We love our house too. Very well insulated, dry and has a beautiful view.
We love our house too. Very well insulated, dry and has a beautiful view.
I live in a very cheap student flat. Yes it gets a bit cold, but we have no problems with the damp (and we live in Palmerston North which can be quite rainy at times).
Honestly for $210/week I think it's fantastic, and most people will have way more funds available for living expenses than I do.
I'm not sure if you are saying +16 C unusually cold or unusually warm?
Your mileage may vary but I would consider +16 C inside very cold no matter what the weather outside. In other words, the place would lack proper heating (and everything else that comes with the package). The amount of windows is just one part of the equation making the place livable.
I don't think there's any comparison over the average UK house to NZ insulation wise. Typically NZ houses have not been built to the conditions, sure for 8 mths of the year no problem, but for the remainder certainly so.
They'll be many on the site that have had houses built or improved them so not a problem, but for all too many it is. Look at the stats for the average internal temperature in winter, it's the below recommended norms. Higher incidence of asthma may be related. Double glazing as only just become compulsary in the N.I.
My experience is from the rentals I've looked at and the number of open homes I went to while looking for a house prior to the collapse of the UK GBP.
Also while UK houses may be smaller, the typical NZ house a detatched single house, not a semi or terrace, but the advantage isn't that great in most places. The gardens are often small with all sub dividing that went on in the cities and houses looking straight into the windows of others.
The buyer of the house I'm renting was wanting demolish & sub divide the property I'm on, but it's 20m too small for it. So he tried to bargain the neighbouring properties to sell him 20m! which would have created odd shaped plots.
I wouldn't not come to NZ for housing, but do make sure you do plenty of research, and don't just see the property in the middle of summer, try to imagine in the cooler mths too.
Whoah there! No need for language Fern, Im going on the HUGE amount of posts on here about poor quality housing, are they all making it up too? There's no need to slag off UK houses in defense of NZ ones (this forum is about moving to NZ, not to the UK) and Im simply trying to get both sides of the story.
Everyone else, thanks for taking time to reply, your information is really useful.
Someone else on another thread asked me where I think is 'warm all year round' as thought there aren't any places like this in NZ, but from what Ive read, I thought the majority of the North Island didnt fall below 10C in winter? I know thats not 'warm' but its warmer than 0-4C we get in winter in England. Do you still need heating in these 'warmer' parts?
North Island has higher humidity, and therefore feels colder than you're used to at those temperatures, specially after dark. (This difference, and the NZ traditional lower spec buildings, accounts for many of the pained reactions from Europeans. Of course they're not making it up, but they're in a climate new to them, and can't just flip a switch and put on central heating as they've been used to, and/or expect to find the house comfortably liveable when they come in after a day's work. The NZ custom has always been a) to heat the space you're IN, not the whole building, and b) to put on another layer if you're cold) So yes, you certainly DO need heating.
I don't know what everbody's budget is, but I'm in the process of moving my sister and bil here and we have looked at a number of newer homes in the Coatesville/Paremoremo/Albany areas and they all had double-glazing, insulation in the attic, solid core doors and Mitsubishi combo-unis in the walls. Almost all also had a fireplace as well. None of these homes were over $750K.
My home has central everything - heat, vacuumn, air, purifier/allergen, and conditioner (humiderfier/de-humiderfier) and 90% of the time, everything is off. The other 10% of the time it's at 27 but where I live, I don't think it is absolutely necessary. I personally don't find this area all that humid, but I also spent the majority of my life in the NorthEast USA where it would be nothing to be -10C in January with 10% humidity and then in August be 37C with 100% humidity.
It is my experience that if you buy new or newer, any concern you may have will be for naught. I'd honestly be more concerned over the sticker price of NZ homes more than anything.
Last edited by ColeyNZ; 3rd March 2010 at 08:17 AM.
Thanks TheBigSaxon, thats really good to hear.
While you definately have to practise due diligence and smart decision-making, I think there are certain aspects of New Zealand that get completely overblown, like housing, gangs, work-place motivation, Number 8 wire, She'll be right, etc.
While NZ may not be for everybody, it's mighty nice for the people that make it work. Just don't get yourself in over your head and in a position where you have no choice.