 Let's talk about Auckland. Welcome to my YouTube channel. Today we're going to talk about the City of Auckland. I don't think I talk about that much. I get so many questions about it and I spent a couple days there and I have five reflections I want to share with you today. You're not going to want to miss it. Here we go. If you don't know who we are, we are a family of six that have moved from the US to New Zealand and have been here for like seven years. And so I have started a consulting company where I help people move from the US to New Zealand. So reach out to me if that's interesting to you or that would be helpful at KiwiAmericans.com. If you're moving, traveling, anything to do with New Zealand, probably reach out to me because I am here to help you and share anything that I can to help you in your journey. If you are a business that is looking for some digital marketing help or a teacher that could help need some help with like the online space, also reach out to me because I have two other consulting companies that I do that with as well, which I love and have a passion for. So without further ado, here we go for the video this week. Okay, let's talk Auckland. Point number one. I have to say as my first point when I talk about Auckland is it is noticeable the lack of wind. Okay, so I always get this question or this comment from New Zealanders or people that have traveled through New Zealand. I don't know how you live in Wellington. It's so windy and I just think, I don't know, I think it's just normal. It's like this is where I've always lived and to me it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But then spending a couple of days in Auckland and it was so noticeable how much the wind is involved in my daily life and how I wasn't experiencing it there. And so I just want to say now understanding what everybody's talking about. It's not that I would move from Wellington for because of the wind, but I can actually say that it is noticeable because when you're in Wellington and it's pretty consistently windy, you notice days that aren't. And so when I was in Auckland, like every day was now windy. And so it was noticeable to me. And so that's kind of funny. But the vibe of Auckland is very different. So if you don't know, Auckland is much bigger than Wellington. So like the greater Wellington area is like just under 500,000 people, but Auckland is like 1.6 million people. So it's much bigger. It's the biggest city in New Zealand. And if you haven't been there, check it out. Now I have been there a couple of times. It hasn't been my favorite place. But I have to say the vibe was different this time for me. Very different. I think it might be because I haven't been able to travel for two years. But it was really nice to go to a place that just had a lot of things that was busy, that had four lane highways, that had lots of shopping, lots of restaurants, just a lot going on. And it was noticeable to me this time. I think maybe that I've been here for seven years, I haven't traveled that much. I've done kind of everything in Wellington. So I'm, it was pretty exciting. And I think my whole family felt the same way. Everybody was like, Oh, this is really great. And like, you kind of felt like you were somewhere. So the vibe of Auckland is very different than Wellington, for sure. And other places that I have been, it definitely feels bigger. It definitely feels busier. It definitely feels very multicultural. A lot of things going on. And like really good. And just like a lot of options and just felt like I was just in a much bigger city. And so if that's something of interest to you, you might want to check out Auckland. But definitely check it out regardless, because there's definitely some fun things to do. And I'm sure that if I live there for seven years, I'd be like, I am done with this traffic. I'm done with, you know, all of the negative things of living in this particular city. But yeah, but it was certainly fun to visit for a couple of days. Number three, my third reflection, let's talk about restaurants and shopping. So I was really excited about this because I actually came very organized. You guys would be so impressed with me. I came with like, what Americans recommend for American type food in Auckland? I know. Don't judge me because I want some American food. I have been in this country not able to leave this country for two years. And sometimes I just want some American Mexican. Let's just say that. And I want some like real American pizza. You know, like I just want something really good. And they have so many choices there. So I got a bunch of recommendations. We weren't able to do a lot of them actually because we were there on a holiday weekend. So things were closed. So that's fine. I did have really good Mexican, like American Mexican. So I've spent a lot of time in Mexico, wouldn't say as authentic, like Mexico type food, but the Mexican cafe downtown Auckland was very good. In fact, we went twice. And it was just nice because I had things on the menu that I have not seen on the menu here in Wellington. So it was fabulous. We had chimichangas and fajitas and enchiladas. And we got free chips and salsa. And it came with rice and beans. And so that was a big change. And that was really fun. We tried all different types of food. Things were open late. It was really nice. We really enjoyed the food. And then the shopping. So the shopping is great because the shops are so much bigger. And so you have essentially so many more choices. So like some of the big stores like H&M have like multiple stories to them. And it was really nice. And you're just a lot more choice. I mean, not as much as you get in the States. So we won't go that far, but it was really great for just having more choice and just more shops around. And that was really nice. And so if you want to go shopping, take a weekend and go to Auckland. I highly recommend it. I was really bummed that I mean, my number one thing on my list was to go to Costco. And because I had seen people getting their Costco cards, I assumed it was open, but it's not. It's not open for a couple months. So I'm like, what? So I didn't get to go to Costco, but that's okay. I enjoyed lots of shopping and got some really cute things. That was just fun because, you know, we haven't been able to travel for a couple years. Number four, let's talk about price. I'm going to have to say that I didn't find Auckland all that expensive. And it may be because we're just out of COVID. Okay, don't get me wrong. Like I spent a lot of money because we went on tours. And if you don't know, tours in New Zealand are outrageous for a family. I'm just going to say it like it is. They're very expensive. They generally give a family rate, but it's still, I think, would still be unaffordable for some people, especially to do multiple ones. And that's just how it is. But like I had an apartment in the city in Airbnb and it wasn't. It was a two bedroom. It was fine. It wasn't like fancy or anything. It did have a pool though that we could go to. I'm in a tennis court, but like, which was actually really nice, my kids like that. But, you know, I think I paid 167 a night. So not too bad for all of us to fit in. And then, yeah, I really like that the transfers to the airport. Now, the airport is not convenient to the city of Auckland, but you can get like the Super Shuttle and like a shared ride for $30. You cannot get that in. Well, I did. If someone has figured that out, please let me know. But it's so nice. Like $30 is so reasonable to jump in. And I think, you know, so because you have economies of scale, because you have more people, you know, things, certain things can be cheaper. And that's definitely what I noticed. Certain things were definitely cheaper. And so kind of getting around my Uber was cheaper than it is in Wellington. So yeah. So there's just more people. And that's how that works. But yeah, so I just felt that it wasn't really that expensive. You could kind of figure it out. I actually had the restaurant. I went to a lot of restaurants. I went out with some clients and we went to this brand new restaurant. And all of the plates were like really nice tapas, fancy food for $8 each. And that's really good price. And then all of the drinks were also $8 that they had, which were like fun, fancy drinks, not like, you know, a beer or something like that. So an actual cocktail was $8. And so that was good. So there's weight, you know, because you have all the choice, you're able to find things within your price range that suits you and your budget and your family or whatever activities you want to do. And so that was really nice. That's, I guess, the benefit of a bigger city. And number five, the last reflection that I have on Auckland is it's kind of nice how it's a totally big city, but still close to things like you can get to the beaches on the coast quite easily. We went to Peehaw Beach, which is like a famous beautiful beach. And it was nice. If I'm going to be honest with you on my reflection, maybe it's because I've been almost everywhere in New Zealand. It was definitely not the best beach in New Zealand, in my opinion. But if you are just getting off the plane in Auckland, a lot of people head to that beach to check it out. And it is amazing. The fact of the matter is, is that most beaches in New Zealand are amazing. And so it's just, to me, it just didn't feel like much different than other ones. But it is a surf beach. So if you like doing that. And you can just get close to the core of Mandel is one of my favorite places in New Zealand. And, you know, it's a driving distance to there. And so it just kind of puts you in a place where other things and other places are close by. And that's really nice. So yeah, and I've heard good things like I've heard good things from workmates or friends that have lived in suburbs of Auckland that it does actually work pretty well that you can get around. Typically traffic is the issue in Auckland. But yeah, so there's different ways around it once you figure it out. So anyway, I had a great time. I enjoyed my time in Auckland. And we'll definitely go again and not really hesitate with it. And probably even stay because we were just that apartment that I stayed, it was just down the street from the spark arena. And so that's really close. So yeah, if you're going to a concert there or something. Anyway, I had a great time. I highly recommend it. If you have any questions or I really like to know your reflection and your thoughts on Auckland, if you've been there, maybe some things I need to try next time, things that you like and you don't like. Also, if you could share some of the benefits and disadvantages of living there, just because I do talk to a lot of people that are thinking about moving there. And you know, I've never personally lived there. So I don't like to give advice that I don't know about. But yeah, would love to share your reflection because I think other people would also benefit from that. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this video and I will see you next week.