Living in Queenstown/Wanaka?

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Aaryn015

104 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 127542 14-Aug-2013 09:45

Anyone living/lived/"wouldn't live if you paid me" in Queenstown?

I'm in Auckland, quite bored, single, and a bit disenchanted with the big city I've spent most of my life in.

I've been offered a role in Queenstown. Steady. IT field. The trouble is I'm staring at an annual income dip of half a healthy house deposit (even in Auckland) for the privilege of living in a place I must say, is bloody stunning with plenty to see and do. Not least since my favorite thing in the world is snowboarding.

Finances alone will be a big adjustment. But not insurmountable. But I'm curious if anyone who has made the shift or close to the area has found all the attractions of the place too expensive to enjoy as a local.

Cheers
A

nathan

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Microsoft

Reply # 876922 14-Aug-2013 09:48

Have you Sussed out the price of rent down there and factored that in too?

psychrn

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Reply # 876927 14-Aug-2013 10:00

I was going to sday the cost of living may well be a factor-very tourist orientated

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Aaryn015

104 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 876936 14-Aug-2013 10:08

*** Just realized I put this in the wrong category. Can a mod please move it to Off Topic? ***

Yeah I've looked at rent. It's a bit all over the place and depends on the exact location. I certainly wouldn't live central. That's just prohibitively expensive. Out in QT's equivalent of the suburbs, like Frankton, it's a bit better. A few cases of down-right cheap. But for the most part, maybe a bit under rent cost in Auckland on average.

Shared house arrangements I have found are very similar to Auckland. $150-$200 bracket.

Anyway, I can do they math on that myself. I was more after any opinions on general course of living there.

Cheers
A

blackjack17

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Reply # 876944 14-Aug-2013 10:17

I lived there for 2 years about 8 years ago and loved it, there is so much to do and easy access to the outdoors. I would consider moving back if it wasn't for work and family

Living there is not cheap however, food, expenses everything is pricey.

But as long as you aren't burning bridges, why not move? You can always move back if you don't like it

jonb

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Reply # 876945 14-Aug-2013 10:20

I lived there for a year when I was 22 (way back in 2000) and it was great. Learnt to paraglide and did a lot of that in the summer, living in a shared house that was freezing in the winter but knew some friends lived in lovely places. If you have no commitments then go for it - you don't have to stay there forever.

wellygary

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Reply # 876970 14-Aug-2013 10:48

Costs for Heating are a fair bit higher than Auckland and food costs more,
[but prices are a bit better since they opened a decent sized New World out at Remarkables park, ( Although there is a on going action to prevent a Pak n Save being built) ]

The only real downside to living there is that every mate you ever knew will want to come and crash on your couch :)

Also If your job is in Q/Town don't live in Wanaka , while the Crown range is a lovely drive, it sucks to do it every day

Aaryn015

104 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 876980 14-Aug-2013 11:09

wellygary: Also If your job is in Q/Town don't live in Wanaka , while the Crown range is a lovely drive, it sucks to do it every day

Thanks for that. Job's in the centre of QT. One of the team members does exactly this and I was wondering about it myself. But I worked out it was around an hour each way. Which I don't want to do every day as you say.

What's up with blocking Pak 'n Save? Surely the locals would want that? Or are they worrying about "cheapening" the place?

Aaryn015

104 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 877038 14-Aug-2013 11:46

blackjack17: But as long as you aren't burning bridges, why not move?

Well I doubt my current employer would take me back. Only been here a few months. And I have not seen a package like the one they offer in NZ for what I do.

Would be a lot easier if I had been here for a couple years. But I don't think anyone can advise me on that part. That part is just a choice I'll have to make.

Aaryn015

104 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 877039 14-Aug-2013 11:46

blackjack17: But as long as you aren't burning bridges, why not move?

shaneg

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 882027 21-Aug-2013 10:30

Hey,
Yeah I've lived there every summer (4months) for the last 5 years, stayed for 1 year last year, (got back in Feb) and stayed on for 1 year 3 years ago.

Anyway, awesome place to live if you take advantage of the opportunities, I suggest mountain biking, the gondola takes bikes up Ben lomond where skyline have spent a good amount of cash building heaps of trails. Where else can you mountain bike within 2 mins of the city centre?

Scene.co.nz and lwb.co.nz are the two weekly papers that every qtowner use, lwb especially is a great place to find cars, rentals, flatmate's etc it's a free b,s,t, you can pick up amazing bargains, especially coming into the shoulder seasons when all the foreigners need to sell up before moving on, people use this instead of trafeme, I still read it online, good place to have a laugh is the whinges section, locals complaing about drunk backpackers urinating on their gardens, shltty roads, the council, good thing is they always get a response from the council too.

Best places to live are, frankton but you've got to deal with the planes, arrowtown but you've got the drive, it's not too bad, you can usually drive at 120kph as you'll find out the locals do, if you find a place in Quail Rise its a cool spot, lots of families so no backpackers.
Lake Hayes subdivision, a bit Brady bunch with a lot of new housing.
Don't live in gold field heights or fernhill, you don't get any sun in winter, it's cold as f@ck and damp. Kelvin heights gets sun all year round so long as you don't mind the drive.

As for the pak n save, it's in one of David Henderson's development disasters, right as you're coming into town there is a massive hole, and has been there for years, someone is finally putting something there, but pak n save want to go there too, so they don't really want the first impression to be a big yellow shed, also the base population is around 20,000 which swells to 100,000, now this base population are mostly are all middle to high income earners say $80,000 - $200,000.
They don't really want/need to go to a pak n save, a Woolworths/countdown would probably be acceptable. They reason food is expensive is it has to be driven from chch and its not on a route anywhere else.

Fergbaker has the best pies in nz imo.
What else do you need to know?

I'd live there permanently if I could secure year round work.

Aaryn015

104 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 882073 21-Aug-2013 11:12

Thanks mate

shaneg: this base population are mostly are all middle to high income earners say $80,000 - $200,000.

Are you saying locals in QT are in this bracket? (I'm sure a lot of the seasonal workers are well out of it)

I'm in this bracket now in Auckland. Also would be if I went somewhere as close as Dunedin from what I've seen. But I would be below that bracket if I come down for the same (yet more laid back) job. That's the main concern for me. And I expected a trade of $ for lifestyle and figured if QT was paying well, there would be a line of skilled people wanting to work there.

But I'm wondering if the employer is playing that card a bit too hard now...

shaneg

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 882115 21-Aug-2013 11:58

Seasonal workers are out of that bracket sure, most are minimum wage area, they don't get involved with local politics though.
To live there long term in a nice house you need to be on a good wicket, houses are expensive, I was more referring to the pak n save opposition, that middle upper income earner are quite vocal especially against a cheap supermarket.
People are generally nicer down there, a little rude to foreigners sometimes.
Because it's so transient you get an influx of people twice a year so you can get tired of the tourists sometimes, 6 months is seen as long term down there, 3 months is generally the norm for workers to stay, as with your boss he's probably expecting you or someone that fills that position to come and go perhaps?
I guess if you want to push for more cash maybe tell him you are keen for 2 years?