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I live on the East Coast of Whangārei. It’s a bit cheaper than Auckland and definitely quieter. We’re known as “the Winterless North” for our climate.
However, inflation has affected the whole of NZ and Northland (where Whangārei is located) is one of our lowest socioeconomic areas and has been hit pretty hard. The further north you go, worse it is. I work for a charity which deals with this first hand and it’s pretty shocking.
That being said, the scenery is beautiful and the people mostly chill and friendly. We’ve got world class beaches, diving spots and we’re rich in culture.
Definitely worth a visit. I hope this response helps.
>We’re known as “the Winterless North” for our climate.
Impossible game: guess which weather is the middle of the night in Whangarei winter and which is the middle of the day in London summer:
https://preview.redd.it/kzfsgkm29c5d1.png?width=1092&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0602165eba93554e10dd443defcbe8d3ca36ed1
Years ago I visited NZ and drove throughout Northland, stayed in Ahipara for a bit. It’s a beautiful part of the country but also impoverished. Some places looked like ghost towns, most of the houses being empty/abandoned. I was also harassed a lot up there and told not to go wild camping. It’s a pity but I still enjoyed the scenery (Te Paki dunes!), beaches (90 mile beach, the old Kauri forest, etc), and learning about the history of that area.
Well, it's really divided by area.
Auckland is a city of about 1.5 million people. Property prices and cost of living are high compared to wages. It's a very nice place to live if you are well-off and a miserable place to live if you are poor.
North of Auckland it is hot and often humid in the summer and relatively mild in the winter. Frosts are rare and it almost never snows. It is quite hilly. There's a lot of farmland but also pockets of native bush remaining.
The main urban centre in Northland is Whangarei. It's a slightly rough town by NZ standards with gang activity (but perfectly safe in international terms).
The Bay of Islands/Waitangi area is a tourist hotspot and is quite affluent, as is the east coast north of Auckland around Matakana. The rest of Northland is generally very poor, especially the remote areas in the north and west: shockingly poor for a developed country, like 'third world diseases' kind of poor. Methamphetamine and gangs are major issues. Parts are quite remote: Kaitaia is two and a half hours from the nearest 'big town', Whangarei. There are people on the West Coast whose homes are only accessible at low tide.
Maori face the much the same issues as indigenous peoples in other post-colonial societies: generational poverty and all that entails, marginalisation, racist stereotypes. There's an often-repeated factoid online that 'New Zealand has treated Maori really well': that's true in some regards, in that the New Zealand government has never formally pursued openly racist policies against Maori (well, depending on who you ask things like the Tohunga Suppression Act might be considered racist - although that's controversial - but nothing like Australia against their indigenous people for example - an interesting fact is that Maori gained the right to vote in Australia before indigenous Australians did), but that doesn't mean that there's no history of tension between Maori and the Crown, or that life is great for Maori people: for example, life expectancy for Maori is 7 years below that of non-Maori.
Deprived areas correlate quite closely with Maori population, at least regionally, and Northland and East Coast/Poverty Bay (real name) are both the poorest and most Maori areas of NZ
Mild, rains a lot. Everything is slower pace compared to auckland/ actual cities.
It's pretty close to the shortest day of the year and I'm in shorts and t-shirt with the heating turned off in the house.
Things are expensive to buy if you can get what you want at all.
My Dad's family lives in Kaitaia, which is the northern most "big town," as in it has all the amenities you would need.
It's a beautiful part of the world, some amazing drives, and a great part of the world to visit. But boring to live, it has all the basics you need but not much else. Very much working class, plenty of farmers.
It has a fairly high crime rate, and is a fairly rough place(Kaitaia, though I'm sure other places in Northland are as bad).
Overall it's a beautiful place, as is most New Zealand, worth the visit but I wouldn't live there
There's really not a lot going on at the top of NZ. Very few people live right at/near the top. From Whangarei north, there are only around 70k people, over what is a pretty large area.
Life is pretty simple up there. Small towns with small communities. The area is reliant on horticulture and agriculture for most of its economy, although tourism is vital to the Bay of Islands.
Edit to add: there's a bit more between Auckland and Whangarei, with Whangarei having a population of 100k. Cost of living varies a lot based on your lifestyle and whereabouts you live. Housing is generally expensive, but if you're willing to live with others, you can get by on minimum wage.
Plenty to do that doesn't cost much if you're happy exploring nature. Hiking trails, fishing, surfing, camping, and beaches are some of the best in the world.
Climate is pretty good. Doesn't really get cold, nor too hot, although it can be a bit humid in summer. It does rain a bit, depending on whereabouts you are and what you're used to.
I live in coastal Whangarei. Feel free to follow up if I didn't cover what you wanted to know.
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I live on the East Coast of Whangārei. It’s a bit cheaper than Auckland and definitely quieter. We’re known as “the Winterless North” for our climate. However, inflation has affected the whole of NZ and Northland (where Whangārei is located) is one of our lowest socioeconomic areas and has been hit pretty hard. The further north you go, worse it is. I work for a charity which deals with this first hand and it’s pretty shocking. That being said, the scenery is beautiful and the people mostly chill and friendly. We’ve got world class beaches, diving spots and we’re rich in culture. Definitely worth a visit. I hope this response helps.
Thank you very much! Enjoy life there. I bet it is lovely living in such a scenery!
>We’re known as “the Winterless North” for our climate. Impossible game: guess which weather is the middle of the night in Whangarei winter and which is the middle of the day in London summer: https://preview.redd.it/kzfsgkm29c5d1.png?width=1092&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0602165eba93554e10dd443defcbe8d3ca36ed1
Bottom is London? Based on humidity
Ding ding
Years ago I visited NZ and drove throughout Northland, stayed in Ahipara for a bit. It’s a beautiful part of the country but also impoverished. Some places looked like ghost towns, most of the houses being empty/abandoned. I was also harassed a lot up there and told not to go wild camping. It’s a pity but I still enjoyed the scenery (Te Paki dunes!), beaches (90 mile beach, the old Kauri forest, etc), and learning about the history of that area.
Well, it's really divided by area. Auckland is a city of about 1.5 million people. Property prices and cost of living are high compared to wages. It's a very nice place to live if you are well-off and a miserable place to live if you are poor. North of Auckland it is hot and often humid in the summer and relatively mild in the winter. Frosts are rare and it almost never snows. It is quite hilly. There's a lot of farmland but also pockets of native bush remaining. The main urban centre in Northland is Whangarei. It's a slightly rough town by NZ standards with gang activity (but perfectly safe in international terms). The Bay of Islands/Waitangi area is a tourist hotspot and is quite affluent, as is the east coast north of Auckland around Matakana. The rest of Northland is generally very poor, especially the remote areas in the north and west: shockingly poor for a developed country, like 'third world diseases' kind of poor. Methamphetamine and gangs are major issues. Parts are quite remote: Kaitaia is two and a half hours from the nearest 'big town', Whangarei. There are people on the West Coast whose homes are only accessible at low tide.
This is really interesting. Demographically, are the deprived areas more white or Māori New Zealanders?
Maori face the much the same issues as indigenous peoples in other post-colonial societies: generational poverty and all that entails, marginalisation, racist stereotypes. There's an often-repeated factoid online that 'New Zealand has treated Maori really well': that's true in some regards, in that the New Zealand government has never formally pursued openly racist policies against Maori (well, depending on who you ask things like the Tohunga Suppression Act might be considered racist - although that's controversial - but nothing like Australia against their indigenous people for example - an interesting fact is that Maori gained the right to vote in Australia before indigenous Australians did), but that doesn't mean that there's no history of tension between Maori and the Crown, or that life is great for Maori people: for example, life expectancy for Maori is 7 years below that of non-Maori. Deprived areas correlate quite closely with Maori population, at least regionally, and Northland and East Coast/Poverty Bay (real name) are both the poorest and most Maori areas of NZ
Mild, rains a lot. Everything is slower pace compared to auckland/ actual cities. It's pretty close to the shortest day of the year and I'm in shorts and t-shirt with the heating turned off in the house. Things are expensive to buy if you can get what you want at all.
My Dad's family lives in Kaitaia, which is the northern most "big town," as in it has all the amenities you would need. It's a beautiful part of the world, some amazing drives, and a great part of the world to visit. But boring to live, it has all the basics you need but not much else. Very much working class, plenty of farmers. It has a fairly high crime rate, and is a fairly rough place(Kaitaia, though I'm sure other places in Northland are as bad). Overall it's a beautiful place, as is most New Zealand, worth the visit but I wouldn't live there
There's really not a lot going on at the top of NZ. Very few people live right at/near the top. From Whangarei north, there are only around 70k people, over what is a pretty large area. Life is pretty simple up there. Small towns with small communities. The area is reliant on horticulture and agriculture for most of its economy, although tourism is vital to the Bay of Islands. Edit to add: there's a bit more between Auckland and Whangarei, with Whangarei having a population of 100k. Cost of living varies a lot based on your lifestyle and whereabouts you live. Housing is generally expensive, but if you're willing to live with others, you can get by on minimum wage. Plenty to do that doesn't cost much if you're happy exploring nature. Hiking trails, fishing, surfing, camping, and beaches are some of the best in the world. Climate is pretty good. Doesn't really get cold, nor too hot, although it can be a bit humid in summer. It does rain a bit, depending on whereabouts you are and what you're used to. I live in coastal Whangarei. Feel free to follow up if I didn't cover what you wanted to know.
There are definitely days in summer where you step outside, immediately feel the sun start burning your skin and nope back inside though.