I am visiting New Zealand in September/October and am curious about where one would find the best places to live (for a gardener). Since I see a lot of 10 and 9 zones, I imagine the weather is somewhat tropical, warm and humid. I am currently in Zone 10b and enjoying every minute of it, well, except when I'm sweating in the garden and have forgotten my hat.

I have a huge collection of vegetable seeds and I will really,really regret parting with them. Many are specialty bean seeds that I will truly hate to leave. I got some flor de mayo beans in trade, and the thin rose pink swirls against the cream white of the bean is truly beautiful to me. *sigh*

I heard that housing prices are going up in NZ as well, but I imagine it's not as bad as some places in the U.S. From what I can tell, I can't imagine a better place than New Zealand to live and raise a family.

I am a computer programmer as is my fiancee. Are there jobs for people like us over there?

Joan

With the vege seeds, try it & see if they let you bring them in. I was able to order a whole heap of organic, heirloom early varieties of tomato seed more suited to colder climates from the abundant life foundation. I ended up ringing MAF & they told me they needed to be declared as seeds, you need to know the latin name for them & they need to inspect them.

As to being in IT. Yes there are loads of jobs here for IT ppl - mainly in the larger cities like auckland. You probably won't get paid anywhere near as much as you would in the US tho'. & yes property prices are rising somewhat over here. Check out www.realenz.co.nz

Joan

We just ended up being somewhere we liked the almost very best where we could afford land with awesome sea views & a bit of bush & was close enuf to civilisation for the kids.

If you are able to get in the country without a job & you have some money. I would recommend travelling around the whole country for a few months to see which bit you like the most. You could always buy an old banger & do WOOFing if money is tight.

New Zealand's climate is nothing at all like zone 10b ones in the mainland US. The reason why we can grow 10b-type plants is the extraordinary mildness of the winter in most parts of the country. This is truly an oceanic environment. Overall the climates here are most comparable to those in Oregon but with milder winters. Even in Auckland and northwards you will not be anything like as hot as you are in southern California in summer. The temperature here rarely exceeds 27°C (sorry, you are going to have to get used to the metric system that all the rest of the world except the US uses!) and although it can be a bit sticky in late summer, its nothing compared to the god-awful stickiness in the S.E. States. Winter daytime temps in Auckland are generally 10°- 17°C, night temperatures can be anything from 13°C down to close to zero. Down south, in Christchurch and Dunedin, summer temperatures can be similar, though its less sticky, but winters are significantly colder with subzero temperatures and they can get significant snowfalls.

House prices have been rising comparatively steeply in Auckland and on scenic parts of the coast of North Island recently but they are still low compared to Californian (and British for that matter) prices. I think the median price for a 3 bedroom house in Auckland is now around NZ$320,000, though I can't tell you where the exchange rate is at the moment, its shifted recently.

cheers
Peter Richardson

Best - exop