Current Events > Is New Zealand a miserably cold country?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I was thinking of moving there but a self-purported "kiwi" told me the weather is miserable and cold there. Wanted to ask around in case he was trying to get me not to come since he knows I absolute hate anything colder than 20C.
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I've only visited, and it was their summer season, but no, it was nice. It could get pretty cold far out on the ocean waters.
Not to mention the vineyards we went to there probably wouldn't like the cold

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Not really, I mean parts of it certainly can be, but mostly not, at least in Auckland and Wellington. Kind of similar to Seattle with just less extreme swings in sunlight between winter and summer.

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TomNook20 posted...

Not really, I mean parts of it certainly can be, but mostly not, at least in Auckland and Wellington. Kind of similar to Seattle with just less extreme swings in sunlight between winter and summer.

Seattle huh? *googles*

... isn't it supposed to be summer in seattle? And it's only 17 degrees outside? good god how badly does that drop in winter, if it's that low in summer.
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Your logic doesn't follow. Unlike places with crappy weather, having perfect temperatures in the summer doesn't mean it's an icebox in the winter. It's relatively mild in all seasons, which is similar to what you'll find in new zealand.

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I mean, I was there in the summer and it was mostly hot and sunny on the north island, on the south it was mostly sunny with a day or two of cold and rain

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It seems temperate

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Keep a pair of shears, and if you ever get cold, find the nearest sheep and take its wool.
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Winter is cold, summer is hot.

Further north is significantly warmer but being an island means you can get all 4 seasons in a day.

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kyujo posted...

Not to mention the vineyards we went to there probably wouldn't like the cold

You actually want cold for the best vineyards, diurnal temperature swings are best for even ripening. The vineyards all up the country are prone frosts all year round (more or less) which kill buds and destroy harvest but thankfully there's a big range of frost protection.


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saspa posted...

but a self-purported "kiwi" told me the weather is miserable and cold there

To be fair, as a generalisation, we're really good at finding any excuse to complain.

Yes, things could be better, but the words 'third world nation' get bandied about for some of the most trivial of issues.

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It seems like easily the most first world english speaking nation out of the 5, so most ideal place to live on that basis.
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Th3Truth posted...

Not really, but it has a lot of Australias killer wildlife

Not at all true. In fact, we have almost no dangerous wildlife.

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Sphyx posted...

Not at all true. In fact, we have almost no dangerous wildlife.

That part was a plus when visiting. I was surprised to learn that nearly all the mammals were imported by settlers or others over the years

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I went there in July and stayed in Dunedin and it was miserable and cold until late september.
The houses are also built like cardboard boxes and every room had a little electric heater like in the dark ages.

to be fair they were student flats.

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Yeah one of the positive attributes that enticed me was that it doesn't have all the deadly critters trying to kill you like Australia does. So now it's just the cold that's the real foe to deal with.
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its not bad. Doesnt get cold in comparison to the states/Canada but its a different kind. I like about 200m from a lake and about an hour from a decent snow sport mountain and the two combined on a windy day in winter (ie two months ago) can be bitterly cold.

we also can get very hot too.

From what I understand the quality of housing is quite poor when compared to other western countries, they're not adequately insulated, they're drafty and heating is antiquated.

The weather is pretty similar to the UK and Pacific Northwest, so mild winters and summers.

Of course, probably best to see if you can even move there before complaining about the weather.

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TheAwesomeMatt posted...

From what I understand the quality of housing is quite poor when compared to other western countries, they're not adequately insulated, they're drafty and heating is antiquated.

It's a continuing issue here.

Visitors see how bad the housing stock is and tell us, but the people charging big rents for mould-ridden shitheaps don't want to hear it.

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Th3Truth posted...

I had heard a bunch of stuff like huntsmen were introduced there

May be a little out of date on this, but last I remember, there were only two species of dangerous spider in NZ, the katipo and the redback, both from the same family as the black widow.

The redback came from Australia somehow in the past few decades, but only settled in a very specific region of NZ and doesn't seem to want to leave, so the population is limited. IIRC scientists still aren't sure why they won't spread out.

The katipo is the only native spider considered dangerous to humans. It's incredibly shy, and only lives on the coast. As long as you don't go barefoot through sand dunes, or leaving towels or clothes there when you swim, you're unlikely to ever encounter one. Even then, they only bite as a last resort.

The Avondale spider is a type of huntsman, and also lives in a very specific area. It will hurt if you're bitten, but it's not considered dangerous. I've heard they're actually quite tame, and some were trained for handling during the filming of Arachnophobia.

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