Wellington

Wellington is located on a picturesque harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. As one of the world's most compact cities, Wellington is an urban paradise surrounded by the harbour on one side and rolling green hills on the other.

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It is a lively city of culture, arts and a diverse selection of great ethnic restaurants and cafes. It is also home to the country's government and national treasures.

Not only is it the political capital, Wellington is also the art and culture capital of New Zealand. There are many museums in the region, with the most impressive being 'Te Papa' (the Musuem of New Zealand). The city has a number of live theatres and is the host city for the New Zealand Festival of the Arts - a month long programme celebrating artistic and cultural events. Street theatre is also popular and well-supported.

Inner-city Wellington bursts with life in the evenings, especially in weekends. On Friday or Saturday nights it is not unusual to see good natured crowds sitting outside cafes and bars enjoying the festive atmosphere well into the wee hours of the morning.

Wellington's four quarters - Courtenay Place, Cuba Street, Willis Street and Lambton Quay offer the best in downtown shopping and entertainment. Lambton Quay boasts up-market shopping, Willis Street is home to top local and national designers, funky Cuba Street offers the best in alternative urban shopping, whilst Courtenay Place is the heart of the restaurant and bar scene.

Food from every country can be found throughout the city and different ethnic communities often hold food festivals which are well supported by Wellingtonians.

'Wellywood' (as it has recently become known) is also an international film making hotspot and home to Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Wellington is a fantastic location with all the elements required to make a great city - compact and naturally scenic with excellent shopping, an abundance of culture, cafes and restaurants all within very close proximity to beautiful and untouched spots of nature.

State Business Overview

Located at the geographic centre of New Zealand, the Wellington region is made up of five cities: Wellington City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt, Porirua, and Kapiti.

Over the last decade there has been a change in Wellington's economy, with the departure of some head offices and government and corporate rationalisation.

However, whilst the business environment is reconfiguring, the economy is still posting positive results and consumer confidence is high. Good-health indicators include strong employment growth of 3% over the year that ended in March 2004, and a fall in the unemployment rate to 5%.

Over the last year there has also been double-digit growth in non-residential building consents, in particular for office and retail buildings. Wellington is also currently experiencing the emergence of new types of businesses - export focused SMEs (small to medium enterprises) working in high-growth industries.

Offshore exporting is seen as being key to the success of the local and national economy and as Wellington's businesses are somewhat constrained by the size of the city's population, exporting will enable businesses to find greater scope in global markets.

Wellington's economy needs businesses that are of a sufficient size to grow and sustain growth. They need to be outwardly focused, aggressive and ambitious in their overall aspirations.

The challenge is for the emerging SMEs to continue to grow. Other efforts to stimulate and develop business in Wellington include the creation of the Wellington Regional Strategy.

Over the past year the councils of the Greater Wellington Region and Positively Wellington Business have combined their efforts to develop the Wellington Regional Strategy, with its goal being to build an internationally competitive Wellington Region by developing and implementing a vision and an integrated framework for sustainable growth of the Wellington region.

Education

Wellington boasts a network of high-calibre primary, secondary and tertiary learning institutions.

Throughout the Greater Wellington Region there are approximately 220 primary and secondary schools. There are also a large number of preschool, kindergarten and day-care providers located throughout each of the city's suburbs.

At secondary level (also known as 'college') Wellington has a wide range of schooling options available - including both co-educational and single sex, public and private, and secular and religious. A number of schools in the region also offer boarding facilities.

At tertiary level there are many options from academic degree courses to performing arts schools to on-the-job apprenticeships. Some of the major tertiary institutions include; Victoria University of Wellington, a campus for the Palmerston North-based Massey University, Wellington Institute of Technology, Whitireia Community Polytechnic and Wellington College of Education.

Also one of New Zealand's biggest distance learning centres, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand is based in Lower Hutt just north of Wellington City.

Victoria University offers about 1,700 courses in almost 100 programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level in six faculties: humanities & social sciences; commerce & administration; law; science; architecture & design; and education.

The Wellington Institute of Technology prides itself on its practical learning and industry links. Whitireia is a community-based polytechnic which specialises in 'hands-on' education and prides itself on producing 'work-ready' graduates..

Employment

Key industries

According to Census data, Wellington's workforce is one of the most well-educated and highly-skilled in New Zealand.

Furthermore Wellington has one of the highest average weekly incomes in New Zealand. As the capital city, Wellington supports New Zealand's government and some of the major players in the New Zealand and international communications market.

Significant support services to these industries include Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Telecommunications, Engineering, Finance, Accounting, Teaching and Health.

Not surprisingly the public sector is dominant in Wellington and the region has the highest concentration of consultants in New Zealand. Other sectors that are significant in Wellington include property, business services and retail trade.

The Wellington region also contains the highest proportion of people working in finance and insurance in New Zealand.

In recent years Wellington has developed a growing reputation for its creative industries including film, fashion, music, visual and performing arts and publishing.

Recently there has also been significant growth in the digital creative sector, with a number of companies now specialising in animation, games development, mobile applications, interactive design and visual special effects.

Education is another important generator of income and employment in Wellington, with over 20,000 tertiary students in the region and almost 5,500 people employed in the city's education sector.

Other sectors that have grown impressively over recent years include Manufacturing, Biotechnology and Contact Centres.

Housing

Home ownership

Around 60% of Wellington residents own their own home - a figure which is consistent with that of New Zealand's other large cities.

The quality of housing in Wellington is good, with most residential properties being of wooden construction with wood cladding. Many houses have a decent sized section of land, and Wellington's hilly geography means many houses also benefit from great views.

Over the past five years there has been a rapid rise in the number of apartment complex developments within the city centre and its surrounding suburbs.

Overall demand for housing is high, especially in locations that are close to the city centre or Wellington's scenic coastline. In order to accommodate the increased level of housing demand the city has spread north and many Wellingtonians now choose to live outside the city centre, opting instead to commute 30-40 minutes to work each day.

As with any large city area, house prices do vary considerably depending on the suburb in which a home is located. According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (as at April 2005) the median house price for Central Wellington was NZD$316,000, while in the Hutt Valley region the median house price was NZD$241,000.

Some of the most expensive housing in the region is found in Wellington's eastern and western suburbs, where the median price was NZD $470,000 and NZD $410,000 respectively. The lowest median price was NZD$235,000 in Wellington's northern suburbs.

Renting

Wellington offers a diverse range of properties for rent, including stylish inner city apartments, small bedsits, coastal bungalows and spacious old homes with large outdoor living areas.

Like house prices, rental prices in Wellington vary greatly between suburbs. According to the New Zealand Ministry of Housing the average rent for a three bedroom property in some of Wellington's most desirable city suburbs is upward of NZD$400 per week, while for a three bedroom property in the northern suburbs the average weekly rent ranges from NZD$220-$280 per week. (All rental prices shown are as at January 2005).

Properties for rent are advertised in the 'To Let' section of The Dominion Post newspaper. Landlords and real estate agents place advertisements in the classified section, with the largest number of listings being placed in Wednesday and Saturday editions.

Rental properties are also listed on numerous real estate and letting agent's websites, details of which can be found by searching for rental properties in Wellington on the Internet.

Transport

Wellingtonians are the highest users of public transport in New Zealand. Approximately 26,000 people commute into the city every working day and of these, approximately 28%t do so using public transport.

Wellington's comprehensive public transport network consists of buses, trolley buses, trains, ferries and a cable car.

Buses and trolley buses are the best way to get around central Wellington. The bus is also the best way to get around the Miramar Peninsula and other areas not served by train routes. One-way fares on most bus routes cost between $1 and $3.50.

Wellington's train station is conveniently located in the heart of the city making the train a good way to get around - particularly if you want to visit the Kapiti Coast or Hutt Valley. From Wellington train station it is only 20 minutes to Porirua City or Hutt City, 40 minutes to Upper Hutt City, one hour to Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast, and one and a half hours to Masterton in the Wairarapa region.

Taxi providers are plentiful in Wellington and taxis can either be ordered by phone or picked up at taxi ranks throughout the city. Fares are charged depending on distance travelled.

Being only 1.2 miles wide, the Wellington's inner city lends itself to those who like to do their traveling by foot. Wellington's compact size means it only takes 20 minutes to walk from one side of downtown to the other.

Cycling is also very popular, although the hilly terrain may be a deterrent for some.

Wellington International Airport is a busy airport with regular domestic and trans-Tasman flights. The airport is located only ten minutes drive from the city centre and there are regular buses, taxis and shuttles from the airport to the city centre.

Population

The Wellington region (combining Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua) has a population of approximately 370,000 people. Approximately half of this total regional population lives within Wellington City itself.

Wellington's population consists of 78% European, 10% t Asian, 7% Maori, and 5% Pacific.

Climate

The Wellington Region is in New Zealand's temperate climatic zone and has the highest annual sunshine hours of New Zealand's main centres. The average summer temperature is 20 degrees celsius, while the average winter temperature is 11 degrees celsius.

Wellington receives an average of 2050 hours of sunshine annually, and 1270 mm of rain each year. Although Wellington has a cooler climate in the winter, it is blessed with beautiful sunny clear days which allow for outdoor opportunities during all four seasons. Overall, the city's weather is mostly moderate and while the city enjoys several months of warm summer sunshine, its reputation as a windy city is not without justification.

Geography

Wellington stands at the south-western tip of New Zealand's North Island. To the south of the city is the Cook Strait, the passage of water separating the North and South Islands.

North of Wellington lies the golden beaches of the Kapiti Coast while on the eastern side of the region the Rimutaka Ranges divide Wellington from the plains of the Wairarapa region - a wine region of worldwide acclaim.

The city is surrounded by the rugged beauty of green hills and has the most spectacular skyline of all major cities in New Zealand - a result of major high-rise construction. The rapid modern growth has not however been at the expense of the city's older buildings. Even today the strong Victorian influence is testimony to Wellington's early establishment as the country's centre of political life.

Wellington has a reputation for its picturesque natural harbour and green hillsides with tiered suburbs of colonial villas. The harbour lies along an active geological fault line and the land to the west of this rises abruptly, meaning that many of Wellington's suburbs sit high above the centre of the city.

To the east of the city is the Miramar Peninsula, connected to the rest of the city by a low-lying isthmus at Rongotai, which is the site of Wellington International Airport.

With natural harbours, scenic reserves and rugged hills, Wellington is not only visually dramatic but offers a wide range of recreational activities from mountain biking and hiking through the unique Wellington terrain to sailing and water-sports.

Cost of living

By international and domestic standards Wellington is very competitive in terms of cost of living.

In the 2005 Mercer Human Resource Consulting Worldwide Cost of Living Survey Wellington was ranked 76th (out of 144 cities), compared with Auckland City which ranked 69th.

Within New Zealand Wellington's cost of living is 'middle-of-the-range', with house prices being lower than those in Auckland but slighter more expensive than in Christchurch in the South Island.

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