Canterbury New Zealand

Canterbury

Canterbury, on the South Island, is New Zealand’s largest region in terms of area and Christchurch is its regional commercial and administrative centre. Founded in 1850-1851 by the first English settlers arriving in Lyttleton Harbour, Christchurch is a vibrant, sophisticated city of old world English charm and up-to-date technology and business, including information technology, agri-business, biotechnology, medical technology, education and a booming tourist industry.

It is also the regional centre for government, with its international airport within two hours drive. Lyttleton is a deep harbour port, road and rail links make the city the region’s distribution and export centre and the city is also known as the Gateway to the Antarctic. The Canterbury region sustains cities, farms, wineries, coastal towns and ski resorts in its diverse makeup.

Canterbury region is defined by the Conway River in the north, the Southern Alps to the west, the Waitaki River to the south and the ocean to the east.

The region is approximately 42,200 square kilometres in area and has a population of over 552, 000, made up of people from a European background (over 90%), Maori (about 5%), Asian & Pacific descent (around 3-4%) with small numbers of residents from other backgrounds. Activities available for recreation range from hot air ballooning and wind-surfing through whale watching to top-notch gardens and wineries or a trip up Mt Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain, in the Southern Alps.

Due to its mixture of both urban and rural living, housing is a bit more affordable in the Canterbury region compared to the more urban regions in New Zealand and the cost of living is about the mid-range for New Zealand overall. Naturally costs would be a bit higher in Christchurch, the regional centre, but an affordable quality lifestyle in a beautiful and varied regional environment is waiting for all those who wish to come.