Auckland review, part 2

My last review of Auckland was very one-sided and really just a rant, so I’d like to give a proper review of this city, highlighting the good as well as the bad points.

Auckland has a subtropical climate and so is warm and humid in summer. The winters are very mild and very wet.

There are 1.5 million people who call Auckland their home. It is a city built for cars with motorways criss-crossing right through the centre of the city in a messy spaghetti fashion. There will never be enough motorways to service the needs of 1.5 million people using cars so there’s also lots of traffic.

Public transport is very poor. There is a recently built busway, the Northern Busway on the North Shore that runs frequently, on time and has a purpose-built lane. It is very good. Auckland also has trains but they are old and only service a small part of the city, not including the airport. The train system spectacularly failed on the opening night of the rubgy world cup last year where more than twice the number of people expected tried to get to Eden Park by train. Thousands ended up missing the game altogether. There are also ferries that cross the harbour but they run infrequently, are old and do not cater to wheel chairs or push chairs.

Proper, separated bike lanes are almost non-existent and the few that do exist, tend to be narrow footpaths that cyclists must share with pedestrians.

House prices in Auckland are among the highest in New Zealand. A house in Auckland city starts at $500,000 and goes up from there. Wages are low with the minimum wage at $13.50 per hour making owning a home unaffordable for many. Houses are cheaper further from the city but expect a long commute time to work each day if you work in town – 1 hour or more.

Auckland is very multi-cultural and this is something I like. There are people from all over the world here and they are mostly very friendly. I have made lots of friends in the short time we’ve been here and they’re all very lovely people and all foreigners like me.

Auckland gets lots of rain and so it’s very green and lush. Another nice feature.

There are beaches everywhere and although they’re quite nice, I would not recommend anyone move to Auckland for the beach. The beaches of Queensland where I grew up are far nicer.

The central city is a vibrant place with an interesting mix of heritage and modern buildings. It is not very good for pedestrians though with few open public spaces that are devoid of cars. There are signs this may be changing but it will take many, many years.

Auckland is built over an active volcanic field which has produced many interesting volcanic cones and craters that make for some cool natural features to visit. It will erupt again at an unknown location beneath the city and at an unknown time. It is expected this event will have a huge impact on the city financially and there will likely be loss of life.

If you want to get away from Auckland for a weekend, it doesn’t take long before you’re in the country after leaving town and there are plenty of nice places to go. There are also parts that are heavily forested and offer nice sheltered walks.