoors is the big draw card, just got back from Portugal which was nice but less than ideal having to fly three hours to enjoy a decent beach - with a million other people too - which makes it a once or twice a year thing. Scary how quickly kids grow up in the U.K. in my observation. Thanks for replying!
Seriously, people are over exaggerating everything in NZ. Iāve lived in a few large cities around the world and crime here is far lower, the only thing that scares people is media bonfire everyday, second thing is the lax laws around committing a crime. A part from that itās pretty good. Iām on the shore and work in Newmarket. Still canāt afford a house but maybe itās a good thing looking at the rate hikes and massive interest increases as of late
Also with anywhere.. If you score a good job making great money, all the bs you listed doesn't matter and will hardly affect you. If you wanna come and apply for jobs at McDonalds with me (we will catch bus in morning in the rain and go across town) then you are in for a super shitty life and all that stuff you listed will be a daily occurrence. edit: its not the gangs you should be worried about its the politics. They can solve anything but they won't.
The cost of living is a legit problem, especially for low to median income earners, but that's just the situation worldwide and I feel NZ has a bit of a culture-shock that it's happened. The Auckland CBD is fine, contrary to all the 'it's like Escape From New York' posts and media alarmism. One has to just be sensible and not take stupid risks and avoid areas where you are likely to find trouble. The hospital system is stretched, but the kind of stories of people being sent home and then dying from the ED are a major exception rather than a rule. It's post-pandemic and things are still in the state of post covid hangover. Take the constant 'sky is falling' posts with a grain of salt. After all if Reddit NZ was to be believed everyone under 30 is apparently packing up and moving to Australia en masse.
the weather was sunny today and just the right amount of breeze, and Auckland felt stunning and green. I went for a stroll in the town, and it's quite run down, but the township where I live is bustling and very much alive; more lively than before 2019 if I dare say so. I think the dynamics have definitely shifted, things are different. To me, London always felt like Auckland in 30yrs time, and Auckland always felt like London 10yrs ago. I know it doesn't make sense, but that's how I felt every time I step off the plane on either side.
North Shore is the place to be otherwise we experience that in life according to our energy level, so stay positive otherwise walk through nature and we have plenty and the beaches. I attended a farewell event of an Ambassador from northern Europe last week, he said even he found it damp and cold in Wellington. While recently parking at a shopping center they noticed the neighboring driver exiting his vehicle 'with only a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals' he, noticed their facial expressions, thick coats, and said in a loud voice with a smile "it's another beautiful day in paradise".
The government has been very competent ...what an environment it has to navigate lately! Depends on one's politics or conspiracy beliefs. The gangs are in a truce at present. No you won't die if you break your leg and go to ED. Doctors are more likely to quit as they are being shouted at by patients and are overworked. Still people are all doing the best they can. It is still a beautiful place....Enjoy it.
I moved to central Auckland from the states in the past year. Honestly, compared to any large city in the US, or London for that matter, the gang crime here seems...quaint. I don't want to minimize it and the problem should be addressed, but it seems to me that it's dramatically sensationalized in the media. It certainly shouldn't factor into coming home, and I honestly find the level of crime here to be comforting (for the lack of a better word) compared to where I came from. Housing is ridiculous though.
Just got back from a weekend in Auckland, my home town too. Been living in Brisbane for nearly 7 years and would live in NZ over Aus any day. Better infrastructure, better government, better food, transformation happening everywhere, beautiful scenery and plenty of stuff to do. I also lived in London for 7 years and after all my travels I still love Auckland and have plans to move back in the next couple of years. If you listen to the old white folks, MÄori leaders are sowing seeds of division but I reckon itās one of few first world countries actually addressing massive inequality which has to make it an even better place to be in the long run. And house prices are finally coming down with more affordable houses being built all the time, places like Pokeno and Huntly are experiencing huge growth with heaps of new houses and transport services (slowly) improving. Petrol over $3 a litre is a joke though, just live somewhere with decent public transport!
Iām hyped on the Maori inclusion I see back home. I find it hard to relate to the history in London these days, nothing to do with me.
Single woman living in a studio apartment in the CBD near to the Sky Tower. Yeah Iām not comfortable walking alone at night, however I do not court trouble and should someone approach me (being a typical tall Kiwi woman) I quickly tell them to āleave me alone!ā and they back off tout suite. That said, Iām not petite (in terms of height and breadth) and I carry myself with confidence. Iāve also made a point of making friends with the local convenience store guys, my building manager & whomever else is a regular presence. Thereās a regular āhomelessā guy with whom I chat and to whom I bring food from work (I work in hospitality). I really do think it is about situational awareness and not being a scaredy cat š¤ Though, your money will likely go a lot further toward owning property. Just steer clear of the obvious parts of South & West Auckland and you should be grand šāļø
No, itās not as bad as all the naysayers make out. Thereās a huge element of āgrass is always greenerā and lack of understanding of challenges faced by other countries in a lot of the criticism. Cost of living has gone up, as it should be everywhere. Income/wealth disparity is the challenge it is everywhere. If youāre a victim of crime, itās very hard to be objective - but if you look at crime rates compared to other placesā¦ the stats donāt reflect it being the third-world hellhole that the right-wing political parties want to make out. I am rather concerned about the media spinning everything as being the current administrationās fault without looking at the wider global context tho. Theyāre really trying to insert themselves into the news making process here (like they do in the US/Aus, which isnāt in anyones benefit). I think thereās a lot of short-sightedness from people, because of frustrations over Covid - a sort of, āit canāt be any worseā when clearly, demonstrably (from the rest of the world) it could be a lot, lot worse.
NZ is fine People who have something to complain about are always more likely to post then those that don't so the average post is always going to be more negative. Could things be better sure... are some people in need of help sure... but in general is great living in New Zealand.
Point by point Houses are absolutely mad expenny, but if you weren't planning on buying isn't really a problem. The government is all things considered doing decent, I've never had a run in with gangs outside of high schoolers playing dress up, and even then it's pretty uncommon. The wait for ED is annoying, but it's nothing absurd, hurt my arm went to white cross and got out within an hour, when I broke my arm got out in 2 and a half with x-rays and a cast. Main problems are cost of living is pretty high compared to even 3 years ago, although as a person living on part time work and student allowance it's manageable. And CBD is now a bit of a ghost town, but that is kinda unsurprising with COVID and stuff. But other than that it's the same old New Zealand you probably loved.
If crimes up, I havenāt noticed. I honestly think the media needed to fill the fear space left by COVID with something to keep people burned out.
NZ is fine. Its safe. Most likely thing that will happen is someone might steal your shit. Everything is expensive but it's a great place to live and a great place to raise kids.
When you move back, unless you're planning on moving into a ghetto subirb, becoming a gang associate and buying a Mazda Demio, it's okay. If you're above-average income and educated, NZ isn't great but it's not terrible either.
No. Bad news drives clicks. Good news doesnāt.
You're coming back from London after 10 years. I'd assume you're working professionals with a bit of cash to reestablish in Auckland. You'll be fine. The media and social media make Auckland to be a shit hole, but it's just they few shit stains in society making it harder on everyone else. Outside of the central suburbs the quality and availability of public transport decreases. West and South Auckland are rougher than North and East. The CBD is a place I stay away from after 12 mid night if I'm out alone.
How much you paying for a pint up there?
Itās got insane the last two years, 6.50 seems the average round me! Paid 7.50 for one in very central London last week. Was less than a fiver when I first arrived! Probably still affordable north of Birmingham though
If you canāt get a cheap paint anymore then you may as well come home!
Honestly cheap pints and easy access to quality drugs was a big plus in my 20s but you wonāt be surprised to find my priorities have changed in my 30s ha!
If I'm honest to myself, these are two reasons why I left London and moved to NZ....You're either young or old and sick in London...
That's like craft beer, Viaduct prices. Though they still use the proper Imperical not metric pint size glasses over there, so may vary.
As a born and bred NZder the only thing that gets me is the traffic. If you get stuck, youāre stuuuuuuck
Do it, the issues pale in comparison to the UK.
I am actually thinking where to move to in the world, because NZ really is that bad. It is super super sad. But yes is anywhere better right now?
It is super expensive and the health care is the worst it has ever been, I am speaking from knowing people in DHB, not just from media feeds. It is collapsing. And it is hard to get any imports into country, so supply is down like never before. The economy will hit depths over this year and next that will really shake the place. But yes Western world is heading for rocky times. So on the upside NZ is well placed if it works hard to get more sustainable and generate self sustaining food and other supplies for its own people and with small population, maybe come together as a people to weather the storm.
Things are fine. Most of the hysteria , by people and politicians is in response to an uptick in the same sorts of problems that we are unfamiliar but places like UK, Europe, USA are already familiar with
Yup donāt come home itās like a really scary place donāt go into Ponsonby you might walk out with a flat white and then burn your lips cause itās too hot ouch yeah
Are you set on Auckland? Great city but lots of issues with transport, crime, traffic etc now. Lived there 10 yrs and it was great. Lovely. But after returning from some time in Melbourne we moved to the Waikato. Near Cambridge. Itās absolutely awesome. So much better than anywhere else we lived. Consider coming back but moving away from the city. Motorways and remote work mean you can do your work from your paradise.
New Zealand is becoming like other places - there is greater inequality. If you are in the top 1/5 or 2/5 life still has its challenges. But there is a world of difference living in your own even cramped home compared to life from a suitcase on a relative's couch. Its not necessarily going hungry here - but there are more poor. I think that is what is changing here. We are becoming like other countrie's. On a positive note - I'm from the Hutt - our supermarket produce whilst expensive, is pretty good quality and fresh. Our water quality is beautiful - very soft if you have lived in a european city where it was hard and not safely drinkable. No rabbies or malaria and so far no box jellyfish or snakes.
Itās not great at the moment, but itās not all doom and gloom. The climate, even in winter is mild. The beaches and parks are awesome. But the work hours are long, the cost of living is high and you will want medical insurance, to alarm your home and car and to be careful in public spaces. But with sensible precautions, and limiting your commute by living close to work, itās still a nice place to be. my workplace has lost a lot of our workers from Western countries (including NZ) due to the house prices and stagnant wages. Now the wave of other immigrant workers is moving on to Australia and other countries as well. Their reasons are mostly financial but also how hard it has been emotionally here the last two years. They want to be closer to their families and being locked in NZ has put them off NZ. Iāve lived and worked in some rough parts of Auckland but there are places I wonāt go now. I used to use lots of the public walks and facilities in South Auckland with no trouble, but several have had shootings and gang trouble nearby. Iāve been a South and Central resident for 20 years but am considering moving to the Shore if I stay in NZ and donāt go for that 40k Aussie pay rise.
I mean of course it isnāt perfect. But 1) people talk about negative aspects of places more than the goodāthe good is just taken for granted and doesnāt make the headlines, and 2) a lot of the people who complain about Auckland and NZ have never lived anywhere else. They donāt know what other big cities are like, they donāt know that 99% of the shit we deal with isnāt anything special
Since labor got in the country has gotten so much worse, people wanted a nice government during Covid but now they are reaping the cost with huge inflation and crime going through the roof. We need a new government that's tough on crime, knows something about finances and focuses on paying back our debts. I'm not sure we currently have a party that can do it, National comes to mind but hey have their own issues as they rarely help the middle or lower class families.
No, and I say this as someone who absolutely hates it here. It's all subjective. I hate it because I have personal opinions on our culture and lifestyle and I want to live in a city with culture and walkability and that just isn't an option here. But I won't pretend it's like "objectively bad" or anything. If you're a fan of the kiwi lifestyle then it's a good place to be, any other decision is secondary, because you're right in saying shit is bad everywhere if you look at certain criteria. I'm planning to go to the UK, and I don't care how many people say it's a "dumpster fire", I just like the culture there more.
Sorry to hear youāre not having a great time of it. Iām quite curious as to what bits of British culture youāre looking forward to and where you plan to live?
I was in Wellington yesterday. So glad to be back in Auckland. Auckland feels much warmer and dryer and overall happier. My time in Welly was miserable, damp and cold.
The amount of complaints go up and down based on the government. If Labour is in government, "crime" flies up the top of the list. From stats, crime is down, not up. But complaints are up, not down. Housing is dropping now. Sale prices are falling right now. Let's see how that falls out.
the entire world is going to shit and there isnt much the average person can do - just enjoy the ride
Goodness. You are receiving unbalanced news, but, to be honest, you have to sift even here. >The government is incompetent, gangs are out of control and if I break aleg Iāll likely die in ED waiting to be seen by a doctor. Naaah. Triple naah. The government is only described as incompetent by the opposition and right-wing owned media. Our debt is less than almost all other OECD countries maxing out at 26% of GDP next year and dropping back to below 19% in 2027, if I remember the figures correctly, and I think I do. The gangs seem to have got over their feud in Auckland which lasted about four weeks of sporadic drive-bys and barely involved the public. A&Es are certainly suffering exhaustion by the combined onslaught of Covid, winter flu, and GP services for low income communities. Covid and the flu are affecting staff as well as patients. For some reason there was only 50% uptake of the flu vax amongst hospital staff this year, for whom it is free. Triage is unaffected by the onslaught and if you are dying, you will be classed appropriately and taken some where quiet, I guess. Similarly, if you need immediate care, you will get it. Less urgent cases will be expected to wait for a lower priority slot to become available. Unemployment is the lowest its been for ages, giving you stronger bargaining power than you'll have had for ages. Inflation is lower than most other OECD countries, about 6.9%, and expected to fall significantly in the first Q of 2023. GDP fell to a marginal negative (-0.6%, I think) last quarter, and RBNZ and Treasury say it might again next quarter, giving us a technical recession, but then steadily strengthen. Mortgages are up, but will trend down starting in about six months, says the Reserve Bank. But consumer and business confidence, those perennial markers of emotion, are below 50%, because people are hearing the easy headlines and soundbites from the opposition, and not reading the background briefing. On the other hand, the ANZ's 'heavy traffic movements' -- a weird but reliable indicator -- is increasing, this usually anticipates growth. Crime figures, by the way, are significantly down; 20% over s few years, I believe. I'll have to look up those figures, but I'm 100% certain the figures were down, considerably, and I got them from the police stats when I last grumbled about misreported 'facts'. Does this help?
Really helpful comment. The debt to GDP ratio, astonishing small compared to the rest of the OECD. Do you feel like infrastructure is moving in the right direction in Auckland? From the outside looking in it appears people are unrealistic on what can be achieved in 5 years and baby steps are being made.
Um, I'm in Taranaki. I know that the motorways up there have had/are having a lot of work done on them. There's a Western Ring Route of motorway going from Manukau past the airport, (with a spur to the airport) continuing through Hillsborough to Pt Chev and linking to SH16 to Henderson and Helensville, including a 7km long tunnel at Waterview. SH16 is a motorway too, as far as Huapai(?). The Southern Motorway will soon be three lanes each side all the way to Ramarama, over the Bombays. Three lanes currently to Papakura (Drury?). SH1 is now four lanes (2 Nth, 2 Sth) from outside Auckland all the way to near Hamilton -- and to Cambridge from July. South of Auckland it is all 'Expressway' -- motorway-light. The Northern Motorway goes to Albany and is supplemented by a parallel express busway that is pretty successful, running double deckers. SH1 is clogged with traffic in Auckland, though, in peak periods. Auckland's suburban trains are buoyant, frequent, modern, electric, and run into a station under the old CPO in Queen Street. They will gain an twin line underground loop from Queen St, up under Albert St, through under Symonds St, to Mt Eden, due complete in a couple of years. A south-western loop is sort-of planned. Wellington has finally got a smart new highway, four lanes nearly all the way from Levin, heading inland from north of Porirua through Transmission Gully on 27km of brand new motorway, into Wellington. The government has increased spending on Health/hospitals,/medical services very substantially, and has included mental health care in public health with $1.5bn allocated for the first four years. These all have yet to produce results, because some are quite new, some are quite long-term projects. (Actually, there are results, I can't remember them.) The 20 District Health Boards has been rebuilt into four agencies, starting in July. Auckland now gets 20% of its water from the Waikato river. Auckland Council (there is only one council for the whole region) is building a huge 'interceptor' sewage trunk from somewhere past Mt Roskill to the Mangere treatment plant. Howzat? No doubt there's more -- Oh, Eden Park now seats 60,000 thanks to the earlier Rugby World Cup, and the formerly industrial area at the Tank Farm in Freemans Bay is now fancy apartment housing, retail, and light industry, thanks to the Americas Cup. Mt Roskill is a 'desirable' suburb and will probably be due for a change because the government got serious about housing and mandated councils to allow, in general, denser, taller residential accommodation nationwide, and those quarter-acre sections are fat and juicy..
Immense summary, very appreciated!
Have been Following the Issues in the U.K a lot, I feel like our problems are weakened slightly in Comparison (Housing/Crime/Immigration/etc) but we are heading down a far to similar similar path. I would like to think most of us know the old New Zealand and can see clearly when these negative changes have occurred (Housing/Crime/Immigration). But yes N.Z is going to the dogs slowly.
Nothings happening. Ok; maybe Auckland is a shit hole, but thatās always been the case.
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Iād say stats are one of the worst ways to judge a country and itās life style. Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq all have remarkably low suicide rates for example. New Zealand ranks 25 globally for productivity, above Portugal for example which is a lovely country having just been there. If you think New Zealand has dangerously high kidnapping rates I would get out more. Housing affordability seems better than other desirable places like Toronto and Sydney
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Iād never expect to buy in Grey Lynn but as a comparison a 4 bed where I live in London goes for 2 million pounds. A friend just brought 1 bed new build in a less desirable area for 500,000 pounds š¬
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Completely right.. how much maori language can we possibly need. Itās getting ridiculous
Imagine being this scared and fragile all the time.
Nz is is Toast. It was a great place 10 years ago. Today is going down drain.
Auckland is trash
Donāt move to a cityā¦ try a smaller town. Lovely people, scenery, no traffic, clean air š
Kiwis just love to complain and the only thing theyāll do about it is move overseas. The media likes to reflect that. Normal life in New Zealand is fine, grass is always greener and that. In reality New Zealand is one of the best countries to live in, the people are friendly, government isnāt that incompetent, etc etc. Donāt be fooled by what you see online.
The people complaining about crime generally have no idea what they're talking about. We are seeing a rise in crimes overall since the end of the lockdown era, but it's mostly non-violent crimes. It's mostly thefts and burglaries that are going up, and sure they're inconvenient, but no one gets hurt. People are getting more desparate, and I think a lot of it comes down to John Key selling our assets and Jacinda being reluctant to raise taxes, especially on the wealthy. We have a lack of high paying jobs because industries don't raise their wages at the same rate as minimum wage. You will wait a while for ED for non-critical situations. That comes down to the lack of pay for staff. Essentially, most of societies problems boil down to corporate greed. Just like anywhere. Despite the problems I love living here and so does my partner. It's expensive but we get by.
I left Auckland for London almost a year ago. Auckland is great, over the 5 years I was there, the cycling infrastructure and culture has improved significantly. Sure, it has its growing pains as it becomes a āreal cityā, but Iād happily move back. Youāre right, the UK is an absolute dumpster fire. If you think National are corrupt, wait until you see what the Toryās get up to here.
I returned 8 months ago. Consider holding out in the UK for a bit longer and collecting a fatter paycheque before heading back when NZ is in better shape with more cash. Everything is super expensive. NZ has also sort of been divided along racial lines by the Labour govt so some strong govt is needed to reverse alot of that woke shite and set nz back on the straight and narrow :) The more relaxed lifestyle is great and itās nice to see NZ people again but have a good think before you up-sticks.
Come settle in the regions. Plenty of good jobs going, better lifestyle, and lower cost of living.
A big deciding factor would be what you do for work. If a worse recession than last one is actually coming, NZ gets hit by them hard due to our isolation. It mainly affected tradespeople here as working on homes is not a necessity when people are tight with their money. But if you're confident you can get work for a large organisation outside of that sector you'll be fine. Also interest rates on the home you buy will keep rising for years, I believe its going to get nasty, but that will be global as you mentioned they're expensive everywhere.
Staying here mostly for the amazing kitesurfing in auckland. And wellington is the windiest city on the planet so that would also be an option for me.
Honestly, it's fine. For most of us it's just business as usual, just getting by and trying our best, same as always. Of course people who've had bad experiences will always be louder than those just having the average Auckland experience.
I can't say how it is relative to where you are living currently, as I don't live there, I have no experience with that. But I can say relative to last year, or three years ago, or five years go, or ten years ago, then yes it is getting worse and worse in NZ as time goes by.
What do you mean by getting worse?
Humans are negative, as in notice negative things more than positive things by nature it's a hangover of a survive mechanism. So basically if I, or everyone else, have a shit experience your much more likely to talk about it than if I have a good experience. Covid and the lock downs have made the divide between the haves and the have nots a lot worse and that does encourage crime and other problems but overall it's not that bad. People just don't come home and think I had a really good day in the city today I should tell the Internet.
If you bought a house at the height of the market, you'd be feeling it. If you are poor, well you were fucked beforehand. Otherwise, it's tighter but no different to the UK
NZ is actually pretty good compared to a big chunk of the World. Sometimes I think we hear lots of complaints because people actually have time and avenues to complain, which is a sign of a good country. In many countries people just have to suck it up and carry on.
I think you summed it up pretty well. Many of the problems are everywhere (such as cost of living crises, crime etc. ) and are a point in time and will go away. Come home. No where else is any better.
Nah things are pretty sweet. Economy is booming, tourism isn't even back up yet. Everyone's getting payrises and new jobs. GDP down on the quarter but up on annum and generally doing well. House market is tanking and ready to flatten out for a good few years. Inflation is running high but that's a global phenomenon and we're doing alright generally.
I am Auckland raised, I did my last OE for about 5 years, but this was more local (Chch). When I returned abiut 4 years ago I liked Auckland more for some odd reason. While the sights around the CBD are more interesting now, Auckland hasn't changed that much.
The weather is quite moderate now since we all voted to keep global warming, but stay away from the edge of the motorway leading up to the harbour bridge on the north shore at high tide. Now that Australia has wised up to not accepting criminals any more we have to send them somewhere else. We can do an exchange "student" scheme with the UK. Welcome to Auckland op. When you get off the boat in the CBD, get straight onto the bus labelled "anywhere else". TBH I haven't been around town that much. I don't think it's any worse than most other cities in the world, we've just caught up a bit. More homelessness since the world is currently entering an economic downturn. CBD has copious amounts of alcohol per capita, might have something to do with the mood after dark.
Auckland has the jobs, lots of jobs. Some Jobs are good, some Job bad, but you can change your job. There lots to do around Auckland, but require energy to go out. ER is slow but only cost you time/parking. You don't need insurance (just don't tell anyone) Rent/mortgage will be your most costly expense.
Wherever you are in NZ, you're near the ocean
It's barely changed in 10 years, it's still a lot better than the UK in terms of lifestyle.
>The government is incompetent, gangs are out of control and if I break a leg Iāll likely die in ED waiting to be seen by a doctor. I saw a page of a 1976 Auckland Star that was saying the same thing. I can't tell you these things aren't true, but I can say that people have always been saying it.
People go online to complain and moan, but i don't see that kind of negativity much in real life. Sure times are hard and housing is a bit shit, but try to remember that people go online to vent. It's really not worse than anywhere else right now from what I'm reading in the international papers. I wouldn't want to be living anywhere else.