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Thread: Christchurch or Te Awamutu

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Ireland
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    61

    Default Christchurch or Te Awamutu

    I have been offered 2 jobs in New Zealand, one in Christchurch helping with the rebuilding of the city and the other one is in a small town near Hamilton called Te Awamutu. They are both offering similar wages although the relocation package from the christchurch company is much better as they are a multinational company and can afford more. I have read so much good and bad about ChCh and it is getting very hard to just ignore the bad reports, I will be bringing my wife and 4 kids and dont want to make a bad move for them. Is anybody familiar with Te Awamutu, I have read about Cambridge and it seems nice but nothing about T A. Would a small rural town be too small for a family to move in, make friends and my wife find work? I come from a town in Ireland with about 20,000 to 30,000 people so I am not a big city guy that will struggle to live in a small town. We will only be living on my salary of about $60,000NZ a year until we get the kids settled and my wife can find work so it will be a few months anyway. Which is the best place to live frugally for a few months, I know rent is cheaper in the small town and but is life cheaper in a city with a wider variety of shops to shop around or can value be found in small towns with fresh food etc?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    370

    Default

    A couple of questions -- how old are your children? What sort of work does your wife do?

    I've lived in Hamilton, Auckland, and now Christchurch. Te Awamutu seemed a fairly quiet little burg, and you'd likely save on rental costs, but I'd worry that work opportunities would be a bit limited (although Hamilton is easily accessible from TA). I'd also look into schools rather carefully, depending on the ages of your children -- one of my ex-colleagues lives in TA, and his wife teaches there, but now that his kids are older, he sends them to school in Hamilton.

    In my case, I don't regret the move the Christchurch, and wish I had made it sooner.

    Oh, and congratulations -- you're fortunate to have this dilemma.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Ireland
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    Default

    Hi,
    My kids will be 12, 9, 5 and 2 when we move. My wife worked as a personal assistant to a member of the Irish parliament for 9 years until he retired and her job finished. She would be willing to work at almost anything though. Could you recommend a part of Christchurch that would be suitable for us to live in.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Christchurch, NZ
    Posts
    60

    Default

    i had the same situation as yours, had to choose between Chch and Auckland though, but we're glad we made the choice to move to Chch. the suburb where we live in now is close to schools and university (burnside, fendalton, bryndwr area) and parks. its also close to city centre. so i would suggest these suburbs.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Ireland
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    Default

    Is there any benefit to living further out in areas such as Belfast, could I save a few dollars on rent, could I cycle to work in the city centre? Money will be tight for the first year or so and I think rent is going to be the main factor.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    North Canterbury to UK
    Posts
    2,755

    Default

    Belfast is not know as Smellfast for nothing, it's does have a peculiar odour of it's own Some might say it is the close proximity of the Meat works but "I couldn't possibly comment "

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
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    NZ
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JagerLeaves View Post
    ...could I cycle to work in the city centre?...
    Belfast to CBD is about 10 km, over roads that are congested during peak travel periods and, in some spots, under repair. Personally, I wouldn't do it -- the bus would be a better option (< $25 per week with a concession card). Not sure about the local schools.

    ...Money will be tight for the first year or so and I think rent is going to be the main factor...
    Areas a bit west and north of the CBD are popular, and I can vouch for the quality of the schools (we're in Riccarton). Much easier to cycle to the CBD across Hagley Park, and buses run regularly as well. I'm not sure how large a place you need -- if you're looking for 4-5 bedrooms, your choices will be less and costs higher. If your kids can double up and you can get by with 3BR, you can likely find a townhouse or house for $500 weekly or a bit less. That'll be tight on your stated salary, no doubt. Maybe others can guide you on other suburbs where rents are lower and travel connections OK -- as a relatively-new Christchurch resident, I'm not much help to you there.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    Ireland
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    Quote Originally Posted by sks View Post
    I'm not much help to you there.
    All advice is appreciated, it is so hard to judge things from the other side of the world just using google maps.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    UK to USA to Waikato, NZ
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    Default

    So what have you decided?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    San Francisco to Auckland
    Posts
    626

    Default

    Yes we are all wondering!!!

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