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ec494
27th February 2006, 14:32
hello mx brothers,

i am born and raised in the usa, after 38 years i am thinking about moving to nz i have been racing and riding mx for the last 26 years. i run toyota dealerships in the usa and i am wondering where the best places to live and work are in nz.

any help would be appreciated

eric

Colapop
27th February 2006, 14:37
Nooo..., you won't get everyone telling you that their neck of the woods is the best.....

What kind of environment do you like? Have you been here before? There's good country all over, here - and good people too. As long as you don't have a problem with bra fences or the like then you're welcome!

And welcome to the site.

Motu
27th February 2006, 14:55
Do you want money or lifestyle?....you can live on the bones of your arse in an idyllic paradise (buy a cheap house in the middle of nowhere with no job) or earn a meagre living in a nasty city? Finding that middle ground is what we spend our lives doing....

ec494
27th February 2006, 15:40
colapop
my grandparents were from norway, long live the vikings! anyway i am a suburban type who likes city amentities. i have, at least in the usa, a succesful career. i choose to spend my money on house and ktm. my wife loves the city and the beach i prefer land and a cat d4 dozer, where are the population centers and the auto buying areas

any help would be app
eric

marty
27th February 2006, 15:42
i'd be looking at rotorua or taupo, or western bay of plenty, plenty of places to ride, not really as expensive as auckland. any land in auckland is silly $$$, and neighbours are too close to be tolerant of the ktm on song.

comes down to how much you want to spend really.

have a look here for nationwide jobs >> http://jobstuff.co.nz/index.html?menu_item=1

and here for auckland based >> http://search4jobs.nzherald.co.nz/

and here for anywhere >>> http://www.seek.co.nz/

cheese
27th February 2006, 15:43
Well that is like Auckland, but the traffic is fucking crazy in Auckland. There is some fantastic beaches here and the weather is ok...But that is our biggest city in NZ.

The next option is probably wellington or maybe even tauranga.

But I'd say move here. go travel about the country for a month or two adn see where you like.

DirtMad
27th February 2006, 15:44
auckland is the biggest city by far... :first: but like any city ... :shit: it can be suckfull. im coming over to the states in april for a month. :headbang:
search for some nz autos here at www.autopoint.co.nz

cheese
27th February 2006, 15:46
yeah here is some stats for you

average house price in Auckland is probably about 370k now (prob around 240k USD)

Tauranga - $300k
Wellington - prob the same as auckland

I think thats about what it is. may be slightly wrong there...

ec494
27th February 2006, 15:48
traffic is not a problem used to detroit and atlanta just looking for reasonable cost of living and decent economy

thanks for the replies
eric

cheese
27th February 2006, 15:55
To be honest you on average earn the most money in Auckland.

Car industry here is mostly old sack of shit cars that we keep going with chewing gum and number 8 fence wire.

Colapop
27th February 2006, 16:03
For car industry advice PM (Personal Message) Onearmbandit.

What cheese means is that new cars sales have been affected quite heavily by cheap japanese imports over the last 20 years or so. (No. 8 wire is used for fecing and fixing generally whatever is bust)

Best advice is to come over for a cruise and see what you like.

ajturbo
27th February 2006, 16:57
Tauranga is preaty good area.... and the chicks are VERY nice:shifty:

kro
27th February 2006, 17:02
I moved from Auckland to Nelson, and would seriously suggest nelson would fit the bill perfectly. Nelson has masses of off road bike and 4wd tracks, and is small and friendly, but is big enough to keep most city lovers happy.

I visited lots of places before deciding on Nelson, and I love it to bits. Other people will have similar towns they love, its up to you really.

Waylander
28th February 2006, 19:35
Welcome my southern brother. (ex Texan here) If you're used to Detroit and Atlanta traffic then no matter where you go here you'll have no worries about that. Just not that many peaple here.

Auckland is the same as any big city, same as Wellington. Hamilton is a big void. Tauranga so far seems the best all around but I havn't been anywhere in the south island yet so don't know about there.

Paul in NZ
1st March 2006, 08:39
So... If you like cities.. Why the hell would you want to move here? No offence intended but even Auckland is only average as far as cities go...

Wellington etc are more like large towns.

If you are moving here to escape urban violence or terrorisim.. Um.. save your money!

marty
1st March 2006, 12:59
at least hamilton's got the V8's.....

scumdog
1st March 2006, 13:07
So... If you like cities.. Why the hell would you want to move here? No offence intended but even Auckland is only average as far as cities go...

Wellington etc are more like large towns.

If you are moving here to escape urban violence or terrorisim.. Um.. save your money!

I'm with Paul here - the non-violent, friendly honest New Zealand went the way of the dodo in 1975 and has been going downhill ever since (the friendly bit is actually still not too bad - but then the USA is like that away from the cities).
It IS still a great place with tons of variety od scenery, people and pursuits in a compact area, point to remember is it is colder the further SOUTH in this country so Auckland would suit you climate wise.

Fishy
1st March 2006, 13:51
Yeah I would say Auckland too. Become a JAFA like the rest of us.

DirtMad
1st March 2006, 14:36
at least hamilton's got the V8's.....

hehe, sad but true ! :niceone:

Colapop
1st March 2006, 15:01
I'm with Paul here - the non-violent, friendly honest New Zealand went the way of the dodo in 1975 and has been going downhill ever since (the friendly bit is actually still not too bad - but then the USA is like that away from the cities).
It IS still a great place with tons of variety od scenery, people and pursuits in a compact area, point to remember is it is colder the further SOUTH in this country so Auckland would suit you climate wise.
Such a cynical view from one so young!

cheese
1st March 2006, 15:19
and then you can come to woodhill with us and practice falling off like I do.

Paul in NZ
1st March 2006, 15:33
Tis true... Sauron's evil eye (probably Habib El-Sauron) is roving the world looking for the weak and unprotected and the Orcs are most definately, off the leash! While moving to a 'safe' place like NZ seems a good idea, its only a matter of time before some nutter decides to bring the jihad, revolution, Maori independence (good idea) etc to our friendly, and unprotected shores...

On the positive side, with the way the price of petrol is rising, they will need to be awfully well funded to throw petrol bombs or use truck bombs so there is yet still hope!

Me? I'm off to dig myself a hole on the beach which I will defend until my last stubby runs dry...

oldrider
1st March 2006, 17:06
I think you might have been headed off at the pass!
Mrs O/R and I have just got home from a deep South ride.
We met quite a number of riders. Casual chat revealed many were from USA.
Nice people too but must be on tight budgets, judging by their rides.
Seems to be a swarm of Americans headed our way. :laugh: Cheers John.

ZeroIndex
1st March 2006, 19:11
at least hamilton's got the V8's.....

yup, Hamilton's pretty decent... I moved here from South Africa just under 3 years ago

hondav2
20th March 2006, 19:42
hello mx brothers,

i am born and raised in the usa, after 38 years i am thinking about moving to nz i have been racing and riding mx for the last 26 years. i run toyota dealerships in the usa and i am wondering where the best places to live and work are in nz.

any help would be appreciated

eric

To live here permanently you have to get NZ Residency ect thru the Immergration dept. Best advice I can give you is come over for a holiday for 4-6 weeks and have a good look around . Ive been in auto trade most of my life. I will be around your patch in June on my DR and could call in for a beer if you like. Send me a email or PM. Toddy

Madness
20th March 2006, 19:53
Wellington has a great lifestyle so far as NZ cities go. Take Peter Jackson out of our fair city though and it's "last one turn the lights out"

Wellington is full of shopkeepers, cafe owners & politicians. The rest of us just wipe the preverbial arses of the above.

avrflr
21st March 2006, 12:23
colapop
my grandparents were from norway, long live the vikings! anyway i am a suburban type who likes city amentities. i have, at least in the usa, a succesful career. i choose to spend my money on house and ktm. my wife loves the city and the beach i prefer land and a cat d4 dozer, where are the population centers and the auto buying areas

any help would be app
eric
Based on this I would guess Auckland is your best bet: city amenities, business opportunities, beaches, population.
If you are going to work for someone then be prepared to take a major decrease in your income. If you intend to run your own business, be prepared to fight the anti-business lesbo-communist government for every penny. Then again, a talented and enterprising person can still make millions in NZ.
It rains a bit here, but that's OK cause it keeps everything looking nice and green and it hurts less when you fall off your bike:)
Hope you make it over, Eric, we need more like you.

MSTRS
21st March 2006, 12:52
I see you are not from Texas.....we realised our mistake AFTER Waylander got here....so now Texans get the "Sorry. Full'" sign. But you 'might' be ok. Try the holiday thing first & we'll let you know.
Warning - gas just went up to $1.54/litre - that's about $3.50/gallon in your money.

Paul in NZ
21st March 2006, 14:37
Nice people too but must be on tight budgets, judging by their rides.
Seems to be a swarm of Americans headed our way. :laugh: Cheers John.

Shit... Isn't that what Saddan said just before....

msm
17th April 2006, 20:58
Good luck! I moved here from Norway a few years ago and became a permanent resident last year. I'd definitely recommend visiting the country and doing some travelling around for a couple of weeks. Make sure you visit the South Island too, some people seem to forget this part of the country even exists :weird:

And I hope you have a better time dealing with New Zealand Immigration Service than I did. Apparently my mistake was to deal with people in person - as soon as I gave up on that and did everything by mail/telephone instead, it worked out fine. I just wish I'd figured it out earlier instead of wasting a year lost in the red tape :o

Wolf
2nd May 2006, 16:34
Welcome.

From Detroit? Boy, are NZ cities going to seem like ghost towns!

Mate of mine from Singapore via London found Auckland to small and too quiet and moved to Melbourne.

shafty
4th December 2006, 19:25
Other than Auckland (good climate, job prospects, but not my style - too busy) My preferences based on Climate/lifestyle/amenties would be in this order Tauranga, Nelson, Napier. Good luck! By the way, JAFA = Just Another F%^&* Aucklander!

Bartman10
20th December 2006, 12:16
Wellington is pretty crap. Bad weather, bad roads, bad drivers, bad politics.

South Island is where it's at.

quackquack
20th December 2006, 16:23
I lived in Detroit for 5 year you will love any NZ City. I think you would like Auckland cause it is good size for Jobs and close to everything Surf beachs close non surf beachs even closer. Skiing 3 to 4 hours away but if you can get a Job in some where like Napier I would say go for it all on where you can get work I say.

Detroit Traffic an't to bad unless they are digging up the road which is always

woodybee
28th December 2006, 09:36
Hey dude,

Greetings from a fellow import, I was from the UK and now live in Dunedin. But I have to say, Queenstown is the most sensationally scenic place, with some much outdoorsey stuff to do, it'll blow your ming EC, so much so that after living in Dunedin for the past 7 months am coming back to play in Queenstown.

Happy new year to you matey, and if you are having a travel about a bit to see wheres best to live, then you got a place to crash at my place, which in 1.5 onths will be in Queenstown.

Coi 4 now, and HAPPY NEW YEAR, looking forward to meeting you someday.

Woodybee AKA JAN:rockon: :yes: :Punk:

idb
30th December 2006, 19:26
..........it'll blow your ming ........

Crikey!!!!!

scumdog
30th December 2006, 19:28
Crikey!!!!!

I know what ya mean idb- just about hurffed my gin all over the monitor when I read THAT!:gob:

imdying
30th December 2006, 19:34
I'm not going to tell you where is best, too much bias. Even this advice is coloured by bias somewhat: The further south you live, the colder it gets, the less people there are, the friendlier the people are, the safer the streets, and the less cops patrolling the highways. Conincidentally, the further south you go, the less 'natives' there are too... No correlation to the reduction in crime the further south you go, oh no.

Pat
31st December 2006, 10:43
New Zealand is a relatively small country , long and narrow which means that you can have the best of both worlds , live in Auckland , have the benefits of the city , but only just over an hours drive to Coromandel where beaches are numorous, scenery is perfect.Live in Hamilton a small city with most peoples needs but less than hour to Auckland , an hour to Coromandel or two hours to Lake Taupo and 3 or 4 to the Ski Fields.Most Of New Zealand is simliar.I live in Waihi a goldmineing town of some 4000 population , 50 minutes to Tauranga a nice sized city , 50 minutes to Hamilton a small city ,2 hours to Auckland our biggest city and the beach on our doorstep.It depends entirely on your needs and budget.I have traveled overseas and one of the things you may find frustrating is that many things you cant just buy off the shelf they have to be ordered in and the cost can be quite high.Best of luck.
Pat

NighthawkNZ
1st January 2007, 14:59
Weather wise NZ has a diverse weather patetrn. We don't have the land mass or a neighbouring land mass... to give a stable weather pattern as such, like in Aussieor the States... So it can be fine one moment and then the next can the opposite four seasons in one day.

I have lived throughout and visited most of the country and visited the states and and many other countries over the years (thanx to the Royal NZ Navy) The thing I have noticed is kiwis don't stress as much we have a relaxed attitude to many things, we live in the middle of nowhere on the world map and well.

Our cities even Auckland aren't over crowed (yet) but still have the big city problems and attitudes... the further south you go the less dense the population over all. The small townships are generally friendly but there is something about the southeners, maybe its something in the air or water...

Price of general living isn't that bad, but compared to the states you may find many things more expensive and then some things cheaper, as for jobs well depends what you do, and am sure there would be something suitable here...

being the 2 main islands you have class the ferry companies as part of the main highway and some times weather can cause a backlog of traffic if your wanting to tour the other island... it is a pain in the butt...

RedKLR650
12th January 2007, 00:07
traffic is not a problem used to detroit and atlanta just looking for reasonable cost of living and decent economy

thanks for the replies
eric

I think you should check out Christchurch, as the economy is strong there and if you are used to Detroit weather, the chilly winter here won't be a problem...... Not everyone wants to live in Auckland......

Stu

Mrs Busa Pete
12th January 2007, 06:00
colapop
my grandparents were from norway, long live the vikings! anyway i am a suburban type who likes city amentities. i have, at least in the usa, a succesful career. i choose to spend my money on house and ktm. my wife loves the city and the beach i prefer land and a cat d4 dozer, where are the population centers and the auto buying areas

any help would be app
eric

Hi I'm a real estate consultant in whangaparaoa Auckland and we sell a lot of house here to people from the usa,England,South Africa. They have all said they love it here because you are no far from the city but the life style is differant you have water on both sides as so lots of sea views and all the beachs are within walking distant from there homes.Goggle Hibiscus Coast and check it out.It does sound like your wife would like it here. There are a lot for car dealers in Albany whitch is about 30min drive from here.
If you are every over this way look me up and i will take around this fine part of Auckland. PS i'm not trying to sell you a house just my 2 cents worth.
Wendy