Hi Dilempicka!

First of all good luck to you for your move

Second (A bit off topic I know, sorry...), it might be an idea to pitch this forum to Kiwis/all people who live in or intend to live in NZ as well as expats already there... What do you think? The englishforum.ch site for people in Switzerland does that and it works quite well.

If you're going to Auckland though, it would be a good idea to rent, I think. I lived there for 3-4 years and would recommend that you rent somewhere out of the city centre (unless you have a lot of money to throw around ) as it is mostly very expensive there. If you like it quiet and don't mind 45 mins or so on a train (express) you can live out as far as Pukekohe. (I would post a link to google maps to give an idea where that is, but I' m not allowed to yet). Otherwise top price areas are: City, remuera, ponsenby, Parnell, devonport, takapuna. Medium price areas e.g. in Greenlane bordering remuera, other suburbs relatively inland, but either bordering suburbs on the coast or close to the centre. Lower price areas: South Auckland (around Manukau) lowest being papakura, manurewa, West Auckland suburbs. A general rule of thumb is that the further south or west you go, the less prestige. Though out west on the coast is getting very expensive too.

Either way, good luck and all the best to you and your family.

FF