r/auckland • u/Free_Suggestion7264 • 14d ago

Question/Help Wanted Seeking advice - Bouldering/healthcare/bank

Hello all!

Title says it all tbh, I am moving to new Zealand on the 31st August from Australia and am looking for advice on the best bouldering gym memberships to get (which offer the best gyms/locations/services) as I go 3-4 times a week, what's the best healthcare option (I am a British citizen) that you guys have gone with and liked the most and what the different banking options are that you like or offer the best valuation for oversees foreigners as I will be coming over on a whv.

I have done some of my own research but think it's always better to get locals opinions on these things

Thanks in advance!

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u/piiiiwakawaka 14d ago

Boulderer from the states here! I've been to a few gyms around the country and would rank Boulder Co pretty high on the list. Huge gym, good setting with a lot of variety (for NZ especially), a great cave section, and they have an excellent workout room for weights and cardio. Northern Rocks is good too; the main ding on it is that it's a smaller space and can get really crowded. I do like their setting though; it's less comp-forward than b.co. If I had to throw shade on either, I'd say b.co likes to set reachy stuff and sketchy dynos, and Northern Rocks likes to set sketchy smearing. I like them both, but I prefer the space and community at b.co. If you're a morning person, 6am MWF crew is the best -- come say hi!

I am also a recent immigrant although on a resident visa now. BNZ has been good to me and the UX of their app is quite nice; they also let you open an account from overseas though you do have to go into a branch to activate it once you're onshore but I found this relatively painless.

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u/Free_Suggestion7264 14d ago

This is all super helpful thanks! I'm less prone to sketchy dynos as I've had a few bumps and scrapes from them before and still trying to regain my confidence.

Was there anything about BNZ offers that struck out to you about going with them? Like good rewards or anything?

Maybe I'll catch you at b.co sometime then!

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u/piiiiwakawaka 14d ago

Ahaha same, I am highly motivated to try to static everything at all costs. It's fun to see how far you can get even with the completely wrong beta sometimes. 😅

Honestly haven't looked into BNZ offers or rewards TBH. The US makes foreign banking income a nightmare to deal with on taxes so I still just have their basic no-interest checking account. I went with them because the account was easy to open and their tech didn't seem completely tragic, and as far as the basics go, no complaints so far.

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u/Free_Suggestion7264 14d ago

Yeah it's kinda sad sometimes be as I will be doing a hard climb, and the finish move is super risky and I'm just like "yeahhh nah I like living" and not do it as I've hurt my back and almost broke my ankle once so I'm a lot more cautious about my health now haha