New Zealander request!!!

SPENSWORD

SPENSWORD

Member
Alright, so I am graduating college next year and I am planning on moving to New Zealand right after to really change it up from my 21 years in New Hampshire. New chapter blah blah blah. Does anyone know of any decent graduate schools in NZ where I can get my Masters in Architecture? I would like to look into the Otago region because Snowpark is amazing but, like I said i'm a new hampshire boy, i dont know a whole lot of places in NZ.

I know this may not seem ski gabber worthy but i need to be somewhere where I can ski, judge all you want, i love all types of skiing but I'm not willing to leave the park so what are some good options for me here? any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Snowpark is closed permanently and the only place you can get Masters in Architecture in NZ is Victoria University in Wellington.
 
Unfortunately down south has super shitty student towns (fun if you're first year, but I wouldn't do postgrad in Dunedin or Christchurch personally, f that), but has good skiing (club fields + Wanaka, Queenstown).

The north island has cities that are bearable (eg Wellington) and good architecture schools (Auckland + Wellington), but a long drive that ends with mediocre to shitty skiing (at Ruapehu). There is indoor skiing in Auckland?

Honestly, it's going to be either a decent place to live or a decent place to ski imo. Although if you're 'all about' the outdoors the South will work out fine.
 
Don't go to graduate school in NZ, from what I understand the universities aren't the most well respected abroad. You should go for a year and just have a blast. Get a working holiday visa, spend the summer on the north island and the winter on the south. Guaranteed good times.
 
Go to Australia. Better known/recognised universities. You can still go skiing but also go surfing. NZ is only 3 or 4 hours away.
 
I don't know much about your particular field,but as a grad student I'd suggest finding a supervisor that meets your specific academic goals and needs. A great location is nothing if you aren't doing research in an area that is relevant to you.

If your goal is to go to NZ thats sick, but I don't think the skiing is really comparable to Western US, Canada or Europe.

I am in the process of finishing my masters at UBC, was on snow roughly 70-80 days this season (some of that was coaching). But Vancouver has been a good place to balance my academic life, professional goals and skiing. The price would be roughly the same as going to uni in NZ, and potentially cheaper than the US.

Innsbruck looks like the skiers dream for studying, WAY cheaper tuition and access to handful of SICK resorts if they off your program in English.

Good luck
 
12989832:Matt_D said:
Don't go to graduate school in NZ, from what I understand the universities aren't the most well respected abroad. You should go for a year and just have a blast. Get a working holiday visa, spend the summer on the north island and the winter on the south. Guaranteed good times.
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The Universities are good here in NZ as long as you go to a place like Auckland, Waikato, Victoria, Canterbury or Otago.

Just don't got to somewhere such as Unitec or AUT because they have pretty much no entry requriements and anyone can go there and become an Engineer or Architecture etc so the qualifications you get there aren't really that good at all.

For architecture I would probably look at Auckland or Victoria. In terms of skiing you have Mt.Ruapehu which is about 4 hours drive from Victoria and 5 hours from Auckland, people whinge that it is shitty but I think it's really fun, the weather and snow can be pretty variable but on the whole it's great. You also have Snowplanet in Auckland which is fun.

You also have the South Island which has shit tons of options, Cardrona is great for park and the larger fields have good facilities. Then there are the small club owned ski fields which don't have much at all but have awesome skiing provided you're willing to hike a little.
 
topic:SPENSWORD said:
Alright, so I am graduating college next year and I am planning on moving to New Zealand right after to really change it up from my 21 years in New Hampshire. New chapter blah blah blah. Does anyone know of any decent graduate schools in NZ where I can get my Masters in Architecture?
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Kiwi here, I would recommend what someone else said about checking the place out for a working holiday first and see if it's worth the commitment. NZ is awesome but as far as studying goes it's not always the best option if you're from overseas
 
Have you thought about taking a "new step" to somewhere out west? Seems like the move would be easier and you can't go wrong with the skiing.
 
12990677:Negromancer said:
people whinge that it is shitty but I think it's really fun, the weather and snow can be pretty variable but on the whole it's great.
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Seriously dude, compared to what or where is it great?
 
12990677:Negromancer said:
Just don't got to somewhere such as Unitec or AUT because they have pretty much no entry requriements and anyone can go there and become an Engineer or Architecture etc so the qualifications you get there aren't really that good at all.
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AUT is a good school thank you very much. But only for business, comms and design.
 
12990707:Al.Capone said:
Have you thought about taking a "new step" to somewhere out west? Seems like the move would be easier and you can't go wrong with the skiing.
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Yes I have thought about it, I'm sort of between western US and NZ but I've been out west so many times before in my life and i really would just like to surround myself entirely by something unfamiliar and new. really start a new chapter for myself and see how it goes.

Also, thank you everyone for the helpful responses! certainly not what I would have expected due to the typical "fag, go to CO" newschooler response.
 
12997271:SPENSWORD said:
Yes I have thought about it, I'm sort of between western US and NZ but I've been out west so many times before in my life and i really would just like to surround myself entirely by something unfamiliar and new. really start a new chapter for myself and see how it goes.

Also, thank you everyone for the helpful responses! certainly not what I would have expected due to the typical "fag, go to CO" newschooler response.
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I would second the Innsbruck comment, great skiing in Austria and the folk are very friendly too. I would say Switzerland, where I live, as well but its too expensive. And Sweden, where I'm from is pretty dead in the ski areas up north, and expensive too like Norway where I would recommend more as the ski areas are closer to big cities like Oslo and Bergen. You can look to Lyon and Grenoble in France or Torino in Italy. Both Grenoble and Turin are 1 hour away from great ski resorts like Les Deux Alpes, Val D'isere/Tignes, etc.

But yeah, easier said than done moving to a new place :/ wish you the best of luck! Also sucks that you from the US as if you were European you could go to uni free of charge in Scandinavia, maybe Austria/France too, not sure.
 
12997271:SPENSWORD said:
Yes I have thought about it, I'm sort of between western US and NZ but I've been out west so many times before in my life and i really would just like to surround myself entirely by something unfamiliar and new. really start a new chapter for myself and see how it goes.

Also, thank you everyone for the helpful responses! certainly not what I would have expected due to the typical "fag, go to CO" newschooler response.
Click to expand...

I'm the opposite, I want to move to the US. Denver if anything, but maybe further out West in Seattle or somewhere else would be cool, but I don't have the funds to do so.
 
12997271:SPENSWORD said:
i really would just like to surround myself entirely by something unfamiliar and new. really start a new chapter for myself and see how it goes.
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Maybe give NZ a shot then, I'm swiss and live in NZ for the people and the lifestyle (low wages, but chilled as fuck... compared to Switzerland anyway haha). If you don't like it, leave again. A lot of people give it a shot, some stay, many don't, no pressure.

But be aware that the skiing isn't fantastic compared to most other 'ski' countries, I wouldn't come here for that.

ps
 
topic:SPENSWORD said:
Alright, so I am graduating college next year and I am planning on moving to New Zealand right after to really change it up from my 21 years in New Hampshire. New chapter blah blah blah. Does anyone know of any decent graduate schools in NZ where I can get my Masters in Architecture? I would like to look into the Otago region because Snowpark is amazing but, like I said i'm a new hampshire boy, i dont know a whole lot of places in NZ.

I know this may not seem ski gabber worthy but i need to be somewhere where I can ski, judge all you want, i love all types of skiing but I'm not willing to leave the park so what are some good options for me here? any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Maybe you should get a second bachelor's in a business related field. Study abroad for a few years through the university so you don't have to pay as much. You're shooting yourself in the foot by getting a master's in architecture...better off just looking for a job.
 
I was just in new zealand i dont know much about schoole their but u should stay in queens town its really nice and the mtn are pretty close. good choice and good luck with the adventure,
 
12989840:Age said:
Go to Australia. Better known/recognised universities. You can still go skiing but also go surfing. NZ is only 3 or 4 hours away.
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Its cheaper to fly to nz and go skiing here than ski in Australia from what I've been told
 
Only options in NZ are Auckland, Victoria, Canterbury and Otago. If you're doing architecture then its Vic or auckland. Don't go near the Waikato unless you enjoy being in a hole surrounded by inbred dairy farmers. Auckland it never snows but you can drive to Ruapehu for the weekend which actually has the biggest ski areas in NZ or you can easily fly to Queenstown. You can do the same from Wellington (Vic) which is quite a lot smaller than Auckland.
 
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