New Zealand and the great North Vs South debate
Moving to New Zealand
New Zealand is an incredible country boasting everything from the most beautiful geothermal beaches to mountains and glaciers. Where one part of the country may have world class scuba diving, another part has fiords, penguins and seals. How do you know where to relocate to with such an incredible diversity? Even Lord of the Rings, famously filmed in New Zealand used both the North Island and the South Island extensively for their sets. Fortunately Santa Fe, the international removal experts, has been on hand to give us the whistle-stop tour of the main differences between the two.
The first thing on most people’s minds when moving is whether or not there will be other people around on the other end of the process. Roughly 76% of the population of New Zealand live on the North Island, despite it being almost 40,000 km2 smaller than its southern counterpart. If culture is what you want from your move to New Zealand, the North Island is definitely where you want to go. The North Island not only has the most cosmopolitan cities in New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington), but it also has the richest Maori culture on offer. Rotorua, the heart of the North Island, not only boasts a wealth of Maori culture, but hot lakes, coloured pools and geysers. If you ever want to take a trip to a marae, a traditional Maori village, living in the North Island will certainly expedite the process.
The South Island, by contrast is a fantastic place to move to if you’re looking for agriculture or tourism, or a high-octane, adventure-filled lifestyle. Queenstown, with its reputation for skiing, snowboarding, jet boating, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping (or bungy jumping if you’re a Kiwi,) mountain biking skateboarding, tramping, paragliding, sky diving and yes, even fly fishing, is called the Adventure Capital of New Zealand for a reason. Part of the reason for this is that the South Island is home to the mode wide open spaces that New Zealand has to offer. Choc-full of mountains, the South Island is home to 6 of New Zealand’s 9 Great Walks, so if hiking and the great outdoors are what you live for, a move to New Zealand’s South Island may be the dream you’ve always had. The South Island also offers the Southern Alps and Fiordland in the south-west. Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound feature some incredible valleys carved from massive rivers and glaciers, home to awe-inspiring marine life. It’s not uncommon to see penguins, seals and even dolphins when on the South Island.
If that sounds a little too chilly for you, remember the North Island has a lot of geothermal areas formed from the volcanic activity in the region. If hot springs and warmer beaches are more to your liking, perhaps the North Island is your dream move. Poor Knights Islands just off the east of the top of North Island offers some of the most fantastic scuba diving in the world, and is the perfect location for any scuba enthusiast.
New Zealand really does have a wealth of wildly different environments and locations to move to. With this level of natural splendour on offer, every single weekend is another potential holiday not far from your new home – and we’ve only just scratched the surface in this blog. If you’re still undecided as to if the North Island or the South Island is more for you, try giving Santa Fe a call. Their experts know all there is to know about relocating to New Zealand, and can offer all the help and advice you need in starting your dream move today.
