Christchurch vs Auckland

[msleiners]

Christchurch vs Auckland

I was wondering wich city to choose? Sure I did the research and have some thoughts and
doubts, etc... i would like to get some more info though.
Couple of points i would like to highlight here:
1) I looked at the rainfall stats and Auckland really teriffied me. Is it really raining so much there ? What kind of rainfals are there - is it like raining all week or it goes like 1 big shower once a week ? Note: I am not from UK so comparison between uk and auckland wouldn't do any good for me(they say that it rains much in uk too). Sure the sunny days looks apealing, but chch is not that cold either is it ? And there are like 2 times less rainfall stats and i guess much of that is snow.

2)I wonder how long it would take to get to the mountains from auck? Now I DO know that the real mountains are on the other island, but is there any place you can go fram auckland to snowbard in winter months? IF there is one how far away?

I know that from the 2 points above one could easily conclude that christchurch would be better place for me to live... but i have some more issues on the table

3) I'm young (23 yrs) and i don't care about the busy city so much as long as there are plenty of places to spend time. Actually i think i like the bigger city better than smaller one and I'm going to move to nz w/o partner so i will be interested to find a decent girl there wich leads to idea that it would be much easier in big city rather than in church which is like 4 times smaller in terms of population. The other thing - nightlife ... can anyone give an idea what the nightlife in chrch compared to auck is ?
How about theathers, cinemas? Sure auckland wins here. Is there, for example, a multiple cinema house in church (the one with lot's of movies to choose from at any given time)? i duno how big city should be to qualify for such a thing

4) kitesurfing - any ideas on this? Do people kitesurf in auck? Is there wind? Often ? Same about wave surfing (traditional surfing). I heard that there are kitesurfers in chrch, have not heard about auck.

5)Sure it's easier for me to find job (i'm programmer) in auck than in chrch and they pay more there too. I figured out that higher wages is still a positive factor even if auck is more expensive city.

Any input will be appreciated, thanks

[msleiners]

one more thing to add:

Basketball!!! IS there any chance to be part of some nonprofesional team or atleast have opportunity to to play a ballgame at trainingsessions few times a week in either of these cities? Coldn't find a thing about this on google. Starting to think that people play basketball only on professional level in NZ

[Moorf]

Don't discount Wellington!

[fruitfly]

Job is probably the single most important thing for a new immigrant. You are dead without a job. IT jobs are concentrated in Auckland and Wellington. Your chance of landing an IT job on the South Island is almost nil. So go where the job is, not the mountains or seas.

[benandclare]

Job is probably the single most important thing for a new immigrant. You are dead without a job. IT jobs are concentrated in Auckland and Wellington. Your chance of landing an IT job on the South Island is almost nil. So go where the job is, not the mountains or seas.

Yes you do need a job but dont think you can say your chances of getting an IT job on the Mainland is almost nil, I know of 3 folks who've arrived here without a job and are all now working in IT.........

[gpbenton]

one more thing to add:

Basketball!!! IS there any chance to be part of some nonprofesional team or atleast have opportunity to to play a ballgame at trainingsessions few times a week in either of these cities? Coldn't find a thing about this on google. Starting to think that people play basketball only on professional level in NZ

Basketball is played in New Zealand. There is a national league, and the New Zealand Breakers play in Auckland and are part of the Australian league. Games are on SKY (Satellite) TV.

I'm sure you could find a team to play on in Auckland. Probably in Christchurch, but it might be best to get confirmation from someone there if this is a deal breaker.

[Familyofmonkeys]

IT jobs are concentrated in Auckland and Wellington. Your chance of landing an IT job on the South Island is almost nil. So go where the job is, not the mountains or seas.

While the majority of IT jobs are concentrated around Wellington and Auckland, I disagree that your chances of getting work in Christchurch are remote...there are IT jobs down there, but there are fewer of them and getting one can be more competitive. However, there are several forumites who work in IT down there...and from what I understand, they didn't find it too difficult to get work. It you have specific skills they are short of, you will not have too much difficulty. We will be moving down there next year and OH is in IT. Having checked out market a bit, he has practically been offered jobs when the time to move arrives.

[msleiners]

Don't discount Wellington!

Moorf can you please tell me is it realistic in terms of time and money to get to snowy mountains for weekend from wellington ? I mean the montains are on the other island ... so is there a farry there or ? How much time would it take ?

[msleiners]

Basketball is played in New Zealand. There is a national league, and the New Zealand Breakers play in Auckland and are part of the Australian league. Games are on SKY (Satellite) TV.

I'm sure you could find a team to play on in Auckland. Probably in Christchurch, but it might be best to get confirmation from someone there if this is a deal breaker.

I assume that New Zealand Breakers is pro team right ? So Auckland would give me chance to watch real games... that is good sure (thanks for info), but i'm now more concerned regarding my own participation in the play.

In my country we have several amateur leagues and all of them have some kind of websites where one can look up stats, teams and schedules. I couldn't find such think through google. If i had a chance to take a look at this kind of web site i could understand what's going on.

From you i understand that you live in Auck and think that there are some amateur leagues in your city, but are not sure about other cities right ?

[msleiners]

Job is probably the single most important thing for a new immigrant. You are dead without a job. IT jobs are concentrated in Auckland and Wellington. Your chance of landing an IT job on the South Island is almost nil. So go where the job is, not the mountains or seas.

Not sure you are right on this one. I have looked at advertisments they actually seek for people in chrch that can write programms on .net platform... so i don't think that i will not be able to land a job. Sure auck and welli has more to offer.