Which is better for people in wheelchairs, NZ or Australia?

[Louise Please]

Greetings from England!

My hubby and I are determined to move away from the UK. We're reasonably sure that under current rules, we'll be able to obtain residence visas for New Zealand and Australia. (Lucky us!) We've listed advantages and disadvantages of each country. It's reached stalemate. We can't decide which would be better. One problem we have is that we've never been to either of them. Yes, we're mad, no need to spell it out for us!

We are lining up for a down-under visit early next year, but it would be handy if we could get some opinions and pointers first.

This seems like a VERY informative place with a lot of VERY useful information and kind people sharing their knowledge. I hope people with experience can help us.

My father gets about using a wheelchair and he's very active. He's all for us emigrating, because he'd like to get down-under into the sunshine every year to miss those cold, grey, dark English winters.

Is there anything you know of that would point to whether Australian or New Zealand cities are better for someone in a wheelchair?

Thanks,

Louise

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

How your father would manage in NZ would depend greatly on where EXACTLY you were based, and some places would be possible, with forethought. (I'm thinking of large parts of greater Auckland, and Wellington CBD, places I happen to know.) But you should remember that the whole of NZ is made up of the tops of a range of mountains - think of the Alps, with their bases on the sea floor, so that it's the tops that people experience and live on. This means that, though there are plains which are something like alpine meadows, there are many areas which are VERY steep. In some districts you can stand on a street and find that you're level with the roofs of houses on one side of the road (as they're built down the slope), while the bottom of the walls on the other side of the road don't start till a house's height above you.

[little john]

I don't know how wheelchair-friendly Christchurch is, but most of the city and suburbs are quite flat.

[JandM]

That's true - I was forgetting.

[Dave in NZ]

I work very closely with disabled people here in North Shore Auckland and find that on the whole facilities are very good. we arrange outings etc for people in wheelchairs etc and the taxi firms are very good. The disabled centre I visit do regular outings and they have little trouble getting around. I understand Australia is also good but I do not have experience of this. These two links are helpful , although are a few years ago things usually get better as time goes by so they are pretty encouraging. Always good to have peoples personal experiences.

hope this helps

http://www.ebility.com/articles/acce...ew-zealand.php
http://www.globalaccessnews.com/nzealaustralia02.htm

[sophiedb]

I don't know how wheelchair-friendly Christchurch is, but most of the city and suburbs are quite flat.

My MiL here in Chch works for CCS Disability Action, and they are actively campaigning to ensure that new buildings - particularly in the CBD - are designed to be accessible to as many people as possible. This doesn't mean they'll succeed 100%, but the will is there... And yes, it is pretty flat around here too.. a bit bumpy and potholey in places, but flat as a pancake!

[Familyofmonkeys]

Not quite the same, but I have plenty of experience negotiating round NZ cities with a side-by-side double buggy, which was the same width as a standard wheelchair. I found that, compared to the UK, town planning in NZ leaves a lot to be desired in terms of pedestrian access for wheelchair and pushchairs users. Car parks are poorly laid out, with either few safe crossing points, or crossings that lead onto areas which end up in a dead end and shrubby plants, and there is a distinct lack of dropped curbs in critical places for crossing roads, other than in areas that have very recently been upgraded. In both Auckland and Wellington, this was especially problematic for us, exaccerbated by the extremely steep hills around both CBD's. Christchurch is flatter and easier to get around, but finding public toilets with wide access doorways was a real challenge as they are practically non-existent, and this was an even worse issue outside of the main cities. Many shops and cafes outside of the main cities are not suitable for disabled access, especially the toilet facilities....they also seemed to be a systematic lack of baby changing facilities. However, in the main cities, modern shopping centres and major tourist attractions the wide access facilities are excellent and very clean.

[Louise Please]

Thank you everyone for being sooooo kind. It's really marvellous of you to help a stranger. From your comments, it sounds like Christchurch would be our best choice for ease of living. I know I'm asking a lot, because taking note of the wheelchair-friendliness of any city is hardly going to occur to most people, but if anyone has been to Australian cities and has any input in comparison to Christchurch, I'd be very happy to hear from you.