Christchurch, New Zealand | An overview (cost of living, things to do, what it's like living here)

[@samarcher6632]

im 17 years old, I was born and have lived in Christchurch my whole life. I love seeing other people's view points of the city! I'm super enthusiastic about it myself. While auckland has a lot more opportunity...Christchurch has just as much, just on a smaller scale. but that's what you would expect for a city only 1/3 of the population of auckland. I believe christcurch is a growing city, there's always new things poping up and the CBD is constantly expanding! More and more people look towards Christchurch because of its affordability compared to Auckland and Wellington. Christchurch has a lot more to offer nature/outdoors wise. We have amazing endless beaches, port hills, Lyttelton and Akaroa as well as the mountains for skiing. And yes your right ...Christchurch is very flat making it easily walkable, cyclable and drivable! We have lots of new and exciting things coming to the city such as the 30,000 seat Stadium and the new court theater along with many other current amazing venues such as the town hall, convention center and wolfbrook arena. our internatonal airport still offers great convenience especially compared to wellington a city of a relative same size. while not as big as auckland we still have many amazing direct routes to singapore, hong kong, Gaunzhou, San Francisco, Dubai (via sydney), Fiji as well as multiple destinations in australia. And we can expect many more to come as travel is back up and running after the pandemic. I beleive christchurch are eyeing towards flights to Los Angeles, Seoul and malaysia next. and the weather! while it does get a little chilly in the winter (not that cold compared to what it would be in canada or northern america) our summers can get HOT! and we have minimal wind comapred to wellington and less rain than Auckland. we get 600mm of rain per year (auckland get 2000mm) so we have a lot of sunshine especially becasue the mountains block out all the bad weather!! haha. I think Christchurch has lots of potential, and I hope people choose christchurch as it truely is amazing and in the near future will be reconigzed on a global scale. Loved the video btw, im glad you liked Christchurch.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Awesome write up, thank you for commenting! Fantastic points and I agree with all of them. Christchurch is amazing and I think I would move there long term if I didn't have so many ties in Canada.

[@johnarmstrong3583]

I admire your positivity

[@pikaboy2686]

chch is very nice and chill to live in if thats what you are looking for. south island really is a treasure with the amount of views. personally as an ambitious young career person i want to leave as there is more opportunity elsewhere, but will hopefully come back and retire here. its just so nice

[@yoonsiklee6151]

I have travelled Christchurch back 2006. I really liked New Zealand over Sydney Australia. I wish I can travel there again when I can afford to do. I miss the time in Christchurch. I do really miss the time.

[@AidaVAAZ]

Hi, I have a question for you. In Crhistchurch do people speak maori?? :)

[@alicejohnson8751]

Christchurch is one of the best places to live in NZ if you are worried about Earthquakes. Anything structurally unsound came down in the earthquakes and has been replaced by newer buildings built to higher earthquake standards. It is far safer than Wellington or Napier or other places near earthquake fault lines.

[@brittanymorgan09]

That's a great point!

[@boomertuxx]

Auckland: am I a joke to you?

[@cadifan]

I'm an Aucklander, haven't been to Chch in 30 years but I believe Sydenham is pronounced Sidnam.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you!! I never would have guessed that haha.

[@conmanumber1]

I was in Auckland and find everything is easier like work and food varieties. Christchurch is fine for short 3 day max visits but food at cafes etc is very expensive at fancy looking cafes and restaurants and quality kinda poor and get not much. I prefer dingier street food type restaurants as they have bigger foot traffic and food turnover leads to fresher.

[@jonlydon]

actually I reckon you would do better without the A... as in Sidnm...not an A like in ham @@brittanymorgan09

[@donovankelly12]

Really well done! A lot of awesome information and great footage that you’ve shown off. We got to see a lot of what Christchurch has to offer and the proximity to so many other spots on the South Island along with the smaller community feel in a NZ major city were my personal favourites. A lot of very welcoming and friendly people. I could live there for sure!! 🍻😃

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you! 🥰🥰🥰

[@atariplayer3686]

Thank you for explaining the facts about living in Christchurch, New Zealand!

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you for watching & commenting!

[@edwardmcgill1640]

When you buy home insurance in NZ, part of it goes to the EQC (Earthquake Commission) so if you have insurance you are also covered for earthquake damage.

[@brittanymorgan09]

That's great to know, thank you for sharing!

[@renatamortazavi2450]

As always, great video Brittany. 👍👏. Very informative. You are amazing, smart young girl. Thank you for your insights. We love it!💖

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you so much 🙏😊❤️

[@iallso1]

The role out of fibre broadband is well under way, fibre arrived in Rangiora in 2017 and in New Zealand in 2014. I connected to fibre in early 2020.

[@jonlydon]

Well done Brittany, I lived in ChCh for a year in 1991. I have been back 10 times, and am in the process of submitting an application for a parent's visa at there moment. I enjoy your approach to these videos.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you! Christchurch is such an amazing city, I wish we got to see it before the quakes. People have said it was even more beautiful back then 😍

[@dr.kalyanpokuri1079]

Brittany, you seem to be a well organised financial planner. You are good at budgeting, investing, saving and retirement planning. You are creating a personalised financial plan that suit your lifestyle and aspirations. And you are not compromising either on your life style. In simple words "Fantastic". Thanks for the informative video.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you so much!! ❤️❤️❤️ You are too kind.

[@coreymana5676]

Great video. Very interesting. I'm from Christchurch but live in Sydney. We pronounce Sydenham as 'Sidnim.' I haven't been back to Christchurch since the end of 2011. It's interesting to see how much it's changed. Again, great video.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you so much! I hope even though it looks different, this was a bit nostalgic for you. I would have never guessed "Sidnim"!

[@coreymana5676]

@@brittanymorgan09 lol I lived in Sydenham as a kid and then moved to Spreydon. Very nostalgic. It’s great to see how beautiful the changes are since I last saw Christchurch. You’ve done a great job with this video. Thank you

[@drakandriel]

Thank you so much for this one Brit! I'll be moving to NZ later this Oct in Christchurch for work :)

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you for watching! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I hope you love Christchurch once you get there 😊

[@nata6025]

You'll love it! I have lots of colleagues from all over the UK, many with young families. Your grocery bill might be a shock but you can book and see your local GP in the same week! In terms of house buying, stick with the west side of Christchurch if budget allows. The ground is more stable which means when an earthquake rolls though, there's theoretically less damage on your home. And there's more trees, you can tour the city on google maps, it's not that big. The east side of Christchurch has its charm and it's also close to the beaches and estuaries.

[@Kam0v]

Unfortunately many of the historic buildings and culturally significant areas of Chch came down in the quakes, we lost a lot of unique resteraunts and niche interest shops, as well as most of the night life. New clubs and shops have of course popped up in the rebuild, but its all very mainstream and sanitary, leaves Chch not quite having the 'lived-in' feel other major cities have.

[@brittanymorgan09]

I wish I could have seen it pre-quake! So many people have mentioned how gorgeous it used to be. I still really love Christchurch even with its new builds everywhere!

[@technobirb364]

Just a note on the fibre network, you can get fibre plans for 70-80NZD if you go for a 300Mb speed plan. And the wait time for installation was about 3 weeks for me in May. Highly recommend it as you'll have a much better experience than cellular plans.

[@carlystevenson950]

Pak n’ Save gives me anxiety too! The first time I went I asked my partner if we could never go again 😅. We did go back a couple times after that and it got a little better… countdown is still my jam though or the New World in the city. We spend about the same as you guys did on groceries a month and that includes a food bag - three dinners for two a week.

[@brittanymorgan09]

The Pak n' Save intensity is SO real! I don't know how people battle the crowds regularly. Though Costco back home is so similar and I always avoided going there too...the deals just aren't worth it for me haha. Glad to hear you are spending around the same for 2! I thought we were way overspending 😅

[@MrBradclack]

Earthquakes are covered in insurance and New Zealand is one of a few countries that insures the land also . If you look at a home insurance bill there will be Levy's on it for earthquake commission and fire department

[@tylerbarnes209]

As a life long resident of Christchurch I watched your video to point out everything that was wrong. But overall great video 😅!! Glad you enjoyed your time here 🎉

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you, that means a lot since you are a local!! We loved living there 😀

[@irishrover9332]

We're a couple and we eat like kings for a Maximum of $130 NZD per week, $65 Each. The Indian/Asian supermarkets are really cheap too, 10kg of potatoes for 7.99 & 1kg of bananas for $1 ETC.. So many cheap deals if you shop around via the 5 City Supermarkets. For $1400 a month we'd be eating lobster, rib eye steak and foie gras :) Direct flights from NZ to Canada are via Auckland direct, not from Christchurch. Lincoln University is another large Uni in Christchurch. Every home/building in Christchurch is up to a very high earthquake standard. Large Earthquakes other than a 6.5 12 years a go have never happened. Literally everything is built now is of a super high earthquake standard, ChCh is now the safest city in NZ. It's amazing how many new venues ChCh will have in the coming years. Can anyone name a city of 400k that boasts a new Int Airport, Hot Pools on the beach in New Brighton, 30+ new Bars/Restaurants at Riverside & The Terraces (All in one Area) A 317 Million new Sports Centre, a 95 Million new Library, a 450 Million Convention Centre and a new 700 Million Stadium built in 3 years time. Try and name another city of 400k that boasts these new facilities and more to come!

[@brittanymorgan09]

Wicked info, thank you for sharing! We used to go to Asian supermarkets in Auckland and they were amazing. I'll have to check for some in the Nelson region. We've found going to the farmers markets every week is saving us a lot of produce now! We now spend around $600 total/mo. That's strange about the flights, my father in law said he saw direct flights with Air Canada from YVR to CHC but I just checked their site and they all connect in Auckland. Hopefully more direct flights get added down the road. Yeah I think Christchurch's amenities are amazing and it'll really be a hot city in the coming years. Great time to move there now and get established before the surge!

[@boomertuxx]

​@brittanymorgan09 tree that. You don't normally get a city that size in NZ where the housing is still somewhat affordable. Btw CHCH is about the same size as Wellington.... depending on how you measure Wellington (ie if you include Hutt Valley and Porirua). I have a couple of friends who moved there from Auckland and they love it there

[@yasyaj3892]

$130 per week for groceries, what the fairy tails are you telling to people? Fish costs about $40/kg, frozen berries $8 per 0.5kg, avocado/olive oil $34/L. Agree, rice, potato &carrot is relatively cheap but to eat lobsters for $1400/month😂. How many families spend even more and they even can't effort fish or salmon.

[@michaelfitzgerald8525]

Love your work Brittany, but you missed Lincoln Uni (Agri/Land), Ara (Polytechnic), and Te Wananga o Aoteroa (Maori language), all of which Ive graduated from along with UC so if you never really want to leave uni - you don't have too. Oh and LU and TWoA offer free quals even at Masters level.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Great info to add to this, thanks for commenting!

[@boomertuxx]

I'd rather be in CHCH than Wellington of things start shaking. Houses are built on the hillsides in Wellington.... which is great during a big earth quake. What would I know? I live Auckland... not exactly known for its earthquakes

[@williamclarke2020]

Dang that's pricey man! Almost as expensive as Calgary right? My first mortage was 625 CD. Gonna put you on the spot here...North Island or South? My ex wife's uncle lived in NZ back in the 70's and worked on the sheep farms in the southnwhich was almost mandatory in a way. I think Australia had the same deal with foreign workers. You could work as long as it was in the farming sector. Favourite city for both islands. No wiggling out, you must answer..LOL! You probably heard but we had over 6 ft of snow here on Cape Breton Island, NS, Brittany. NZ is starting to look good. Tell Donovan I said hello! Take care Buddy! Billy

[@brittanymorgan09]

It's quite comparable to Calgary now, yes! Some things are less expensive like access to all national parks are free and such and some things much more expensive like gas and electricity. Overall though it's similar. I haven't spent near as much time on the north Island so I don't think it's fair to discount it but the south island has so many mountains which I do love! Wellington is easily my favourite city! If I came back to NZ in the future, I'd spend most of my time on the north Island exploring what we missed. Most people prefer the south island for its beauty though. Thanks for the kind comments!

[@luke73489]

Hey, good video and Christchurch is great. Thought I'd say that the Greater Christchurch population is 550,000 (this includes the surrounding towns). Expected population by 2030 will be about 615,000.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you! I hope Christchurch gets the growth it's expecting 🙂

[@iallso1]

I hope you are not including Rolleston or Rangiora as part of a greater Christchurch, both are very happy to be their own entities and Waimakariri district council rejected an approach from Christchurch City Council to merge.

[@guykrenn]

Great info! Thank you! It'd be great to know if Christchurch is experiencing a lack of housing supply like Auckland, for example.

[@faizkhwaja9505]

Fellow Canadian from Toronto here planning my Working Holiday for the New Year. Thank you so much for all your videos; they've been unbelievably helpful! Out of curiosity, what has been your favourite place to live in NZ so far? And if I'm flying in to Auckland, would you recommend getting a car immediately or would I be able to survive for some time until I find a good used deal/decide to travel out of the city? Thank you!

[@brittanymorgan09]

Hiya!! Very exciting!! Thanks for the kind comments, I'm glad you're enjoying my videos! Favourite place we've lived so far has been Christchurch for me! We really enjoyed living in downtown Auckland too when we didn't need a car to get around. I think you'll be fine without a car for awhile, especially if you'll be in Auckland for a bit! Utilize the AT transit system (trains, buses & ferries) and you'll be able to get around to most spots!

[@jared2232]

I apologize for commenting on so many of your videos recently but they really hit me somewhere that matters deeply! Christchurch is highly under appreciated. I never got the chance to explore both islands in my one year stay but from what I gathered the south Island is the more scenic and adventurous one. I think when moving somewhere people need to take into consideration the population size and what they'd be comfortable living in. I'm from Halifax Nova Scotia Canada which only has about 20k more people which made Christchurch the perfect size. Too little people to your norm and you'll be bored and too many people and you'll be overwhelmed. The vibes I got from my stay In New Zealand is you would be happiest if you're not a materialistic person, you don't care too much about social media and you're outdoorsy. I was there at the age of 22-23 and my only regret in life is leaving at all if I'm being honest. I'm now 30 and still think about it regularly. Ultimately I'm not even working for top dollar in my profession in Canada and earning about 50,000 NZD more yearly... With 30 working years roughly left to go you can only imagine how much I'd be leaving on the table by staying in NZ. This really is a great city to live and I miss it dearly but do your research. If you're coming from a less developed country jump all over it and dont look back but if you're coming from something on par really do your research. The weathers beautiful the people are amazing but I felt significantly further behind in life during my stay.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Don't apologize!! I love reading comments and connecting 😊. Thank you for continuing to watch and support my channel, it really helps! I agree with so many of your points, we are from Calgary (1.6 mil now I think) and are in Nelson now (50K or so) and it's SO different. I'm finding out I'm a city person but being in a smaller community has been a really great experience and I could envision retiring to a place like this. Christchurch feels like it has a bigger population than it does, it's really such a gem and I miss it. I feel you on the "feeling behind" thing, it's tough to make a good living here with the cost of living and low wages.

[@jared2232]

@@brittanymorgan09 My best advice (although mentally hard to follow) would be just focus on the now and appreciate your surroundings. Don't worry about later. During my stay I was so focused on what I was missing out on $$$ wise in Canada that I cut my stay short and missed out on developing awesome friendships further. $$$ comes and goes but trips like that last a life time.. like I said 8 years later and I'm still thinking about the stones unturned there. Enjoy every minute there its a trip of a lifetime!

[@brittanymorgan09]

@@jared2232 Thank you! I struggle with living in the present and you're so right about this experience being a one time thing. I've set myself up financially for the future already which is the only reason I even did this move. I was so obsessed with money for so long and I put off moving here for YEARS. "Opportunity cost" had me in a choke hold. I'm lucky that I ditched that mindset (mostly) but it's definitely a work in progress. Sometimes I wish my mind would just shut up so I can enjoy things in the moment.

[@theunknownunknowns256]

Was trying to write something really nice, but have to sort dinner. Great video Brittany... Assuming you dislike Brit for short?

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you so so much, even a short comment is greatly appreciated 😄. Britt works too 👍

[@RaceCarFriends]

Christchurch seems amazing, the only real cons to me would be the earthquake risk and the internet lol

[@brittanymorgan09]

I think if you can get fibre or a better provider you will be good with internet. My phone data has never let me down in a pinch!

[@627hjc]

I have lived in Chch for 14 years and I can tell you, compared to most of NZ, Chch has the best fibre coverage. Due to the massive infrastructure overhaul since the earthquakes we have fibre nearly over the whole city. The internet in the video is not the normal, as they are in the hills which has a different/older infrastructure.

[@RaceCarFriends]

@@627hjc Oh okay that makes sense, thanks for the input!

[@Frank-rx8ch]

I soak my washing in the machine throughout the day. Come around 4-5am l start the washing where electricity is at its cheapest.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Do you find it saves you quite a bit every month? I'm never awake that early/late 😅

[@Frank-rx8ch]

@@brittanymorgan09 yes.

[@kitty2527]

Very well done, informative and straight to the point. Useful pointers especially on fibre network cos no one can live without internet access. Did you do the editing of this video yourself ?

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thanks so much, I appreciate that! Yes, I do all of my own editing as I only make about $150/mo on KZbin haha so can't afford to have staff yet 😋

[@kitty2527]

@@brittanymorgan09 Wow! I am so impressed. Well! there is always a starting point but it the journey that will be rewarding be it bitter or sweet for life is about experiencing and enriching oneself. At a later date, when you built up your volume, you can always outsource your editing part and that person need not be in NZ, there are plenty of ppl all over the world that offer such services. I am not a KZbinr but I know alot of KZbinr in Singapore who outsource it so that they can concentrate on creating better and more content. Wish you all the best. I will be moving to Christchurch cos my family is now in NZ, Wellington and Hamilton and I want a family home to be in Christchurch cos I like the vibes. So I will be keeping a lookout on your videos. Take care :)

[@brittanymorgan09]

@@kitty2527 wonderful!! I wish you the best in your move to Christchurch and thank you for the kind words again ☺️

[@srua2936]

Thanks for all this information about this beautiful city! Do you want come back to Canada ?

[@brittanymorgan09]

@@srua2936 I moved back to Canada 9 months ago and prefer it here 😊

[@sanjeevagarwal6813]

Christchurch is a balanced city with little traffic, people and opportunities.

[@gypsyroma9574]

Slingshot is better internet, and fresh choice is cheaper for meat but if your not on budget new world has great variety of food, Stanmore rd the best grocery store,

[@Edi_GALEOS]

Hi. Thank you for the information. May I ask what drew you to NZ? Thanks again!

[@brittanymorgan09]

@@Edi_GALEOS I always wanted to explore the natural beauty of New Zealand and it was very appealing to me that it's in the middle of nowhere, quite far from my home country!

[@alexanderjoe3526]

Keep up the vids 🤙

[@brittanymorgan09]

Yes!! Thank you for the support 😊

[@makeyourself1988]

Hey, I am in Christchurch and struggling to find where to find an apartment. Where did you find your place? I am looking for a short stay that is furnished.

[@brittanymorgan09]

@@makeyourself1988 airbnb! I just searched for a month at a time

[@jimmykerr2983]

Thank you 😅I really love my home 😅

[@mattieclan8957]

Try firsttable for meals

[@brittanymorgan09]

Cool!! I've never heard of that 🤔 will have to check it out to save some $$! Thanks for the suggestion

[@quantumhumannutrition]

Thank you it's very helpful I'm thinking of moving to Christchurch. I felt for you when you said about anxiety. I'm a nutritionist and have helped many people with anxiety. You might get some benefit from watching What the Health. All the difference plant fibres uncooked; soluble, insoluble, gums, pectin, lignans, cellulose, beta glucans, hemecellulose... protect the gut lining and build the microbiome and 80% of the immune system and gut/brain link and produce feel good hormones like serotonin. It's very complicated and there's no money in making you well so it's not very well known. Read Fiber Fuelled by Will Bulsiwize aswell. Best wishes.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Thank you for the insight, I'll have to look into all that!

[@LabRat6619]

Do they need heating engineers?

[@MrBradclack]

Omg that internet price is crazy you can get skinny or Vodafone with free portable router for 55 per month unlimited

[@brittanymorgan09]

@@MrBradclack unfortunately we weren't able to get any deals like that's because we didn't have NZ drivers licenses or passports. I tried 😔

[@MrBradclack]

Seriously I got my son one I purchased online without putting any of those details in it was no contract no break fees . Really enjoyed this video thanks for supplying info for people

[@shanebriggs1039]

Now show Papanui, Woolston, Linwood, Hornby, Halswell, Ferrymead etc etc hehe 🤭

[@bpal5644]

@@shanebriggs1039 are these the nicer areas?

[@shanebriggs1039]

@@bpal5644 sorry I was being sarcastic, my home town but no longer live there!! Not great areas no

[@bpal5644]

@@shanebriggs1039 ok I was just being nosy because I may be moving there soon for work, so if they’re not the greatest areas I may scratch them off my list haha.

[@shanebriggs1039]

@@bpal5644 Its a lovely city, my hometown but im sure where ever you decide to live you will enjoy it ( it gets very cold in winter ( good luck in your new life adventure) sorry, didn't mean to put you off!

[@dr.kalyanpokuri1079]

Christchurch earth tectonic plates are little weak. It's a nice place to stay... But it's in Red zone... Prone to moderate to high earth quakes.

[@brittanymorgan09]

Yes I would be really worried about damage if I owned a home in Christchurch!

[@Battleneter]

One minor misunderstanding, CHCH metro area has more population (510,000) than the Wellington Metro area (436,000), and is technically NZ's 2nd largest city, otherwise good video.

[@brittanymorgan09]

I used the Christchurch City Council government website for the population stats (396,200 at June 2023), so I'll stand by my words. Cheers!

[@Battleneter]

@@brittanymorgan09 If your using that metric, Wellington City Council is only 216,200 so still way below CHCH. Realistically factoring in the greater metro areas of both cities CHCH is #2 and Wellington is #3, still both small cities but CHCH is larger.

[@CaesarAugustus27_]

Can't believe it only costs $51

[@windows12pro]

@@CaesarAugustus27_51 kebaps 🥰

[@hssajib]

I love NZ

[@mohit_sihag1379]

In india internet is very cheap It only cost 5 New Zealand dollar for unlimited net

[@RaceCarFriends]

3rd

[@angelblue52]

I thought this was the most racist city in New Zealand

[@amrex-m4i]

No longer

[@jbellbird9050]

@@angelblue52 no, not any more.

[@MAGA2024TRUMP-y8q]

Dont let this fool you as i lived there for years and it is absolute garbage 😂