10 best places to visit in New Zealand Whether you are seeking the big city lights
or some peace and quiet and work-life balance, here’s everything you need to know about choosing
between the best places to live in New Zealand. Taking into account things like affordability
and job opportunities, as well as quality of life and access to nature or activities, plus school,
infrastructure and cultural attractions, this should help any prospective residents who are
thinking of making the move to New Zealand. It can be difficult to capture that holiday magic.
How many times do you go on an amazing holiday where you think you could quite easily live there
forever but the reality of going to work every day doesn’t always live up to the holiday vibes.
Finding a place to live and work that best suits you is one way of ensuring your move
to New Zealand goes without a hitch. That’s why we have taken a look at the best places to live
in this country and drawn up our top ten. Before we continue I will love you to hit the like button
or better still share, subscribe and also turn on your notification for more incoming videos. Join
us on a swift adventure and take a look at the 10 most attractive places to visit in New Zealand.
10. Auckland Auckland, based around 2 large harbours,
is a major city in the north of New Zealand’s North Island. In the centre, the iconic Sky
Tower has views of Viaduct Harbour, which is full of superyachts and lined with bars and cafes.
Auckland Domain, the city’s oldest park, is based around an extinct volcano and home to the formal
Winter Gardens. Near Downtown, Mission Bay Beach has a seaside promenade. So Auckland is probably
the most popular place for people arriving from overseas to base themselves. There are more jobs
in New Zealand’s biggest city so it’s a natural draw, however, Auckland is about way more than
just big city jobs. Auckland is an awesome place to live and one of the best waterfront cities in
the world. With an abundance of beaches, amazing regional parks, awesome restaurants, great places
to head out, theatres, walks, watersports and more, Auckland is a city with a lot to offer.
The reason it comes fourth on our list is down to traffic and housing. There are a lot of cars
on the roads around Auckland and house prices are pretty high.That is not to take anything
away from Auckland though – it’s definitely one of the best places to live in New Zealand.
9. Wellington New Zealand’s capital city has got to appear
on the best places to live in New Zealand – it’s one of the coolest capital cities in the world! It
may be small (as capital cities go) but Wellington has a lot going on. It’s New Zealand’s second
largest city (by population) behind Auckland so plenty of people choose to call Wellington home.
Wellington is not only home to New Zealand’s parliament, it’s also home to our national museum,
Te Papa. Like Auckland, Wellington enjoys a waterfront location and Oriental Beach
regularly tops the charts when it comes to New Zealand’s favourite beaches. With a great
train and bus network, it’s also pretty easy to live in one of Wellington’s cool little suburbs
and commute to work without having to deal with traffic every day, another big draw for the city.
8. Christchurch Christchurch is the south island’s biggest city in
terms of population and a hugely popular location for experts to base themselves. This place is a
wonderful city which is in the process of being redeveloped following the massive earthquake that
struck in 2011. Despite the setbacks, the city is built of stronger stuff and it has really brought
the people of Christchurch together and there is a thriving community in and around the city
making it one of the best places to live in New Zealand. This city has a lot going on. Located on
the banks of the river, the tranquil city center is a wonderful place to work. Away From the city,
some beautiful beaches are within close driving distance and are great places to base yourself.
Summer is one of the most popular, attracting many tourists during the summer months.
7. Hamilton Hamilton often plays second fiddle to Auckland.
It’s only a short 1 hour 30-minute drive from Auckland to Hamilton but the two cities are worlds
apart. Hamilton is set on the banks of the Waikato River which runs through the heart of the city
and forms a beautiful backdrop for the city. Enjoying a pretty central location, Hamilton
enjoys a much lower cost of living than Auckland with house prices that are much more affordable.
There is no shortage of industries in and around Hamilton making it an attractive place to live.
The location of Hamilton means you are in the perfect spot for exploring nearby Raglan,
the surfing capital of New Zealand, Taupo, Rotorua and the Waitomo Caves. There is plenty to see and
do in Hamilton and the leafy city has one of the best gardens in New Zealand, the Hamilton Gardens.
6. Dunedin The final place on our list of best places to live
in New Zealand is Dunedin. This place was voted as New Zealand’s best city to live in 2016 based on
affordable housing, civic pride and a strong sense of safety and is deserving of its place in our top
ten places to live in this country. However, it is so much more than stats and surveys. Dunedin is a
really cool place to live for so many reasons. It’s home to New Zealand’s only castle. It has
some of the country’s most amazing wildlife living on the nearby Otago peninsula. It has a stunning
historic train station and some beautiful gardens and it’s also home to the world’s steepest street.
Throw into that the very creative vibe around the city, helped by the University of Otago students
who boost the population of the city and can find yourself in a very cool place to base yourself.
5. Napier Napier, a coastal city
on New Zealand's North Island, is set amid the renowned wine-producing region of Hawke's Bay.
Rebuilt after a 1931 earthquake, the city is known for art deco landmarks like the zigzag-patterned
Daily Telegraph Building. Along the tree-lined waterfront promenade the Marine Parade,
the Pania of the Reef statue depicting a Maori maiden, is a symbol of the city.
Locates in the heart of the Hawke’s bay, this city is a wonderful place to base yourself
if you are planning a move to New Zealand the cost of living in this place is muchower than
the bigger cities like Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown making it San attractive proposition
but there are still enough businesses located in and around the city to make
it a good place to find work. Outside of work, Napier has it all going on. Great vineyards,
a stunning coastline, amazing golf courses and some fantastic cycleways.
It also enjoys its fair share of sunshine all year round and tends to be a bit warmer than Auckland,
certainly during the winter months making it super attractive to recent arrivals from the UK.
4. Tauranga The popularity of tauranga as a destination
for kiwis and expats over the past few years has rocketed and it’s easy to see why. Tauranga is a
harbourside city in the Bay of Plenty region on New Zealand's North Island. It hosts historic
buildings like the Elms Mission Station, an 1847 Georgian-style home. A bridge over the harbour
connects Tauranga to Mount Maunganui, a beach town with hot saltwater pools and an extinct
namesake volcano with winding walking paths. Offshore is the active volcano White Island,
accessible by helicopter or boat. With lots of industries based down here. There are plenty of
job opportunities and whilst house prices are on the rise, it’s still a reasonable place to
set up home. Tauranga and Mt Maunganui are two of New Zealand’s most popular holiday destinations,
especially for Aucklanders. With stunning beaches, a great nightlife and close proximity to places
like Taupo, Rotorua and the Coromandel, Tauranga is one of the places to live in New Zealand.
3. New Plymouth This is a city on the west coast of New Zealand’s
North Island. It’s known for its coastal walkway stretching from Bell Block to Port Taranaki.
Te Rewa Rewa Bridge has views of towering Mount Taranaki. The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery shows
contemporary exhibitions. Close by, Pukekura Park has botanical gardens and birdlife.
Subalpine forests and waterfalls characterise Egmont National Park to the south. When the Lonely
Planet voted Taranaki as one of the ‘Must Visit’ destinations of 2017, it helped to put the region
on the global map. Located in the south-west corner of New Zealand’s North Island, New Plymouth
can seem out on a limb a little bit but those who travel and live there are in on the secret – New
Plymouth is a pretty awesome place.It has fast become a town for the ‘hipsters’ and with that,
the cost of living has gone up somewhat. You do however get some bang for your buck. New Plymouth
has one of the best art scenes in New Zealand with lots of great galleries and a bohemian,
arty feel to the city. This is enhanced by the surfers who frequent the beaches down this way,
looking for the perfect break. With a great nightlife and close proximity to
the magnificent Mt Taranaki, it’s easy to see why so many people choose to call New Plymouth home.
2. Rotorua If you are looking for
somewhere a bit different, Rotorua is definitely one of the best places to live in New Zealand.
It’s a tourist hotspot which means lots of jobs. Rotorua, a town set on its namesake
lake on New Zealand's North Island, is renowned for its geothermal activity and Maori culture.
In Te Puia’s Whakarewarewa Valley, there are bubbling mud pools and the 30m-tall Pohutu Geyser,
which erupts many times daily. It’s also home to a living Maori village and the New Zealand Maori
Arts and Crafts Institute, with traditional wood carving and weaving schools. It’s also
a year-round destination thanks to the geothermal attractions that the city is most famous for which
means visitors still flock here during the winter months. This city enjoys a central location on the
north island making it super accessible. It's under 3 hours to drive to Auckland,
Napier, the Coromandel and Mtaunganui and the ski fields of Mt Ruapehu are around 2.5 hours away.
This city is definitely one of our favorite places to travel and certainly popular with our visitors.
That is why it features at number two on the list of best places to live in New Zealand.
1 . Queenstown Perhaps unsurprisingly,
Queenstown came out as the number one destination that people would choose
to live here in New Zealand. Queenstown is an amazing place. It’s a year-round destination
with amazing outdoor activities in the summer months and world-class skiing in the winter.
It’s great for people of all ages, young and old and with so many different industries
based in and around the city, it’s also a great place to find work. House prices are
high (recently overtaking Auckland as the highest in the country) so you may have to live in one
of the suburbs but that’s pretty cool the views are amazing all around the Central Otago region.
Queenstown is deserving of its place at the top of our list of best places to live in New Zealand.
This island in the south Western Pacific ocean has so many to offer visitors.
Book a trip to this country and enjoy nature in diversity. Thanks for watching this amazing
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