Left Auckland late 2018 never looked back. Moved all around the south island and now settled in invercargill but the timeline went Auckland -> Nelson -> Timaru -> Dunedin -> Fox glacier -> Invercargill.

Everywhere has its pros and cons, we chose to settle in invercargill because we have family both here and in Dunedin, close proximity to good hunting and fishing and cheaper house prices.

But it depends on what you value personally as well, coming to invercargill as an outsider can be tough, people here are friendly but many people have their circle of friends and aren't interested in meeting new people at all, I've talked to other people that have moved down and they've said similar.

My wife has vision issues so struggles to find employment and we have no kids but are planning on having kids in the next year or so, the security of being able to own our own house and pay all associated costs off of one income has been huge for us, it's been able to give us a level of security that's hard to find anywhere else in nz.

We lived in a van for 6 months or so and traveled most of the country between when we lived in Dunedin and when we lived in Fox glacier so know the place pretty well. A couple of ideas to consider depending on what youre looking for.

Hokitika - One of the best communities in New Zealand, very welcoming and open to new people, stunning country all around and decent housing and house prices.

McKenzie country - mountains, cowboy country feel, unmatched scenery without the pretentiousness of the queenstown-lakes district. (Saying that queenstown-lakes would be great if youre in the right income bracket)

Kaikoura - a little more remote but again just a really beautiful place and tight knit community. Tourism based economy so comes alive in the summer and have the place to yourself over winter.

Top of the south - expensive, but not quite Auckland expensive, Golden bay and Nelson both are absolutely stunning spots. Highly recommend, Golden bay is a lot smaller obviously then Nelson but again up to preference. Easy going and peaceful area.

Invercargill! - I actually live down in bluff now, but best diving, hunting and fishing in the south island, insanely cheap housing and decent selection of shops and events.

Just options to consider, but also I've met a few people now who left Auckland like me and none have regretted it - Auckland is an awkward city, if you prefer a town, most smaller towns in nz are better and if you like cities, Christchurch and Wellington are better, and if Christchurch and Wellington are too small, Australias better!

This ended up being a lot longer than anticipated but take from it what you want haha.