BEST Place to Live/Raise Family for Network/Electrical Engineer

[bilalcie786]

Hi All,

I grew up in USA. Thinking about migrating to NZ. I am a Telecommunication Network Engineer with Electrical Engineering Degree. Currently 30 years old and married (no kids yet!). Looking for some feedback from the residence of NZ as it could be difficult to find the qualitative analysis online.

Following are my concerns:

1) Area with most Technology jobs?
2) Safest place to live (statistically least crime rate) and raise family?
3) Diversity of people? As I am from USA and am keen to learning about new cultures that I find fascinating.
4) Cost range of housing (2BR/2Bth) House/Apartment?
5) Probably a silly question. How is people from other religions (e.g; muslims) welcomed in NZ?
6) Possibly some resources for salary data for Telecom.Engineers will be helpful?
7) Places to go for out door activities?

Look forward to hear back.

Thanks a lot and look forward to be a part of NZ community .

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

I'm sure you'll get some replies from people already in NZ when they wake up. Meanwhile, do browse old threads and use the Search facility, as you're not the first to have thought of these topics , and even discussions from some little time ago will give you something to be thinking over.

[boarder]

I'd be really interested in the reply to this actually. We're hoping to move to either Queenstown or Nelson next year, but I figure the tech jobs will be in short supply.

[kiwieagle]

2-Nelson has a bit of crime but many of the rural towns in the region, like the one I live, have very little. So, while statstics might show you regional information, there are lots of areas within each region that will have different outcomes. For me, the biggest concern is the drink drivers.
3-Depending on where you live in the USA and where you live in NZ, you may find it less diverse than the USA. The Nelson/Tasman region has some diversity but nothing like where I am from in Southern California.
4-It is extremely variable depending on where you live and importantly, who you know.
5-In the Nelson/Tasman region, there are quite a few non-christian religions that thrive. As I am not a member of any religion, I couldn't speak from experience but there doesn't seem to be any acceptable outward religious intolerance.
7-Everywhere.

You might also want to think about whether you want to live in a city or not. There are different benefits and challenges depending on whether you live in a city, a large suburban town, a small town, or a rural area.

[Azkateaz]

Almost all jobs for you will be in Auckland or Wellington with limited openings in Hamilton and Dunedin. Tech jobs in other areas are possible but rare.

[batgirl1001]

You will find that most of the highly-skilled IT/technology positions are found mostly in Auckland with limited vacancies in Wellington and fewer in other cities and towns. Having said that, that doesn't mean there are no openings outside these cities but you may have a harder time applying for jobs when the vacancies are fewer and far in between and competition from applicants who are also looking.

Crime is relative, people have the impression that Auckland has a high crime rate but it certainly depends on where you live. Regionally, the North Shore is the lowest in Auckland and perhaps one of the lowest in the country but this is statistics. It doesn't mean you will never be a victim of crime but rather you have the odds in your favour. It certainly doesn't mean you can be complacent about your own safety. Although in truth I have seen houses on the Shore with their doors open all day not just unlocked. And did once drop in on a neighbour, not only to find the door ajar but had to walk through the entire house (after several minutes of knocking) to find him working in the garage.

Auckland is the most multicultural city in NZ with one of the highest levels of migration and has one of the highest concentration of Maori, Polynesian and Asians. Practically 25% of NZ's population live in Auckland and it will continue to boom from its current 1.5 million residents.

This is probably the sore point of living in Auckland. Housing in Auckland is expensive and prices are likely to remain high as the bubble keeps going on and on. One of the reasons is the high level of demand not just from people living in Auckland but from people migrating into the city, and from overseas investors looking to speculate on NZ properties. Another reason is the undersupply of housing in Auckland - due to fewer land consents, land prices being very high and higher building costs. Another could be house owners themselves having the power to hold on and only sell their property when it meets their expectations. All in all, it has kept prices steady and on the rise very much ahead of the rest of the country.

Despite being a city, people do not prefer to live in apartments or units, but rather seek their own 3-bedroom (at least) with a plot of freehold land. A 2-bedroom house is usually termed a unit or townhouse and mainly used as rentals or people downgrading (for eg. seniors). The cost can range, buying a 2-bedroom unit in Devonport or Takapuna (North Shore) a very sought-after suburb can be in the 500s while in Manurewa (Manukau) a low-income suburb in can be in the 200s.

I think people in NZ are rather friendly and generally do not judge you by your race or appearances. Speaking as a Muslim myself, I do not experience discrimination but I did have people act a little reserved at first only to warm up in minutes. Having a friendly and sociable personality helps and because I grew up in a modern, cosmopolitan country (Singapore) before I came to NZ, I didn't have any trouble adapting to living in NZ. Most of the Muslims will live in Auckland although there is a sizeable population living in Canterbury and Wellington. There are several mosques all over Auckland and Muslims have no trouble practicing their faith without discrimination. My husband did not experience job discrimination and he was paid at the top end of his scale in his profession (teaching).

Can't answer question 6.

Because we had a young girl, outdoor activities for us were mostly free like going to the playground and parks. There are so many good ones on the Shore, and pretty much spending our time at the beaches, I like water sports so swimming, boarding, etc are ideal. We go for picnics regularly in the summer. Long drives to places like Pakiri, Matakana, Piha etc practically all over Auckland. For longer holidays, we've been skiing at Queenstown, going for camper holidays to Queenstown and beyond, driving around the North Island to places like Paihia, Tauranga whenever we could. Basically there are pockets of heaven everywhere in NZ so we took every opportunity we can to see as much as possible during our 3 years in NZ.

[bilalcie786]

2-Nelson has a bit of crime but many of the rural towns in the region, like the one I live, have very little. So, while statstics might show you regional information, there are lots of areas within each region that will have different outcomes. For me, the biggest concern is the drink drivers.
3-Depending on where you live in the USA and where you live in NZ, you may find it less diverse than the USA. The Nelson/Tasman region has some diversity but nothing like where I am from in Southern California.
4-It is extremely variable depending on where you live and importantly, who you know.
5-In the Nelson/Tasman region, there are quite a few non-christian religions that thrive. As I am not a member of any religion, I couldn't speak from experience but there doesn't seem to be any acceptable outward religious intolerance.
7-Everywhere.

You might also want to think about whether you want to live in a city or not. There are different benefits and challenges depending on whether you live in a city, a large suburban town, a small town, or a rural area.

Hi kiwieagle,

Greatly appreciate the feedback.

Is there a website that gives population, crime rate, median income,real estate costs, and cost of living data analysis?

BTW, I am currently residing in North Carolina.

[bilalcie786]

Hi batgirl1001,

I am extremely pleased to have community members like you on this forum who take their time to altruistically assist others in making educated decision towards the move. It definitely have made me more comfortable toward moving to NZ after reading your response. By the way, it is very informative.

If you have further resources you can share, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Regards,

Bilal

[girlwithanewf]

Is there a website that gives population, crime rate, median income,real estate costs, and cost of living data analysis?

Statistics NZ will keep you busy for hours: here is a list you can browse for statistics.http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats.aspx
And if you search for a specific town or suburb it will give you more information than you could possibly want to know.
As for crime, look here:
http://www.police.govt.nz/service/statistics
Good luck with your decision making!

[bilalcie786]

Hi Azkateaz,

Might be an off topic question. Did NZ-Immigration asked for IELTS report? Although I am Graduate from US University (Washington Accord) with all the studies done entirely in English, will the IELTS still be required?