# Life in Ashburton/Allenton



## Fuzz (Nov 19, 2012)

Hi all,

My wife has a job offer in the Ashburton/Allenton area, and we're thinking of moving there in a few months (mid March). Wondering if anyone give us some "on-the-ground" insight into life there.

First, a little bit of background about ourselves. We're American (she's Caucasian, I'm of south Asian descent), in our late 30's, with a 7-year old son. We've moved quite a bit -- our average stay in one place is 4 years so far (since leaving high school). We've lived in a small farming town in Iowa (for university; total town population: 10,000), Chicago (apartment living right in the city), in a suburb of Denver, in a ski town in the Colorado mountains (population: 6,000), and we now live in London. So we're used to moving around and living in lots of different types of places.

While we travel a bit (I've visited ~20+ countries so far), we haven't made it to NZ yet. The reasons we're wanting to take the plunge:
- It's a good career opportunity for my wife.
- I've been in a high-stress corporate job for a while and am ready to get out of the rat race for a while. So while she works, it will give me the chance to spend more time with our son and the chance to explore my hobbies and interests (photography, astronomy, etc.).
- We love the outdoors. My wife is a runner and loves anything outdoorsy. I LOVE skiing (I used to ski 50-60 days a year in Colorado), hiking, and biking. Our son as well would rather spend time outside playing at the park or riding his bike over anything else. Being able to live in a place with open space and access to the mountains is huge for us.

We don't own a house or cars or any big items (sold house and cars in Colorado before moving to London), and don't want to buy property in NZ either. My wife's work will provide housing + utilities + one car, so I think we'll be covered for the big expenses. Her contract is for a year. Depending on how it goes, we might look to extend it into a more permanent/long-term thing, or parlay it into a role elsewhere (maybe Australia, somewhere in east Asia).

We know Ashburton/Allenton is a farming community. We'll definitely not have the great diversity of food, culture, and people that we have here in London, but that's a trade-off we're willing to make. We like hanging out with people with whom we can have intelligent discussions about science, philosophy, technology, politics, etc. We care more about having a good lifestyle than about making a lot of money.

I've read all the stats about the area, but it's hard to get a sense of what life is like there. What are the people like? Mostly involved in farming, but are outdoor pursuits also big among people there? Do people escape to the mountains often? Do a lot of people run, bike, hike? How are the schools? Is it family-friendly? Socially liberal or conservative? We are strongly secular and liberal. The weather stats show a lot of annual rain + not very warm temps -- is it cloudy and cold a lot? Is Christchurch the main place for diversity of culture, food, etc.? I've heard Kiwis can be somewhat cold/distant, but surely not more than Londoners, who are infamous for their "closed" personalities -- although having a young child helps, as you meet other parents through school and activities.

I realize my questions seem a bit random, but I'm just trying to get a sense of the place. We're pretty much set on doing it -- it'll give my wife's career a big boost + let me out of mine. Who knows if we'll get another chance of living at the end of the world. And even if we hate it, it's only for a year. But would like to get an idea of what to expect.


----------



## topcat83 (Apr 16, 2009)

Fuzz said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My wife has a job offer in the Ashburton/Allenton area, and we're thinking of moving there in a few months (mid March). Wondering if anyone give us some "on-the-ground" insight into life there.
> 
> ...


Hi there - welcome to the forum.

With hobbies of photography, astronomy & skiing you should love it on South Island! 

Just down the road from you are the skiing resorts of Mount Hutt, and (one of my favourite places in NZ with an up and coming ski area) Lake Tekapo. See List of ski areas and resorts in New Zealand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And Lake Tekapo has some of the most stunning mountain, lake and other scenery - a beautiful place. Lake Tekapo Untouched | Lake Tekapo's official information site.

Plus the Mount John Universitary Observatory, where you can take night tours and view the skies. Lake Tekapo and surrounds have strict rules about light pollution control, and it's one of the clearest skies in the world. Mt John - Physics and Astronomy - University of Canterbury - New Zealand

I have never lived in Ashburton, but I believe it should be great for a family. Close enough to Christchurch to visit, but far enough out to be its own town. And yes, i believe it's farming-centric - the dairy trade especially. Ashburton, Canterbury New Zealand

And I don't think you'll find the NZ people cold and unfriendly, but do expect them to be reserved. Their culture is not as 'in your face' as (say) Australia. Much more 'British'. So bear that in mind and you should be fine!


----------



## Fuzz (Nov 19, 2012)

Hi topcat, thanks for the info. Yes, we are definitely looking forward to the outdoors. Two questions: how is the climate there and do most homes have central heating?

Online research shows winter temps ranging from lows of 1C to highs of 10C. What it doesn't tell me though is how the day-time temps usually are. I've lived in places where it gets to the high temps pretty quickly once the sun comes up and in other places where it hits the high only for a very short time. Plus in some places it's quite sunny in the winter, so it stays nice and warm. We're not averse to cold temps, but would just like an idea of what to expect.

How about humidity and wind, especially in the winter?

I read somewhere that most houses in Ashburton (or maybe across NZ) don't have central heating, and space heaters are often the only option? Is that true? 1C overnight with only space heaters sounds...interesting!


----------



## inhamilton (Jun 10, 2011)

Fuzz said:


> Hi topcat, thanks for the info. Yes, we are definitely looking forward to the outdoors. Two questions: how is the climate there and do most homes have central heating?
> 
> Online research shows winter temps ranging from lows of 1C to highs of 10C. What it doesn't tell me though is how the day-time temps usually are. I've lived in places where it gets to the high temps pretty quickly once the sun comes up and in other places where it hits the high only for a very short time. Plus in some places it's quite sunny in the winter, so it stays nice and warm. We're not averse to cold temps, but would just like an idea of what to expect.
> 
> ...


You'll find that during the middle of winter (June to mid August), the daily high will range from about 8 degrees celsius to 15 in Ashburton. At night there will be frosts in winter with the temp sometimes getting to -3 or 4. You are right. Most of the older houses in Ashburton won't have central heating. There will usually be either a wood burner or a heat pump (a gas or electric heater which pumps heat into every room). Other houses will have either gas burners or electric heaters. In summer, the daily highs will be in the range of 20 to 30 degrees celsius.


----------



## Fuzz (Nov 19, 2012)

inhamilton said:


> You'll find that during the middle of winter (June to mid August), the daily high will range from about 8 degrees celsius to 15 in Ashburton. At night there will be frosts in winter with the temp sometimes getting to -3 or 4. You are right. Most of the older houses in Ashburton won't have central heating. There will usually be either a wood burner or a heat pump (a gas or electric heater which pumps heat into every room). Other houses will have either gas burners or electric heaters. In summer, the daily highs will be in the range of 20 to 30 degrees celsius.


Hmm, -3 to 4 without central heating will be...interesting!  But that's why we like living in different places -- if everything was the same everywhere, wouldn't be much fun!

Any insight into the rain? Per Wikipedia, Ashburton gets 27 inches of rain every year (more than London!), but does it come in big storms (like the regular afternoon thunderstorms in the American West), or does it come in a constant slow drizzle (like London)?


----------

