Auckland , New Zealand - The Good, Bad & The Ugly

[GT0132]

After 30 years living in Sydney and with both my and my partners kids now left home we're thinking of moving elsewhere and may even contemplate a move back to NZ.

Although originally from Wellington , Auckland has always been a city that has appealed to me, even as a kid going there for holidays in the 60's/70's

I guess the only thing not in our favour, apart from the weather, is the adverse AUD/NZ exchange rate at the moment. ($1.06) compared to what it was like when I moved here in 1984 ($1.75…ouch!). For that reason we may not sell any real estate we own in Australia yet and possibly rent for a while once we got over there.

Just after some advice from Aucklanders on the forums for some advice on

- best areas to live. The inner east and inner west as well as the north shore areas of Takapuna , Birkenhead and Northcote seem to appeal. It seems the real estate market is hot there. Suburbs like Remuera, St Heliers, Parnell and Herne Bay appeal but would probably be a tad out of our price range.

- the job market . I'm a CPA qualified accountant and work as a CFO in a professional services firm and by the look of it I may need to lower my salary expectations a bit if I moved to AKL. Not a lot of work there for folks like me it seems

- any other things good or bad about the city....cost of living etc

Cheers guys