Poll: Should Housing Fears Make or Break Our Decision to Move to NZ?

[Bamatl]

Hi -

My S/O may be receiving a good job offer in Wellington soon ($90K or so), but we keep running into concerns about the quality of housing (and rentals in particular) in NZ.

Renting is going to be the only option for us, at least for the first few years. That said, we're becoming seriously concerned about the commonly discussed problems with NZ housing, namely significant problems with cold and dampness. We've both had some health issues in the past, so concerns about sufficient heating and indoor mold is more than just a comfort issue.

We've been spending long hours trying to find a workaround, particularly one that doesn't involve buying new houses or building our own. However, everything we seem to read has reinforced the idea that it is a widespread problem, one that we are likely to face wherever we go, even if we can afford to spend a bit more on rent. Complicating things further is the fact that we have pets (a dog and a cat) so we are wondering if this will make it even harder to find a warm dry place.

We are at the point where we are seriously thinking maybe we should just abandon our plans to move over this issue. (Clearly, being warm and dry is VERY important to us :-) However, we don't want to completely give up on the idea of moving to New Zealand if it is not truly as widespread a problem as it seems or if we are overlooking some very obvious solutions.

What do you all think? For those of you that have made the move already, what has your experience been? Should this be a make or break issue for us in deciding whether or not to make the move?

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

For a start, you are not the only people to get bothered, but people do manage.

Have a look at this recent thread. http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36091

[ralf-nz]

Sorry, but where is the actual poll?

[dede]

Quick question, how can you tell if you see a place in the summer it will be rubbish for heating in the winter?

[Bamatl]

Ralf-nz:
Ah: sorry for my breach of forum protocol. I was hoping to get people's comments and views and use them in forming a decision; after I posted I realized that you can actually conduct surveys through "polls." Uh, did I mention I'm a noob?

Dede: Your question (if I understand it correctly) gets at the heart of what we're trying to find out. A lot of what we're reading suggests that EVERYTHING we're seeing (at least apartmentwise) will be rubbish for heating (or mold) in the winter. I guess we're trying to figure out the likelihood that that's the case.

[72andsunny]

Quick question, how can you tell if you see a place in the summer it will be rubbish for heating in the winter?

It's pretty hard to tell, and in the summer it's sometimes hard to imagine ever being cold. Things I would look for:

1) Which way is north? (Ideally you would want the front of your house getting as much sun as possible)

2) Is it insulated?

3) What kind of heating does it have? If it's a single wood burner, it is very unlikely to heat the whole house (especially if it's an odd shaped house with lots of twists and turns).

4) Are there a bunch of space heaters/dehumidifiers sitting around. (If you're nosy, look in closets.)

5) Any condensation damage around windows?

[ralf-nz]

Should this be a make or break issue for us in deciding whether or not to make the move?

No! It is one part of life here, an important one yes. But you can deal with it - in different ways.

[newarrival]

I'd say it depends on how much you really want to move and try out 'another' live.....
If you expect the same kind of living as you're used to it, then don't. You're prone to be unhappy, in my opinion. New Zealand will be different and, maybe, less comfortable for you than your current life.
Again- my opinion- if you already start to look at making everything as perfect as possible (without having the financial means to buy yourself whatever comfort you like), then I think you can't be happy over here.

I felt extremely cold in our first winter, despite living in a new-ish house, started getting used to it in the second (in an even colder and older house), had a great third winter and an ok fourth, then we moved further north, which made a difference and finally bought our own place last year. It was all part of an experience and I don't think it made my life extremely miserable- but that's just me.

Good luck with whatever you decide, but I guess moving to a job is a huge advantage lots of people would love to have. In the end it is your decision and now- one can tell how you woould react.

[dharder]

No one can really answer that for you, I'm afraid. I think in general, the damp/cold houses are a problem, but how much you are personally affected by it only you can know.

Being cold and damp affects my entire being quite a lot. If we hadn't installed central heating in our first May here, I can safely say I would have gone back before the second winter. And yes, I tried to just put on another jumper, but it doesn't work for me.

However, I knew this beforehand, cold affects me like that wherever I am, and a functioning heating system was one of my conditions to come here in the first place.

Should it be a deal breaker? If I had been superkeen to come here, and this had been the dream of my life, and otherwise everything would have been hunky dory, then no. If you are a little bit miserable and then come home to a cold and damphouse after work, I think it can turn into one...

Good luck with your decisions.

Daniela

[Jacqi B]

I've just come through my second winter here (I'm from the UK) in rentals. everything that has been said about houses facing north and looking at what kind of heating there is is true. However, the main thing I discovered is that you have to learn that how you deal with how to heat a home is different. I'd never heard of heat pumps or dehumidifiers before I came here. A house with a heat pump is a very different (warmer) prospect from one without. It's amazing how much warmer/easier to heat a house is if you run a dehumidifier - removing the damp air from the room makes it feel warmer and it is easier and quicker to warm the dry air.

The main thing I found is to not let the house get too cold to start with. if you have a heat pump set it to keep to a lowish temperature while you are out. If you have a wall heater or plug in radiator thingy, set a timer plug so that it warms the place before you come home - and before you get up in the morning. Close the doors of rooms you are not using so you don't waste heat there (although you will need to open them to air regularly to avoid mould).

An electric blanket (which I loved in the UK anyway) is a must and warm slippers and a 'mink' blanket or throw over your knees when watching telly is cosy.

If your main rooms face north keep the curtains open during daylight hours (even if you are not there) and the sun will warm the house. In my first winter there were days I felt I was sunbathing in my lounge.